"You know Maddie, you should grow your hair out again. It looks better that way." Thomas leaned against the table and smiled brightly at her as he finished eating his plate of food.

Maddie stopped before taking another bite and gave him a confused look. "Huh…? But I kinda like my hair short like this. It doesn't get in the way as much and it's cooler this way too." Plus...bullies can't pull on it as easily…

"I'm not saying you have to, just making a comment on how it looks cuter when it's longer. I personally liked it when it was longer."

"But we hadn't met before the fire had burnt it all off."

"Just because we hadn't met didn't mean I hadn't seen you. Let's be honest, you stuck out a lot when you first arrived. The smiley little psycho kid. It's why all that awful stuff happened to you. Thankfully I was around to help with the aftermath….if only I had been brave enough to approach you sooner none of that would have had to happen. Yet, now that I think about it, Marcus had been with you from the start, yeah? Why didn't he do anything to stop it?"

"H-he was there! B-before even capture the flag I was being...a-attacked...and he saved me…"

"Yeah but it was because of how he saved you that led to capture the flag right? But after we met no one has bothered you like that! Look, I'm not trying to paint him in a bad light or anything, just an observation I made."

Maddie awkwardly put down her food, suddenly no longer hungry. "I...I guess you're right...but I-I know that if he could have done something about it sooner he would've!"

Thomas messed with her hair and laughed. "I know, I know. Marcus is a good guy. Just sucks that he isn't here all the time though, right? But maybe that's a good thing! Leaves more time for you and I to be together."

Maddie nodded her head and smiled at him. Why did Thomas always have to be right? She wanted to hang out with Marcus and Kelly and everyone more and more but ever since the campers had returned they had been leaving more frequently, not even bothering to tell her when they would be going anymore. She found herself trying to look for them more often than not these days and it had started getting really lonely again. The fact that Chameleon still hadn't returned from her quest had made it difficult as well. There were days when Maddie silently cried by Chameleon's bed, wishing for her to return. But Thomas had always been there to support and comfort her on her lonely days, and for that she would always be grateful.

"Maddie?" One of the campers approached her, waving to get her attention. "Sorry to bother you, Chiron asked me to come find you. He's waiting at the big house."

Maddie glanced curiously at Thomas who gave a shrug.

"Do you want me to come with you?" He offered, already starting to stand up.

"No, no. It's fine. I'll be right back."

Maddie quickly made her way to the Big House. Her thoughts reeled trying to figure out what he may want. Was she in trouble? Did she do something wrong? Did she forget to put away the training dummies from last night? Was it...was it a quest?

As she opened the door to the house, her eyes immediately fell on Chiron who sat in his wheelchair, looking tired and worn. Next to him, sitting on one of the couches, was a short, young boy. He was constantly looking around, or swinging his legs against the couch, or intertwining and untangling his fingers together. It was hard to tell how old he was and Maddie was hit with the realization that people probably thought the same thing about her, because as he stood up, she realized they were the same height.

"Ah, Maddie. Thank you for coming here. I have a request for you. This is one of our new campers, Joey. I was hoping you'd be willing to show him around today."

"Wha-!? M-me!? You think I'm good enough to do such an important thing?"

"You're a year round camper and know the grounds better than some of the older campers. Plus, you had expressed interest to me at one point that you would like to help out new campers so I'm giving you the opportunity to do so."

"T-thank you sir! I-I won't let you down!" Maddie's hands were shaking. Could she really take on such a large responsibility? What if she screwed up and told the kid something that was incorrect? What if it was her fault that he screwed up how to sacrifice part of his food to the gods and was smited on the spot? What if-

Her feet moved without her mind and she led the kid through the doors. It'll be okay Maddie...besides! You can't do worse then when Marcus first introduced you! Well..not that he was a bad tour guide, he was just being a jerk. But then he became your best friend! Okay okay...just be nice! Just be friendly.

"I'm Maddie by the way." She said, looking at the kid with a bright smile. "I'm the daughter of Ares, god of war! Did Chiron already explain to you about how the gods work?"

"Yeah! T-t-t-though some of it is s-s-s-still r-r-really confusing and I'm n-n-n-not entirely sure what all of it m-m-m-means but it's p-p-p-pretty cool."

He spoke just as fast as his body moved, as though he was constantly stuck in the "fast forward" option on a TV remote. His mouth wasn't able to keep up with his words, causing a distinct stutter to appear. But Maddie had no qualms with it. She also had the tendency to speak in rapid fashion and was often picked on or reprimanded for it. In all honesty, it was a relief to talk to him. She didn't have to force herself to talk differently or try and hide her own stuttering words. The two of them had such similar speaking habits it was almost funny, with their long winded sentences and inability to take pauses or breaths.

Maddie showed him around camp and slowly eased into her position as tour guide. It wasn't as hard as she thought it would be, and Joey's enthusiasm only helped her to feel more at ease.

"Well, that's pretty much it! Do you have any questions?" Maddie stopped in front of the strawberry fields, brightly smiling at Joey as they looked out over the rest of the camp.

"Wow...this place is h-h-h-huge. Thanks for s-s-s-showing me around M-M-Maddie! You really k-k-know your stuff!"

Maddie let out a light laugh, "I try my best...this is actually the first time I've done something like this so I'm glad that you're happy. If you want you can eat with my friends and I at dinner tonight, that way you won't have to feel alone."

"R-R-R-Really!? Awesome!"

"Gods there you are."

Maddie looked over her shoulder and saw Thomas approaching her. She broke out into a run and collided into him, giving him a hug. "Hi Thomas!"

"I've been looking all over for you. You never returned from the Big House and I was starting to get worried. What have you been doing?"

Maddie let go and beckoned Joey over to them. "Chiron asked me to show Joey here around. He's a new camper who just arrived! Joey, this is my best friend, Thomas."

Joey bobbed his head up and down and stuck out his hand to Thomas. "N-N-N-Nice to meetcha!"

"Likewise." Thomas replied, his grip hard and demanding compared to Joey's small hands.

"Anyways Maddie, dinner's in an hour. Do you want to spend some time with me in the Apollo cabin? We never got to finish my lesson from the other day."

"Oh, right! Joey will you be okay until dinner time by yourself? It'll give you time to explore a bit. Do you remember where the pavilion is from here?"

Joey smiled confidently. "I'm the b-b-b-best navigator you'll ever m-m-meet! Of course I c-c-can! So I'll just meet you o-o-over there i-i-in an hour?"

"Yeah! I'll make sure to get there early so you can find me."

"Wait...He's eating with us?" Thomas asked, an eyebrow raising.

"Of course! I...I don't want him eating alone on his first day...it can be really intimidating...besides! He's a new friend of mine!"

Joey's smile grew at her words. "R-R-Really?! Aw yeah! I already have a f-f-friend at camp! Yahoo!"

Maddie and Joey said their hurried goodbyes before Maddie followed after Thomas towards the Apollo cabins.

"You know Maddie, it's quite impressive that you're able to make friends so easily."

"What? It's not that impressive. Besides! You have way more friends than I do!"

"That may be true. Guess we're just so irresistible, huh?" He pulled her into a sideways hug as they walked. As he let go of her, his voice and face became serious though.

"Do keep in mind though, not everyone is your friend because they like you. Some may take advantage of or try to hurt you. Just please be careful, alright? I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Maddie glanced back over her shoulder at Joey. He didn't seem like a bad person. In fact, he was really sweet and fun to be around. The two had gotten into a rhythm of talking with each other that was so natural and easy for her. It was hard to believe that he would ever do anything to harm her.

But she nodded and gave a small smile. "Right. I'll keep it in mind."

"Good. Now, why don't we head back and practice some medicine techniques? I think you'll really like what I have to show you today."

Maddie's eyes lit up and she smiled at Thomas, "is it something Apollo will like too do you think?"

Thomas looked a bit bewildered at first before recognition crossed his face. "Right, Apollo. Um. Yeah sure. Anyways, c'mon. I want my little psycho all to myself now."

Maddie giggled as he played with her hair and steered her off towards the Apollo cabin.