Daughter of Wine

Leo

Calli stands with me in front of Bunker Nine. The rest of the Hephaestus cabin is behind us. 

Calli slaps my back. "Well Bob, it's time. Where do we start?"

"Bob?" I ask, looking down at her. Ever since we got back to camp, she's gained this confident, happy glow. 

"Bob the Builder." She replies, as if it's obvious. 

"Of course." I nod. "We?"

"Yeah!" She crosses her arms. "I want to help!" 

I can't help but smile. "Look, mamacita, I don't know if this is your strong suit." 

She scowls at me very cutely. "Look, boludo, I'm full of surprises."

"Hey, lovebirds." Nyssa calls, "Can we go in?" 

Calli's face reddens, and she gestures angrily for me to open the door. 

I lead my fellow campers into the bunker. I'm not exactly sure where to start, but Nyssa comes and looks at the design with me. "We need to start with the frame. Scaffolding, and this main base here." She points at the curve of the boat. "Engine room here is two stories, so we have to plan for that, there's stables, and a glass hatch here-"

She continues, describing the details we'll have to remember in the frame, but the image is already forming in my head. I can see the boat in my mind, almost like a time lapse of the construction. 

"We'll need lots of wood." I note. "We need some big timber to form those bases." 

"Good thing we're in the woods." Calli notes. I turn and see she's poking around the bunker, inspecting and exploring all the cabinets and tunnels. "Lots of trees. I'll regrow them. Endless lumber supply. Good thing I'm helping out." 

Nyssa, who I expect to be annoyed, grins. "Appreciate it, Callida." 

That name sends a tingle down my spine. 

"Hey, there's a sound system!" Calli exclaims, way more excitedly than I thought possible. She points to a speaker attached to a catwalk. "I gotta find the source." 

She disappears behind a cluster of crates and cabinets. 

"Be careful!" I call after her worriedly. 

Nyssa shoots me a knowing look. "She'll be fine, she's smarter than she lets on." 

"I know." I mutter. "Trust me." 

"Let's figure out this base, yeah?" Nyssa offers. "The blueprint shows it's about a hundred-and-thirty feet wide. We'll need multiple logs, sanded to shape, and we'll need a way to cut it to shape-"

There's a loud crash from somewhere in the warehouse. 

"All good!" Calli calls out, her voice echoing. "Keep doing what you're doing!" 

Nyssa notices the worried look on my face. 

"Leo, she's fine." She insists. "Calli is smart, despite how she seems. Sure, she's a little... aloof. But she's also tough, and strong, and honestly, I think she can help build this ship."

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. "You do?"

Nyssa nods. "She has a way with people. And she has a way of picking up whatever skills she needs to solve whatever problem she has. Us Hephaestus kids, we'll build a working ship. But I'll bet my dessert for a year that Calli makes that ship liveable, homey, and comfortable."

I stare at her in surprise. Of all the people at camp, I expected her to like Calli the least. Nyssa is so serious, so focused on work, that I expected her to hate Calli's casual, free-spirit attitude. 

Nyssa smiles at my expression. "Like I said, she has a way with people. She knows when we're overworking ourselves before we know it ourselves. She knows when people are angry, annoyed, upset, everything. She keeps everyone in check. She takes care of us."

I look to where the crashing came from. "People seem to really like her."

Nyssa nods. "Everyone likes Calli. And everyone wants her to like them, which isn't a problem, since she seems to like everyone." 

I frown. I had hoped that Calli actually genuinely liked me. But if she likes everyone...

Nyssa chuckles at my expression and pats my back. "Don't worry, Leo. I've seen how she is with people. You don't have anything to worry about." 

I shoot her a look. "What do you mean?"

Nyssa smirks at me, watching me from the corner of her eye. "Calli seems to have taken a... special interest, in you. She seems to like you more than everyone else here." 

I try to hide the redness in my face. "What do you mean?"

Nyssa laughs. "You know what I mean." She elbows me. "Leo and Calli, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." 

"Dude." I give her a look. "I shot my shot." 

"Shoot it again!" Nyssa insists. "Keep shooting it! Calli seems genuinely happy around you, not the superficial happy she lets the world see. And let's face it, we Hephaestus kids aren't great with people. When someone likes us, we've got to take it and run. Especially someone as gorgeous as Calli." 

I cough and clear my throat. "So, the ship." 

"Right," Nyssa sighs, still looking at me. "The ship."