Half a year. Six months have gone by since I have met anyone knew, namely Percy Jackson.
I sighed as I paced along the beach, wondering what everyone would think about me being a daughter of Zeus.
Oh, did I forget to mention that?
Well, Beckendorf and I were hanging out one day, and he was picking on me, frustrating me to Hades and back. I pushed him, and let's just say he had a shocking experience. My dad claimed me then, and I moved my few possessions, most of which were from the camp store, to my own cabin.
Today was the day everyone would be showing up right before dinner. I knew that everyone who had stayed here with me throughout the year knew that I wasn't a bad person. Nevertheless, when people hear about one of the Big Three breaking the pact, again, there were going to be question. Moreover, most of them had known Thalia.
Thalia. My mind began to wander as I thought about my older sister. She had run away when I was seven, and I missed her so much.
"Ever!" I heard Beckendorf shouting for me, but I didn't want to be found yet. I closed my eyes and wished him away, but there was still his voice. "Ever! Ever? Evangaline, where ever you are, you are dead!"
"Oh, am I now?" I called back. His footsteps are heavy as I heard him running towards me. I waited until he had spotted me, blew raspberries, and began to run away from him. My feet were light as I ran, but running in sand is not my specialty.
I laughed as he tackled me from behind, sending us both flying in the sand. I flipped over to face him with a smirk on my face. "Yes?"
He rolled his eyes but laughed. "You are such a pain. Lunch is ready." We got up and headed back towards the mess hall. I stood in my cabin "line", leading the way.
When it came time to give part of our food, I prayed a little while I was pushing some of my French fries and burger into the fire.
*Dad, please don't let everyone think too badly of me, because I really want to have friends here.*
I sat alone, as usual, bored. Chiron smiled at me. He knew my worries because I had spoken to him about my thoughts before. My mind drifted to the day that I had been claimed. Chiron had been inspecting my cuts and bruises, which had mostly faded by that point in time.
"Chiron." My mind went through our conversation. "What will happen when everyone comes back to camp?"
He looked at me surprised as he passed me salve to be spread on my left hip, which was a burn mark from the time my stepdad had pushed me into a fireplace. "Why, child, everything will happen just like normal. Camp will just seem more crowded."
"But what about when the meet me?" I winced; the salve was like ice against my burn. "Won't they think I'm trying to replace Thalia? Or will they hate me because I'm illegitimate?" I handed the tube back to Chiron, but he shook his head.
"After they get to know you, no one will think anything of you that isn't true." Chiron smiled. "And keep the salve. Put it on at least once a day or whenever it hurts."
My brain pulled back into the present as I scraped most of my food into the scraps box that we had before walking outside, walking back to my cabin. I read one of the books that Malcolm from the Athena cabin had leant me. The rest of the day passed, but I was too absorbed in the Odyssey to notice.
Finally, there was a knock on my cabin door. "It's open." I called out, turning the page.
Grover walked in and cleared his throat. I turned towards him and smiled. "Hey, Grover." I stood up and stretched, wincing at the protest from my left hip. "What's up?"
"Most of the campers have arrived, and I wanted you to meet a few people." He replied with a smile.
"Lead the way." I followed Grover to the beach where two people were sitting on the beach, one girl and one boy. I narrowed my eyes in confusion at the boy, having a strange sense of déjà vu. Grover looked at my face, but shrugged and continued leading me down.
"Percy? Annabeth!" Grover called out, a smiled on his face. The boy an Percy and Annabeth turned to look at us. They smiled at Grover as they got up.
Annabeth, who I presumed was the girl, came running over and hugged Grover. "It's great to see you again!" She announced as Percy and Grover did a "man hug" thing.
"It's been quiet with out you two around here making trouble." Grover bleated a laugh at the end. I smiled as the two laughed.
"Apparently not too quiet." Percy gestured towards me. "Nice to meet you. I am Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. This is Annabeth, daughter of Athena."
"Nice to meet you." I said in a quiet voice, not sure what to make of them at that exact moment in time.
"You mean," Grover looked between me and Percy, obviously confused, "you don't know who this is?"
"Should I?" I questioned, pulling my eyebrows together.
Grover glanced at Percy. "And you don't know her?"
Percy tilted his head. "Grover, man, what are you saying?" He ended with a small laugh.
"Percy, this is Evangaline, the girl you got on your quest. Evangaline, this is Percy, the one who brought you here." Grover explained.
"Oh, that was you?" Percy and I reacted at the same time. Annabeth's eyebrows hit her hairline as we shared a laugh.
"Wow. I see Chiron took good care of you." Percy smiled at me, a warm smile.
I ran a hand over my hair, pulled back into its normal knot at the top of my head. "I certainly feel clean and safe. And I wanted to thank you for helping me."
Just then, the dinner bell rang. All four of us made small talk as we walked up to the mess hall.
"By the way, you never told us what cabin you belong to." Annabeth smiled at me, and I reciprocated gladly. She seemed to have underlying feelings for me, and I certainly had no interest in provoking those.
"Well, Thalia is my whole sister. Same mother and father." Percy and Annabeth exchanged a look. "So that makes my dad Zeus." I stood outside my cabin in a "line" to lead the whole camp to dinner, taking a deep breath. Two down, gods know how many more.