I almost get killed by the receptionist

I used to be normal. I used to be an average New Yorker with ADHD and dyslexia. I used to be happy. And now, I am on the verge of death.

Let me explain. Two months ago, I was sitting next to my dad eating oatmeal. It was my first day going to a new boarding school. It was called Queen Anne's Prepatory School. It was an all girls school (no complaints there), but we had to wear plaid skirts and a white business shirt. Ugh. My dad said that Queen Anne's was a great school that almost all the girls that attended there got into an Ivy League college. I pointed out the word "almost".

I would rather stay with him and just go to a normal public school, but whenever I told him this he said, "I wish you could." So, he drove me to the Upper East Side, where the school was located. I climbed out of the car and said good-bye to my father. I just wished I'd put a little more into the hug. When I walked in the door I thought I might be able to make this work.

Two girls who looked like they'd been there they're whole lives came over to me, and asked me my name. I told them it was Natalie Peirce and they looked it up on a clipboard. They escorted me to the front desk and I recited my name once again. The lady at the desk looked at me as if I had purple skin. Which I don't. The two girls, who I figured were about 15 years old, took me to the elevator and pressed the number 6. And we were off. They told me my room was on the top floor, #606, right next to the bathroom.

Wonderful. They gave me my room key and I felt like I just checked into the Waldorf Astoria. I opened the door and tried not to gasp. It was every girl's dream. The room had three closets, two of them, already full with Aeropostale, Abercrombie & Fitch, and American Eagle clothes. My favorite stores. I fell on the bed and almost screamed. It was a water bed! I always wanted one of these. Sometimes I would make my dad take me to furniture stores so I could try out all the water beds they had in stock. I opened the drawers and I did scream.

There was jewelry, a tooth brush, toothpaste, a brush (the circular ones that I like), and my perfect shades of make-up. Now, maybe I should have wondered how they knew all the stuff I loved, but I was in heaven. No boys. Now I had seen everything. Then the lady at the front desk knocked and my escorts, Nellie and Grace, opened the door and had a rushed conversation.

And that was the first and last time I would be in that perfect place. Because then Nellie and Grace disappeared, literally vanished into thin air. That's when I knew something wrong. The lady began to transform. Her skin turned gray and hard, until it was as thick as hide. Then she began to grow, bigger than my new water bed. When she stopped being gross, she the size of a short school bus, and was identical to a rhino except her head was still human. Creepy, right?

Well, then she charged and I just about passed out I moved to the side, nearer to the door and realized what her rhino-body's problem was. She couldn't turn fast enough to catch me. After all, I was the state champion cross-country runner. At the exact moment, she got turned around, the door opened and a petite girl wearing a tight pair of jeans and a green shirt with a picture of the earth on it that said "KEEP IT CLEAN, KEEP IT GREEN" rushed in grabbed my arm and we ran out of the school.

We crossed the road and the rhino/woman was far behind us. The girl handed me a piece of wood from the ground, told me to protect myself, and ran west, leaving me alone with a stick and absolutely no hope. The creature bounded toward me and I waited until she was close enough for me to hit her in the face with my stick and I did. Right in her eye, with the sharp end. Blood went every where and she screamed. I looked at the stick and I noticed that there was a small amount of some glowing metal on the end of it. Bronze, that was it. When I looked back up, the rhino thing was turned to dust and the environmentalist girl was back, staring at me. And then, I felt a searing pain in my arm, like some had ripped open my skin and was pouring in salt.

I wanted to look, but if there was blood I would faint then and there. But I looked instead. There was blood, but there was also something else, something else that was colored green and yellow. After that, all I remember was crumpling to the ground and being lifted on to the small girl's back.

I woke up in a comfortable bed, sipping something that tasted like liquid oatmeal, the way my dad used to make it. My arm was bandaged where I was cut, and it felt like I'd been sleeping on it for three years straight, but it felt good, like a happy pain. I tried to sit up to get a better understanding of my surroundings, but I felt light-headed immediately.

A voice came from the corner, "Don't strain yourself. Here have some of this." It was the girl from Queen Anne's School. She handed me something that looked like Swiss cheese, but it tasted like the pizza my dad and I had made a few years ago, with everything we had in our fridge on top. It tasted like heaven's food. I looked up at her and asked, "Where are we?"

"It's too hard for me to explain. Let me get Chiron." And she left without another word. In no time at all, she was back, along with a man in a wheelchair. I felt sorry for him. I'd always had a soft spot for handicapped people; it made me feel bad that their lives were so limited. He started to talk.

"Natalie, I am Chiron. How is your arm?"

"It's…It's fine. Who are you again?"

"Chiron. I believe you asked Cedar here where you are? Well, that I can answer easily. You are in the Big House at Camp Half-Blood."

"Half-Blood?"

"Yes, a summer camp for people like you."

"What do you mean, people like me? People with learning disorders?"

"Somewhat. Are you familiar with the Greek gods?"

"The Greek gods? Sure, Zeus, Aphrodite, Apollo."

"Yes, but I implore you not to use those names here. Well, they are very much alive. Here, in America."

"What? No, they're just myths to explain why there is thunder and stuff like that."

"Then explain what happened at Queen Anne's School."

'"I was kinda hoping you could do that for me." The door opened and a plump man walked in. He had obviously been drinking. Anyone could tell that. Maybe that was just what he looked like, or maybe he was trying to quit alcoholism.

"Oh, another one? Well, hello. Don't expect me to be happy to see you." He told me. Now, if there is one thing that I can't stand, it's when someone is rude to me.

"Excuse me? Sorry, but I'm used to a happy greeting when I meet someone new." Maybe it was a little harsh, but I was really annoyed with this guy right now. He stared at me like he couldn't believe I had the nerve to say anything in his presence.

"I'm sorry, but I feel that you probably shouldn't talk back to me." I caught sight of his stupid Johnny Bahama shirt and just about blew up. I didn't want to have anything to do with rude people. But before I could voice my great retort (which contained plenty of swear words, mind you), Chiron spoke up.

"Natalie, I suggest you quiet down. This is Dionysus, the god of wine." This confirmed most of my suspicions. I looked at him and in his eyes I saw all of his powers in action.

"I'm sorry, sir." And then he left.

"He was sent here by his father as punishment for chasing an off-limits wood nymph. He is rather…upset with the people who keep him here. The campers, mostly." The door opened and the girl who had saved me from the rhino-lady walked in, which reminded me of something.

"What was that thing that attacked me at Queen Anne's School?"

"Ah, I knew you would ask that question. She was a Montretal, one of the most terrible monsters from the darkest part of the Underworld, Tartarus. The fact that she appeared to you is not a good sign. But we will speak more of this later. Cedar, please give Natalie the tour of camp. Oh, and Natalie, don't ride any pegasi until we are sure of your parentage, please?" Cedar's eyes opened wide and ran over Chiron and whispered something in his ear. He responded with, "Better to be safe than sorry." And Cedar rushed back over to me, took my hand, and led me out of the house.