I was laying in my bunk, listening to the calming splash of the fountain and the blissful scent of salt water. My mind was slipping as I fell into a dream. I was standing in a clearing of darkness. So I guess it wasn't really clear. I heard the slight rattle of bones and I raised my sword. Wait. I don't own a sword. Why do I have a sword? Get that thing away from me! I wanted to throw it, but my dream physics weren't working the way I wanted. I tried to call out, but nothing happened. My voice was drowned out by a scream. I couldn't see where it was coming from, but I knew I needed to help them. I started to run, and then . . . I woke up. My body jerked awake and I fell off the side of my bunk. I crawled over to my side table and put on my glasses. I then reached for my watch. It read eight hundred hours. My eyes widened and I scrambled up. I quickly put on a clean t-shirt and jeans and headed outside. There were campers and fauns everywhere. There were some playing basketball, or singing, or setting off fireworks, or wrapping vines around others' legs. Annabeth walked by in a hurry. I grabbed her arm to get her attention. "Hey, have you seen Percy?" I asked. "Oh, there you are. We've been looking for you." Annabeth said. "You're representing Camp Jupiter." "I'm what?" She started to speed away so I followed her to the Big House. "We are having a Senior Counsel meeting on who to send on the quest. I was looking for you." We went inside and into a room with a ping pong table with bottles of Coke and paddles littered across it. There were a bunch of older campers sitting around the table. "Good, Tony, you are here." Chiron said, gesturing me to sit down next to him. I got some scowls and angry glances as I sat down, so I gave them all a smile from ear to ear. Percy was sitting at the far end next to Annabeth and another boy I didn't recognize. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. "Now that you are all here we can start." Chiron said. "We have one camper from Apollo cabin chosen to represent Camp Half-Blood on this quest." Alexandra sat up straighter and some of the counselors next to her patted her back. "Now we have our representative from Camp Jupiter." Chiron turned to me. "Tony, if you are willing to, will you go along on this quest with Alexandra?" I looked over at Alexandra and then back at Chiron. "Sure, Chiron. I'd be happy to." I said, a sarcastic edge to my voice. "Wonderful. Does anyone object?" One of the boys in the corner with a firecracker raised his hand. "Yes, Connor?" Chiron asked. "Why shouldn't Jason go? He's been on quests before, and he was a Praetor. We don't even really know this guy." He said. The blonde haired boy next to Percy stood up. "Connor, I appreciated your reasoning, but I think Tony should go. He would be a more appropriate representative of Camp Jupiter than I would. I abandoned my post as Praetor a long time ago." He said. "I agree with Jason." Alexandra added. "Then it is set. Tony will go with Alexandra on the quest."
Canva Rick Riordan
