mornings at the courts [open]

let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young

JACE HOWARDS

Jace tried to sleep in this morning, but as always, his ADHD got the best of him and he got up at an hour when most of his siblings were still sleeping from the party last night. That was what you did in the Dionysus cabin: Party until you passed out. Though Jace had the good senses to fall asleep, he was still extremely tired from only 5 hours of sleep. Dawn had just broken through as the demigod sprinted out of his cabin not dressed at all for where he was headed. Most kids when working out wore a track suit or at least a ratty short sleeved shirt. But Jace was a spoiled brat and so he wore dark skinny jeans and a leather jacket over a blue shirt at accented his brown hair nicely. When it came to looks, everybody followed what Jace wore.

Normally he would have headed to the camp store or the mess hall to eat or get other things that he idled with during the day. Jace was a needy boy, and also a jerk. He wasn't afraid to admit that at least and he despised people who didn't say what they were. Like his mother, Martha. He loved her and thought very highly of her until he found out he had cheated on his father. Angrily, Jace ran down the path, burning off his anger towards his family in footsteps. Finally, he reached his destination: The basketball courts. He hoped it was empty so he could shoot hoops and scream and shout as he pleased without being disturbed, but that obviously wasn't the case.

There was already a boy there about Jace's age. Undoubtedly a basketball player because of his attire, which Jace thought was horrendous. Maybe he would make that heard over the sound of the birds chirping in the early morning sun. But it was unlikely. Jace wasn't at his most jerkiness level today, but it was pretty up there. He liked to measure out each day how mean and sarcastic he was. Yesterday was a three, and so he figured that today was a seven or eight. The boy turned to Jace after making a couple of shots. The demi-god had to admit, he was a worthy opponent to be facing. He asked Jace if he would like to play.

Jace pretended to look at a watch on his wrist that didn't exist. "Eh, yeah why not. You've got an hour and then I'm going to do important things like sleep in a hammock." Yeah, it was going to be a very jerk filled morning. Jace looked at the boy and saw his smile and he returned it, cocky and full of himself.