'Coz I knew you were trouble when I walked in [Have a little FAITH]

Lexie Summers

Lexie had no idea where she was going to spend her afternoon so she had decided to hang around the common areas. But she wasn’t too fond of arts and crafts and the library had been too crowded for her taste. Lately she had been feeling a little…sick. It would be best to find someplace not cramped with people in case the other Lexie decides to make an appearance.

And what luck! The Amphitheatre looked completely empty. Lexie inched slowly inside, closing the door gently. The silence was eerie but welcome. She had never been here before. A big, high-ceiling structure hall, there were hundreds of plush chairs facing the wide, solitary stage. The walls had those strange paddings that let sound bounce off it, keeping it contained within. She read that theatres and music halls had those so that the sound could travel all the way to the back and the audience sitting the rear rows can hear what’s happening on stage.

Which means…

Lexie drew a deep breath and shouted: “Hello!” The word bounced right off the walls and came back to her in loud, distinct echoes: ‘Hello! Hello! Hello!’ Beaming, she called out: “Lexie!” And after a moment’s deliberation, shouted a word she would have never said aloud in front of her dads – they would have cut out her tongue if they heard (starts with an “F”).

Lexie giggled, delighted by the absurdity of the moment. She had always loved the story of Narcissus and the nymph Echo when she was a child and she had always wanted to try making echoes. Good thing no one’s around. She thought, smilingly sitting down on the nearest chair and closing her eyes.

The Amphitheater was beautifully quiet, and I had found myself drawn to it because of the lack of people inside. I could sleep all I wanted in there, and no one would even bother me. Or at least, not many people would. Those that had an inclination to go in to the place where singers practiced would instantly be deterred when they saw me lying across four benches.

I was wearing a simple pair of jeans and a white, shapeless top underneath my leather jacket. My hair was loose today, falling messily around my face. I had a pair of worn black converse, and I had my lighter and cigs in my pocket. Smudge had refused to come back to me after the last Amphitheater incident, but I suspected he was at the very back, on his usual seats, and would soon come back. Even if it was only for food.

It was so peaceful...
And then suddenly, the peace was broken as the sound of footsteps broke the silence.
Who would be here now? I wondered absently, curling my lip in distatse.
It really shouldn't have bothered me. It wasn't some little kids making noise, or teenagers making even more noise. It was just footsteps. But it did bother me, because today was supposed to be my relaxation day, and now someone was bothering me already. Then the footsteps turned into shouting, and echoes, and a word no one at Camp would have been shocked to hear, but parents would have been.

'Whoever is there- Lexie- has about two minutes to explain who they are,' I called, rolling my eyes and sitting up.
My eyes found the girl easily, as she was the only person here other than me. She looked familiar, but it wasn't like I kept tabs on people. If she looked familiar it was because I had seen her somewhere, not because I had talked to her. She's shouted what I assumed was her name, Lexie, but that was pretty much all I knew. I didn't even know a Lexie. Did I?
'Tick Tock,' I continued, raising an eyebrow and waiting- not so patiently- for the explanation to come.
I was being nice anyway. If I'd been mean she would only have had one minute to explain who she was. I'd given her two.

Lexie Summers

Lexie’s eyes snapped open. Uh oh.

She looked sharply across her shoulder, recognizing the brunette giving her the evil eye two rows behind. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think anyone was here.” She stammered, scrambling to her feet and smoothing the wrinkles out of the white summer dress she was wearing. Her heart was pounding really hard and for some reason she could feel the tips of her fingers growing cold. Relax, she commanded herself silently, willing her breathing to become even. It’s just one of your half-sisters. No one’s going to eat you.

“You’re Rana Jackson, right? My name’s Lexie,” She hastily introduced, walking down the aisle with her hand already outstretched despite the distance between them. She stopped in front of the demigod and tried to give her best I’m-sorry-I-disturbed-your-sleep-please-don’t-kill-me grin.

Rana Midnight Jackson, another daughter of Eris. Lexie had heard stories about this half-sister of hers, how she was rebellious antisocial girl whose tongue was so sharp that it could cut you as easily as a hot knife through butter…but that was just according to the other campers. Although Lexie had seen a glimpse of her once or twice around camp, she had never actually met the girl so she didn’t know how accurate their descriptions were. And besides, she had long decided never to judge anyone by how sweet or intimidating they looked – wasn’t she proof enough?

But still…those lips curled down in distaste were making Lexie feel queasy…

She let out a nervous chuckle as she forced herself to look Rana in the eye. "Uhh..So..I'm a kid of Eris too. Looks like we're sisters. How's it going, sis?"

She cringed. Did she really just say 'How's it going, sis"?

Keep it together Lexie.