¹On This Spring Day.

Interlude(?)

               It sounded a lot worse than it truly was, and I love Camp Half-Blood regardless. I've only been here since April ( technically May, but I don't count the weeks I spent in New York City with my mother ), but it's felt like a lifetime. There were bumps in the road, but I wasn't sure if I had ever melted into a place as comfortably as I have here—that's saying something considering I moved all across France before the age of five, then moved to America at five and moved from Florida up to New York state across seven years. I've lived in many, many places in my life, and I always felt like I was on the outside—it was more like I was inside the clear box, watching everyone else live fun, exciting lives. But I was always waiting for the next moment until I moved again. It was isolating, but here—despite everyone technically being family ( though we tend to ignore the godly family tree because ... well, a lot of reasons ), it felt like family. Even with the annoying cousins you wanted to avoid at all costs.

               Here, at Camp Half-Blood, the oddest thing about me wasn't the ADHD and dyslexia, it wasn't the odd encounters I had with what had to be monsters when I was a child—if anything, it was the fact I was Eros's daughter. There were a bunch of minor gods, but there were only a few who had kids ( and even fewer of those kids ever made it to Camp ). Like Hecate, Hypnos, Iris, Hebe, Nike—they had kids, and I've met them in Cabin Eleven over the weeks. But people always raised eyebrows when my dad was brought up; I figured he didn't have kids often. If I looked at it one way: I was put at an advantage—people didn't know what to expect from the only Eros kid at Camp. If I looked at it any other way: people would share glances and ask my opinion on crushes and couples. Don't get me wrong—I like talking about crushes and couples as much as a child of Aphrodite, but I also liked ... people looking at me like I was more than just another kid who was "obsessed with love".

               That's probably why I was so competitive when it came to Capture the Flag. It was one of the few ways I could prove I was a good archer. And I wasn't the only one excited—Capture the Flag was a favorite among every camper at Camp Half-Blood. It was a good chance to prove your fighting skills ( and, of course, to destroy the opposing team )​​​​​.

               Tonight, it was the Athena Cabin that was leading the blue team—and like every other time it was the Athena Cabin leading, Annabeth Chase had come up with the strategy that would let the blue team win with ease. And I've heard all about the plan, and I had my sympathy for the new kid, Percy Jackson. Annabeth, my best friend ( besides AJ ), was the head counselor for Cabin Six, and was one of the longest attending campers, arriving at Camp at only seven years old. I didn't know the full story—not from Annabeth or Luke, who had arrived at Camp together—but I could tell it was bad from all the whispers I heard around Camp. I wanted to ask, but I could also tell Annabeth and Luke didn't want me to know. It irked me. What was wrong with me knowing? The most I knew was that Annabeth and Luke ( and this girl named Thalia, a "forbidden" daughter ) met when Annabeth was seven on the street, and the two worked together to survive and make it to Camp.

               And no matter what else I tried to find out, I was shut down quicker than light.

               Capture the Flag games always happen on Friday nights. And this Friday night, Annabeth was in charge of the blue team. I didn't think it was possible, but Annabeth seemed more determined than ever before—that could be a wonderful thing ( if our team won ), or something completely horrible ( if our team lost ). But I had faith in Annabeth; she and her strategies always worked out. The blue team—my team—would be the Ares Cabin and their stupid red team.