"Hey, honey," Mom says as I walk in the door. "Hi, Mom." "How was the first day?" She asks excitedly. I shrug. "It was ok. I got a lot of, 'Wow, Celeste, that's a unique name!' Per usual." Mom laughs. "Well, that's what I get for naming my daughter Celeste." I laugh, too. "I wasn't in any classes with Dylan, or lunch." "Well, it'll be ok, Celeste. You'll still walk to school, and home together. You can see him on the weekends, too. And, of course, he's coming to your birthday party in a few days." I smile at the mention of my birthday. "Is there anybody else you met today that you'd like to invite?" I think for a moment. "No, not really. I met a lot of people, but no one really stood out. They all felt kind of-" "Blah," we say together. "Well, sweetie, that's because you've only hung out with one type." "Make that one person, Mom." She laughs. "Well, you're not wrong, sweetie." "I'm going to go upstairs now, Mom." "Ok. I'll call you down when dinner is ready." I nod. I hop up the stairs and sit down on my bed. I survey my bookshelf and choose a book of Greek myths. I find them fascinating. I read the myth of Narcissis and then became aware of a shadow against my window. I gulp back a scream and open my window.

What I see is a complete and utter surprise. Dylan is there, hanging of the side of the roof, his face just close enough to my window to cast the shadow. His hat is off, and peeking out from under his hair is something I can't believe : goat horns. His crutches are nowhere in sight. "Dylan!" I cry. "Celeste! Hi. Please help me." I nod and pull him up through the window. Suddenly, I get dizzy. His bottom legs are now covered in fur, like a donkey's pelt, and where his feet were, there are hooves, painted with nail polish in the colors of the rainbow. Still Dylan. "Dylan, are you a- a Satyr?" "Ah, thank gods you read the myths, or you'd be like every other person who thought I was half donkey. I mean, really!" "Dylan, is there something you'd like to explain?" "Well, those myths you read, they aren't myths. They're real. Do you know what demigods are?" "Of course. The offspring of a god and a mortal. Some of the greatest heroes were demigods." "Well, they haven't stopped happening. There's a camp for them, around here. I work there. I go to retrieve the demigods, and bring them there before the monsters start getting at them. When you were born, I got a new assignment. I was put under an enchantment to age like a normal human, and I was placed in an undercover home to keep you safe. You know how I've been looking all beat up lately?" I nod. "Yeah, well, that's because it's started. You're a little young for normal demigods to start getting hunted, but, well, you're different. I've been fighting them off until you knew." "So, do you know who my dad is?" Dylan looks away. "Yes. Just, look at your eyes. And your ever-lasting tan. Then tell me who you think it is." I pick up a mirror and look deep into my own eyes. They're sea green and have flecks of blue. It reminds me of when I first saw the ocean. "Poseidon!" I cry. Dylan nods. "Children of the Big Three like you are unpredictable. At one point, there was an oath between the Big Three that they wouldn't have any kids. That's over now, because they realized that kids of the Big Three usually end up saving the world. Take your half-brother for example, or Zeus' kids, your cousins. They've saved the world a couple of times." "I have a half brother?" "A lot, actually. But, he's is the only demigod. I wish I knew his name,though." "This is a little fast for so much information." "I hope it's not too fast, 'cause we got to go!" He grabs my hand and jumps out the window.

We slide down the shingles rather uncomfortably. "Wait, you have your phone!" "Yeah, so?" "Hurry! Put it back! I'll explain later!" I nod and climb up the roof as best I can and throw my phone back into my room. It lands on my bed. I turn and slide all the way down. I run into Dylan, who slows my roll and we're going at the same speed soon. "Aw, dang it, Celeste, you chipped my polish!" Dylan says, glancing at his hooves. I laugh. "Sorry, princess, I didn't mean to." "Hey," he says. "When you've got this much nail to paint, you just have to." I laugh again. "C'mon. We don't have much time." I nod. "Let's go." He grabs my hand again and we stumble off the roof and onto the ground. We fall hard. My head bleeds. Dylan's arm is scraped and bleeding. He looks up to my head and pulls a water bottle out of his pocket. He unscrews the cap and removes it. "Dylan, what are you doing?" He tips some of the water onto my head. I feel the wound instantly healing. "That's just one of the many perks of being a Poseidon kid." "There are more?" I ask. "Too many to count." We start to run again.

We're at Long Island, and I'm about ready to pass out from exhaustion. "Are we there yet?" I groan. "Just about," Dylan says. He pushes me forward. I gasp. There's a camp right where I didn't see anything before! There are strawberry bushes, cabins, a big house with a blue roof, and campers all over. They're all sporting orange t-shirts. I walk past a pine tree with a golden fleece hanging on a branch as I marvel.

One of the nearest campers, a little girl with blonde hair and hazel eyes stops in her tracks when she sees me. "Hey," you're new," she says. I nod. "Annie!" An older girl with blonde hair and grey eyes walks up and says, "Do not call me that, Jensen." "Fine," Jensen, the little girl, says, kicking a rock. "Well, then. You must be a new camper." I nod. "I'm Annabeth. I'm the head counselor of The Athena Cabin. I'm sure Dylan has explained everything to you." I nod again. She looks to Dylan. "You'd better get back to Celeste. She's almost old enough for the monsters," she says. "Dude," Dylan says. "This is Celeste." Annabeth jumps. "Come to think of it, she does look a lot like Percy," the Jensen says. "Oh, you're right, Jensen! Percy will be thrilled!" I lean toward Dylan and whisper, "Who's Percy?" "No idea. I've watched you exclusively for almost twelve years, remember?" I nod. "Jensen, go get Percy." Jensen runs off to get Percy. She races back a minute later, a tall boy, about seventeen, following behind her. His hair is jet black and his eyes are pure, 100% sea green. He looks to Annabeth and says quietly, "I have a sister?" Jensen nods. "You have a sister." "Woah. Cool." Annabeth smiles and gestures to me. "Percy, this is Celeste. Celeste, this is Percy." Dylan leans over to Annabeth and whispers, "I don't know who he is, either." "Oh, of course. Percy, this is Dylan. He's Celeste's protector." Percy glances at Dylan and says, "Do you know Grover Underwood?" Dylan smiles excitedly. "Um, yeah! He found Pan! Even I heard about that! He's amazing! I've been wanting to meet him for years now! Why?" "He was my protector. You look a lot like him." Percy glances at Dylan's hooves. "Although, he never painted his nails." Dylan blushes. Percy shakes Dylan's hand and looks back at me. "Pretty shocking, isn't it?" I nod. "Little bit." "Well, on my first night as a half-blood, my mom died." "Oh. I'm soooooo sorry, I-" Percy laughs. "It's ok. She's perfectly fine." "What? How?" He laughs again. "Very, very, very long story." "You can tell it to me later." "I will. Now, I've got training to do. See ya later. Dylan will take it from here." I glance at Dylan. He curses. "I forgot! I'll be right back!" With that, he runs off. I sigh and seat myself on a stump. From experience : when Dylan says he'll be 'right back', it is never true.