Another update! We're a little over halfway through now. Btw, here's a small fact about this story. The title came from a song by Evanescence. I thought it seemed to fit with the character pretty well.

Chapter 7

You'd think with an ending like that we were bitter enemies. But that's just how we have fun. Only I wasn't so sure I was going to be the one having fun. That last look she shot me was one full of sneakiness as if she'd begun formulating a plan. I didn't want to know what she had cooked up but I was afraid I was going to find out, and soon.

The day's activities wasn't too bad. I had sword practice with some of the members of the Ares cabin. I was thankfully not paired up with one of the members that everyone called "The Annihilator". He was the best fighter in all of the camp and by the time you had finished practice, you felt annihilated. I'd know. I fought him once. But even thought he beat the life out of me he did complement me by saying I was "the biggest challenge" he'd had in a while. I wasn't sure if he was serious or just making a crack about my weight. Either way I managed to survive that activity and actually win some fights for once. A rare achievement but I was working on making it a more popular one. At least I had high hopes.

I did better in that field than archery. My skills in archery depended on what day it was. Some days I hit bulls eyes and other days I hit people...but I don't do that much now since I've practiced a lot compared to when I first came here. I didn't hit any people this time but I did come close. I shot an arrow within 2 feet of another camp member. Needless to say, they were not pleased...

Our swim time with the water nymphs wasn't too bad either. I didn't make last in the race this time. That was another thing I had improved upon in the last few years. The only real eye roller for that activity was that Aphrodite kid I'd mentioned earlier. The youngest one. Well he was at it again. Only this time he was living it up. The boy, "Bubbles" as he was called around camp, was sitting out his other activities just so he could have the naiads' attention for the day. There were about 3 clustered around him looking at him with big eyes as he was trying to impress them. Weather he succeeded in doing so didn't matter as they all seemed fascinated by his stand up comic performance.

I didn't participate in any more activities for the day. I had plenty to do back at my cabin. Especially since I had stuff to do in the home school area of my life. I tried to balance life at camp and getting an education which wasn't easy since I stayed away from home pretty much year round. My mom emailed about all the time, sending me my lesson plans for the week, my grade results, and just overall curiosity of how things were going for me. I found the latter part to be rather irritating at times. On my paranoid days I'd often wonder if she had a hidden camera somewhere in my cabin. I mean, I know parents are protective of their children, even more so in my case, but it just seemed like the line was being crossed at times. My mom had her ups and downs so I didn't really know what to expect from one day to the next. Despite it all I tried to be positive around her which could be hard because of how angry it all made me feel. But I wasn't really great at expressing myself around people at times so this was a helpful talent in it's own way. So that with the addition of the craziness of camp just made me want to shut myself up in my room and play some chaotic music on my ipod. Normally most mortal's and demigods used happy or calming music to cheer themselves up. Not me. I had to play something that described how I felt and let the feeling drift away in the music. Then I could move onto something more lighthearted. So overall I'm a unique person. Even by demigod standards as I'm the only child of the "Big Three", Zeus, Posiedon, and Hades. Well at least for now. But here I go again, losing track of what I was originally talking about. As I was saying, I was in my room working on a math problem late that night. One that I was not particularly fond of either. Math was ok, but I could think of other things I'd much rather be doing. Mostly it was my excuse to miss out on the sing-a-long, led by the Apollo cabin, around a great bonfire. My ADHD was acting up and I couldn't really concentrate on school and I really just wanted to be somewhere else. I had an impulsive urge to just go sit by the river where it was quieter with just the sound of water to fill my ears. So that's exactly what I did. I snuck down to the river without anyone noticing me and just sat by the edge enjoying my surroundings. It was a beautiful night. The moon was out full and it cast a beautiful mystic glow around everything I saw. I breathed in deeply the night air mingled with the moisture of the nearby water. It made me feel so alive! I felt stronger and ready to take on anything...well almost anything. I wasn't ready to take on what Fate was about to dish out on me. I wouldn't have been in a million years.

As I lay in the grass at peace with myself, I heard something behind me. I jumped up ready to defend myself physically or verbally.

"Hey, what are you doing out here by yourself?" Cadi asked.

"Oh, you know," I replied. "Just resting. Nothing calms me better than a night alone by the river."

"I was kinda hoping you'd join me and the rest of the campers in roasting marshmallows," she asked timidly.

"Oh no you don't," I said.

"Oh, why not?" she pouted.

"You know what happened last time I joined that."

"So?"

"So! Bumping into a child of Ares and causing them to catch their clothes on fire is no light matter! She still hates me because of that and..."

"That's been a year ago at least," she protested

"Anna's got a photographic memory, "I complained.

"She does not. You just seem so negative about things."

"...I don't feel like I'm being negative. Just stating the facts."

She seemed kind of upset. I'd pushed farther than I should have. So I tried to compromise.

"But I'll go if you want me to."

She instantly perked up. "Good! Now come on before all the marshmallows are gone."