It was a bow and quiver of arrows, all seemingly made of gold. Will's eyes widened. Ana smiled.

"I love it!" I crowed, looking at the little attached note, which said:

Ella,

Though I have only met you once, I feel very proud of you. Only two other people have hit the bullseye on the first try! Can you guess who?

Apollo and Artemis, I thought.

They were my baby sister and me!

I smiled in spite of myself.

I look forward to meeting you again! And tell your mother that I say hi. Here is a bow and some arrows for you. Hephaestus made them for me a long time ago, but I don't usually use them anymore.

Your wonderful father,

Apollo

"Wow!" I said, holding my bow and strapping the quiver on my back. "This is so cool!"

Will said, "Well, seeing as I'm not needed, later Ana. Later El."

"That could get annoying," laughed Ana.

"DON'T CALL ME EL!" I yelled after him. I realized just how immature he was, and how much I hated myself for liking him.

"Ignore him," smiled Ana, shaking her head.

"That's the plan." I slouched against a wall.

Ana looked at my face thoughtfully and decided, "You like him."

I jumped up. "I most certainly do NOT!"

"That's one of the signs! Oh, even though I've just met you, I feel so happy for you! When did you realize it?"

I determined it was best to be honest. So I grumbled, "About ten seconds ago."

"Really? From what I saw, it seemed like a lot more."

"What do you mean?" I was actually curious.

"Well, you kept glancing at him and locking eyes with him. Then you would look away quickly. Both of you."

"We were having a conversation. You look at people when you're talking to them."

"Apparently you don't, because you're avoiding looking at my face."

"I'm just a little shocked, okay? Leave me alone! Please!"

I walked out of the cabin, but not before I caught the look on my sister's face. She was amused. Like she thought it was funny or something.

I decided to go to the archery range to try out my new bow when I saw Patrick, son of Athena.

"Hi," I greeted with a tiny wave.

"Hey," he said, releasing his arrow, which missed the target by a long shot.

"Do you need help with that?" I offered.

"Yeah."

I approached Patrick, realizing the slight arrogant swagger in my walk. How long had that been there? And why? So I stood with perfect posture and continued walking.

I took out my bow and held it in the natural way.

"Try to hold it like this," I said. His arms tried to grip his bow like I gripped mine, but they wouldn't cooperate.

"I'm hopeless."

"No, your hands are just in the wrong places. Here." I moved his arms into their right positions. He fired, and it hit the bullseye.

"You, Ella, are a miracle worker."

He and I shared a quick smile. But then I realized what I was doing and looked away.

"So, uh, I guess I'll see you around," I said slowly as I backed away.

"I'll see you around," he said just as awkwardly.

I turned tail and ran away before anything weird could happen.

I assumed that I should try my hand at swordfighting, just to see if I was good at it. I probably wasn't, but it wouldn't hurt to try! And guess who I saw at the arena? Tom, son of Ares!

"Hi."

His eyes found me. "Hi, Ella. You need help picking out a weapon?" He was smirking.

"No I do not need help picking out a weapon," I retorted. He rolled his eyes and walked over anyway.

He pointed at a thin, long sword and said, "I'd try that one if I were you. It's good for beginners."

I felt like swinging it at him, but I picked it up anyway and held it in a way that I was sure was wrong- I was holding it straight out in front of me with both hands. I instantly hated it. I hated how it made my arms heavy. I hated how it was so... so... unbalanced. I hated the damage it could inflict. Sure, an arrow could kill someone, but it's not like you walk up to them and it them with it! Arrows seemed a lot less personal to me. And with arrows you could do a sneak attack. But nooooo, not with a sword.

Tom raised his eyebrows at my stance. "Wow. You actually expect to beat me standing like that?"

"Of course I do," I said just to spite him. He sighed and approached me, looking like some sort of knight or something.

"Ready?" he laughed condescendingly.

"Do your worst," I challenged, instantly regretting it. He came flying at me with no warning at all!

Barely two seconds in, his sword was against my throat.

"I win!"

"You cheated," I grumbled.

"You're just mad because you lost."

I had to admit that it was a blow to my "inflated ego," as my best friend Beth had said so kindly. I should have called her by now! I should have-

"El? Tom? What're you guys... doing?" Will looked incredibly confused.

"Will!" I said happily. Then I fixed my voice to contempt. "I mean, don't call me El!"

Tom said to Will, "Ella and I were just having a little party. We would have invited you, but I forgot."

Will ignored him. "So, El, how are you doing?"

"I was fine until you got here."

Tom "Oooooo"ed stupidly.

"Um... can I borrow a pen?" Will asked expectantly. I must have looked crestfallen. I was expecting him to ask something much more important!

My false anger faded because my curiosity took over. "Why do you need a pen?"

"Well, I need to write something."

I raised a questioning eyebrow, but couldn't help cracking a smile. I guessed that the overall effect was ruined. He smiled, showing his adorable boyish dimples.

"Please, El?"

I fished in my pockets for a pen, and found one. I tossed it to him. "Here, Will. Just remember to give it back, okay?"

"El, you're my new best friend."

"Whatever." I automatically flipped my long hair over my shoulder. I saw Will's eyes following it, before setting on my eyes.

"Thanks for letting me use your pen, best friend!"

I sighed happily and shook my head, smiling, as he ran away like a puppy. I turned to Tom, who was looking menacingly in the direction of Will.

"Who does he think he is?" I heard Tom muttering. "Best friend? As if."

"Did you say something?"

Tom's eyes widened. "Uh, no. You're doing really well in swordfighting!"

I laughed in a way that showed I wasn't amused. "Yeah, right." I slumped against a wall of the arena until I was sitting on the ground. Tom sat next to me, and I involuntarily leaned the other way.

"So," I said to break the awkward silence. "Why do you think Will needs a pen?"

"He probably needs to sign a form to launch his modeling career," grumbled Tom.

"I thought you guys were friends."

Tom said darkly, "I did too."

I stood up. "Thanks for helping me, but I think I'm a lost case when it comes to swords. Archery I can handle, but not swordfighting."

His dark composure dropped and he laughed merrily. "I might need a tutor in archery!"

"If you do, I'll be willing to help."

Tom was nice, if not a little egotistical. But I still preferred Will.

"I'm going to hunt down my pen!" I announced with a goodbye wave. He waved back, and I smiled.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into.