He led her to the end of the row where the Hermes cabin laid and brought her inside to find a few campers milling about on their beds.

Maddie found herself shifting closer to Marcus as he went to one of the older campers to talk to him. The other campers were staring at the two of them. It made Maddie feel scared and uncomfortable. She wasn't used to people looking at her. She once more started tugging anxiously at her hair.

"Hey, I know Casey isn't here right now but you're technically second in line for the cabin leader, Jimmy, so I figured I'd ask you. Kid here is new, you got any extra bunks to take her in?"

Maddie glanced up at the boy Marcus was talking to and his eyes landed on her small frame as well. He looked her up and down and a small smile appeared on his face. "Yeah, sure we can take her in. Might as well right? Name's Jimmy, and you are?"

"M-Maddie." Her voice cracked as she took his hand and shook it, his giant hand practically engulfing her own small one.

"Nice to meetcha kiddo. No need to be afraid here, we're all family in the Hermes cabin."

Marcus waved goodbye to the two and Jimmy went about helping Maddie set up a small space for her to sleep at. The Hermes cabin was easily one of the biggest and had the most amount of beds. They found a bunk near the back end of the cabin. It was a little smaller and the blankets were old and thin but Maddie didn't mind. She put the small backpack that she had taken with her under the bed. She hadn't packed too much. Some clothes, her hoodie, a toothbrush, and an old polaroid camera and some pictures she had taken. She didn't know how long she was going to be away from home or how far away home was, so she wasn't too concerned. However, she had to admit that she already was dreading having to leave this place. No doubt he mom wouldn't want her to come back, especially after how loud she was screaming at the first prospect of her being taken away. If she could stay here…

Maddie still had about an hour before dinner so she took the time to wander around the grounds. Her first stop was immediately the lake. It reflected the sun so brightly it was almost blinding. She carefully put her hand in the water and gave a joyous scream when she felt how cold the waves were beneath her. She quickly kicked off her shoes and socks and ran into the water, splashing around and laughing to herself. She had never felt so free in her entire life. She never wanted the moment to end.

A loud noise rang out throughout the fields, as if a giant conch had just been blown. Maddie stopped her playing and looked up, confused by the sound. Her eyes drifted towards the pavilion where she saw campers slowly starting to head towards.

"Oh! I completely forgot!"

Maddie quickly ran out of the water, drenched head to toe, and put her shoes back on. As she was putting on her sneakers she heard laughter behind her and looked up. A few feet away was a group of kids, three boys and one girl. They were looking right at her and laughing. Maddie's eyes sparkled with excitement. Did they want to be her friend? She finished putting on her shoes and ran up to them, a grin on her face.

"Hello! I'm Maddie!" She was getting used to this introduction thing. It wasn't so terrible.

"Maddie? With two D's? Makes sense." The girl's comment seemed as though it wasn't meant to be heard by Maddie but she still tilted her head curiously at the comment, especially when the boys started howling with laughter. Maddie once again found herself shrinking in on herself, though she didn't really know why.

"Um...w-what are your names?" She once again started fidgeting with her hair, which had been knocked out of its braid in the water and was now a long, tangled mess.

"Oh? Curious about me, huh? Well I don't mind a cutie like you being interested in me." One of the taller guys winked at Maddie and she felt her face becoming hot. Why did she hate the way he was looking at her? He was just being friendly...right?

"I saw her first so I called dibs. What do you say, Maddie? You wanna skip dinner and come back with me while no one is around?"

"You creep, she's like ten years old!"

"I'm twelve actually."

"See, still a child. Though I will say I can't wait until she's older. When's your birthday?"

"October 25…"

"Not too bad. Right near Halloween too which is perfect for someone like you. I bet you love dressing up in costumes, huh?"

"W-well...I...I don't really get to go out during Halloween…"

"Such a shame. Guess we'll have to make it up to you then! We'll get everything ready for you to make sure that everyone will look at you that night!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Hey you stupid brats!"

All heads quickly turned in the direction of a larger, old man wearing a bright tiger striped shirt, khaki pants and clutching a coke bottle.

"Didn't you hear the conch!? It's time for dinner. Get your lazy butts up there this instant!"

"Yeah, yeah. We heard it Mr. D!" The group of kids walked away, leaving Maddie shifting awkwardly on the sand, not sure what to do. The whole interaction made her feel sick, as if she was an experiment of some kind. It reminded her of how people would stare down at a dead bird that had just hit an apartment window. They would just stare and gawk at it for a few seconds and then walk quickly away with their hand over their mouths in disgust. It made her want to hide and not be seen again, or punch something.

"Kid! Hurry up!"

Maddie once again jumped and looked at the so called "Mr. D" who was looking angrily at her as he drank his soda. She gave a small nod and quickly made her way towards the pavilion, her head lowered and her arms hugging herself to try and give her some comfort. Everything had been so nice. She had finally felt at home. She was finally meeting and talking with people! Why...why did that all come crashing down just from a simple conversation? It didn't make sense.

She found her way to the pavilion and the moment she glanced up she immediately froze. She had never seen so many people up close before. She had seen groups of people so large that they covered the entire sidewalk from her window in her room but she had never been in the midst of it. And they never looked at her. When she stepped onto the tiles on the building, the heads of the people closest to her stopped and stared openly at her. She hugged herself tighter, letting her nails dig into her skin. Did she do something wrong? Is this not where she was supposed to be? She felt sick. She wanted to cry. She wanted to go home.

Her eyes glanced around quickly, trying to make any sort of sense of what was happening. Then, she felt a sense of relief wash over her. Only two tables away from her sat Marcus with a few other kids. They were laughing and joking with each other, not paying attention to anything else around them. A familiar face. Thank the gods.

Maddie took one last glance at the people who had looked at her. Most had gone back to their conversations but now it was hushed and their eyes would make their way to Maddie every so often. She quickly made her way over to the table Marcus was at and silently sat down. No one even seemed to notice her for a few seconds, as she stared down at her hands, trying to urge them to stop shaking.

"Oh hey! Are you the new kid that Marcus was in charge of?" Maddie jumped in her seat and looked up at the seat across the table from her. He was about twice the weight as the skiny twing that Marcus was, and his smile was just as big. His brown hair was greased back and he absent mindedly ran his fingers through it as he talked.

"U-um...yeah...I'm Maddie."

Marcus finally noticed the girl and he leaned past his friend sitting next to him to get a better look at her.

"Oh! Hey, what's up? Didn't Jimmy say he was gonna have you sit with the Hermes kids at dinner?" His voice wasn't angry that she had messed up, more just curious, as if sensing there was something wrong.

"Well...I…" Maddie glanced around again and her eyes finally found Jimmy towards the back of the pavilion. Sitting right next to him was the girl she had seen earlier on the beach and Maddie's stomach twisted.

"I...went down to the lake and lost track of time...I didn't know anyone else so I sat down here...I can move if I'm not allowed to though…"

"Move!? No way! You can totally sit with us Maddie!" The girl sitting right next to Maddie smiled brightly at her. "I'm Kelly, nice to meet you. That's Aaron, and well, you know Marcus. That's Alicia and Hunter." The girl motioned to each new person as she introduced them. Maddie felt herself relaxing a tiny bit as each person was introduced and they did nothing but smile warmly at her or make a funny face.

"So you went down to the lake, huh? Didn't think about putting on a swimsuit? You're completely drenched!" Aaron laughed as if he told the funniest joke in the world, loud and uncaring about who he might bother with his loudness.

"Bathing suit?"

"Huh? Do you not know what a bathing suit is? You usually wear one when you go to the beach or the lake." Kelly's brown eyes looked at Maddie curiously.

"N-no...I don't know...I've never been to the beach before. It was my first time seeing a body of water."

"No way! Well no wonder you got excited and lost track of time!" Kelly leaned over and put her mouth close to Maddie's ear, "though next time I do heavily suggest a bathing suit. It's better then clothes awkwardly clinging to you." Maddie's face went red again and she started folding in on herself again. Kelly looked at her with worried eyes and gave her a small pat on the shoulder.

"It's alright kiddo. No worries. Just a suggestion. It's not too bad, I promise." Kelly's smile was sweet and genuine, giving Maddie encouragement. While she still felt awkward and strange, at least these people weren't staring at her or making weird comments. They were nice. She liked them.

As everyone arrived, Marcus explained to Maddie how dinner and most meals worked here. How you could have anything you could possibly want but just make sure you offer some of it to the gods as well. Maddie stared long and hard at the plate in front of her as her mother's words echoed in her mind from the first and last time they had gone to a restaurant together. Don't get anything that will require silverware. Not out in public. You have better control at home." Maddie finally decided on a hamburger covered in ketchup and cheese. It appeared wonderfully in front of her and it was one of the most delicious things she had ever eaten. Yet, even the excitement of the food did not compare to the feeling she got when she had cut off a large chunk of the hamburger and thrown it into the giant bonfire. Watching it burn in front of her eyes as the fire grew brighter and took on the delicious smell made her entire body feel light with happiness. She had just made her first real connection with the gods. She could feel it. They were thanking her and applauding her from thousands of miles away. She had almost started crying from joy.

Dinner made up for everything that had happened before. Marcus and his friends were funny and interesting. Kelly and Aaron were a lot more willing to explain how things were run at camp then Marcus had been before. They explained how one could potentially get claimed, how you could often find yourself being praised by a god that wasn't your parent which could result in special powers and abilities being granted to the demigod, how there was training and games to keep demigods up to shape and in battle form, and how Mr. D. himself was a god. At that Maddie had lost her mind, completely baffled that she had managed to meet a god and didn't even know it. The rest of the table had laughed at her shock, but it was a good laugh, one that she was a part of. It was the perfect ending to the day. Maddie didn't even stick around to go to the campfire, she was so worn out. She had gone right back to her cabin after she had eaten. Darkness began to fall and she felt her nerves kick in with every step back to the cabin. She let out a sign of relief when she was finally back inside with a bright light shining over her head.

Her first instinct was to go right to bed. Let her head hit the pillow and instantly fall asleep. Yet, she sat by the window of the cabin and stared up into the sky.

There it was. The moon. It looked even brighter and bigger out here in the countryside. It stole Maddie's breath away.

"I promise that I'll do everything I can to make you notice me...there's nothing I want more in my life then to please you. I will become worthy. I know I will."