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IT WAS THE GODS all over again.
One moment I was sitting with Piper on the bus with Leo in the seat in front of us, then the next I was sitting with Leo, and Piper was sitting with a boy I didn't recognize.
The boy looked around my age with blonde hair, sky blue eyes and some kind of scar on his upper lip. Suddenly, in the span of a second, Piper was convinced that the boy she was holding hands with was her boyfriend and Leo was convinced that he was our best friend. I looked out at the barren desert and tried not to stare at the boy to study him. It didn't matter that in my case Piper just had known him for a few minutes, I didn't want to be rude and look at her supposed boyfriend.
I tried to make sense of the situation as much as possible.
Something about his aura told me he was a demigod, like Piper and Leo, and a powerful one at that too. But—as far as I knew—Chiron told me to look out for two demigods at the wilderness school, not three.
I scowled at the window. This was Chiron's idea of a "break" for me. It wasn't about Leo and Piper. I enjoyed being their friend but I'd much rather be at Camp Half-Blood. My home. The only place I felt loved and wanted.
Leo's mischevious voice snapped me from my reverie. "Look who's awake."
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I AWOKE IN the backseat of a school bus holding hands with a girl I didn't know. I looked at the girl, who was quite frankly cute. She had choppy brown hair and she wore jeans, boots, and a fleece snowboarding jacket. She looked like someone of Native American descent.
She squeezed my hand. "Jason, are you alright?"
Jason? Right, that was my name. I let go of her hand. "Um, I don't—"
In the front of the bus a teacher shouted out, interrupting me. "All right, cupcakes, listen up!"
The man was definitely a coach, he was short but made up for that with his mean demeanor. He had a wispy goatee and a sour face, like he'd eaten something moldy. His buff arms and chest pushed against a bright orange polo shirt. His nylon workout pants and Nikes were spotless white. A whistle hung from his neck, and a megaphone was clipped to his belt.
