"What lady?" I ask figuring that she's just one of Ben's imaginary friends.
"The lady with the pet peacock. She had a crown on her head." Ben said starting on another drawing. This one was of a woman, but unlike Ben's usual drawings this one was completely realistic. The woman appeared to be a queen due to the jewel incrusted crown she wore and the cold look on her face. It said that terrible things would happen if you dared challenge her. And for some odd reason she seems familiar. This was starting to get weird.
"Elizabeth? You need to hurry or we'll be late arriving. I told the director that we'd be there in time for dinner, so if you want to have time for me to eat with you you'd better hurry," my dad called from some where in the house. Looking at my watch it read 11:58.
"Look Buddy its time for me to go, but I'll see you soon okay? I'll call as soon as we get there," I said bending down to kiss Ben's head. He gave me a hug so tight that it made it hard to breath and then handed me both of the drawings. Leaving Ben is probably going to be the hardest part of leaving- well next to leaving Dad. I start to tear up as I walk out of Ben's room. Truthfully he feels more like my own child than my little brother, but that's mostly due to the fact that Gwen never did much child rearing. The next three months at camp will be the hardest three months of my life because I've never gone more than a day without seeing my little Benny.
Climbing into the car I felt excitement stir in my stomach, but for some unknown reason also fear.
"Are you ready," my dad asks. Am I ready for what may possibly be the most exciting three months of my life?
"Yes." And with that we were off to my new home for the next three months.
The entire car ride was about six hours to get from Boston, where we live, to New York City, where the camp is located. Although I was only awake for about two of those hours, the other four were spent having nightmares like the one I had last night. I don't really remember how I got rid of my nightmares last time, but whenever I try to remember I picture this woman. She's smiling and her warm grey eyes make her look very caring. I'm not really sure who she is, but I've always thought that she might be my mother.
Dad stops at the bottom of a hill. While we were driving I saw a sign that said something about strawberries. Why would we be stopping at a strawberry field?
"Dad? Where are we?"
"Camp Half-Blood. "And with that he steps out of the car and starts up the hill. I awkwardly scramble out of the car and run to catch up to him. Camp Half-Blood? That's an odd name for a camp but even stranger the name gives me a feeling of peace and home. Now that we're farther up the hill I can see a huge pine tree and the entrance to what appears to be Camp Half-Blood. I'm actually surprised that I can read the sign/entrance to camp because I'm dyslexic so usually whenever I try to read words get mixed up. Which is a pain for me because I love to read.
My dad stops right in front of me suddenly causing me to crash into him.
"Dad!" he turns around to face me suddenly all serious, which is something that he rarely is around me.
"Today you're going to learn and see things that won't make any sense, but everything will be explained. This is where you belong. Where we belong. I went to camp here and it very well saved my life. Now you're going to camp here and one day maybe even Ben if I see the need. But you have to trust me and keep an open mind about everything you're going to learn today, okay?" seeing him so serious scared me and even though I didn't understand half of what he's saying I do trust him so I'll do as he says.
"Okay Daddy." My dad then took my hand and together we walked into Camp Half-Blood. Looking around I nearly fainted. No speech anyone could have ever given me could have prepared me for this. There were people with goat legs and a man with the bottom half of a horse. And the horse-man was headed toward us.
"Thomas Mathews. It's been years my friend, and why this must be your lovely daughter Elizabeth. She's the perfect mixture of you and her mother. When Dionysus and I heard that she was going to be a camper we were ecstatic, well about as ecstatic as Dionysus gets."
"You knew my mother?" how did this horse-man know my mother? Did she go to camp here with my dad? He never really talks about her and the one time I did ask he said she was a smart beautifully woman who died in childbirth with me. After that I never asked again. I didn't want him to feel guilty about me being born.
"Correction. I know your mother."