Update: For those of you who read this chapter last night, there was a glitch in the formatting at the end of the chapter. That's because you weren't exactly supposed to see that part yet... So let's just forget about it, okay? Good...
From the second I stepped inside the grounds, I was flooded with questions I didn't have the answers to. I only had more questions as time went on, and nobody would answer them.
I walked past kids in orange t-shirts, falling into step just behind Thomas and David. Some kids watched me as I kept walking, while others looked at me uninterestedly before returning to whatever it was they were doing before. I guess a girl walking into camp with singed hair and holes in her shirt was a normal occurrence here. I watched as two of the older boys ran past me, bows under their arms.
"They're Athena's kids," Thomas said, interjecting my thoughts. "Her children are pretty good with archery."
Thomas would have kept talking like a crazy person if David hadn't dragged him away. The Apollo boys were calling them over. I saw Thomas turn around, not wanting to leave me behind. However, I was in good hands. Well, hooves.
I swear I almost fell to the ground when I saw Chiron, who ran activities at camp, was a centaur. Half of his body was normal, while the other half looked identical to a horse. Chiron basically gave me what he called "Camp Orientation". I mumbled incoherent responses, my brain refusing to work properly. The saytrs galloping all over the place didn't exactly reassure me that I was sane, either. Let's just say that it was no surprise when I ran away to sit alone at the edge of the forest.
After a little while, I saw a girl walking up to me. She sat down in the dirt next to me, her red hair brushing against my shoulder.
"Sorry," she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm Kelsey," she said. "I figured you might need someone to talk to after everything that's been going on." I gave Kelsey a half-hearted smile. She gave me a grin in return and sat down on the ground beside me.
"I'm Alissa," I told her. I looked Kelsey over quickly. She seemed very easy and laid back. "So, who's your, um, parent?" I asked her. I was still waiting for someone to tell me everything was a joke.
"Dionysus," she replied. "He's the god of a lot of things, but most people remember him as the God of Wine," she said with a smile. I would have laughed if the conversation wasn't so foreign. Maybe. Kelsey tilted her head and looked at me with kind eyes.
"It's tough the first day," she told me sympathetically. "Gods, it's tough the first year!" Kelsey shook her head. We sat in silence for a few minutes, but it wasn't awkward. It was almost peaceful.
"It's not all bad," Kelsey said to me softly.
"I hope you're right," I whispered, not trusting myself to speak without my voice breaking. We sat in quiet again, Kelsey giving me time to think. But I didn't want to think. Maybe if I was a guy who was into sports or karate, I'd be excited to find out I had powers. However, I wasn't a guy, or much of a sports person. I didn' like fighting, and my whole life I'd tried to blend in. Knowing that I really was a freak didn't exactly make me feel better about myself.
"Where are Thomas and David?" I asked, trying to hide the unhappiness in their voice. I'd hoped they cared a little about what had happened to me, but I guess I was wrong. "They just took off and never came back." Kelsey looked at me sheepishly.
"Actually," she started, "the boys asked me to talk to you. Thomas didn't know how to explain all of this to you. As for David..." Kelsey's voice trailed off as she thought of the right words to say.
"David isn't exactly very reasurring," she finished. I laughed softly.
"I figured that out this morning," I said. Then I sighed, the smile on my face fading away. Kelsey was a big help, but this was still so much to take in. I didn't even know who my dad really was.
Kelsey suddenly gasped. She looked at a spot right above my head.
"What?" I asked, panicked. Kelsey looked up, her eyes wide. "What is it?" I asked again.
"You've been claimed, Alissa," she said to me. I looked up just in time to see a transparent symbol floating above my head before it dissolved. It was in the shape of a bow.
"What was that?" I asked carefully. Kelsey gave me a smile.
"When your claimed your godly parent identifies that you are his or her child," Kelsey said, as if she was reciting the words from a piece of paper. "The symbol of the bow represents Apollo. You are a daughter of Apollo, God of Prophecy, Music, and Healing."
Well, that was pretty convienent timing.
Everything that happened after that was pretty much a blur, but I ended up sleeping in the cabin designated to children of Apollo. I lay in bed, shocked at the day's turn of events. I would have thought sleep would be impossible, but I was unconscious before my head even hit the pillow.
End of the Chapter! Wait...what? You thought I forgot about my story? Psh...
Actually, no. I tried to update each day, but my Euro teacher decided to give me essays to write, not fanfic. But I'm back! Special thanks to my last reviewer (anom) for getting me to get up and write this.
R & R pleasepleasepleaseeee=] Thank you so much to everyone reading. I'll update much faster now that I've gotten the hang of my insane amount of school work. Promise.