Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

AN: Thanks to my great friends Luna and Ivy. You guys rock!

Also, this story will be changing POV's so look out for that in the next chapter.

"Ha, I win." I had just beat my best friend Kira in sword-fighting practice.

"That's not fair," she cried in protest. "You tripped me."

"Well, you're supposed to know how to get right back up and defend yourself." As soon as I said that, I felt guilty. She looked hurt.

I let out a nervous chuckle. "Just kidding. You did good. Let's go."

I started walking out of the fighting arena towards the cabins. I could hear Kira staggering along behind me. I rolled my eyes. She was so sensitive.

I reached my cabin, ten, and looked back. Kira was staring at her sword, Song Bird, or Aoidos in Greek.

Well, by now, I guess your wondering why I was sword-fighting my friend, or why we even own swords, and how I know Ancient Greek.

You see, my mother is a Greek goddess. Actually, here at Camp Half-Blood, everyone has one parent that is immortal, and one that is human. We're all half-bloods. The preferred term is demigods, or even heroes.

All demigods come here to train and learn how to fight against monsters, since it's pretty much our only way of surviving.

I've been a camper here for six years. I'm now seventeen. And I've never been on a quest.

A quest is like an adventure. You're sent out on a mission, usually to retrieve something or protect someone. The biggest adventure I've ever had is fighting monsters back in Florida. Oh, and not to mention the great war against the Titan Lord of Time, but that's another story that I don't really feel like getting into.

So, anyways, I arrived here when I was eleven. My sister Ali was thirteen. My father had shipped us off on a plane to Long Island, New York, where camp is located. All I had to protect myself was a celestial bronze sword which I later named Gucci.

My father told me that my mother (which I later on learned was Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty) had left it for me when I was born. She left had also left my sister one that looked almost identical to mine. She said that we would most likely need them around the time Ali turned twelve. She was right.

Monsters started coming to attack me and Ali, and fast. They looked like ones I had learned about in mythology books; Medusa, the Chimera, Circe, the Minotaur, Hydra, and about fifty others. Most of them we just ran away from.

My sister and I told our father about these monsters and he sent me here. Chiron, a centaur and the activities director, found it oddly rare for us, daughters of Aphrodite, to be attacked by so many monsters. Our scent really isn't that strong, but, apparently, it's because we live so close to the Sea of Monsters, which is home to some of the most powerful monsters out there, besides the Underworld.

Fast forward about six years later, and you get me, waiting on the steps of my cabin for Kira. Kira is a daughter of Apollo, the god of the sun, music, poetry, and archery.

"Let's go!" I told her.

She scowled and followed me inside. "Calista, why are we here?" she asked.

"So I can get the curling iron for your makeover, silly!"

"I don't need a makeover! I'm perfectly fine." She stroked her pin-straight dirty blonde hair, which was pulled into a braided half-up half-down style.

We walked inside my cabin and found Ali sitting on her bed on her laptop. She was probably instant-messaging her friends in Florida or checking up on the latest celebrity gossip. It was what she, and mostly all of us here at camp, used to keep in touch with the mortal world. We were not allowed, nor did we want, to have cell phones. They were considered deadly items for demigods, considering that they could attract monsters from up to miles away.

Alison was what I considered perfect. She had perfect shoulder-length black hair and perfect sparkling blue eyes. She was the leader of the Aphrodite cabin. She was popular, here at camp and back home, where she went to acting school. Ali had the best clothes. She was witty and clever, and always one step ahead. She was the smartest person I know (well, next to the Athena kids).

I wanted to be her. At times, I was jealous of her. I even got angry at her because she was so perfect. But I never got the guts to tell her what I thought of her, or at times, why I was angry at her. I usually just made up some lame excuse. But now, it was time to ask her about the curling iron.

I approached her with a smile on my face. "Just the person I wanted to see." She looked up.

"Hey, Cali!" She looked over at Kira. "Hey!" She put her laptop on down, stood up, and put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to her right. "What's up?"

"I'm giving Kira a makeover and I need a curling iron. Do you know where Alex stashes all of them?" Alex was our half-sister.

She hesitated, then said, "Yeah. I think they're in the salon. Follow me." We walked up the steps, into the built-in salon we had in our cabin. The salon's walls were pink, with white cabinets that held all our things, such as straightening irons, curling irons, blow dryers, extra brushes and combs, hair gels, sprays, and mousses, nail polishes, shampoos and conditioners, and pretty much every other salon product you could think of. Rows of mirrors lined the walls, and lights as hot and bright as stage lights luminated overhead. Ali had gotten them installed after insisting that they put your makeup to the test, insisting that they put your makeup to the test, to see if it can withstand hot temperatures. Being an actress had something to do with that, though.

Ali walked over to one of the cabinets and rummaged through. Then she pulled out a red, three-inch curling iron. "Here we go!" she said, victorious. She handed it over to me.

"Yay, now you're ready for your makeover, Kira!" I said, happily. "Do you want to have your makeover now, or eat lunch first?"

Kira frowned. "For the last time, I already told you, I do not want a makeover!"

I struggled to find the right words to convince her, but all that came out was a lousy, "But…why?"

Kira crossed her arms and shook her head no. Ali sighed. "I guess… it's time for lunch then!"

I shrugged. "To the dining pavilion we go."

And we walked down the stairs, eager to fill our stomachs with lunch.

AN: Thanks for reading!

Hugs and Kisses,

Demi