*WARNING, WARNING! This chapter contains bubbly camp songs! WARNING!*

The Amphitheater was incredible once you were seated in it. The Hermes cabin sat on the first row, next to the Apollo campers. The rest of the cabins followed and filled in the stone structure.

I noticed the fire pit first. The fire in it was always changing colors and getting higher, depending all on the mood of the crowd. The fire was bright, neon orange tonight. The flames climbed higher and higher as the Apollo cabin started jumping around, singing and playing a variety of instruments.

The Stoll brothers pulled me to my feet during one particular song about a dryad and a satyr.

"My best friend, a satyr, was talking to me. He said, 'Yesterday I came across a pretty tree. The pretty little dryad is so right for me. Should I get down on one knee?'" The campers sang, all the guys getting down on one knee and taking a random girls hand. It was obvious they had rehearsed all of the motions many times before.

I, on the other hand, just stood there awkwardly. That is until Travis and Conner started singing right into my ear.

"Stop! Hey, cut it out!" I laughed when they took one of my arms each and started making me do the motions to the song. I finally broke and sang along with them the best I could.

"My best friend, a satyr, was talking to me. He said, 'Yesterday I asked her to marry me. The pretty little dryad was so happy! I'm really, really glad I got down on one knee!'"

At the end of the song the camp dissolved into laughter and conversation. The fire was brighter than ever, the campers buzzing with excitement. When Chiron pounded his hoof on the stone floor, the demigods fell mostly silent.

"Just a few announcements for tonight," Chiron started, ignoring the side conversations. "We will play Capture the Flag next Wednesday!" A roar went up through the crowd. A group of big, mean looking kids pounded their weapons on the stone steps.

"The game will be Athena versus Nemesis. Also, keep in mind that the dryads keep finding gum and wrappers all over the camp. If this keeps up, the campers responsible will have kitchen duty!" A few kids made faces at that, as if remembering their own experiences with kitchen duty.

Campers started filing out of the amphitheater until that annoying little brat, Ray, stood up and started shouting. "What about the new girl! It's been two days since she's been here and she isn't claimed! What's going to happen to the gods for this? They're just going to ignore demigods now?"

Most of the campers stopped and turned to face him. A few demigods groaned, others laughed at him.

"Aw, Ray, let it go!" Someone yelled.

"No!" He yelled right back.

"Well, gee, Ray. If it matters so much to you, then go to Olympus and demand she be claimed," Someone mocked him. The crowd snickered.

"Hey, what cabin d'you think she belongs in anyway?" A random Apollo camper asked, looking at me curiously.

"Aphrodite?" Someone called to my horror. "She's hot enough!"

I flushed bright red. Drew, head counselor of Aphrodite, stood up, trying to smother laughter.

"As if," She smirked, looking down at me with that same half-amused, half-pitying expression. I've never thought I was exactly pretty and I didn't necessarily care about my looks, but to be called ugly in front of an entire camp? That struck a nerve.

"Athena?" Someone else asked. A burst of laughter came from the very top of the amphitheater and I knew who it had come from. I'd get back at Nico for that.

"Nah," A Hermes kid-John maybe?-answered. "She doesn't have blonde hair and grey eyes. I mean, every kid in Athena has blonde hair and grey eyes. Common sense."

The camp was quiet, thinking about who my mother could be. Some people were looking at me, others staring off into space.

"Demeter?" A blonde girl called out. Travis grinned at her and she rolled her eyes. Turning her gaze to me, she asked, "Do plants go crazy around you?"

I thought back to first grade and the lima been project. My bean had hardly broken through the surface of the dirt. I made a face and shook my head.

"There's always the minor gods," A familiar voice called out. I turned to see Taika looking at me expectantly. "You could be a child of Hecate. Here, say this: 'Mother Hecate, I ask for magic. Fire.'"

"Um, okay," I said awkwardly, all eyes on me. "Mother Hecate, I ask for magic. Fire."

I waited for something to happen…and waited. Finally Taika sighed, "Never mind."

And so it went on.

"Do you like rainbows?" Asked a huge kid with a hard face.

"Not particularly."

"Never mind."

I'm not a child of Iris.

"Do you have good luck…er, for a demigod?" A girl with red hair asked.

"Is that some kind of joke?"

I'm not a daughter of Tyche either.

"Do you win at games, or things like that, often?" An athletic looking guy asked.

"That was definitely a joke."

Nike was not my mother.

The campers were stumped. Even Chiron looked puzzled. For the most part he studied me, I guess trying to find similarities to other heroes he'd trained. His horse half skittered nervously.

"Well there are exceptions. She could very well be a child of Aphrodite, Nike, Tyche, or Iris. Just because she isn't a stereotypical child…" Chiron spoke up, trailing off. Then he looked toward Ray and his siblings. "There is a goddess you seem to be overlooking."

This time I laughed out loud. "You're kidding, right? I look noth-" I broke off when a purplish glow surrounded me. The camp was frozen. Some looked shocked, others confused. Some even looked horrified. I looked up at the symbol over my head. It was a purple, holographic image of a balance scale.

Chiron closed his open mouth and walked forward.

"All hail Andromeda Smith, daughter of Nemesis, goddess of revenge."

There was silence. The camp just stared. No one looked like they believed what had just happened. Why was it that shocking that I was a child of Nemesis? Sure, I was surprised-I looked nothing like that cabin-but I wasn't speechless.

Maya, Nico's not-so-secret admirer, stood up and raised her eyebrows. "She-she's got blue eyes." She said it as if having blue eyes was the same deal as having a third arm. I raised my eyebrows back at her.

Ray stood up next to Maya. "And she's got…freckles!"

Gee, I hadn't noticed.

A third child of Nemesis stood up. "Guys, chill out. She looks a bit different. So what?"

He made his way down to the front of the amphitheater and walked up to me, sticking out his hand.

"I'm Jack Hanson, head counselor of Nemesis. Welcome to the family," He smiled. I shook his hand and smiled back, but something felt wrong about the word 'family.' I frowned to myself and looked at my hands. They were tingling and pricking as if they'd gone numb and were just now waking up.

I brushed the feeling off, moving to follow Jack back to their-our-cabin. It was a deep purple color, almost black, and had a balance scale hanging above the door. I knew that Nico must have told me about it, but it wasn't as though I was actually listening.

The inside of the cabin was completely different than I thought it would be. For one, it wasn't completely depressing. True, the ceiling was black, but the walls were a nice, girly shade of purple. The bunk beds each had their own sheets, reflecting the personalities of the kids who slept there. The bathroom was clean and shiny. The trunks lining the walls were covered in stickers and pictures. It definitely wasn't what I'd been expecting.

"So, Andi, you can have that bunk in the corner," Jack told me, gesturing to a sad looking bunk with old, musty looking sheets. It was better than nothing. "And until you get some clothes of your own, Maya can loan you some."

I nodded and thanked him, walking over to my bunk and sitting down. The mattress was worn but comfortable.

"Here," someone snapped, dropping clothes on my lap. I looked up and saw the famous Maya glaring down at me. I shrank back from her glare and raised my eyebrows.

"Thank-"

"Save it," Maya said sharply, narrowing her eyes. "You don't belong here. There is no way you're a child of Nemesis."

I blinked, then blinked again. "Okay, well thanks for the clothes," I said lightly. She shot another glare at me then turned on her heal. "You might not want to let Mom hear you call her a liar," I blurted out. Maya froze and I wish I hadn't said anything. Her fists clenched and she stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

My new siblings looked from the closed door to me in surprise. I made a face at them-very mature, I know-but it did the trick and made them stop looking at me.

Even after Jack called lights out and my siblings had fallen asleep, something that Maya had said was bugging me. What if she was right? What if I wasn't a child of Nemesis? Could gods accidentally claim kids? Or maybe Nemesis got me confused with some other demigod.

My hands started to tingle again, just like they had after I'd gotten claimed. I held them up in front of my face and looked at them. I still don't know whether it was my imagination or not, but my hands looked as though they were glowing.

Impulsively, I flipped the sheets back and rose from my bunk. I walked to the bathroom, quietly closing the door behind me and locking it. The room was dark, the only light coming in through a small window. Apparently children of Nemesis weren't afraid of the dark, not like I was.

Hold out your hands, A voice in my head whispered. Think light.

I had to be crazy, but I did what the voice said. A tiny ball of light, no bigger than a marble, flared in my palm. I sucked in a sharp breath.

Nemesis was lying.

A/N: Please, if you have a heart, do not make fun of the Satyr Song. Yes, that is what I named it. Considering I couldn't write a song to save my life, I am proud of those stupid little lines!

Anywaaaay, this chapter. Gods on Olympus, it gave me a freakin' headache. It WAS NOT working with me. I owed you amazing reviewers an update though, so here it is. Review you guys! Let me know how craptastic this is. Maybe it'll motivate me to write better! ;D