Ron and Jacquel followed Grover as he pointed out various things that were in Camp Half-Blood. The other campers briefly glanced at them, and then resumed whatever it was they were doing. Grover said to them, “you’ll be staying in Hermes cabin until everyone knows for sure whose parent claims you.”
They all walked inside the cabin and saw a young man playing a MMORPG on his computer. Computer? Ron and Jacquel glanced at each other, then at the computer. The young man said, “What is it now? Can’t you see I’m–”
Then looking up and seeing Grover, Ron, and Jacquel, he said, “What happened, goat-man? I thought you were bringing in the new recruit a few days ago.”
“He was unconscious for a week,” Grover said.
“Who? Him?” the young man said as he pointed to Ron. “He doesn’t look like a demigod at all.”
“But he is one, anyway,” said Grover. “Anyway, he calls himself Ron Weasley.”
“Weasley?” the young man said. “That’s not a proper name of a demigod at all; we’ll have to correct this later.”
“And who the heck is he?” Jacquel stood there with a strange look on her face.
“He’s Luke Castellan, camp counselor,” said Grover.
“Uh, you said you would take me to see the camp director,” said Jacquel. Grover nodded. “Then why am I seeing his lackey?”
Luke laughed at her and said, “You got spunk, kiddo. That will surely save you on the battlefield. But your friend here, he is a different matter.”
Ron said, “Like how?”
“Well, there are rumors that you are the son of Poseidon, are you aware of that?” Luke said.
“Well, that’s what they say,” said Ron, “but I don’t want to believe them.”
“You better believe it,” said Luke. “Well, the big guy wants to see you, so we’ll get going. I must warn you though, what you’re about to see will bend your perception of reality.”
“My sense of reality has already been bent, thank you very much,” said Jacquel.
Luke laughed and then everyone out of the cabin. Several other campers noticed them and began following them. There was a huge crowd behind Ron as Luke pointed out, “and here’s where you’ll be doing most of your training.”
“Training for what?” Ron cut in.
Just then, Chiron showed up, but instead of being in a wheelchair, he was standing on his feet. All FOUR of his feet, if you want to call it that. He said, “So how are you kids enjoying the camp?”
“Didn’t he use to sit in a wheelchair?” Ron hissed to Jacquel.
“I’ve got a question for you,” said Jacquel. Everyone stared at her, but she stared at Chiron. “Why do you have a horse’s ass?”
A few chuckles in the crowd greeted the question as Chiron said, “I sit in a wheelchair when I meet potential demigods for the first time, so that my appearance doesn’t scare them off. Somehow, you must have notice my true appearance while you were at the bookstore.”
“Yes, I did,” said Jacquel nonchalantly.
“Anyway,” said Chiron, “I’m sure that Luke and Grover were kind enough to give you the tour of this place, but now comes time for your training…”
Percy Jackson was standing in the back of the crowd. Annabeth Chase said to him, “That kid doesn’t look like a demigod.”
“Looks can be deceiving,” said Percy.
“But still,” said Annabeth, “he can’t really be a demigod. I’m banking on the girl here.”
“She already claimed that she was no demigod,” said Percy.
“Well, one of the gods could have been her ancestor,” said Annabeth. “But which god, we don’t know.
Just then, Clarisse La Rue laughed and said, “Look guys, fresh meat.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” said Annabeth.
“Oh what do you know, wise girl?” said Clarisse. “And besides, that boy is just something for us to shoot.” To her fellows campers, she said, “Load the catapult!”
“Clarisse, if Luke sees you with that thing…” Percy began, but Clarisse cut him off. “FIRE!” she said.
Unluckily for her, a random camper overheard “FIRE” and shouted, “The camp is on fire!”
Panic swept in as everyone turned to flee from the training grounds and find the source of the fire. Percy got a hold on the catapult and tried to dislodge it. He said, “Clarisse, I forbid you to bully anyone else.”
“What are you going to do?” Clarisse mocked him. “Dismantle the catapult?”
Percy kicked at it while Clarisse lunged at him and they both fell in a tangle just in front of the catapult. Just then, a careless camper ran smack into the catapult and kept on going. The huge water balloon took off and slowly flew towards its intended target. Jacquel noticed it and yelled, “Ron, get out of the way…”
But Ron wasn’t listening to her; he just stared at the huge water balloon that would soon drench him from head to toe. But before that happened, he reached out with one hand and drew the water from the water balloon, until the water made a perfect sphere in his hand and the deflated balloon laid at his feet.
Everyone gasped in shock as they stared at the water sphere in Ron’s hand and the deflated balloon at his feet. Luke chuckled as he said, “Well, I guess we know whose son he is, don’t we?”
“Oh, tell me this is some kind of a joke,” Annabeth scowled as she approached Luke. “The girl pulled the water out of the balloon. I saw her do it.”
“She did not,” said another camper. “It was him. I swear it.”
“I saw him,” said another girl. “He pulled the water out of the balloon.”
“It was the girl, I know it,” said Annabeth.
And as a huge debate broke out all over the camp over who had pulled the water out of the water balloon, Luke said to Ron, “Beginner’s luck.”
“What did you say?” Jacquel snapped as she aimed an arrow at his head.
“Well, how did he know that he can control water?” said Luke. “Poseidon was the god of the seas.”
“I kind of knew that,” said Ron, “but that really couldn’t make me his son, unless…”
“Your mother was not Mrs. Weasley at all,” said Jacquel. “In fact, she could have been some random woman who has no idea about what happened to her only begotten child.”
“For yourself, you may be right,” said Chiron. “But we can’t know for sure until tonight. Dinner is at six o’clock sharp.”
He walked off, leaving Jacquel and Ron behind, even more confused than when they had first entered the camp. And the sphere of water Ron held in his hand fell to the ground at his feet.
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