Inexperienced

I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew, we were driving up a hill. As the car stopped, I looked around. There wasn't really anything special to see on the hill. On one side, there were just other hills, and on the other side, all I could see was the upper half of a big pine tree.

Aloisyus paid the taxi driver and got out of the car. I got out too, and wondered how I could ever have missed the fact that he had a very funny walk. Now that I knew that he was a satyr, it was obvious. It wouldn't surprise me if he had horns beneath that mass of brown curls.

His voice snapped me out of my stream of thoughts, and I realised that he was quite far away from me already. 'Anne, come on along!' he called and he walked towards the pine tree. As I neared it, the valley behind it came into view, in which a strange collection of buildings stood. Right through the middle ran a narrow river that ended into the sea. Behind the volleyballpit, which was closest to the tree, stood a very big, very blue landhouse. Aloisyus was walking fast towards the house. I stopped examining the valley and trudged off after him.

As we approached the house, I saw that a man in a wheelchair was sitting on the porch. He smiled at me kindly as I walked up the steps. Aloisyus was already standing next to him, keeping a respectful distance. 'Hello Anne, I am Chiron, the activities director.' the man said, and he held out his hand. Shaking it, I said, 'Pleased to meet you.' To be honest, he frightened me a little. He had that air of authority around him that you have with good, but strict teachers. Besides, I had a feeling that something wasn't right about his appearance.
Suddenly, I remembered. Chiron was the centaur that had trained a lot of ancient greek heroes, including Achilles. 'The Chiron?' I asked, 'from Greek Mythology?' 'The very one.' he replied, a smile playing around his lips. I still didn't understand. 'But... I thought you were a centaur...' 'I am. This is just my disguise. Now, I am sure you have many questions.' I nodded, and opened my mouth. He held up his hand to silence me, and continued, 'These will have to wait, as I'm sure a lot of them will be answered when you get claimed at the campfire tonight.' I still couldn't hold in my curiosity. 'But I still don't know what that means! Nor do I know what this place is!' Chiron chuckled, and looked at Aloisyus. He shrugged and said, 'I didn't really have the time to tell her the basics. She was asking a lot of questions.'
Chiron looked back at me and sighed. 'Then I will tell you that information. To be claimed means that your godly parent gives a sign that you are their child. A few years ago, a demigod named Percy Jackson arranged with the gods that they would claim their children when they were thirteen years old. You are actually quite old for a demigod to arrive for the first time here, at Camp Half-Blood. This Camp is one of the very few safe places for demigods, as it has magical borders. Now you must really get along. Aloisyus will show you the way around, and then I will see you tonight, at the campfire.'
We said our goodbyes and walked further into the valley. From what I had seen on top of the hill, there was a lot to discover.

Notes