☾ The Child of Artemis ☾

5. I am Claimed (Sarcastic Hooray)

          Sorry. I thought that was actually real. It was a nightmare instead. So, like always when I had a nightmare, I would bolt straight up and assure myself that I was just having a nightmare. This time, though, I wasn't in my hut like I always was. I was on the bottom bunk of the Her Me Cabin. I slammed my head on the top of the overhead bunk bed and winced in pain. I snuck out of the Her Me Cabin without a sound and ran to wherever I felt like.

          I saw a lake with all of these canoes in it and lay down on the ground, looking up at the stars. I sometimes like to lie down on the ground looking at the night sky back in New Caledonia. I especially liked to look at the moon. The moon was like my mood. Sometimes it was full, and I was feeling really good. It was also a crescent, meaning more good than bad, or more bad than good. Same with the gibbous moons. And sometimes it was halfway for half good half bad, or it wasn't there, meaning I had a nasty mood.

          I wasn't so excited to be here in Camp Half-Blood. I wanted to be back in New Caledonia with all my geckos and none of the thoughts bothering me. "Which Greek god is my parent?" "What is being a half-blood really like?" "How are my brothers dealing with it?" And most of all, "why is all of this happening?!" The sun was rising already after I stayed lying there, and I quickly got up and ran back to my cabin. I opened the door quietly, but also realized that this is the first time I entered this cabin without getting pranked. I went back to my bunk and pretended to sleep.

          I took enough glances at the alarm clock in the cabin to know what time it was, though. At 8:00 sharp all of my cabin mates got out of bed and strolled to the "mess hall." We ate brekkie and we were eating something I've never seen before, but decided to try. The food was good, I supposed, so I finished it all. Next, was cabin inspections. We were about to file into our cabins, but there was a brief interruption. "Wow! Is it really Nico McAngelico?" an approaching voice exclaims.

          I was surprised to have my last name pronounced right. Usually others would pronounce the g as a "g" not an "h." I turn around to see a guy with curly brown hair running towards me. I have no idea who he is. "Uh... yes..." I muttered.

          "You know how happy I am to see you?!" the guy screamed.

           "Who are you?" I asked.

          "Come with me. We have to talk in private."

        I am led to a random empty cabin. "Sorry I appeared to you like this. I could've looked better. My dad cursed me to be a mortal for a while, but I am your uncle."

           "Uncle? Really?"

          "Yeah, I am your uncle."

          "Have I been claimed?"

          "Kind of, but welcome to your cabin."

          I looked around the cabin. It was a nice private cabin, with two bunks and one bed. "I actually have a private cabin! Yes!"

          "Who are you other than my uncle?"

          He paused for a while, then answered, "Uncle Lester, for now. I could've had a cooler name, too"

          "My middle name's Lester," I said, annoyed. "That name's cool enough."

           My uncle grabbed my wrist and slammed the door open, proclaiming, "ALL HAIL NICO LESTER MCANGELICO, NEPHEW OF APOLLO!"

           Everyone stared in astonishment. "ALSO NICO LESTER MCANGELICO, SON OF ARTEMIS! "

          All the campers stared at me. I do not like being stared at, the center of attention. "Oh so you're Apollo. Why are you Lester for now?" was all I could say.

          "It's my mortal name. I am not happy with it."

           The campers still stared, but I have a feeling that one camper was smiling. (It was not Will Solstice this time.) I was getting really uncomfortable. "Why are they staring at us?" I whispered at Uncle Lester/Apollo.

           "Bye!" he yelled to the audience, then shut the door. "Well," he started explaining, "Artemis is a maiden goddess. Knowing that Artemis has a child is surprising for everyone. It was just unexpected, also. Your birth, I mean."

          "Why didn't she claim me?" I huffed, crossing my arms.

          "I'm not getting into the details, but you were born while Artemis was asleep. She didn't feel a thing. I found you and hid you in the jungle."

          I thought about what my uncle said for a while. "Why did you hide me though?"

           "I'm Artemis's twin brother! I know exactly what she's like! If she saw you, she would've killed you and your father!"

          "Thanks, Uncle Apollo. I owe you one. ... hey, wait. Is there another reason you saved me?"

          "I am the god of prophecy! I know what will happen in the future! The night you were born, I saw your future, and actually, you were a good singer in my vision, so I saved you. Also, you were a great guy, is what I saw."

          "Okay."

           I opened the door of the cabin to see the campers still staring. I decided to use a psychology hack that Hunter taught me and stared at a camper's shoes. He started to get uncomfortable, and quickly looked away. I realized that he was eating some yellow sticks that I've never seen before. I got annoyed by the staring so I shouted, "Stop staring at me!"

           No one listened, except one Asian camper wearing a lot of blue jewelry. "Ok, ok, we should actually stop." she proclaimed. The campers listened reluctantly, then went back to their cabins. I also went back to my cabin for some big fun.