I was just about to knock on the door of the Iris Cabin when it swung open. Kim, the preppy, flouncy counselor of the Iris Cabin, smiled happily at me.
"Hey Shay, Luna will be with you in a few minutes. She's kind of…busy, right now."
Okay, I was getting pretty suspicious by then. Luna was…busy? That was like Cookie Monster not eating cookies. Luna was the most laid-back and easy-going person I knew. I cautiously peered over her shoulder.
"What's she doing that's so important that I can't go in to say "hi"?"
Kim shifted her body and blocked the doorway. "Now's not a good time. Maybe you should come back la- "
I didn't wait for her to finish the sentence as I ducked under her arm and made a mad dash for the IM room.
Honestly, I think the Iris Cabin is the prettiest one in camp – there was a fountain in the center of a large, grand room; a sparkling, multicolored chandelier hung from above. The walls seemed to changed colors – red, orange, yellow, green – and there were rainbows forming from the crystal dome that was the ceiling. There was a fresh smell in the air – linen, morning dew, maybe – and the entire cabin was beautiful. I opened the door to the IM room and ran past a bunch of Iris kids directing various messages. This was Camp Half-Blood's Iris-message control room. Luna had explained to me once that all the Iris-messages that were sent to Camp Half-Blood were received in the IM room – and then redirected to the camper it was meant for. Of course, all the Iris messages weren't sent in that way, but the Iris Cabin was always busy redirecting messages for demigods.
I finally reached Luna at her station – which she rarely ever was – and panted; I'm not the best runner.
"Luna," I paused to catch my breath, "What are you doing here?" I asked, clearly befuddled.
She sighed, "Kim found out that I had been skipping IM room for the past two weeks, and said I had to make up for it."
She was leaning back in her chair; one hand in her wavy, light brown hair, another on the mouse of her laptop.
"Haven't gotten any Iris messages yet, and I'm bored out of my freaking mind."
She clicked on her mouse rapidly. I leaned over her shoulder and peered at her computer screen. What was she doing on…Poptropica?
"Luna!" I slapped the back of her head, "What are you doing? You're supposed to be working!"
She sat up straight and rubbed the back of her head.
"Nope, I'm supposed to be giving you your early birthday present, but I guess that can wait…"
She started to turn her chair around.
"Oh, fine. You win. Just hand over the stupid present," She crouched down and stuck her arm under her desk. When she pulled it out, she was holding a small, rectangular box covered in multicolored wrapping paper. I squealed as I grabbed it from her and tore the paper off.
Inside the box was a charm bracelet; it had charms on it – one charm was shaped like Mickey Mouse, another said, "BFFS", a third one was a rainbow, and the last one shaped like a lightning bolt. I loved it.
"Oh my gods; this is so cute! I love it!" I smiled happily as I hugged Luna.
She smirked back at me, "You know I couldn't resist getting the Mickey Mouse charm."
I laughed; of course she couldn't - she was such a huge Disney fanatic.
"Best early birthday present I ever got," I cheered.
"I know, right?" said Luna as she happily skipped towards the exit.
"Where do you think you're going?" I asked. She still had a job to do.
"Anywhere but here…" I heard her mumble as the door closed behind her. I sighed; there was no stopping that girl.
I turned to Luna's laptop, which was still on, and was about to turn it off when a shimmering image of a boy began to materialize in front of me. I jumped back, startled.
"Hello?" The boy said in a worried tone. I looked around the IM room. All the other Iris kids were occupied with their own calls. Oh, Gods, where was Luna where I needed her? Oh, yeah; "Anywhere but here." I turned to face the boy, who looked like he could use some nectar and ambrosia at the moment. He had wavy black hair with blonde highlights and dark brown eyes. He had a few cuts and scraped on his face and arms, and he was holding a gold bow. From what it looked like, he was up in a tree; I could hear fighting in the background.
"Uh…hi, this is, um, Shay. How can I help you?" I was getting worried. Can somebody help me over here?
"My name is Aaron Michael Evens, and I really need your help right now."
I prayed to every single God I could think of. Where the Hades was Luna?
"My friend and I were ambushed by a bunch of Lamiae, and I think my friend needs medical attention. Can you forward this to Chiron and send in some help?"
I stared blankly at him.
"Um, sure, I'll make sure he gets the message," I said, unsure of what to do. I looked down at the controls and was about to press the "Forward" button.
The Iris message had already started to fade when I heard a Lamia cackle in the background, "And after we're done with you, we'll move on to your precious little Camp Half-Blood! Our master will be greatly pleased!"
Master? Camp Half-Blood? What was going on?
I didn't know at the time, but I was about to find out…