Travis POV

It's said that when you see the one for you, the one person you're supposed to be with, you'll just know? That you'll feel that spark when you touch them, and your eyes will see nothing but them? How the angels will sing, and there will be a glow around them? Well,that's the type of crap the Aphrodite girls feed on. Which is exactly why it's so easy to prank them. They're idiots for believing that. Now, I'm no genius either, but I for one will never believe in love at first sight. Truth be told, I don't really believe in love at all. And I don't think I ever will. All it does is poison people and get in the way of more important things. Just ask my brother, Connor. He hasn't pulled a prank, conned anyone, picked any locks, or stolen anything in almost two weeks. Why? The head of the Demeter cabin, Katie Gardner is why. They've been dating for a couple months now and Connor has absolutely lost it.

"Connor, I really think we can pull an even better prank on the Demeter cabin. One even better than the chocolate bunnies on their roof. But we've gotta start brain storming. You got any ideas?" I made a desperate attempt at trying to get him to scheme with me.

"Travis, I told you. No, more messing with the Demeter cabin. You know I can't help you."

"What do you mean you can't help me? This is a free country, Connor. You can do whatever you please."

"First off, Katie would kill me. And next off, I promised her I wouldn't pull anymore pranks-"

"YOU PROMISED HER WHAT? I think you're sick. You must have the flu or something. Maybe she drugged you! Those Demeter kids got all sorts of weird plants."

I gripped his shoulders, and shook him.

"Hey! Stop shaking me! I promised not to pull anymore pranks on her cabin. That's it! I'm not just gonna give it up completely! Katie hasn't done anything wrong, she's definitely didn't drug me."

"Didn't do anything wrong? Man, she's brainwashed you!" I began to pace around the room.

"Travis, the only thing Katie has done is make me like her. That's all. Now I have to go meet her for lunch."

"Meet her for lunch? Lunch isn't for another hour."

"We're going on a picnic."

I stared at him for a moment before bringing my hand across his face, "SNAP OUT OF IT MAN!"

"Stop attacking me!" He shouted at me.

"I will stop once you realize you've lost your mind! This girl is changing you, ruining you. Since when do we go on picnics, Connor?"

Pushing me away, he walked over to the door and opened it, "I have not lost my mind, Travis. But maybe you have. You know maybe you should find a girlfriend or a boyfriend, something to keep you preoccupied besides the same old Hermes kid shit we're use to. Or just do the same old Hermes kid shit, I don't care but don't shit on my happiness. And you know what, I like picnics. " Walking out, he slammed the door closed.

"I was really hoping that would've gone better, "I sighed, "This just can't be happening though! How could he have fallen in love with Katie Gardner! She's tried to kill us before! I mean, yeah, we put chocolate bunnies on their grass roof...and set off a paint bomb in her cabin but who doesn't love chocolate bunnies!"

"I think you're just upset he's not hanging out with you anymore," My sister Candace started talking to me from one of the top bunks.

I looked up at her and shook my head,"That's crazy talk, Candace."

"Is it really, though? You guys are or were inseparable. None of us have ever seen you really hang out with anyone else that you weren't trying to pickpocket."

"That's it! Making some money will take my mind off of this whole mess." I knelt down and pulled a case of soda and a case of candy from under mine and Connor's bunk. "Thanks little sister!" I said before heading towards the door.

"That's not what I meant, Travis!" I could hear Candace shouting out to me as I left. Once out of the cabin, I made my way towards some of the other cabins. First the Aphrodite cabin, I could always get them to buy chocolate and then the Nike cabin. I continued around camp ,selling a couple sodas and some boxes of candy before I started heading back to my cabin. On the way I spotted, a group of Apollo kids sitting in front of their cabin. As soon as they saw me nearing, I could hear several of them let out an exasperated sigh, "What do you want now, Travis? And where's your partner in crime?"

"Connor's a little busy..."

"He ditched you for Katie, didn't he?" I heardA girl snicker.

I looked over at her, frowning. She had dark skin and glasses. Her black hair was shaved into an undercut and it looked like she had shaved a sun symbol into the side. She was tuning a guitar and it looked as if she hadn't even looked at me when she had made fun of my current situation.

"Yeah...Thanks for sharing that with everyone," I stared at her for a moment waiting for her to tell me her name.

She looked at me over the edge of her glasses and gave me a smile,"Alyssa."

I had seen Alyssa a few times before. Mostly at meals when all of the cabins were forced to be in the same place together at the same time. We had never said anything to each other but I assumed she knew who I was since she knew why Connor wasn't around.

"Well then, Alyssa, thank you just so much for pointing that out...Anyway, you guys wanna buy a soda or some candy?"

"How much are you selling it for?"

"6 drachmas for soda, 4 for candy."

"I think you should reword your question then. Maybe ask, 'do you want to be ripped off?' instead."

"I might buy something, but it depends," Alyssa put her guitar down and shuffled through her pockets, "Do you have dr pepper?"

"Yeah,"I muttered still annoyed at her for reminding me of my current situation with my brother. I pulled out the bottle and handed it to her. She handed me the six drachmas and in the process, some how dropped the bottle.

"Crap, sorry, I'm kinda clumsy,"She sighed.

I nodded before bending down and picking it up for her. I kept thinking of just how much Connor had completely changed. We were born playing pranks and pickpocketing people. Now he was out on picnics with Katie Gardner, of all people. "You're not gonna drop it again, right?" I said handing it back to her.

She smiled big and shook her head before sitting back down,"Thanks Travis."

"...why are you smiling so big? I just picked up the bottle you dropped. Not a big deal"

"It's nothing really." She shook her head again and opened her soda, "I just really love dr pepper. It's my favorite." Around her, her siblings just stared at her and then at me as if we had switched heads.

"...You guys are acting just as weird as Connor, and I'm pretty sure he's been brainwashed or drugged." I walked away still worrying about Connor's sanity and now I was starting to worry about the sanity of the Apollo kids, they seemed kinda off too.

Once inside my cabin I checked my box to see how much I had made. I had sold a few things so I had to have made a decent profit... But,there was nothing...I stared at the empty drachma box in disbelief.

"This can't be..."

"Travis, you alright?" A few of my siblings asked.

Ignoring them, I dumped my inventory onto the floor and looked at the list of everything I had sold and to who.

"Okay, I know for fact I had all of the money before I went to the...no f-ing way..."

"Travis, what's wrong?" Candace asked, I could hear the concern in her voice.

"I'll be right back..."

Walking out of my cabin in disbelief, I shuffled over to the Apollo cabin. I knocked on the door, trying to figure out how I could've let this happen.

Will Solace opened the door, "Hey Travis, what's up?"

"...I'm coming inside," I told him before pushing past him and walking in.

"Something wrong, Travis?" Will asked, it sounded like he was trying to stifle laughter

"Yeah, something wrong,Travis?" I heard Alyssa's voice come from one of the upper bunks.

She peered over and jumped down from her bunk , still drinking her soda.

"Uh yeah! there's a big problem! You..." I sighed," pickpocketed me."

And suddenly it became very quiet. Alyssa smirked as I glared at her. She knew exactly what she had done.

"Oh no, you mean to tell me, I, a simple child of Apollo, pickpocketed you, a child of Hermes? Does that sound right to you, Travis?" She was giving me the exact same smirk Connor and I had after we had pulled off a really great prank.

I stared at the floor and mumbled,"I guess that's what happened...but that doesn't-"

"Ah, you wanna say it a little louder for me so all my siblings can hear?"

"I, Travis Stoll, got pick pocketed! by a freaking child of Apollo. There, are you happy?"

She nodded,"Now that I've got that, here." She climbed back up to her bunk and threw a plastic zip bag of drachmas at me.

"You're just giving it back to me?" I asked, snatching it out of the air.

She nodded,"Yeah, I don't need it. I just wanted to prove that I could do it."

Will laughed,"Well Travis,I think you might be losing your touch."