Hey, okay, here's the third chapter. Hope you enjoy it! Grab a snack and a drink because it's a long one! Sorry about that!

Chapter 3: The New Kid

Elizabeth's POV

I woke up slowly. My eyes did not want to open, but I forced them open. The place I was in was alien to me. I had no clue where I was.

"Where am I? I though, sitting up and regretting it immediately. My vision became spotted and the room was spinning, almost like I was in a washing machine. Once my migraine receded and my vision cleared, I slowly turned my head and took in my surroundings.

Beds were lined up against two walls opposite from each other with nightstands between each bed, a big cabinet and a sink were on the back wall. There were windows above each bed but the shades were pulled down so the room was somewhat dark. It was dark enough where you could easily fall asleep but light enough that you could see where you were going without falling over something. A glass of apple juice looking stuff was in the nightstand next to me. On it was a hand-written note telling me to drink it. Warily, I picked it up because I had a feeling it would help. Thank gods I had a good grip on the glass because the taste of the drink shocked me so much that I almost dropped it from surprise. The drink didn't taste like apple juice at all. It tasted like sugar cookie cookie dough and it was so good! The glass was drained quickly and I was disappointed when there was no more in there. Now, I decided, it was time to figure out where I was. Not noticing that my right leg was bandaged up, I stood and fell down quite promptly. The pain that shot up my leg made me cringe. When the pain had pretty much subsided, I stood up slowly and carefully, not wanting to experience the pain again. I hopped over to the door on my left foot. The view shocked me when I looked out the door. I leaned against a wooden rail and studied my surroundings. There were kids sword fighting in the distance, some half-people and half-goat things playing reed pipes in a strawberry field, a big blue house next to the infirmary, some kids were shooting arrows at targets and getting bulls-eyes every time (show offs), a glittering shoreline, and a stable. I saw something flying in the air and unless I was hallucinating, they were horses with wings.

"How did you get yourself out here?"A voice asked me. I turned around and fell down but thankfully was caught.

"Thanks." I murmured. I was looking into the most beautiful blue eyes I had ever seen. He seemed strangely familiar.

"No problem. How are you feeling? Do you remember me?"

"I feel okay, I guess. You seem familiar to me but I can't really remember." I admitted.

"That's okay, considering what you went through; I would be very surprised if you could remember anything. I'm Luke."

I did remember him. I remembered him getting battered and then I remembered the manticore leaning over me and seeing him creeping up soundlessly behind it.

"I remember you. You saved my life." I told him.

"I'm glad you remember me. And actually, it's the other way around. You saved my life."

"I did?"

"Yeah." Luke smiled and looked at me, which was kind of creeping me out. "Sorry I'm staring, it's just you're really pretty." Luke broke the silence with the compliment and nothing in heaven or on earth could hide how much I was blushing. "Sorry if I embarrassed you."

"You're fine. It's just no guy has ever told me that." I replied bashfully.

"That's surprising. Come on, I'll show you around." Luke went inside and made some crashing noises. He came back brushing his arms off and with some dust in his hair which he shook out with his hand.

"I was trying to find some crutches. I don't know where they went but they've all disappeared. Would you mind if I helped you?"

"I don't think I have the strength to use crutches anyway." I chuckled. Luke smiled his charming smile and walked over to me. He put his arm around my waist and I put my arm around his shoulders which was kind of hard considering how tall he was. Don't get me wrong, I'm not short, but he was half a foot taller than me. He showed me around camp, pointing out the cabins, which kids had which parents, who was going out with whom, who hated who, who could kick whose butt, and so on and so forth. We received a lot of quizzical looks from campers.

"Hey Luke! How are you?" A girl questioned as we walked by.

"I'm good Jamie, how are you?" Luke responded cheerfully.

"I'm good." Jamie answered with a flirtatious grin on her face. We continued walking and she wasn't the only one that asked him how he was doing with a flirtatious smile. When we were back on the porch of the infirmary, I asked "You do know they were all flirting with you back there?"

"Really, I didn't notice." Luke seemed like he genuinely didn't know. "How could you tell?"

"I can just tell, plus, I speak from experience." I told him. "You really didn't notice?"

"No, I really didn't. For one, I like someone else, and two, I was too busy looking at you." I blushed so much right then when he said that that Luke thought I was running a fever. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry. I kind of spaced out, that's all."

"Okay, well, you look really tired, and after two days ago, I can imagine why. I'm amazed you stayed awake this long." Luke commented.

"Wait? Two days?" I looked at him with a shocked expression.

"Yeah, I don't know if you remember but we kind of fought a manticore and we were chased by it all the way to camp. It was about to kill me, but, no offense, you did something really stupid. You taunted it, but that probably saved my life, although you almost lost your life in the process. Thank you." Luke was genuinely grateful for that. "You're pretty, smart and vicious. I like that."

"Thanks. What happened to my leg?"

"You were standing up and taunting it and it shot those projectile things into your leg. You were shot by at least twenty five of those things. You blacked out from the pain." Luke explained.

"Oh. Man was I stupid. I'm happy that you're alive though." I smiled and attempted to hop over to the door, but I was so tired that I practically fell, that, plus I tripped over nothingness, which I could never figure out how you trip over nothing!

"Here, I'll help you." Luke offered. I expected him to just put his arm around my waist again, but instead, he lifted me up and carried me to my bed. I mumbled thank you and fell asleep when my head hit the pillow.

Luke's POV

Elizabeth fell asleep immediately once I laid her on her bed. I couldn't believe I had told her some of the stuff I did. She was just so easy to talk to and I felt so comfortable around her.

Now for confession time. There were crutches when I went to go get them for her. Don't ask me why I didn't get them for her, I just didn't.

I walked out of the infirmary and towards the Big House where Chiron and Dionysus were playing their usual game of pinochle.

"Ah, Luke, what can I help you with?" Chiron inquired pleasantly.

"I wanted to let you know that Elizabeth woke up. She got herself out of her bed and out of the infirmary." I explained. "I showed her around and was about to bring her here but she was starting to fade again, so I brought her back to the infirmary and she fell asleep immediately."

"I see. Thank you for telling me. When she wakes up again, please bring her to me if I'm not there when she does." Chiron ordered.

"Yes sir. I must be going; I have an archery lesson." I excused myself and headed to my lesson, deep in thought.

"Hey Luke!" A voice shouted. Turning around, I saw Jamie running towards me with her long blonde hair flying in the wind and her gray eyes full of excitement.

"Hey Jamie, what's up?" I asked.

"Who was that girl? You know the one you were helping around?"

"That was Elizabeth. Henry, Jane and I picked her up when we were in Miami after we were attacked by a Lastrygonian." I told her.

"Oh, okay. I was just curious." She smiled sweetly. "Where are you going?"

"Archery."

"Oh, me too. Mind if I walk with you?"

"Sure." I shrugged. "Why not?"

"So what happened two nights ago when you arrived here? I heard that there was a manticore and why is Elizabeth in the infirmary?"

"Yeah, we were attacked by a manticore and it's only thanks to Elizabeth that we survived. She was shot in the leg by at least twenty five of those projectile thingy's and that allowed me to sneak up on the manticore once I had the branch off my leg."

"Oh you poor thing. How is your leg?"

"It's fine."

"What Elizabeth did was really stupid."

"It saved my life and Henry and Jane's as well, it may have been stupid, but she saved our lives." I defended.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." Jamie apologized.

"It's okay; Elizabeth knows what she did was stupid but she said she was glad I was alive." I smiled at the thought of her telling me that.

"I see." Jamie commented, looking a little mad. Fair warning; never hang out with a mad daughter of Athena. "Well, listen, I was wondering if you wanted to spar a little later. I need a challenge and you're damn near impossible to beat."

"Sure, what time?"

"How about during our free period after lunch?"

"Sounds good." I agreed as we headed to an empty target. I stationed myself in front of the target and waited for my instructor.

Elizabeth's POV

The sound of two people talking woke me up.

"She must be a daughter of Aphrodite." A man said.

"I don't know. She could be a daughter of Athena but her eyes; they're hazel, not gray. Perhaps she is a child of Apollo." A deeper voice suggested. "She's awake."

"Who are you people?" I murmured.

"Polite one isn't she?" The first voice mumbled. I opened my eyes and saw two men standing above me. One had a leopard jumpsuit on and watery blue eyes and it was obvious he was no stranger to alcohol. The second man… the second man wasn't a man at all. He was half man and half horse. He was a centaur.

"I'm Chiron, the activities director at camp. This is Mr. D is the camp director." The second voice was Chiron.

"Oh, um, Mr. D, are you Dionysus?" I guessed.

"Why, aren't you smart?" Mr. D said looking bored.

"How are you feeling?" Chiron asked.

"I feel like I was run over by a semi-truck." I mumbled.

"That's understandable considering what you went through. You do know the story, right?"

"Yes, I know the story."

"Okay, well that makes things less complicated. Do you feel well enough to come sit outside and walk to the Big House?"

"Yes." I said, standing up. I followed Chiron and Mr. D, hobbling down the steps and to the porch at the Big House. I sat down exhaustedly.

"Elizabeth, what is your last name?" Chiron inquired.

"Banks."

"Your mother wouldn't perhaps be Melanie Banks, would it?"

"Yes, that's her. Why?"

"You look just like her. Your mother is a demigod; she was a daughter of Aphrodite, so Aphrodite is your grandmother."

"Who's my father?"

"We do not know who your father is. You have yet to be claimed, but depending on who claims you first, that is whose cabin you will be placed in. For now, you shall be put in Cabin Eleven, Hermes cabin."

"Yes sir, um, may I ask something?" I questioned.

"Of course you may."

"What time is it and when's dinner?"

"It is four-thirty and dinner is at five-thirty. Why don't I show you to your cabin, and your stuff is already there."

"My stuff? But I didn't bring anything."

"Your parents sent a suitcase for you. You are definitely related to Aphrodite with how much stuff your parents sent you." Chiron laughed good-naturedly while I blushed from embarrassment. "Trust me; you're not half as bad as the kids directly related to Aphrodite. They have five suitcases each."

"That makes me feel better… a little. One more thing, could I take a shower, I feel disgusting."

"Yes, of course. Come with me." Chiron walked next to me and motioned for me to follow him.

"Goodbye Mr. D. It was nice meeting you." I waved. Mr. D grunted but I am pretty sure I saw a little smile form on his face. I followed Chiron towards a strange arrangement of cabins. Chiron pointed to Cabin Eleven, the most run down looking cabin.

"That's cabin eleven. I will have someone come show you around. How about someone you're familiar with, hmm? How about Luke? He seems to like you."

"That's sounds good."

"I'll leave you now. Make sure you're ready in an hour." Chiron warned me.

"Yes sir." I replied, bowing to him and heading into the Hermes cabin where I found two boys digging through my stuff.

"Hey, Connor, do you think this would look good on me?" One said, holding up my favorite blue tank top.

"It brings out the blue in your eyes. Here, what about this?" Connor held up my pink bra. That was enough.

"What are you doing with my stuff?" I yelled. Connor and Travis looked at each other, looked at me, and bolted. I followed them. Travis still had my blue tank top. My leg didn't hurt anymore so I flew like the wind after them.

"Give it back!" I shouted. We ran through the sword fighting arena where I received some bewildered looks. I thought I saw Luke fighting with the girl named Jamie and I'm pretty sure he saw me too, but I couldn't care less; I was too busy running after Connor and Travis.

"Catch us if you can!" Connor taunted. This only made me put on a burst of speed. Both of them saw this before running into a tree.

"Idiots." I mumbled running over to them and snatching my tank top out of their clutches. Both of them were grinning stupidly.

"That was fun. Sorry newbie, we were just having fun with you." Travis grinned.

"Well it wasn't fun for me. My leg is hurting now thanks to you two." I muttered.

"Sorry, we didn't think you would actually chase us. We thought that if you did, you would trip or stumble or something."

"At least I didn't run into a tree." I pointed out and turned away.

I finally reached the showers and it felt good to get all the dirt and grime out of my hair. I put on my blue tank top, some short denim shorts, some hoop earrings, and my Pandora bracelet. Then I put on my makeup and blow dried my hair. How I did that all in forty five minutes, I don't know. When I had picked up everything, I headed to the Hermes cabin which was suddenly very crowded. I was sleeping on the last bed in the room, which was between two beds and one of the beds was in a corner. I had made sure I had safely tucked my suitcases under my bed before I took a shower. They looked like they hadn't been tampered with anymore and I was dismayed when I found out that Connor and Travis belonged in the Hermes cabin.

"Hey, looking good!" Travis or Connor shouted. I smirked at them and plopped down on my bed. I sat back up and bent down to pull one of my suitcases from underneath the bed. I pulled it out and as I was standing up, bumped into someone.

"Sorry!" I said immediately.

"You're fine; that was my fault anyway. I'm Will Hunter, cabin leader." Will held out his hand. He was a tall blonde guy with blue eyes like Luke's.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Elizabeth Banks." I shook his hand.

"I know," Will grinned. "Luke has told me a lot about you."

"He has?" I was kind of surprised.

"Yes, he thinks very highly of you after you saved his life." Will explained. I blushed.

"He saved me, I just created the distraction." I shrugged.

"He also told me you were modest as well." Will laughed, and then he turned to the cabin that was scrambling everywhere. "Hey everyone!"

Everyone turned around.

"Say hello to our newest camper! Elizabeth Banks!" Will announced, putting his arm around me. He was handsome, and I realized that most of the Hermes' boys were.

"Hi!" Everyone waved at me and turned back to whatever they were doing.

"So how old are you?" Will asked, sitting down on the bed next to mine.

"I'm fourteen. How old are you?"

"I'm nineteen. This is my last year here."

"Oh, why is that?" I was kind of disappointed. I thought I had made another friend. Will shrugged.

"I'm getting too old for here. Don't get me wrong, I'll still be coming here every once in a while to brush up and help out sometimes, but I have college to worry about. It's too hard being here and doing the homework too."

"What do you mean? Isn't this just a summer camp?" I inquired, sitting down and facing him.

"It is for most people, but you can choose to stay all year if you want. I'm a year-rounder. My mom, she doesn't really care for me." Will admitted.

"I'm so sorry." I said sympathetically. I couldn't imagine life without my mom.

"It's okay. The people here at camp are my family." He threw his arms out to emphasize his meaning, but his eyes gave him away, they were sad. However, I didn't show that I knew the truth about what he felt, and I smiled.

"Elizabeth!" Someone shouted. I turned my head and Will turned around to see who was coming. Luke came bursting out of the crowd.

"Hi Luke!" I exclaimed.

"I went to the infirmary to wake you up for dinner, but you weren't there, so then I went to the sword fighting arena because I had a… meeting with a friend and then I see you running through the woods after Connor and Travis but you were running so fast I couldn't catch up to you." Luke explained without taking a breath.

"Hi there Luke. Did you run here to see Elizabeth?" Will asked with an amused grin.

"Yeah, I wanted to see how she was feeling."

"I feel fine." I said.

"Are you sure?" Luke asked.

"I'm sure." I assured him.

"Good." Luke smiled. Something growled loudly and I blushed.

"Was that your stomach?" Will laughed.

"Yes." I admitted quietly.

"I like a girl with an appetite. You're in luck too. Dinner is ready!" Will told me as conch shell sounded out in the distance. I'm not sure how I knew it was a conch shell. "Cabin Eleven, fall in!" Will ordered. Apparently, we lined up by seniority, so of course I was dead last. Luke was up near the head of the line and of course, I had Connor and Travis standing right in front of me. Luke turned around and smiled at me; I smiled back. We walked out of the cabin and towards an open dining pavilion. The air was filled with the smell of barbecue and yes! It was barbecue! I'm from Texas and I know people will argue with me on this one, but Texas has the best barbecue! My mouth watered as we sat down. The Hermes table was the only table completely filled. Luke and Will had saved me a seat between the two of them. Gods! Could I get any luckier? I had two good looking guys sitting on either side of me. I wasn't the only one who noticed; a lot of the girls from the Aphrodite cabin looked at me. Some of the looks were surprise, some were envy, and some were a "Way to go!" look. Nymphs set down platters of barbecue, vegetables, fruit, and potatoes in front of us. Everyone heaped the food onto their plates. Once I had filled my plate to the brim with food (Hey, I hadn't eaten in two days, so don't judge), I stood up like everyone else. Everyone walked over the fire that was blazing and dropped in the biggest piece of barbecue or the juiciest strawberry, or the most buttery roll.

"What are we doing?" I whispered to Luke and Will.

"We're giving an offering to the gods." Will explained before Luke could even open his mouth. "They like the smell."

"That's… never mind." I shrugged and threw in the biggest piece of barbecue in to the fire.

"Aphrodite." I said. Then I made a silent plea: Father, whomever you are, give me a sign to let me know who you are. The smell from the burnt food was very pleasant and I could see why the gods liked it. Then something else came: the smell of the sea breeze. I figured it was from the shoreline that the camp bordered but the strange thing was that there was no breeze tonight.

I followed Luke and Will back to the table where we pigged out. My stomach no longer growled at me and I leaned back a little when I was done.

"Gods! That was one of the best meals I've ever had!" I sighed contentedly.

"The food is always good!" Luke grinned, leaning back with me. Will was soon to follow.

"Now it's time for the camp sing-along." Will said after five minutes. The three of us stood up along with everyone else and walked to the amphitheater. The Apollo cabin led the sing-along and we roasted marshmallows for s'mores. Luke, Will and I kept getting marshmallows all over our hands and once or twice, we had to stomp on a marshmallow to stop it from catching the camp on fire.

The night ended all too soon. I was a little upset when it was over but at the same time, I was extremely tired. We walked to the cabin where I grabbed my jammies to change into. I walked to the bathroom where I changed into them, brushed my teeth and brushed my hair. Then I walked to my bed and threw myself onto it. The pillow smelled like lavender and something else I couldn't quite place.

"It is valerian root and lavender you smell." Will walked over to me and sat on the edge of my bed. I sat up and looked at him quizzically. "It's on all our pillows. It helps calm the mind and helps you fall asleep."

"Where's your bed?" I asked. Will pointed to the bed right next to mine in the corner. Gods! I'm not sure if I was excited about that or nervous! I mean, heck yeah I was excited I had a handsome guy sleeping in the bed next to me (that sounds wrong, I know), but what if I said I liked him in my dreams… not saying I do of course. Okay, fine, maybe I do like him a little, but I also like Luke. Gods, I am so confused!

"I'm glad I have someone that I know next to me." I smiled. "Where's Luke's bed?"

Will's smile wavered a little before someone, Luke, said, "Right here!"

I turned and saw Luke plop down on the bed on the other side of mine. Great! Just great! Now I had the two guys I liked sleeping on either side of me. I couldn't decide if I was the luckiest or unluckiest girl in the world right then.

"Great! Now I have two people I know!" I grinned. Will and Luke grinned back at me. We all looked over at Connor and Travis fighting with two girls at the other end of the cabin.

"I'd better go straighten that out. Good night Elizabeth." Will nodded his head, patted me on my bare shoulder and left. Luke watched him leave and I'm pretty sure with a sigh of relief.

"I think he likes you." Luke finally said.

"You think?" I inquired.

"Yeah. He only pats a girl on the shoulder if he likes her." Luke pointed out. He turned to look at me and there was a hint of jealously in his eyes. He seemed hesitant about something.

"Here, come sit on my bed. Then we don't have to yell what we're saying and let the whole cabin know what we're talking about." I laughed, patting the bed. Luke chuckled and sat down on the bed, much closer to me than Will had. He must have had some kind of cologne on, and whatever it was, it was intoxicating.
"So how was your first full day at camp?" Luke inquired.

"It was fun. I enjoyed it." I spoke quietly.

"Are you okay?" Luke looked at me questioningly.

"Yeah, just a little bit of homesickness I guess. I miss my parents and pets." I admitted quietly.

"Don't worry, everyone feels that way. Do you want to call them?"

"Yes, but I don't have my cell phone."

"Chiron took it. We aren't allowed to have cell phones really but… here." Luke handed me a purple razor phone.

"My phone!" I whispered in amazement. "How did you get it?"

"My father is the god of thieves and I am very good at sneaking around. Go, call them. I'll make up some lie to Will if he asks where you're going." Luke spoke quietly.

"Thank you so much! You have no idea how much that means to me!" I looked at him gratefully.

"Don't worry about it. Now go make that phone call." Luke urged me. I stood up quickly and walked of the cabin. I made the call and talked to my parents. I left out the part of me and the manticore and told them I was having a good time but that I missed them. When I was done, I hung up and headed back to Cabin Eleven. The lights were out and I crept into my bed. Will was asleep but Luke opened his eyes when I came in.

"Did you talk to them?" Luke whispered.

"Yes. Thank you so much again." I repeated. Luke smiled and the sliver of moonlight that entered our cabin shone on his face. His eyes sparked in the moonlight and his blonde hair shone. He could've passed as a Greek god.

"No problem. See you in the morning, Elizabeth." Luke smiled.

"Good night Luke." I answered quietly. I closed my eyes and fell into a peaceful sleep.

So that was the third chapter, sorry it was so long! I didn't know when to stop! I'll get the fourth chapter posted as soon as possible and I am also putting a poll up on which state has the best barbecue (just so you know, it's Texas).