Chapter 2
II. Kayla
Kayla hated itwhen her dad refused to explain why she had to spend the entire summer at camp.
Moving to the United States was really tough at first. She had to say goodbye to her best friends back in Canada, her home country, and promised to stay in touch as soon as she could get her hands on a phone.
Kayla didn't mind moving at all; her dad's excitement about the whole thing, and his enthusiasm made it hard to feel too down about it. Besides, the place is right under Canada, right? Looking at a world map, it seemed like just a hop, skip, and a jump away.
They didn’t face any problems with the move nor the finances. The apartment they had rented for the entire summer was more than enough for their needs.
Her dad continued working as an archery instructor and was still regarded as the best in his field. He didn’t need to retake any training programs since he had already been provided with all the necessary certifications—that was why she wanted to be just like him. Kayla had been taking lessons from her dad for a while, and having him as her instructor meant she got free access to all the lessons!
She even kept a journal for both of them, filled with newspaper clippings highlighting how incredible her dad was. Yeah, we're both awesome!
Kayla was excited to share them with her new friends at the summer camp she was about to attend.
But she hadn't expected to be stuck in a cabin with a bunch of people wearing orange t-shirts. She had no idea what a demigod was until someone explained.
"Half-god, half-mortal," the cabin's head counselor explained. "You're here to train so you can protect yourself out there."
Whatever was out there, she didn't want to know about it!
Kayla was feeling overwhelmed and started missing home because she didn't have any friends in the camp yet. But the year-round campers were pretty cool, they helped her figure out where everything was in the camp.
And the archery range was the closest thing to home she'd found so far.
The camper—Quinney, who'd been showing Kayla around offered a friendly smile. Her curly blonde hair bounced around her face, and with the blue headband, she looked like a modern-day Cinderella, ready to go to the ball. “You can try out whatever activities you want right now, but we'll give you a schedule tomorrow,"
"Schedule?" Kayla repeated.
"Yeah, like a plan for the day," Quinney clarified, "So you know what you're doing. Don't worry, you can pick most of the stuff. It's just the intense training stuff like sword fighting and winged horse riding that has set times."
"Okay!"
"Alright, kiddo, let's get moving." Quinney's face lit up with another smile. "So, what's your plan for the day? I don't want to leave you alone on your first day."
"Archery!" Kayla exclaimed, "I love archery!"
They walked back toward the range, watching the other campers for a few more minutes before Quinney gave her an encouraging nudge.
Kayla hesitated for a minute, her nerves getting the best of her. This was her first big summer camp, so she knew she had to dive in headfirst.
But everyone seemed really focused on something else. Most of the campers were crowding around to watch a little boy who was holding a tiny bow. He was about to shoot his first arrow, and everyone was excited to see it happen.
The boy had ginger hair just like hers, though his was even more vibrant. His face was also sprinkled with freckles, mirroring her own. For a moment, Kayla wondered if they could be siblings; they looked so much alike!
His first try was a bit off. The arrow barely traveled a few meters before falling short of the target. If only he'd used a little more force before releasing the string, he would've hit the target right in the center.
Kayla tried to squeeze in as much conversation as she could, but there wasn't much time. Quinney had explained to her about the Satyrs—those guys with goat legs—and sure enough, one was already rounding everyone up to head back and brush their teeth before dinner. That's weird!
"Hey," Quinney waved. "Let's head back to the cabin. We already have some toiletries and a sleeping bag ready for you."
"I already have them!” Kayla grinned. "My dad packed a bunch of stuff for me, including a box of Jell-O! I should be eating it right now, but I think I left it in the cabin.”
"You're really prepared, huh?" Quinney said, impressed. "Most of the kids here got dropped off with barely anything."
"Do their parents not pack their stuff for them?"
Quinney's expression turned sad. "Whether or not your mortal parents still care for you," she explained. "Some...well, let's just say they didn't exactly make it here on their own."
“Oh…" Kayla blinked, her eyes widening in surprise. That didn't sound good at all!
How could she possibly have fun now? She trudged after Quinney back to the cabin. The other new kids were already there, looking just as lost as she felt.
"Oh crap, crap, crap," one of the campers sitting next to Kayla whimpered. The boy started rummaging through his backpack.
No one else seemed to notice his distress, so she leaned over and asked quietly, "Are you okay?"
The boy's eyes were wide with panic as he frantically searched his backpack. "No!" he exclaimed, his curly afro bouncing with each jerky movement. "I forgot my stupid sunglasses! How am I supposed to look cool at the beach now?”
"What?" Kayla said, her eyes wide as she tried to imagine a beach. "Seriously? I thought we were in the middle of nowhere!"
The boy looked shocked. "You didn't know about the beach?" he asked.
Kayla shook her head, looking confused. "Nope, not at all," she said. "They just told us what we had to do. And something about...gods," she trailed off, unsure if he was as freaked out about it as she was.
“Ooh!" the boy exclaimed, hopping up with a shy smile. "I'm Austin, from Ohio. How about you?"
Kayla flashed a big smile, "I'm Kayla," she said, sounding excited. "I used to live in Canada, but my dad and I just moved to New York like, a whole week ago! We're here for this camp, but we might have to move again soon, though."
Austin nodded slowly, like he was thinking really hard. "My mom is always moving us around," he said, sounding kind of tired of it. "I mean, it's cool to see new places, but I wish we could just stay put for a while!"
"So, what's your mom like?" she asked, sounding super excited to finally talk to someone her age.
"She's a singer!" Austin replied proudly "I have to sing her songs every night before I go to sleep."
"That's cool! My dad is really into archery. He's like, super good at it." Kayla paused for a second, then her eyes got wide. "Hey, I brought some Jell-O! Do you want some?"
Kayla was just about to grab her stuff when the sudden blare of a conch stopped her in her tracks. “Line up, everyone!" The cabin's head counselor yelled, sliding down from the top bunk. "I don't want to see anyone hanging around here because they're not starving. We're all eating dinner together, got it? It's important for everyone to stay healthy!"
Everyone cheered in agreement.
"Come on, let's eat those later before we sleep!" Kayla exclaimed, holding out her hand for Austin to take.
"Okay," Austin agreed, grabbing her hand.
The rest of the night was pure magic. After dinner, Kayla's stared in amazement as the dryads piled the table high with sizzling barbecue and juicy meatballs. It was like a feast fit for a king!
The only problem was, Kayla and Austin had to squeeze into a the seats. It was almost impossible to eat properly! Their table was chaos compared to the others. It was packed with campers, so crowded that some people had to stand while they ate. But nobody seemed to care; everyone was laughing and having a fun!
The best part of the night was the sing-along. Somehow, Kayla and Austin managed to get their hands on the lyrics and joined in on the singing.
Every time the chorus hit, their voices grew louder and louder, and the campfire seemed to burn brighter and higher, almost dancing to the rhythm of the song.
"Dude, that was so much fun!" Austin exclaimed as they tumbled back into the cabin, already starting to set up their sleeping bags while munching on Jell-O. "I can't believe how many random songs we just sang in like, ten minutes!"
Kayla giggled. "Right? Especially that one about the dirty sweatpants!"
“Ew!”
They both giggled and flopped down onto their sleeping bags. Kayla noticed a few others were still awake, which meant she had a chance to chat with Austin.
"So, like, who do you think your godly parents will be?" She asked.
Austin didn't answer right away. He fidgeted with his hands, looking kind of nervous. "Um, I don't know," he finally said, "I just hope my dad is like a musician or something, that would be cool."
"That's awesome!" Kayla replied. "I hope mine's an archer, just like my dad."
"Same here!" Austin agreed.
"It would be also cool to have a musician dad," Kayla grinned, "I can imagine us jamming together all the time!"
"Me too," Austin said. "I've never tried archery before, but it sounds super fun. We can check the schedule tomorrow and see if there's a time we can go together," he suggested.
“Sure,” Kayla yawned, feeling completely tired. “I'm going to sleep now.”
"Goodnight!"
“Goodnight, Austin.”
The next morning, Kayla was jolted awake by the sound of loud chatterings. She didn't know what time it was, but it was way too early. Everyone sounded super pumped up and ready to start the day.
Austin was already up and about, probably woken up by the same alarm. He blinked sleepily and let out a huge yawn, his mouth stretching wide.
They were each given a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, just like everyone else was wearing. "Oh, and there's one more thing," they added. "Before you guys head back home at the end of summer, you'll each get a special bead. It's like a reward for surviving another summer here. It's kind of a big deal, actually."
Oh, so that's why most of the campers here are wearing bead necklaces!
Next, they were handed a schedule. It turned out they could pretty much pick any activity they wanted, as long as they were actually trying and participating.
But they got a serious wake-up call about how important their training was, especially the fighting stuff. Few were like, 'Okay, we get it, this is serious business.' Now they had to figure out which path to take.
"So, whatcha gonna pick?" Austin asked as they strolled to their first scheduled training. "Swords?"
Kayla replied without hesitation, "Archery, for sure,”
Austin chuckled nervously. "Same here. I mean,” He eyed the training area. "You think those swords are real?"
Yup.
Those swords aren't fake.
Kayla tried to lift one, but she couldn't even hold it up! It was so heavy, and didn't fit comfortably in her hands.
Austin had it bad. A camper was right on his tail, charging at him without a second thought. It didn't matter that he was screaming his head off; the kid was relentless.
Next on the schedule was the big one: winged horseback riding. “Don't forget to give them lots of pets and a big, friendly smile before you hop on!" The satyr reminded them.
But when Kayla saw the pegasus, at least twice her size, and she couldn’t help but think that one good kick from it could launch her halfway across the field—she immediately backed away, her hands raised in surrender. Nope! Not going anywhere near those!
Austin was a different story—he was as excited as anyone could be. She watched as he tried to ride one of the pegasuses, only to come back with a greenish face, mumbling an excuse that he needed to sit down because he was about to puke.
"Finally!" Kayla exclaimed, plopping down on the grass. "Four activities before lunch? I think I'm going to die!”
Austin wiped his forehead with his sleeve, "Yeah, no kidding. Climbing that lava wall and running with those crazy half-goat guys was insane!”
They waited impatiently for lunch, and the moment the delicious smells wafted from the pavilion, they sprinted faster than they ever had in their lives.
"What do we have next?" Austin asked, shoving a meatball into his mouth, with legs and bodies were practically bouncing with every bite he took.
Kayla copied him, stuffing her face. "Canoeing."
"Oh, yeah! The lake!"
She'd never been so excited in her life, the lake and the beach were two places she'd been wanting to see—so they crammed more food into their mouths before racing excitedly toward the lake.
They joined the campers who were getting ready for canoeing, with Kayla watching in awe when the boat glided into the water, but when they started to get a bit impatient, they dashed over to grab a canoe for themselves.
Kayla was struggling to push the back of the boat into the water while Austin was tugging at the front.
"Yeah, just like that!" a voice boomed, snapping her attention. She looked over to see a group of bulky kids giving the canoe a mighty shove, and with a whoosh, the boat glided effortlessly into the water.
"What are you guys doing?" a whiny voice complained.
Kayla turned around and looked at Austin, like she was trying to figure something out. "Did you say something?" she asked, sounding curious.
“Huh?" he said, blinking a few times, before shrugging his shoulders.
Kayla was confused for a second, but then she decided to just concentrate on pushing the canoe. She took a deep breath and shoved it with all her strength. This time, the canoe budged, sliding forward a little. "Stop, I'm sleeping here!"
"I swear you're saying something!" Kayla shouted, her face turning a little red.
"No, I'm not!" Austin insisted, looking really surprised. "I haven't even opened my mouth until now, I swear!"
"Then who—"
"Hey!" The voice called out again.
Kayla and Austin whipped their heads around to see where the voice was coming from. There was someone in the canoe, when they walked closer to get a better look—there, sitting in the canoe, was the same boy she had seen yesterday at the range.
"No wonder the canoe is heavy," Austin said in disbelief.
The boy glared at them. "This is my canoe!"
"Nope," Kayla disagreed. "This is our canoe!”
"But I've been sleeping here since morning!" the boy protested.
"We're gonna tell everyone you're being a total slacker!"
"Yeah!" Austin agreed.
The boy's eyes widened in panic. "No, don't tell Annabeth, please!" he begged, hiding himself beneath the yoke.
"Okay, we're telling Annabeth," Kayla said.
"Fine!" the boy grumbled, starting to climb out of the canoe. But just as he made his move, the canoe lurched forward unexpectedly. Before they knew it, Austin was already in the water, grabbing onto the deck for dear life. And Kayla? The freezing water was already just above her calves now.
"Wait, wait, wait—don't push!" Austin yelled, his voice rising in panic.
"No, we had to!" Kayla replied. They had already gotten the canoe into the water, so they had to deal with the consequences now!
"You guys are crazy!" The boy shouted over them.
Kayla pushed the canoe further into the water before climbing in and rushing to help Austin back into the canoe, because he looked like he was about to drown any second!
Austin collapsed onto the seat, his hands still pressed against his chest as he gasped for air. Meanwhile, Kayla, was already fumbling with a paddle, she was trying to mimic what the other campers had done earlier with those wooden things.
"You're doing it wrong!" the boy pointed out.
Kayla looked at him, then back at the paddle, giving it another try, moving the paddle back and forth.
"Let me try," Austin said, grabbing another pair of paddles. But as soon as they started paddling, the boat began to spin in circles, drifting to the left instead of going forward.
The boy started screaming. "Stop, stop!"
"Help!" Austin yelled, his grip on the paddles tightening as he struggled to control the spinning boat.
"No, no, we're doing it right, we're doing it right!" Kayla insisted stubbornly as the boat spun faster and faster.
They looked like they were being attacked by sharks, the way they were shouting at each other! The boy jumped into the fray, grabbing the nearest paddle like a lifeline. He started paddling backward, thinking it would help, but they had no idea there was another boat coming up behind them until it was too late.
BAM! They crashed right into it.
Their boat flipped over like a pancake, and before Kayla could even scream, they were being sucked under the water.
Kayla felt a powerful force pulling her upwards, her hair whipping wildly around her face, making it difficult for her to see anything above her.
Before she could even process what was happening, she was thrown to the ground, her body tumbling and rolling. Her eyes snapped open, staring up at the sky above before she sat up.
She remembered Quinney mentioning about what she called—Naiads—those water nymphs that live in every kind of water. Kayla looked over and saw them cautiously emerging from the water, their curious eyes peering out as they floated just below the surface.
"H—hello," Kayla started, her voice wavering with nervousness. "Th-thank you—”
“Kayla!” a voice called out, and she quickly turned and saw Austin just a few feet away. The little kid from earlier had a tight grip on his back, desperately pulling him toward the lake, with those tiny hands showing surprising strength.
“Over here!” Kayla yelled, then quickly turned back to where the Naiads had been, only to find that they had all disappeared.
Austin finally reached her, struggling to pry the boy’s arms from around his waist. “It’s your fault!” the boy cried out, tears streaming down his face. “You two ruined my—my favorite drawing!”
“We didn’t ruin your drawing!” Austin insisted.
“Yes, you did!” the boy shouted, his voice breaking. “It was with me on the boat, and now it’s all gone!” As he said ‘gone’, he broke into another sob.
"No, we didn't!”
The boy looked back and forth between Kayla and Austin, his red eyes swollen with tears. He then kicked Austin hard in the shin and ran away.
"Oh no..." Kayla said, her dad would probably be really disappointed in her for making someone cry on her second day at camp. She could just imagine the disappointed look on his face, the way he'd shake his head and sigh….knowing she'd let him down. No, no, that can’t be right!
She immediately grabbed Austin’s arm tightly, ignoring his pained shouts with every step they took.
“Where are we going—ow!”
“We gotta say sorry!” she yelled. “We need to find his drawing!”
“No,” Austin said, trying to pull away, but he couldn’t because Kayla, despite being their age, was strong and determined.
“Yes,” Kayla insisted.
“But she kicked me in the shin!”
“That’s because we’re being mean,” Kayla replied.
Austin hesitated, his lower lip poking out in a pout. “Fine,” he surrendered. “But if he kicks me again, I’m not gonna say sorry, okay?”
“You got it.”