A Quite Peculiar Lunch

To say the very least, Trinity wasn't having the best of days. Given she was definitely still alive and breathing, but nothing seemed to actually be going well for her. That morning, the demigod had woken up to an empty cabin, the rest of the Hebe Cabin inhabitants having left for their classes. She would later learn that the Cabin Leader HAD tried to wake her up, but it was no use. Trinity also woke up in a changed body, that of a younger age which she would constantly change back and forth from. And because of this, all of the clothes she wore were much larger than her body needed. This meant that she got to play the wonderful game of "Let's see how long it takes me to turn back into who I am". Her past record was three days.

To Trinity's dismay, the negativity didn't end there. Her morning lessons also didn't go as she had hoped they would. Due to her younger body, she wasn't as strong as normal, leading to her performance being less than stellar. Towards the end of the lesson, the demigod was required to practice archery, since she had previous experience. However, with her weaker body and her focus on keeping her clothes from falling off of her, Trinity couldn't even pull the arrow back. Of course, everyone laughed at that moment, though they were quickly silenced. "You shouldn't worry about it, you know. Once you can control it, I'm sure you'll do just fine." she had been reassured by the satyr that had been training them, but Trinity didn't think this. This was the fifth time she had transformed without her control since her arrival at the camp, only being about three weeks ago. The demigod only hoped it would get better.

It was more or less lunch by the time Trinity returned from her lesson and she decided that the best course of action would probably be to eat, so at least she wasn't starving by the time her body finally decided to change back. A short walk later, she reached the Mess Hall, then grabbing her food and walking back to the lonely table for the children of Hebe. By no means was it completely empty, as there were still a couple of other people at the table, but they were few in number. Trinity was kind of used to this, though, thinking nothing much of it. Besides, it would be rude of her to go to another table and just sit down there, to interrupt the teens there to attempt at a conversation, right...? Well, it would kind of appear awkward for her to walk up to them looking like a 14-year-old and ask to talk, for Trinity that was. She just hoped that her day would go better.

Cabin 28’s table was extremely overcrowded, as per usual; perks of gettings all of the demigods that were either unclaimed or whose parents hadn’t had a cabin built yet. Even with a good bit of her cabinmates sitting with their friends at other tables, Amber still had to squeeze her way onto the bench. Being cabin leader, she felt compelled to sit with her cabin most of the time—even if it was a bit uncomfortable to do so.

As she started picking at her salad, Amber’s eyes scanned the mess hall out of sheer habit. She’d been at Camp Half-Blood for quite a few years now, and she had met most of her friends while eating lunch with them. Most of the demigods were chatting away as they enjoyed their lunch; some tables were more filled than others, but that was to be expected. Despite this, her gaze was drawn to some of these less populated areas until it landed on the Hebe table.

Even with all of the actions of famous demigods like Percy Jackson and Jason Grace, the Olympians still had a lot more kids in the camp. Sure, some minor gods had a lot of kids, but but most of them had eight or so at most. Hebe was pretty decent-sized considering this, but it still had enough space that Amber could clearly see the cliques—and those not in one.

“Hey Damon,” she mumbled, tapping the shoulder of the boy to the right of her, “who’s that?”

Damon met her eyes for about half a second—which always unsettled Amber a bit—before looking towards who she was pointing at. “That’s a Hebe kid,” he said.

“I see that,” Amber groaned, rolling her eyes a bit, “but who is she?”

“Dunno,” Damon said, shrugging. “I think she was at an archery lesson with me. I’m pretty bad at it, but she’s too small to pull back the string.”

Having made her decision almost instantaneously, Amber stood, taking her bowl with her, and walked over to the table until she plopped down right across from the girl. “You don’t mind, do you?” she asked. “My table’s pretty full.” She waved a hand towards it dismissively. “I’m Amber, by the way,” she added, turning to smile at the girl.

Though Trinity was alone as she ate, she didn't feel sad or depressed or any negative emotion. She didn't feel any positive emotion, either, but she wasn't sad. It wasn't anyone else's fault but her own that she hadn't reached out to anyone and the demigod was willing to take the punishment for it: sitting alone.  She didn't particularly like being alone with almost everything she did, but once again, Trinity didn't hate it. She had only been here a few weeks, so it would take time for her to build up any trust. And maybe by the time she could control her body, people would start to enjoy her company! Given time, she could be the 16-year-old teenager she was without complaint! But for now, she wasn't anything major, but Trinity hoped one day, she would.

Unlike anyone else, Trinity wasn't looking around at any other table. She thought of it as a rude act to intrude on other's privacy, even if it was a public space! She knew that most people her age didn't believe in such things, though the demigod still took it as it was. She just stared at the food she had acquired: a simple Turkey and American Cheese sandwich, with lettuce and tomatoes. And just as she was about to take a bite from it, a voice to her side suddenly spoke out. At first, Trinity thought that the voice was referring to someone else at her table, but the girl quickly learned that it was the complete opposite.

“You don’t mind, do you? My table’s pretty full. I’m Amber, by the way.” Quickly after Trinity heard her speak, the woman sat right across from her, taking up the seat to which the demigod faced. Trying to be polite, Trinity put her food back on its plate, her blue eyes staring towards the woman. She appeared to be around 18, her hair a brownish color, though the thing that caught her off guard was that she recognized her. Not from anything before Camp Half-Blood, but she knew the woman. Whether it be seeing her around the Mess Hall, at the beach, or just around the cabins, she saw her around. Trinity wouldn't mention it, of course, though she did look more nervous after she had the realization.

"O-Of course not. It's not like someone was sitting there a-anyways. By all means, if it's helping you by sitting at a l-less crowded table, then please do. I-I'm Trinity. A pleasure to m-meet you." Trinity's voice was much higher pitched than Amber's, somewhat typical of her current body age. There was a lot of hesitation in her voice, though the words still came smoothly out of the demigod's mouth. Trinity hoped that she wasn't being impolite, as she was the one who noticed her hesitation.

"Though I do ask if y-you're here just to make fun of m-me for doing so p-poorly at my a-archery lesson, then please say w-what you have to say now. I'm sure y-you'd have better things to do t-than to take s-so long with teasing me."

To be honest, Amber didn't really know what to make of the girl, Trinity, in front her. She appeared to be a lot younger than the daughter of Atë, but her eyes.... Well, to say that they looked older than the demigod they belonged to sounded crazy, but Amber had witnessed more unlikely things since arriving at camp. She seemed a little nervous, but then, Amber hadn't been able to squeak a single word to anyone for five weeks back when she was a newbie.

But when she said that she was expecting the older girl to make fun of her, Amber's heart completely melted. Damn her empathy. "Oh, gods no!" she couldn't help but exclaim, though she quickly regained control of her volume. "I don't care about that, can't shoot at a wall in front of me to save my life. One time I pinned my ex to one of the practice dummies through his sleeve." She hoped that her ears weren't as red as she thought they were; three years later and it still embarrassed her.

Her thoughts returned to what Trinity had said. Why had she immediately assumed that Amber was going to make fun of her? Had nobody befriended her yet? "Have the others been nothing but jerks to you?" she asked, ignoring her salad in favor of conversing with the demigod in frontvof her.

By no means did she dislike the woman who had decided to join her! She was, in fact, very thankful that they have decided to come and talk to her. Trinity's interactions with other people after coming to Camp Half-Blood was...to say the least, far and few between. Yes, it was her own fault for not approaching others and being shy to the point where the only conversations she had were either with her teachers or the satyr that brought her here, but something seemed off in this encounter. It was probably nothing, but the demigod didn't completely understand why the woman would come to her, seeking a conversation. She appeared older than her and thought that wasn't a valid excuse for suspicion, Trinity wasn't really used to it. Especially in THIS place.

She did still hold her suspicion, but she hid it surprisingly well. This was until Amber began speaking. "Oh, gods no!" the woman exclaimed, her voice louder than even Trinity thought she would go. There was no sarcasm in her voice, no smirk on her face, which Trinity had thought there would be after a statement such as that. But there really wasn't, only genuine emotions being noticed by the demigod. However, Amber didn't stop talking there, her statements continuing on. "I don't care about that, can't shoot at a wall in front of me to save my life. One time I pinned my ex to one of the practice dummies through his sleeve." she finished, clearly embarrassed about what she had said. Letting her guard down for a split second, Trinity couldn't resist a small laugh coming from her mouth, along with a smile.

Almost immediately afterward, she covered her mouth and her smile faded. She shouldn't have laughed at something that clearly embarrassed the woman in front of her. For Trinity, she hated this response that she had given, worrying that she might have offended Amber by laughing. "I'm so sorry...i-it just came out. I shouldn't have laughed at something bad that occurred to you, and I greatly apologize..." Trinity's voice became much quieter than it had before, shame written all over her eyes. She hated herself for laughing at it and even if she didn't do it on purpose, the fact was that the demigod still did.

"Have the others been nothing but jerks to you?" Amber asked, cutting through Trinity's self-loathing. At first, the demigod didn't really understand why the question was asked until she guessed it was a response to her previous accusation. It was understandable that the woman would ask such a question, though Trinity had little to no idea on how to respond. No one had really been rude to her, nor had anyone been kind to her. Honestly, the demigod thought that no one just seemed to notice her. Unless she did something embarrassing, of course, in which everyone loved to notice her and probably laugh. Camp Half-Blood's inhabitants were weird, to say the least.

"No, n-not necessarily. I rarely get teased and when I do, I kind of deserve i-it...I mean, stupid actions kind of deserve backlash. Don't t-they?"

Amber couldn't help but frown when Trinity apologized for laughing at her. "Oh, it's fine," she said quickly, hoping that the demigod would relax like she had been just moments before. I didn't look too bothered, did I? she wondered, but that wasn't important at the moment. "Honestly, the guy was pretty terrible. I'm just glad it was him instead of someone else. I think it's funny looking back on it, but at the time?" She waved her hand dismissively before returning her attention to Trinity. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that we all screw up here. We're all human....or, at least half human, though the gods mess up all the time, too. Who knows? Maybe you'll have some funny stories to tell younger demigods one day."

That was something too many people at camp seemed to forget: everyone screws the pooch. Amber felt the familiar anger towards a certain side of her family. Too many kids here were consumed with this need to please their godly parents that probably weren't even aware of their existence. She glanced back at her table for a moment, trying to school her features. Do not start ranting to impressionable newbies, she scolded herself.

Trinity's answer to her question brought her back to reality, thankfully. "Kids will be kids," she said, looking into the girl's strange blue eyes, "and I get that." Trinity seemed to be telling the truth, so no one was going out of their to bully her, but.... "But you've been here how long and you haven't made friends? People only notice you when you goof up?" She leaned back a bit, feeling a bit frustrated. "That's when it's not okay and something's got to change," she added.

Trinity clearly noticed the frown form on the face of the woman in front of her at the mention of an apology. She didn't clearly understand the reasoning behind Amber's mood turning sour, especially from the demigoddess apologizing for rudely laughing insensitively. Was it because she didn't feel as though she needed an apology? Or was Amber upset about Trinity laughing in the first place? And even though her answer tried to disregard her apology, it still nagged at Trinity from within her. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that we all screw up here. We're all human....or, at least half human, though the gods mess up all the time, too. Who knows? Maybe you'll have some funny stories to tell younger demigods one day." Amber had replied to a nodding demigoddess, Trinity shaking her head in agreement.

"Y-Yeah, I definitely h-hope so. It would be n-nice to be looked up i-in that way, I g-guess..." Trinity replied, her previous smile returning from before. Her emotions towards her previous apology were still extremely negative, but this demigod in front of her hadn't come to listen to Trinity pitying herself. Yes, she was in the wrong, but they all did make mistakes and it was almost impossible not to! Though some made more than others, the demigoddess assuming where she might fall on the spectrum. Picking up her lunch, she took a quick bite out of the sandwich, focusing on Amber, whose gaze was directed towards the table in which they had come from. Her mind immediately turned to negative thoughts, wondering why she was looking at her old table. Was she bored? Had Trinity gone too far? These were just some of the thoughts that circulated in the demigod's brain as she slowly continued to eat her meal. The worry was written all over her face and showing the most in her amazingly blue eyes.

After a moment, though, she pushed the thoughts out of her head and shifted her focus to Amber once again, already beginning to speak again. Out of courtesy, Trinity set down her sandwich and covered her mouth as she finished what she had taken out of her lunch, even though her mouth was already closed. "Kids will be kids, and I get that. But you've been here how long and you haven't made friends? People only notice you when you goof up?" the woman said, frustration in her tone. She realized that this was a response to her statement about her getting teased, quickly starting to form words in her mouth as to explain after just finishing what she had eaten. At first, her mouth only moved with no voice to be heard. However, Trinity quickly caught herself and began speaking.

"W-Well, it is kind of m-my fault I don't have f-friends! You see...I-I...I'm n-not a very g-good talker and I'm g-guessing that turns p-people off. Along w-with everything e-else that I go t-through, it makes s-sense as to why no o-one has befriended me! So it's n-no one else's fault b-but mine and my stupid b-body's..." Trinity blurted out, trying to defuse the situation that had arisen. Amber seemed like a great girl and she deserved to get an explanation! She felt terrible keeping her guard down while around her, but she couldn't help it. This had been the first good conversation she had had all day, so she wanted to take the opportunity.  However, she did still believe her point to be true. Who would want to befriend a shy girl who didn't have the attitude nor the body to be popular, who also had trouble controlling her own age? It was a no-brainer, or that's what Trinity had come to believe, at least. She only hoped that she wasn't giving off the wrong message.

Her eyes after her statement lost contact with Amber, falling down to the table in front of her. Trinity's green and curly hair covered her face as she looked downwards, crossing her arms along with it. She wasn't trying to shut herself away, though she was beginning to feel uncomfortable once again. Out of nowhere, this woman came and began talking to her, probably due to the fact that she was new and her table was almost completely full. It wasn't that she didn't trust her, but this seemed...too good. But even if it was overly good, Trinity didn't want to ruin it for Amber, raising her head and showing a fake smile. Her true emotions of worry were still shown in her blue eyes, but the rest of her face said otherwise.