Daughter of Wine

Jason

The council is nothing like I imagined. For one thing, it's in the big house rec-room, around a Ping-Pong table, and one of the satyrs is serving nachos and sodas. Somebody, I'm assuming Calli, has brought Seymour the leopard head in from the living room and hung him on the wall. Every once in a while, Calli tosses him a snausage. 

Calli looks so happy and comfortable. I've notices she tends to make herself comfortable wherever she is, but this looks so much more natural. She's wearing a pair of white shorts with her orange camp shirt and beaded necklace. Her hair is rolled up into a messy bun, and her phone is in front of her on the table, playing First Class by Jack Harlow. She looks genuinely happy. And everyone in the room seems to gravitate towards her, like she's a magnet. Leo and Piper, who are seated next to me, lean in towards her and watch. Clarisse, leader of the Ares cabin, has her boots on the table and is leaned towards her, talking to her. Clovis from the Hypnos cabin is snoring in the corner on a pillow that Calli gave him earlier, while Butch from the Iris cabin is seeing how many pencils he can fit in Clovis's nostrils. Pencils which Calli is holding for him. Travis Stoll from Hermes is holding a lighter under a Ping-Pong ball to see if it'll burn. He's holding it so that Calli can see, and she seems to be watching intently. Will Solace from Apollo is absentmindedly wrapping and unwrapping an Ace bandage around his wrist, while talking to Calli and Clarisse. Calli says something, and the other two laugh.  Lou Ellen something-or-other is playing "got-your-nose" with Miranda Gardiner from Demeter, except that Lou Ellen really has magically disconnected Miranda's nose, and Miranda is trying to get it back. She tosses it to Calli, who plays along for a while, before handing Miranda her nose back. Lou Ellen steals it right back. The energy of the room is completely focused on Calli, as if she's the center of the fun. I look over and see Leo is leaning on his hand, staring at her. If this were a cartoon, his eyes would be popping out of his head and he's be saying "Awooga!" Piper is entranced, listening to the conversation between Calli and the other two campers. I find myself wanting to be a part of the activity. I'm almost... jealous, that I'm not getting attention from Calli, as ridiculous as it sounds. 

She seems to sense this, and looks over at me. "Jason, what do you think? Do you think the Ping-Pong ball with melt, or will it implode?" 

Calli is a gorgeous girl. She has a smile that makes my heart pound, despite my feelings for Piper. And her eyes, man, they hold so much intensity, and so much joy, that it's hard to look away. Don't get me wrong, I don't have feelings for her like I do for Piper, but I find myself wanting her to like me. 

"Implode." I guess. 

Calli slaps the table. "See? That's what I'm saying! The air inside the ball will heat up, condense, and the ball will implode!" 

"Not before the plastic melts!" Clarisse insists. "That's thin plastic, and the fire is definitely hot enough to melt it!" 

"No, Calli's right!" Leo insists. "It's physics!"

"Nah, it'll melt." Piper argues. 

I don't think Calli does it on purpose. I think she has a natural magnetism that makes people want to be close to her. 

I find myself wishing Thalia would show. She'd promised, after all, but she's nowhere to be seen. Chiron had told me not to worry about it. That Thalia often gets sidetracked fighting monsters or running quests for Artemis, and she would probably arrive soon. But still, I worry. 

Rachel Dare, the Oracle, sits between Chiron, at the head of the table, and Calli, on his left. She's wearing her Clarion Academy school uniform dress, which seems a bit odd, but she smiles at me. 

Annabeth doesn't look so relaxed. She wears armor over her camp clothes, with her knife at her side and her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. 

"Let's come to order." Chiron announces. "Lou Ellen, please give Miranda her nose back. Travis, if you'd kindly extinguish the flaming Ping-Pong ball, and Butch, I think twenty pencils is really too many for any human nostril. Thank you. Now, as you can see, Jason, Piper, Leo and Calli have returned successfully... more or less. Some off you have heard parts of their story, but I will let them fill you in."