"Anyhow," I said, changing the topic, "what are you doing later?"

"I'm going to the archery range to practice, if you want, I could teach you," Hannah offered, I flinched. Sharp arrows? I'll pass. But I wanted to try and connect with some people at the camp, so I agreed. I shoved the dagger into my pocket and we set off. The archery range was right next to us. So it wasn't that much of a stroll there.

"Here you go," Hannah said, tossing me a spare bow. She also strapped some safety gear on me.

"Uhm, how do I use it?" I squeaked, and my hands were wobbly.

"Hold the bow right up to your face, and keep your eyes open," Hannah ordered and I did as she said.

"Like this?"

"Relax a bit, don't grip the bow too tight. Sometimes less is more." she said, and I loosened my right hand's grip a tiny bit. She got a plastic arrow and placed it onto the training bow, "Make sure that you hear a click sound when you're attaching it to the string,"

"Got it," I replied.

"Okay, one finger above the arrow, two fingers below on the first groove," she instructed, placing my left hand in the position. I aimed at the target with blue and white lines but the goal was the red circle.

"Do I shoot yet?"

"Not yet," Hannah chuckled, "relax the top finger a bit and draw back right at your corner of the mouth."

"Like this?"

" Lean your head a bit closer," she replied, "now let the arrow glide,"

I took a deep breath. Just let the arrow glide, like how Hannah said. I took another deep breath before letting the arrow fly. I shut my eyes, praying I didn't mess up. My heart was beating and I slowly opened my eyes. I didn't hit the red circle. I got the arrow on a blue line. I was disappointed but Hannah said she was impressed. She said no one usually gets anything on the target as a beginner on the first try. So at least I didn't fail like a total dummy.

But that gave me hope, and it meant a lot that Hannah still didn't lose hope in me. We practiced a few more times and Hannah gave me tips. Twenty minutes had passed and I still didn't hit the red circle. I was losing my spirit.

"Maybe we should call it a day..." I sighed. I was sweaty and my legs were aching with pain. I glanced at the sun and scowled.

"Maybe," Hannah shrugged. The sun was really hot today. It was beating down on us and probably smiling smugly. Then I felt bitter and angry at everything. I'm Amara Shine, I can't show people I'm weak!

I stretched the string back, and let it glide. I knew it was just going to be a flop. But then a miracle happened. The arrow hit the red circle, and that meant I did it.

"YES!" I cheered, jumping up and down.

"Amara, you did it!" Hannah shouted, bewildered.

"Heck yeah, I did!" I exclaimed.

"You got the Amara touch," Hannah joked, chuckling. I smiled back at her.

"Yeah, I do have my Amara touch,"

We finished up and walked back to Cabin #11, chatting.

"And that's how I won the fight with Alecia," Hannah chuckled. I laughed.

"All this over a diet?"

"Mhm, Alecia was on a strict vegan diet," she joked, her giggles echoing through the empty cabin.

"She sounds like a great person," I replied, and Hannah nodded.

"Alecia was the greatest friend ever," she sighed, and I chuckled.

"If you don't mind me asking, what was she like?"

"Oh," Hannah said, laughing softly, "she was awesome. Alecia was always there for me, always annoyed at the fact I was taller than her. And she was sweet, nevertheless, willing to risk her life for others,"

"Like how she saved Cabin #9 today from those hellhounds?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah, always her flaw. Doesn't matter if it's a total stranger, she will protect everyone from danger. That's what I've always admired about Alecia," Hannah explained, " with her shining hair, pale skin, and dazzling gray eyes."

"She sounded like an amazing person,"

"Thank you, Shine," she said. I chuckled. I've never had someone call me by my last name. So that's how it feels. I saw a slight tear run down her cheek, but I wasn't worried. It was a happy tear.

"I'm going to the washroom," I said, and Hannah wiped her tears away.

"It's by Cabin #4, 5, 6, and 7, hard to miss."

"Thanks," I replied and left the cabin. Wow, my first day and it's already intense. Nice, I like drama. Not the wrong kind but the heartwarming kind. If that makes sense.

I got to the washroom and heard giggles in the girls' washroom. I slowly opened the door to find the group from earlier. Girls of Aphrodite. Ugh, but why call yourselves that if not all of them are children of Aphrodite?! The name is misleading. The teenage girls were painting some kind of blueberry mush all over the mirrors. There was only one girl who wasn't joining in. Leah Smith. The one who both Elizabeth and Thomas warned me about. It took minutes before they noticed me standing in the doorway.

"Oops," a girl with red hair chuckled.

"We won't tell if you don't tell!" a girl with black hair and dark skin giggled.

"And we don't like snitches, right girls?" a girl with black and dyed pink hair said, looking at me like I ran over their dog. I gulped, swallowing my pride.

"Yeah, we hate snitches," another girl said, flickering her hair.

"I-I-I—I won't tell Chiron. I promise," I cried, my heart pumping.

" Good," the girl with red hair chuckled.

"Can we go now?" the black-haired girl whined and the Girls of Aphrodite ran out, laughing.

"C'mon Leah," the black and pink-haired girl said. Leah chuckled and walked up to me. My chest started to beat faster and my chest felt like it hurt. My hands were shaking and were so sweaty. Suddenly, I didn't want to use the washroom anymore.

Why did Leah want to talk to me? Because she wants to mock me? Or was it because I was smaller like a wimp? Or is it because she wants to hurt me? The possibilities are endless.

"So, you're Amara Shine?"

"Y-y-yes," I stammered, holding my breath.

"You're a little young for a demi-god. You're an in-betweener then," Leah said, taking a look at me. She turned to the other girl, "I'm going to give the new girl a tour,"

"Fine, whatever," the girl scoffed and left the small washroom. Leah let out a deep sigh before turning to me.

"H-hello," I stuttered, still paralyzed with fear.

"I'm Leah Smith," she chuckled, and I quickly nodded.

"I know, Elizabeth and Thomas told me all about you,"

"Oh, those two," Leah scolded and opened the door, "c'mon,"

I wanted to tell her that I already got a tour but I was too scared of what she might say. I just nodded and we walked around the camp for a bit.

"There's a lot of trails around here," I squeaked, Leah grinned at me.

"Ah, that's the first thing you uttered that wasn't a stutter," she laughed, I blushed.

"Sorry,"

"Don't say sorry for that, you're just nervous. I get it," Leah said, shrugging. I smiled slightly, relaxing a bit.

"That's Apollo's nurse's office, AKA the mini hospital," Leah said, pointing at a small building.

"Nice,"

"Yep, it's right by the training area, you know, because of some injuries." she laughed and spotted a teenage boy in the crowd.

"Oh dear, what the Hades did he do now?" Leah sighed and rushed to the yelling crowd.

"Wait up!" I cried, running after her. There was a fight going on. And some people were yelling to break a boy and a girl up from the fight. The first one was a fourteen-year-old boy, with light brown skin, a black jacket, and messy hair. People were struggling to hold him back.

But there was also a girl, in fact, it was Cora! She had a bruise on her right eye and a cut on her wrist.

"By the Graces, what happened to you, Jarvis?!" Leah cried, rushing to the boy's side.

"It doesn't matter, Leah," the boy scoffed, grunting. He was slightly bleeding on his side. That must be Jarvis Reins. He's scarier in person.

"Jarvis, you're bleeding, it does matter. I told you to stop getting angry—"

"SHUT UP, THAT GIRL STARTED IT!" the boy barked, making people jump back. He turned to Cora with a cruel look on his face, " hope you're happy, water girl."

"It was an accident! I didn't mean to stab you!" Cora cried, crying her eyes out.

"You stabbed him?" I asked, shocked.

"I was practicing with my spear and I didn't notice him, so I hit him by mistake! I swear!" Cora sobbed, and then a familiar pair showed up at the scene. It was Elizabeth and Thomas! Thank god!

"Jarvis, it was clearly a mistake, so man up," Elizabeth scowled.

"That still doesn't explain why he's so roughed up!" Leah yelled, standing up, "So get lost, granny."

"Oh really? You want to play dirty?" Elizabeth said, and Thomas put his hand on her shoulder.

"Let's just calm down—"

"Don't you dare tell me how to calm down!" Jarvis protested, and Thomas scoffed.

"Rude!" he muttered.

"H-he punched me in the eye when I mistakenly stabbed him, and there was a big puddle. And I'm a daughter of Poseidon and I just snap—"

"Snapped?" I replied, knowing the feeling. She nodded.

"The water threw him back onto a rock, that's how he got those cuts. And then Jarvis became mad..."

"See? Case closed?" Thomas said, and Jarvis snarled.

"I think you just made a grave error," he scolded, and turned to me, "you too,"

I gulped, knowing I just made an enemy. Oh, why? It's only my first day! How did I even get involved?!

"Jarvis, let's go to the nurse's office," Leah said, offering her hand. Jarvis harshly brushed her off, leaving. Leah gave one last glare at Elizabeth before she left. I shuddered. I think we just messed up like REALLY messed up.

"Idiots," Elizabeth scolded, helping Cora up.

"Thanks, I just don't get that dude," Cora sighed, and a boy with goat legs walked up to us. WAIT, GOAT LEGS?! Yeah, freaking goat legs and small horns on his head. But everything else was normal.

"Sorry about Jarvis, he's in Cabin #13 with me. He's grumpy sometimes," the boy chuckled, " hey, you're new right?"

"Yep, Amara Shine," I replied, sighing.

"I'm Lucas, son of Pan," Lucas said, showing off his legs, " I'm your local smuggler!"

"Lucas is a perfect example of a lesser demi-god," Thomas said, Lucas gave him a funny look.

"I am?"

"Yup! A lesser demi-god is someone whose godly parent is a minor god, thus, they have smaller powers," Thomas explained, I nodded.

"I know, Eleos explained to me," I replied, and I turned to Elizabeth, "that prompts me, you're a granddaughter of Athena. But you mentioned you had powers,"

" I have the power of analysis, I can find your greatest weakness," she nodded, and I grinned.

"Ouch!" Cora grunted as Lucas pulled her arm.

"Sorry!"

"You should go down to the nurse's office, Cora," Thomas suggested, she nodded.

"Can someone take me there? I don't want to run into Jarvis again," Cora asked, and everyone pointed at me.

"Why me?!" I cried.

"I need to go visit Chiron and help him print the flashcards," Elizabeth shrugged.

"Flashcards? Really—"

"And I need to go back to the cabin for—uh," Thomas said, thinking up a lie. I turned to Lucas.

"Hey, don't look at me, I'm busy too!"

"Fine, I'll go with Cora," I sighed and we parted ways. It was a quiet and awkward walk to the nurse's office. As we got there, I pushed open the door to help Cora get in. We were led through a dark hallway and into a small hospital-like room. We stayed in a tiny room to wait for a child of Apollo. The was wooden and was pretty standard for a hospital. I sat on a chair while Cora propped herself on the infirmary bed.

"So, how does this work? Like does an Apollo kid just come and check on you?"

" Oh, most of them have the power of healing, and then they just work their magic. I dunno," she shrugged, and I chuckled.

"So," I said, scratching my head.

"So what?" Cora giggled, and I sighed.

"Nevermind," I mumbled, "so you're a daughter of Poseidon, right?"

"Mhm, but uhm," Cora stammered, leaning in closer, " I'm frankly, a little scared of my powers. I know it's dumb and silly,"

"Why? Are your abilities dangerous?" I asked, edging closer, " Cora—"

"NO!" Cora yelled, startling me.

I breathed heavily, stunned. I was scared, nervous, anxious, and worried. I had ebbed too close. Cora seemed pretty chill and neutral, but then she just snapped. But I've only known her for what, an hour at least? I shouldn't press my luck and think everyone wants to be my friend.

"I—I didn't mean that, Amara," Cora stammered, I stayed quiet.

"It's fine," I mumbled.

"Amara, please forgive me—"

"Is there a Cora Anderson-Chang here?" a young man, about eighteen, asked.

"Yeah," Cora sighed, turning away from me. The boy checked Cora, asking lots of questions before he stopped touching her eye.

"Hmm,"

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, hold still," he said, and his hands started glowing.

"Whoa," I gasped, trying not to freak out. Why are his hands glowing?!

"This might tickle," the boy warned, and Cora nodded. I leaned closer, eager to see what was going to happen. The boy closed his eyes, and the room lit up. No, ACTUALLY, the room lit up. My stomach hurled and my eyes got fizzy. I felt pressure all over my skin, and this itching feeling. I held onto my glasses for support. This shouldn't have any effect on me, make it stop! The boy is just healing Cora, quit being a wimp! It felt like spiders were crawling all over my skin, and I HATE spiders. And all sorts of bugs.

"Amara?" Cora asked, halfway through. I covered my ears even though my hearing was shot. I shut my eyes, locking this strange feeling away...