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The first sign that something was wrong was when Thalia “Breakfast is the Most Important Meal of the Day” Grace voluntarily skipped the designated meal time. Not because she was late. Not because she was busy. Not because she was out fighting monsters.
No. None of that.
She walked into the dining pavilion, looked at the pancakes and waffles topped with ridiculous amounts of syrup, and went pale. While muttering “Nope” under her breath, she turned around so fast she nearly walked straight into Percy who was carrying a cup of orange juice that was suspiciously blue in color.
Percy blinked in surprise and took a step back. “You good?”
Thalia nodded hastily, “Yep. I’m fantastic.”
Then she sneezed hard enough for the lights in the pavilion to flicker.
Percy recoiled, “Oh my GODS!”
Thalia tried to shush him, “It’s allergies.”
“Thalia,” Percy stated, looking more serious than ever. “It’s December.”
Thalia blinked at him. “Festive allergies?” She tried to convince him while slowly eyeing where the Apollo campers were sitting. Another sneeze hit her out of nowhere causing her to stumble sideways into a column.
At the Apollo table, the campers froze. Their heads turned slowly around to look at her and Percy. Then, in terrifying unison, they stood up.
Thalia’s eyes widened, “Oh. Oh, no.”
From across the pavilion, Will (the self proclaimed flu and cold preventer), pointed at her like a man spotting a fugitive.
“GET HER.”
Thalia did what most sane demigods would do in her position, she bolted like a Fury out of Hades.
Three hours later, Will was pacing inside the Apollo Cabin. “She can’t keep doing this.” He passed by his fellow healers and Percy whom he had bribed with contraband Coke Cola from the Hermes Cabin into being an accomplice. “We know she has a fever, we know she’s coughing.” He threw his hands up, “Heck, she almost passed out after threatening one of our delivery Harpies!”
“She said the ground moved first,” Percy offered.
Will stared at him, “The ground did not move first.”
An Apollo camper muttered under his breath, “It might have moved first.”
Will slammed his hands on the table in the middle of the room. “She needs medicine!”
Around him, the Apollo campers looked exhausted.
One kid raised her hand, “She threw DayQuil at me.”
Another sighed, “She hissed when I tried to approach her with cough drops.”
A third looked traumatized. “I tried to hand her tea and she melted into the trees.”
Percy rubbed his face. “In fairness, you guys are treating her like a rabid raccoon and you’re all animal control.”
Will looked at him, his eyes twitching. “Because she’s behaving like a rabid raccoon in a dumpster!”
By lunchtime, it had become a Camp-wide issue. The Apollo Cabin had decided to recruit the Athena, Ares, and Hermes (only as a last resort) Cabins. The Athena Cabin, with Annabeth in charge, was quickly coming up with strategies in an attempt to trap Thalia. The Ares Cabin, with Clarisse in charge, was figuring out where they needed to be stationed to prevent Thalia from leaving the dining pavilion (and they were trying to convince the Athena Cabin to give them nets). The Hermes’ Cabin, however, was hesitant to fully commit with Travis and Connor Stoll stating “We are legally banned from participating unless needed desperately.”
When asked by Percy why they couldn’t help now, he was told “because of the Incident.”
Nobody elaborated on the Incident.
Percy also didn’t ask.
But he wanted to badly.
Percy found Thalia leaning up against a tree, wrapped in about three blankets like an angry sick burrito.
“You know they can still see you, right?” He sighed.
She glared at him. “They’ll never take me alive.”
He sat down, with his back against the tree, “You need to take medicine.”
She glared harder, her eyes rimmed red and exhausted. “Percy. They brought liquid medicine.”
Percy winced. “Oh.”
“CHERRY flavored.”
Percy winced again. “Oh, understandable.”
“Thank you.” One of Thalia's feet slipped as she sneezed and she fell ungracefully in the grass next to Percy.
Percy took this opportunity to feel her forehead. She was burning up.
Thalia must’ve felt what he was going to say next because she sneezed again and then stated, “I’m fine.”
Percy sighed, already knowing he was defeated. “You’re shivering.”
“I’m fine.”
“When I found you, you were ready to fight that squirrel.” He pointed up at the red squirrel that was chattering at them from the topmost branches of the tree.
Thalia’s eyes followed his finger and she scowled. “He knows what he said.”
By dinner time, the plan was in place. Ares and Athena campers were scattered around, trying their hardest to look unsuspicious and nonthreatening. The Apollo campers were hidden, some behind columns and others under the tables.
Thalia entered the dining pavilion wearing sunglasses, a hoodie that looked like one Percy had lost several weeks earlier, and what he was almost certain was a fake mustache.
Annabeth stared at her. “...Seriously?”
Thalia put her finger to her lips. “I’m undercover.”
“You stick out.”
“No one will suspect me.” She stated.
Then suddenly, “IT’S HER!”
Thalia immediately spun around, “HOW!?”
The Ares camper that called out smirked. “You’re carrying your own spear.”
She glanced down. “...Right.”
Everything exploded into motion. The Apollo campers surged from their hiding places. Thalia vaulted a table.
Percy wasn’t able to move in time as she used his shoulders as leverage to launch herself over the heads of Will and a couple of his siblings.
“She’s heading east!” Yelled an Ares child.
“Cut her off at the fruit table!” Responded an Athena camper.
“Protect the exits!” Will yelled.
Percy yelped, half in fear and half in shock. “WHY ARE YOU GUYS TALKING LIKE SECURITY GUARDS?”
Thalia sprinted past the bread table, grabbing two rolls without slowing down. It was honestly very impressive. An Apollo child attempted to tackle her. She sidestepped smoothly and the camper went flying into an Ares camper. Within seconds, a completely unrelated fight broke out.
Using that distraction, Thalia escaped through the kitchen.
About thirty minutes later, Thalia was spotted attempting to make her way to the showers.
Someone yelled out, “SICK GIRL SPOTTED!”
Chaos erupted again. Apollo campers emerged from everywhere, with one even jumping off a cabin roof to land directly in front of her.
Will came sprinting across the grass holding a tiny paper cup like it contained the cure to everything bad in life.
“THALIA!”
She startled and pointed at him. “Stay back, sunshine!”
Will tried pleading with her. “It’s grape flavored this time!”
She gasped, sniffling in the process. “That’s worse than cherry!”
“Please!”
She turned to flee, but an Ares camper threw a blanket over her like one would do to catch wildlife. She shrieked in rage.
Percy, who arrived late, watched her emerge from the makeshift blanket net with a horrifying anger.
“No one touch me!” Thalia ordered, her eyes bright with the threat of electrocution, before sneezing six times into a row while trying to run. She ended up tripping over a bench and started crawling towards her cabin.
The campers were all in shock and couldn’t move.
Annabeth and Percy were the ones who figured out a plan that when spoken aloud, seemed the most promising. Will provided them with the liquid medicine, not grape or cherry flavored this time, and while Percy was mixing it into a slushie in an attempt to mask the medicine from Thalia, Annabeth was approaching the Zeus Cabin.
Opening the door slightly, she listened carefully before poking her head in. Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw the pillow and blanket fort that was very obviously hiding Thalia.
She quickly made the hand signal for the scout that was keeping an eye out and then entered the Cabin completely.
“You can’t stay here forever.” Annabeth said, as she made her way to the pile.
A muffled voice emerged, “Watch me.”
Annabeth winced. Thalia was sounding worse by the hour.
“You’re sick.”
“I’m well aware.”
“You need medicine.”
One blue eye poked out. “No. What I need is for people to stop trying to force feed me expired fruit syrup.”
Annabeth sighed. “It’s not expired.”
“It tastes expired.” Thalia scoffed before sneezing again.
Annabeth sat down on the bed closest to Thalia’s pile. “You know we’re all just worried about you.”
Silence.
And then. “Will threatened to tackle me.”
Annabeth smiled, “You threw a thermometer at his head.”
Thalia sniffled, “He ducked.”
Finally, the door opened again, this time Percy was entering the Cabin carrying the slushies.
Thalia’s head poked out fully with her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What’s that?”
Percy smiled at her, praying that she would fall for the trick. “Peace offering.”
Her eyes narrowed more. “You’re smiling weirdly.”
“I’m smiling normally,” Percy protested.
“You look guilty.” Thalia stated, before coughing.
“That’s offensive.” Percy replied, reaching out slowly with the slushie.
She grabbed it from him carefully, sniffed it, and then cautiously took a sip. Percy and Annabeth watched with bated breaths and hopeful eyes.
Thalia glared at the cup. “You put medicine in this.”
Percy glanced at Annabeth. “Uh, no?”
“You did!”
“No?” He tried again.
“You absolutely did.”
Maybe the third time would be the charm. “No?”
“Percy Jackson.” Thalia was glaring at him now.
“Will made me do it!” He cracked. Annabeth sighed deeply and facepalmed.
The cabin door burst open immediately and Will was there, pointing at Percy. “You….you TRAITOR.”
Thalia gasped like Percy had personally stabbed her. “You betrayed me for him?”
Percy, at least, had the decency to look sheepish. “He offered me Coke-Cola.”
She hurled a pillow at him. And then another.
While she was distracted with murder of the pillow kind, the rest of the Apollo Cabin snuck in and surrounded her. With the Ares children acting as security guards again.
“Thalia,” Will said gently. “You’re really sick.”
She looked quite furious about that fact.
Cabin One now looked like what could only be described as “a hostage negotiation”. Everyone surrounded Thalia, who had tangled herself so intensely in her blanket and pillow fort that she was stuck.
Will was crouched in front of her, holding the medicine that she had spent all her energy on avoiding. “Please.”
“No.”
“You have a fever.” He stated.
“I’ll survive.” She sniffed in response.
“You challenged a squirrel because you thought it talked back to you.”
“It did!” She insisted between coughs.
“It’s a SQUIRREL.” Will exclaimed, frustration starting to bleed through.
Percy raised his hand, “To be fair, it was chattering rather aggressively.”
Annabeth smacked him, “You are not helping.” She hissed at him.
Will inhaled slowly, using the hand not holding the medicine to pinch his nose. “What if I mixed it in tea?”
“No.”
“Gaterade?”
“...What flavor?”
Hope bloomed in everyone’s chest. “The white one?” Will offered.
“No.”
The hope died as fast as it grew.
Will wasn’t done trying. “Sprite?”
“No.”
“Small bit of Nectar?”
Thalia scoffed at him. “Absolutely not. I’m sick, not suicidal.” She then sneezed hard enough that she was forced to curl into herself. The Cabin went silent.
Will slowly moved closer to her, like he was approaching a feral cat. “You okay?”
Thalia made eye contact with him. “I feel awful.”
“I know.” He said gently, “That’s why we’re trying to help you.”
Thalia eyed the medicine cup like it had personally offended her. “It tastes bad.”
Will blinked. “That’s what this whole thing was about?”
“It’s disgusting.”
There was a long drawn out silence before, “THAT’S IT?”
“She started a manhunt over the flavor?”
“I GOT HIT WITH A THERMOMETER FOR THIS?”
Everybody in the Ares Cabin looked deeply betrayed and Will was staring at Thalia in disbelief. “You made us chase you through the woods because it tastes bad?”
“It’s really bad.” Thalia argued weakly.
Percy nodded in agreement. “Liquid medicine is the worst, bro.”
“Pills are fine.” Thalia continued.
Will froze. “....You’ll take pills?” He asked her, close to tears.
“Yeah.” Thalia replied, like it was common knowledge.
Another silence.
Then all the Apollo campers looked close to combustion due to frustration and Will spoke in a calm voice that was layered with tension of someone trying to keep their cool, “Thalia.”
“Yes?”
“We have pill versions.”
She blinked at him. He blinked back.
“We have ALWAYS had pills.”
“Oh.”
Percy started laughing first, followed by Annabeth, and then the Ares Cabin. Will stared into a corner of the cabin, contemplating every life choice that had led him to this moment right now.
Thalia looked offended. “In my defense..”
Will interrupted her, flatly. “No.”
“But–” She tried again.
“No.”
“I thought–”
“You hid in the woods!”
“It was tactical.” Thalia grumbled.
Percy was fully crying now from laughter.
Finally, with the dignity of a fallen warrior, Thalia accepted the pills that Will offered her, and swallowed them instantly.
“That’s it!?” Will exclaimed. “That easily?”
Thalia shrugged and burrowed further into her fort of sickness. “Pills don’t taste like sadness and rotten fruit.”
The Apollo Cabin nearly rioted.