Adelphie crossed the border of Camp Half-Blood, her face covered in dirt and her clothes ripped and tattered. Tired and dizzy, she stumbled down Half-Blood Hill, clutching a piece of paper in her hand.
Chiron saw her from the Big House and immediately hurried out to her. "Child, are you all right?" he asked her, concerned.
"I guess," Adelphie answered. "Where am I? Am I at Camp Half-Blood? Cuz I was told to come here. . . I've been trying to get here for days. . . . Just tell me I made it."
"Yes, this is Camp Half-Blood," Chiron answered. "Where did you come from? What happened to you?"
By now, a large crowd had gathered around the girl and the centaur. She looked around at curious faces before finding the voice to answer. "St. Genevieve High School in Manhattan, that's where I came from. Some freaky monsters just showed up and blew the place up. They were after me, I knew it. So I ran."
Chiron sensed she was uncomfortable under the stares of all the campers and said, "Why don't we go talk in the Main House? It will be more private."
Adelphie followed him down the hill, unfazed by the fact that she was following a centaur. All around her, people were running around her with swords and javelins, bows and arrows, all looking like they were enjoying themselves. The strangeness of Camp Half-Blood didn't bother her; after what she had seen at school, nothing could surprise her anymore.
Adelphie sat down at the table, prompted by Chiron. "Um, what's your name?" she asked. "I'm Adelphie."
"My name is Chiron," he said. "This is Camp Half-Blood, a place for children of a mortal and a god. Do you know who your godly parent is?"
"My what?" Adelphie said. "I have a god for a parent? How can that be? They're not real, the gods! I only have my mother, and she's probably going to flip out when I don't come home. . ."
Chiron sighed. It seemed he had a lot of explaining to do. He told Adelphie all about the Greek gods, how they were alive and well and having children with the mortals of earth. He explained to her about the different cabins, different activities, and people of interest at camp. Adelphie absorbed every word, shocked to find herself believing what Chiron told her. Somehow, it all made sense.
"Tell me, Adelphie, how did you know to come here if you knew nothing about the gods?" Chiron asked.
"Some message floated down on this piece of paper," Adelphie said, holding out the paper. "It said to come to Camp Half-Blood and the address. So that's how I got here."
Chiron looked at the paper. "You can read this?"
"No, it took me hours to figure it out. I had to ask someone to help me."
"And this message just appeared to you?"
"Yeah. Strange, isn't it?"
"Strange indeed," Chiron said, not finding it strange at all. He walked to the door of the Big House and yelled, "Travis! Connor! Come here at once!"
Travis and Connor Stoll, sons of Hermes, ran to the centaur. "What's up?" Travis asked. "Does this have anything to do with the girl that came into camp?"
"I believe she is your sister," Chiron said. "She has not been claimed yet, a surprise for her age, but I think she is Hermes's daughter."
"So we have a new sister," Connor said. "What makes you think that?"
"A piece of paper floated down in front of her, with a message to come here," Chiron said. "Hermes is the Messenger of the Gods, is he not?"
"She belongs in the Hermes cabin anyway, since she's unclaimed," Travis said. "Didn't Percy make the gods agree to claim their kids by the age of thirteen? How old is she?"
"She's fifteen," Chiron said. "Perhaps forgotten, but anyhow I think she should be taken to the cabin and given the chance to clean up. She's been through a lot in the past week."
"We'll bring her there," Connor said. "And don't worry, we won't pull any pranks along the way. Any sister of ours is treated with respect."
Chiron smiled and returned to Adelphie, who was still sitting at the table. "Adelphie, I would like you to meet Travis and Connor Stoll. They will show you to the Hermes Cabin, where you will be bunking until we figure out who your father is."
"Good afternoon, Adelphie!" the boys said in unison. "Follow us, if you will."
"Go on," Chiron prompted. "They're good boys." For the most part.
Adelphie trailed behind the boys, just wishing to take a shower and maybe even a nap. So much had happened; she needed a good sleep.
"So, how do you like our fair camp?" Travis asked, eying the pretty girl.
"It's okay, I guess," Adelphie answered. "You guys are sons of Hermes?"
"Yes we are," Connor said. "Our cabin is the best; you'll be good there."
"You might even turn out to be our sister," Travis added. "Wouldn't that be cool?"
"I guess," Adelphie said again. These boys seemed far too hyper to her, and she wasn't particularly interested in learning she had a whole family of people.
"I'm offended," Connor said. "A pretty girl like you as our sister? You'd complement our good looks."
Egocentric twits, Adelphie thought. Isn't there a normal person at this camp?
The three arrived at the cabin, which was, for once, empty. Though unclaimed demigods were rare nowadays, there were still many children that resided in the cabin.
"So this is where you'll be staying for awhile," Travis said. "Connor, go get her a shirt and pants. Look at her clothes; she needs new ones."
"I'll be back in five minutes, you two," Connor said. Adelphie rolled her eyes. She wasn't letting anyone near her.
Travis, too, rolled his eyes at his twin's remark. "Ignore him. I've got no intention of going out with you or anything beyond that. Not that you're not pretty or anything," he added quickly.
"I wouldn't have let you anyway," she replied. "Which bed is mine? I want to go to sleep."
"All the way in the back here," he said, leading her to a set of bunk beds. "You get your choice of top or bottom bunk."
Despite being in a skirt, Adelphie climbed up to the top bunk and sat with her legs hanging off the edge. She would have laid down, but that would be rude and she was in a skirt.
"So, what happened to you?" Travis asked. "Do all girls go around wearing skirts and vests?"
"It's my school uniform," Adelphie said. "I was attacked at school. I didn't feel like breaking into a department store to steal a change of clothes."
"I would have," he said. Adelphie gave him a strange look. She wasn't thrilled about being alone with a now-confessed thief.
"Tell me now," Adelphie said, "in case you end up being my brother: are you and your brother thieves or jokers or troublemakers?"
"We're all of the above," he replied. "Most of us in here are. But when we need to, we can behave and come through for the camp."
"Nice to know," she sighed. "Is anyone going to pull something on me because I'm new?"
"Don't worry about it," he said. "I'm counselor for the cabin; my word is law. No one is going to hurt a potential sister."
"Okay then," she said. "You sound optimistic about me being a daughter of Hermes."
"There's a pretty good chance you are. Trying to warm you up to us and the cabin if you turn out to be one, you know?"
"A for effort."
"You can say that like you mean it."
"I'm just not ready to have my life flipped upside down. This is about as much as I can stomach." She put her head on her pillow and swung her legs onto the bed, ready to sleep. "Where's your brother? He said five minutes."
"You don't want to be alone with me?" Travis teased.
"I want to take a nap," Adelphie said. "Nothing against you or Connor, but I haven't slept well since last week."
"Well, he'll bring you pajamas and toiletries and all that stuff, too, if you want any of that before you crash."
"He's got two minutes before I fall asleep."
"How's it going in here?" Connor said as he returned to the cabin, arms stuffed with things for Adelphie. "Whoa, girl on the bed!"
Travis kicked his twin. "Shut up, bro, she wants to get some sleep."
"Sorry," Connor said. "Adelphie, here's some clothes and cleanly stuff for you. If you need anything else, you can ask me."
"I'd rather ask your brother," Adelphie said. "Thank you, you guys."
"Sleep well, Adelphie," Travis said. "We'll see you at dinner."
Adelphie didn't answer; she was sound asleep.