I was packed and pacing eagerly when Fyfa finally arrived. I called goodbye to my dad, and practically ran out the door to greet my black spotted Pegasus. She whinnied as I gave her a big hug. I climbed on her back, my duffle-bag slung over my back.
"To camp!" I cheered, waving to my dad as he watched me fly off.
The ride to camp was only about two hours by car, so maybe one and a half by Pegasus considering that there is no traffic a hundred feet in the air. I was greeted by my friends on top of half blood hill; they were all hugging me and saying how much they had missed me. After they left, there was only one guy leaning against Thalia's tree. When I saw him, I smiled and ran to hug him. He met me half way and we stood on the hill, embraced in a hug for about three whole minutes.
"I missed you." whispered Evander into my ear. I couldn't help but smile; I missed the sound of his voice.
"I missed you too." I said, pulling back to look at him. "You've grown!" I said in amazement. We used to be the same height (that was almost a year ago when he visited me after doing a concert in my home town), but now he was at least three inches taller.
"I am capable of that, though you might disagree." He said, with a sly smile. "Your hair is longer." He commented, picking up a piece of my hair between two fingers, and twirling it around, absentmindedly.
"Yeah, it is." I said quietly. I could feel him leaning closer, and I could feel myself doing the same. And as usual, right on time he snapped out of the trance, and pulled his hand quickly back to his side. He started walking down the hill, before turning and stopping.
"Shall we go to campfire?" he asked, outstretching his hand. I smiled, and then took it.
"We shall." I agreed, as we walked down the rest of the hill towards the crowd of singing campers.
The fire was bright purple by the time Chiron made us go back to our cabins, he had let campfire go on a little longer than usual due to my presence. He said that I would continue training tomorrow with my usual schedule, and that I shouldn't lose my practice. I thought about this as Evander walked me back to my lonely cabin, I was the only child of Asteria at camp. As we approached my cabin, it was almost invisible in the darkness; you could only see the silver constellations. My cabin is very dark blue, painted with silver stars and constellations that resembled those in the sky. I sighed as I walked up the front stairs, and then turned to face Evander.
"It was nice seeing you, ray." I said, using his camp name. He smiled; he liked it when I called him ray. Well, ray being like a ray of sunshine, considering he's the councillor of the Apollo cabin when he can be. The summers he can be here, he leads the Apollo cabin. But the summers he can't, Will Solace is councillor.
"Nice seeing you too, chase." He replied before walking away, leaving me staring into his back. Nobody had called me chase in a long time. Ill explain, see, since my mom is Asteria, goddess of shooting stars and nocturnal oracles (Whatever that means) people around camp call me chase because shooting stars zoom across the sky, and ive been known to wanting to chase them to figure out where they end up. So, that's where my nickname comes from if you were wondering. I tore my gaze away and entered my cabin, it smelt like home. I walked over to my bed, and pulled out my pyjamas from the duffle-bag that was sitting on top. I got changed, and then turned out the lights, crawling into my bed. I looked up and saw the night sky through the all glass roof that i asked for when I got claimed. I watched as stars zoomed across the sky, then thought of my mom. I hadn't seen her since last winter solstice, and I missed her dark hair and caring midnight blue eyes. I smiled sadly at the sight of Zoë's constellation, Evander, Percy, Bianca (rest in peace), Thalia, Artemis, Annabeth and I had been the last people to see her alive. As my eyes searched the sky, they began to drift closed. And soon, I was in Hyperion's realm.
Nothing special happened in my dream, so I guess it was a good sign. I woke up eagerly in the morning, excited to train again. I took a shower and got ready before breakfast, making sure to strap my hunting knives to my legs before leaving my cabin; remembering that I wasn't in New Jersey anymore. I smiled when I felt the cold leather holster's press against my bare legs. I was wearing regular camp clothes; jean short shorts and a camp half blood t. All was good. I walked out of my cabin and greeted my friend Cady, from Aphrodite. She didn't have to stay all year round, but she had no home to go to, her dad died when she was seven, so Aphrodite guided her here. We walked to the dinning pavilion together, but had to go our separate ways when we reached my table. As always, I was seated near the Erebos and Artemis tables, being as how Artemis is goddess of the moon and Erebos is god of darkness. Only two of the Erebos kids were here, and they weren't really my friends. Nobody sat at the Artemis table, unless the hunters where here, so nobody there either. I smiled once my gaze shifted to the Apollo table where Will Solace, Evander, Angelina Carter, and Daniella Mkay sat. I thanked the nymphs as they brought my food, and got up to stand in line to give my offering to my mother. Evander stood beside me, even though the Aphrodite girls (with the exception of Cady) called him over. The Aphrodite girls (again, with the exception of Cady) were all huge fans of Evander, though he never gave them a second glance when he signed their CD's. And for that, I am grateful. Once I scraped some food in, said a quick prayer to my mom, and walked back to my table, I ate and looked forward to the day ahead. That is, until I remembered something that Evander had said on the phone yesterday. 'Ive got a surprise for you tomorrow'. The words kept running through my head as I tried to figure it out. This was going to drive me crazy, and my ADHD wouldn't stop pondering the thought. I groaned as my head worked like crazy to figure out the surprise. This is why I hate surprises; once im told someone has a surprise for me, my brain doesn't stop trying to figure it out until I eventually do, and then it ruins everything. Damn ADHD.