My name is Talia Mendez. I'm thirteen years old and live with my mom. I've never met my dad, but I know he's out there somewhere. Mom talks about him sometimes. Says I look just like him. His sandy blonde hair and green eyes. Mom said he was very important and had a lot of responsibility, but that he wasn't very responsible. I could tell she wasn't telling me everything, but I never pressed. I knew that she would tell me if I needed to know and everything would be alright. We were both excited because I had almost made it through the school year without being expelled. Two more days and it would be the first time in...well...it would be the first time.I sadi goodbye to my mom and ran down the steps of the apartment we rented in Nevada.

I took my regular seat on the bus, behind Jordon Luv, a blonde haired, green eyed girl I'd known for about a year. We look kind of alike, only her features are sharp and fierce where mine are soft and kind. We got off the bus at Las Vegas Prep. The school is not in Vegas, rather a few miles outside it, and no, we never take field trips to casinos. When i stepped off the bus, my best friend Juniper was waiting for me.

"Hey!" I called as I got closer. "Hey!" she responded, "Ready for another day in paradise?" I rolled my eyes and started for the entrance of the school, while listening to Juniper babble about her boyfriend. She was dating some guy named Grover. Grover...Underwood, I think. I've never met him. As we were about to walk into the building, something big cast a shadow over us.

At first I thought it was some giant monster, with three heads and four legs. Then I realized it was two boys on a horse. I had never seen the before, but Juniper obviously knew them.

"Connor, Travis! What are you doing here?"

"Heard there was a... kid that needed the camp," said Boy Number 2, tiptoeing around the word 'kid' as though he wanted to say something else.

"Where's Grover? He usually handles the extractions. And we can't just take her now. Her mother will think terrible things have happened."

"Grover's busy. Besides, the mother IM'd saying things were getting dangerous,we needed to come get her. Grover couldn't make it, we asked if we could come, he said yes," Boy Number 1 explained.

The focused part of my mind was thinking the rational questions. What kid, how do you know each other, what camp? But the ADHD part was thinking, why a horse? Finally I managed to push aside my mental blabbering long enough to speak.

"Uh... who are you?" I asked, stepping from behind Juniper.

"We're Connor and Travis Stoll," Boy Number 1 said, indicating himself and the other boy, "Sons of-" Travis elbowed Conner hard in the side. Connor gave him a 'what-was-that-for' look.

"Maybe we should let Chiron explain."

It was only then that it occured to me that they were talking about me.