-Chapter 1-
It was her third week in and the girl still hadn't been claimed. It was beginning to seem like another hopeless case. She wandered morosely around the camp, aimlessly and half-heartedly trying different activities, and people stopped paying attention to the new recruit.
Chiron wished he could do something about her situation, but it wasn't like she was the only one. The Hermes cabin was packed full of these unclaimed children, and one new girl was no huge deal.
Once again trying archery, Stacey, the unclaimed new girl, pulled back the bow. She felt sort of proficient, but that could have been from that unit she did in a gym class in fourth grade, before most of the crazy stuff happened.
Suddenly, the bow snapped and sharply whacked her arm.
She whimpered in pain and a guy from the Apollo cabin who was nearby came to help her. He left for some bandages and salve and left the broken bow neglected on the ground.
That night, she laid down on the packed floor in a borrowed sleeping bag that smelled like sweat and tarnished metal and bitterly envied the other campers, who were in better, less crowded rooms with their brothers and sisters. She was better than those other unclaimed campers and did nothing to deserve this. Her mother just up and sends her to a wacko summer camp in New York of all places where she is not accepted, all because of one incident involving a snake with wings and a blender.
After fuming a little longer, her thoughts returned to her superiority. She wasn't just better than the unclaimed campers. She was better than ALL of the campers. She was the best of all and was stuck on the floor in this awful cabin. She should have been in the beautiful Hera cabin, where she would shine, above everyone else.
Hera was the most beautiful goddess, other than Aphrodite, and she knew how to choose a man. She deserved the most respect, just like Stacey. She was a queen. So cool.
Then, Stacey got a crazy idea – what if she could guilt her godly parent into claiming her?
-End of Chapter 1-