For the first time in my entire life, I wasn’t alone. Three years and four schools later, my mom had finally found a place in New York that would accept me into their school. I was determined not to mess this up.
I was 5 months into the year with only two best friends. Ashley Lang and Skyler Wood. Ashley was super smart, with a GPA of 4.0 in middle school. She had long, wavy brown hair and brown eyes rimmed in green. Skylar was a transfer student from Manhattan. She had blonde hair and bright green eyes that looked like grass.
I was stopping by my locker on the way to 3rd period, when Skyler came up behind me.
“Abby, I want to give you this.” she told me, palming me something, “You’ve done so much for me, now I want to do something for you.”
I smiled, “Aw Sky, you didn’t have to get me anything.”
“I needed to.” She sniffed the air and her eyes got big for a second.
“Sky, is there something wrong?” I asked my friend.
“Grab Ashley and meet me outside.” she said.
I was so confused, “We have class. I have-”
“Abby, just do it.” she demanded.
I was taken back. Skyler never used that tone. I decided to trust her and grab Ashley. I ran to her locker, “Ashley, we need to meet Skyler outside now.”
“Why? I just saw her. She gave me this really cool necklace and-” Ashley started to explain, but I interrupted her.
“Now. She looked worried.” I told Ashley.
“Abby, class is about to start. I can’t just skip!”
I sighed, “Ashley, please. I’m worried about her.”
Her expression softened, “Okay, let's go then.”
Ashley grabbed her backpack from her locker and followed me outside to the courtyard. Skyler was there waiting. She looked around nervously, her eyes looking in every direction for every second. She turned when she saw us.
"You guys need to get out of here now." She told us, "It's coming."
I was so confused, "What's coming?"
"There's no time to explain. There is a van waiting out front. It says Delphi Strawberry Service on the side. Get in and don't look back." Skyler said.
"Wait what about you? Aren't you coming too?" Ashley asked.
"It's not here for me. You guys need to run." Skyler put so much emotion into her words that I wanted to leave. My feet shifted from my spot.
I grabbed Skyler’s arm, “Not without you.”
“No, I can’t. My job was to get you and Ashley safe. Don’t worry about me, I’ll see you soon.” she gave a slight smile. My fingers unwrapped around her arm, but my arms enveloped her in a hug. I didn’t want to lose anyone else. Not after I lost Jake and Chris.
“Please come back, I can’t lose you too.” I whispered. She nodded. I let go, “Okay, lets go.” Ashley led the way out of the school, I followed close behind. Just Skyler said, there was a van outside titled Delphi Strawberry Service. The van door opened and a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes stuck his head out.
“Come on, we don’t have much time.” he yelled.
“Like we can run any faster, genius!” I shouted back. We reached the van and were pulled in. “What about Skyler? We’ve got to get her.”
The boy shook his head, “She’ll be fine. Her job was to get you to us. Now it’s my job to get you to camp.”
“Who do you think you are? She’s my friend. I can’t lose her too.” I was really not liking this guy.
“Look, I know this is hard, but please don’t make this any harder.” he said.
Ashley jumped in, “We’re not leaving without her.”
“I really didn’t want to do this...” the boy did some motion with his hands and my eyes became heavy. My shoulders went slack and I dropped. I saw Ashley hit the floor, eyes closed. I fought to keep my eyes open. I eventually just let go and let my eyes close.

---

I woke up in a really bright room. I flinched at the sound of the door opening. Another guy who looked almost the same as the other, walked over to me.
“Hey, my name is Will. How are you feeling?” he asked.
I blinked a few times, “I’m… fine. Where am I? Where’s Ashley? Where’s Skyler? Is she okay?”
"Woah, chill. Someone's gonna answer all your questions. Right now, just rest. Liam put you in a really heavy sleep."
"Liam's that blond kid who was in the van right?" Will nodded, "I did not like him."
Will laughed, "You just need to really meet him."
"How about no?" I said.
"Alright, alright." Will said, laughing again. I liked him. He was nice. Not even a minute later two more people came through the door. One had messy black hair and super, epic green eyes. The other one was older and in a wheelchair. I could smell coffee and the sea. It was a strange mix, but it was weirdly satisfying. Will moved back from where I was laying and the guy in the wheelchair moved in his place. The other guy stood behind him, arms crossed and real serious like.
"Hello, my name is Chiron." The wheelchair guys said, then he motioned behind himself, "This is Percy." I looked up at the guy and waved. He cracked a small smile. "And your name is…"
"Oh yeah, I'm Abby. Abby Conlon." I replied.
“Well, Abby, do you remember anything about how you got here?” Chiron asked.
I just kinda looked at him, “Well no. I was kinda knocked out. That was rude, by the way.”
“Oh yes, we apologize.”
“No, you should be apologizing for leaving Skyler. I don’t care that I was knocked out, that doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is leaving my friends behind when they could be in serious danger, that’s what I have a problem with.” I crossed my arms and leaned back.
Percy smiled, “I like her.” I smiled back at him.
“I still have questions.” I said. Chiron nodded, “Where am I?”
He smiled. It was a kind smile, the one that a father would give to his daughter when she had done something amazing. “This is Camp Half-Blood. My dear, have you ever noticed anything strange about your life?”
I gulped, I would not tell them anything, “Um maybe?”
Percy spoke up, “Have you made toilets explode? Maybe summon lightning?”
“What? No!” I lied. I had made water bottles explode and rain couldn’t touch me. “Why would you think those things?”
Percy eyed me suspiciously, “Because you’re obviously a half-blood.”
“Excuse me? What did you just call me?” I stood up from the cot I was sitting on.
Chiron rested a hand on my arm, “Abby, sit down. You do not want to fight him.”
“Bet, lets go. I’ll drop him right now. I faced tougher than him.” Percy smirked very cocky like. I knew what he was thinking. I knew I could take him, it couldn’t be that hard. Just from looking at him, I knew he heavily relied on his height and the fact that he would be a lot bigger than me.
“Come on Chiron. Let’s see what she can do.” Percy told him, not taking his eyes off me.
Chiron sighed, “Very well. Let’s see what you can do, Miss Conlon.” Chiron wheeled out of the way, towards the door. I squinted at the bright sun as I followed. Camp Half-Blood, as they called it, was beautiful. There were amazingly built cabins in the distance. There were 20 of them, and they all looked different from one another. At the top of the hill, was a tall pine tree. There looked to be something hanging in it that was golden. At the base of the tree was…. A dragon? What? There were also people fighting with swords and spears. Okay wait hold up, swords? Spears? What the heck was this place? Why was I here?
Chiron led me to an arena. Percy took something out of his pocket. It looked like a pen. I raised an eyebrow in confusion. A pen? He uncapped it and it grew into a bronze, greek style sword. I just stared at him wide eyed.
“Wait hold up? A sword fight?” I asked.
Percy smirked, “You backing out?”
“Not a chance. I never back down from a fight.” I told him. For some reason, I heard a voice in my head telling me to get out the clip Skyler gave me. I pulled it from my jeans jacket pocket. I smiled, thinking of one of my best friends. I rubbed a finger of the pearl shining in the middle. As soon as I did, it sprang into another bronze, greek sword. I flinched back, but then settled down. The sword was well balanced in my hand and the grip felt as if it were made for me.
Percy was shocked, “Where… where did you get that?”
I smiled, “A friend.” Percy shook his head and charged, sword raised. As he brought down his sword, I blocked it with mine. The clash of the two metals rang in the air. I rolled out of the way while he was still shocked. I noticed an open water bottle on the side of the arena, I would use that. Slowly with out him noticing, I flicked my wrist. The water shot out of the water settling to the ground by Percy's feet. I froze it. As he rushed forward, he slipped and fell. He got up pretty fast, so it wasn't of much use. He once again ran at me. He slashed his sword, making me jump back. I tripped over my own feet, falling to the ground. I held my hand up in surrender and Percy smirked.
Oh, how could you have been so stupid Abby? Really using your powers to try and win a fight? I clenched my fists at my side. Percy returned his sword into a pen, and offered me a hand. I accepted, and stood. I brushed the dust from my leggings and picked my sword up from the ground. My finger glided over the symbol etched into the hilt and it turned back into a clip. As I returned the clip to my pocket, Percy eyed me suspiciously. He was about to say something when he was cut off.
“Abby!” I was tackled in a hug. I pulled back and looked at who just wrapped me in a hug.
“SKY!! Omg you’re okay!” I yelled as I pulled her back into a hug. She smelled of pine and a faint burning smell. I pulled back, grabbing her shoulders, “Are you okay? Did something bad happen?”
“No, no. I’m fine. I swear.” She gave me a slight smile.
“Wow, I’m feeling a little left out here.” A voice said behind me. I turned around to see Ashley, arms crossed and a smug expression on her face. Both Skyler and I tackled her in a hug. “Hey guys. Ow! Abby you’re pulling my hair.”
I pulled away, “Oops, sorry.”
She laughed, “It’s okay.” Ashley turned to Skyler, “You’re okay right?”
Skyler smiled, “I’m fine.” she turned to me, “Now the real question is, Were you just fighting Percy Jackson?”
I nodded, “He insulted me.”
“He did? What did he say?” Ashley asked.
“I told her that she was a half-blood.” Percy said behind me. I jumped. Dang, I didn’t even notice him come up behind me, I must be getting slow.
Skyler started laughing, “I’m sorry… it’s just...” she laughed even harder.
I clenched my fists, “Sky this isn’t funny.”
Percy stepped forward, “Allow me to explain. Half-bloods are-”
He was cut off by a girl behind him with curly blonde hair and piercing gray eyes, “Zip it, Seaweed Brain.” She looked over me, her eyes piercing, like she was analyzing the best way to defeat me. “You know the greek gods and goddesses?” She asked. I narrowed my eyes, but nodded.
“To put it simply, they’re real.” She said.
“And they’re still just as annoying as they were centuries ago!” Percy cut in. Then he frowned. “Wait, I actually don’t know if that’s true, I didn’t know them centuries ago.”
The girl sighed, pushing him aside. “I apologize for my boyfriend. Now, as I was saying, we think you're the child of one of those gods.”
“Umm, excuse me? How about no?” I said.
The girl sighed, “I know it doesn’t sound believable, but no one but a demigod, or half-blood would be able to enter these borders without permission from someone inside camp.”
I pointed at Skyler and Ashley. “What about them?”
“Skyler is a nature spirit.” The girl said matter of factly. “And Ashley, is a demigod. Like you.”
I was speechless. Then I found the words to say, "What if I don't wanna be a half-blood? I didn't ask to be a half-blood. I don't even want to be who I am!"
The girl raised an eyebrow, “And who are you?”

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