stollen things || c. stoll

1.10 ~ Cleaning Harpies Really Need To Look Into Dishwashers

I poked away at my food, mainly engrossed in conversation rather than my meal. I'd asked Katie about joining me and the brothers for cleaning the dishes and she said something sympathetic along the lines of, "Why on Earth would I do anything like that? All yours."

So, my Tuesday night plans were no longer washing dishes with lava with one of my best friends. Now it was washing dishes with lava with the pair of brothers I'm supposed to hate.

I still had about nine hours until I had to worry about that, so I tried to focus on the activities in between now and then. I had two hours of tracking, then cabin clean-up time, then free time, then dinner. After dinner, the Harpies would bring the dishes into the kitchens and take the night off. We would spend that time in hand-to-hand combat, then instead of going to the campfire at nine o'clock, Travis, Connor, and I would head to the kitchen and wash dishes until they were done. It didn't matter if it took all night, Chiron was ruthless when it came to breaking-curfew punishments.

So, after our lunch, we went to the North Woods to meet the satyr that ran the class. It was a long two hours. I excelled, but that wasn't anything new. The plants practically told me where anything was. I could sense where wood and plants were, so foraging was a breeze. I found it odd that my chlorokinesis wasn't as strong as my geokinesis. None of my siblings, except maybe Katie, had any trace of geokinesis. But they were all excellent growers.

At 3:30, we headed back to our cabins to clean. I had never really brought many things to camp, so my space wasn't a huge project. The issue with the trash and laundry, however, was the grass floor. You can't sweep or vacuum grass. So we picked up the laundry and other things scattering the ground by hand.

The tree in the middle of the cabin was dropping leaves. Even enchantments can't stunt the natural cycle of plants. So we brushed those aside as well. Once we were sure that the cabin was fully organized, we relaxed in our beds. It was still clean-up, so we couldn't leave the cabin yet. Just 30 minutes and we could go wherever for the hour of free time before dinner.

And so the time came. The summer sun was still burning bright in the sky, casting a golden glow over the hills and trees of Camp Half-Blood. It was my favorite time of day.

My favorite place in camp? Zephyros Creek. Just secluded enough to collect my thoughts but without straying too far and into danger.

Once free time started, I grabbed my watch and headed over. The free time that began in July was much shorter than the beginning of summer, cut down to only one hour rather than two. I had to keep an eye on the time if I wanted to make it to dinner. It wasn't a super long walk, but it was on the opposite side of camp, which meant I'd spend at least about 15 minutes going through the woods, and 15 back.

I followed the creek all the way to the beach and sat down on some rocks. It was quiet except for the bubbling of the water and the muffled giggles of the naiads.

I got to thinking about the impending war, the upcoming school year, and my current boy issues. All problems on the same level, I know.

The war was going to happen, no doubt about it. I didn't know if the gods were going to use us as pawns or not, but I wanted to be ready.

The school year. I was going to be a sophomore at Green Mountain Valley School. A boarding school all the way up in Vermont. I'd be far away from camp and rooming with just one other girl. I'd never had a room to myself — at home, I shared a room with brothers, and at camp I shared with my half-siblings. I'd only gone to Green Mountain for one year before, and it didn't go too well. I couldn't board there because of the monster attacks, but this year we were going to try.

Part of me wanted to stay at camp year-round, but I knew that I had to go to school. I wasn't the child of a powerful god, so the monster attacks shouldn't be as bad as they are. I suppose I am on the powerful side when it comes to my siblings, but there are other demigods that are better. Athena kids, for example. Not to mention the only living child of the Big Three.

If only it were that simple. I had a good feeling about this year, though. It was a fresh start. I didn't know why I was stressing, summer had hardly even begun.

I'd thought for too long, apparently, because my clock read 5:50. I had ten minutes to walk a fifteen minute stretch, so I had to get moving.

I ran, trying to use the earth to skate as I went through the woods. I made it in time, but I was exhausted from using the geokinesis. I hardly ever manipulated the earth, so it was very new for me.

I was silent through dinner, and hand-to-hand as well. Thinking about school had really put me down. Campfire would cheer me up, but that didn't fit in my schedule between the dishwashing and stressing.

So I trudged from the Arena to the kitchens with the brothers. We all walked in awkward silence. Even Connor, the usually charismatic one, was at a loss for words. I could tell that he felt bad about getting me involved in this. I was fine with it, it's not a permanent job.

We entered the underground kitchens to find a small list of instructions:

wash dishes with provided lava. wear asbestos gloves and and aprons. don't die.

Ah, the Cleaning Harpies. Ever the optimists. So we did as they asked. I pulled on the elbow length asbestos gloves and we all helped each other into the aprons.

"I still don't know why I agreed to this." I grumbled. The boys just grinned and we got to work spraying and scrubbing the pots and platters. We had trouble starting conversation at first, but considering how charismatic Hermes children are, we soon warmed up to each other. After all, we were going through the same thing.

Despite the gloves, the kitchen was still sweltering and I was sweating in a matter of minutes.

"Excuse me," Connor murmured as he reached across me to get a clean dish towel. I tried not to stare as he wiped his forehead with it. We had set up a system where I would wash the dishes, Connor would dry them, and Travis would put them away.

"So," Travis began. "Because we'll be out past curfew anyway, do you want to stargaze for a bit before going back to the cabins?"

Both boys were grinning, and I returned it. "Nice try, boys, but I'm very tired and I'd like to shower and go to sleep."

They both nodded in sync, and said, "Very well."

"We'll escort you, then." Connor declared, his blue eyes twinkling. I didn't find use in disagreeing, because they would do it anyway.

So we talked about capture the flag and other camp activities. I told them that I would be going to a boarding school when the summer ended, which disappointed Connor because they were both staying at camp year-round. He pressed for details on it, so I told him all about the school and the classes I'd be taking.

We finally finished the dishes at around 11 o'clock, and we trudged out of the kitchen. I took a quick shower and dried myself off with one of the provided towels. The boys then each took one of my arms and escorted me back to my cabin.

When we reached the wildflower-covered porch, they each kissed one of my hands and strolled over to the Hermes cabin. I was grateful that it was dark out and they couldn't see my deep blush.

I rushed inside and tried to sleep, but my thoughts were plagued by boys. For the first time in awhile. Apparently sophomore year was going to hit me like a truck and it hadn't even started yet. I'd never truly had the normal classic high school experience — if a demigod could have anything normal or classic. The only classic thing in my future was the probable lack of one. And on that cheerful note, I drifted off to sleep.

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hi everyone any tips on asking a girl out i'm like 95% sure she's into girls but i'm afraid of rejection so pls advice ✨

also ily all