Marcus was excited. It was finally his first day at camp! And not just your typical boring, old camp, he, Marcus Stevens was going to Camp Half-Blood!

Marcus had always known that he was a demigod: after his mom's death from a car accident when he was 4, his dad, Lord Poseidon, god of sea, earthquakes, etc etc, had taken him to his palace and raised him. Well, his dad tried to raise him, but being a god, he was quite busy/forgetful at times. The nereids however were great babysitters and later, playmates, and even Amphitrite (Poseidon's wife) warmed up to him after a while. (Well, he was -scratch that- is pretty irresistible. His raven black hair and sea-green eyes were quite attractive. Or so he told himself. ) Well, the nereids were great and all, but still they were some thousands of years older than him. He wanted real friends, friends his age. Plus, he wanted some breathing space away from the nereids; they still treated him as if he was a kid, but gosh darn, he was already 13! Practically an adult!

So today, Marcus strode into camp, escorted by Poseidon no less. Wow, it was amazing! Lush green fields, kids sword-fighting...and by the gods, is that a centaur!? The centaur walked...clopped? down the path towards him.

"Poseidon," he inclined his head, "and young Marcus, I believe. Welcome to Camp-Half Blood. I am Chiron."

"Uh, howdy," said Marcus, thinking that Chiron would make a fine cowboy...cowhorse?

"Well," said his dad, "I should be off. Bye son. Um take care. Don't die please." In a shimmering of light, Poseidon disappeared, leaving behind the smell of seawater.

"Uh," said Marcus eloquently, "So uh, that's comforting. Um, can I, uh, I dunno..well...when's dinner?" Hey, a growing boy needs food.

"5 o'clock sharp. Meanwhile we will tour the camp. Follow me."

...

5 o'clock, grumbled Marcus's stomach. Finally! And YES! There was normal food, thank the gods. After so many years, Marcus was growing somewhat tired of all the seafood. Like dude, how do the merpeople not feel awkward eating fish? Isn't it somewhat cannibalistic? On the rare occasions that he got to eat burgers, well, it was hard to eat surrounded by everyone's critical and slightly revolted faces.

By that time, he had already met many of the campers (so friendly!), and instead of sitting all alone at the Poseidon table, he got to sit with the Apollo kids. Everyone cheered as Marcus was formally introduced. ("Our new camper, Matthew Steens! er Marcus Stevens! Oh whatever, blah blah." The ever-delightful Mr. D was a great introducer.) After eating Marcus felt incredibly full and comfortable...Oh, and he had burnt half of his yummy pizza as an offering to his dad...hint hint, pizza is really good dad, wayyy better than seaweed and salmon burgers. The campfire danced prettily, the Apollo kids were great at singing, and he was feeling quite content. His eyes fluttered closed and he was drifting off to sleep, when all of a sudden, someone yelled, "ANNABETH!" He forced his eyes open in time to see a hooded figure jump off of a pegasus. She turned, and with the light of the campfire catching on her face, he could see her pretty blond hair and gray eyes. As he looked closer, however, he could see that she seemed exhausted, her eyes looked haunted, but somehow incredibly fierce, and her hair was streaked with white. Her eyes met his. She blinked, looking shocked. Chiron cleared his throat, breaking their eye contact. She murmured something to Chiron and swept towards the darkened cabins, her cloak billowing after her.

"Who is she?" Marcus asked an Apollo kid, Will, next to him.

"That's Annabeth, daughter of Athena, our strongest fighter and a total architectural genius. She's sixteen, but she's been through a lot. Uh and you probably should try to stay away from her. She doesn't hang around camp much, always on this quest then that, but still. She's not very sociable these days."

"Why not?"

Will seemed to not hear him. "Well folks, I'm tired and I think it's time for bed. Cabin 7! Lights out in half an hour!"

The demigods walked slowly to their cabins in groups. Marcus bid his new friends good night and entered his cabin, the Poseidon cabin. Plopping on his bed, too tired to even change his clothes, in the moments before he fell asleep, Marcus was suddenly aware of a melancholy aura in the room, as if someone used to live here, but left abruptly never to return, leaving behind the faintest trace of their existence.

He fell asleep with the image of blond hair streaked with white and pretty gray eyes in his mind.