[ the first book in the drops of sunshine series ]
For some, being a hero means saving a life. For others, it means making your mark on the world. For AJ Hood, it means being sarcastic and fighting monsters while illegally skipping out on your cult...
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~ ☼ ~
I woke up in a cold sweat.
For a moment, I still felt like the world around me was on fire. But then I rubbed the tiredness out of my eyes, quickly adjusting to the night time shadows, and realized I was fine. Everything was fine. As fine as it could be for a girl who was forced to attend a strange summer camp after being told she was half god.
To be truthful, I didn't feel fine at all.
Slowly, I lowered myself back down into my new bunk in the Apollo cabin. After Alec had taken me to the store the evening previous and I'd gotten new clothes - all, admittedly, advertising Camp Half-Blood - we'd gone down for the tail end of the campfire. Maybe that was why I'd been dreaming of a wildfire. But that woman... who was she? Why did she keep appearing in my dreams? Was it my imagination, or was it another weird, godly thing?
I couldn't fall back asleep. I tossed and turned and counted sheep, but nothing worked. I'd always had issues with sleeping - with nighttime in general, really - so I wasn't surprised. Sitting up again, I glanced around the cabin. Everyone was sound asleep. In the middle of the room, a skylight let in sunshine, and somewhere, softly, classical music was playing (specifically, Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy, a song I'd once learned to play on my violin). Outside my window, the moon hung high in the sky, surrounded by stars.
Shoot for the stars. That's what the woman from my dreams had said. Suddenly, I felt the need to do exactly that, or at least go outside and look at them. A voice in my head pulled me, urged me, until I softly slid out of my bunk and padded across the cold floor to the door. Gazing at the people in the cabin one last time to make sure I was in the clear, I hesitantly opened the door and slipped outside.
It was cool outside, not quite warm but not quite cold, either. I looked around the ring of cabins, across the now-dead fire pit in the middle... and caught the eye contact of someone doing the exact same thing as me.
I froze, and he did too, even though we were in the same situation. He must've realized this, because he started walking towards me, creeping ever-so-slowly, like a lion on the prowl.
Maybe he couldn't sleep, just like me, I thought to myself. Maybe, I can find a kindred spirit.
So I met him halfway.
He seemed to be my age, with handsome features and wavy brown hair. Though it was the middle of the night, he was wearing khaki shorts and boat shoes, which made him look very sophisticated and very entitled all at once. He would've appeared to be your typical, All-American, "My dad's a lawyer" frat boy, had it not been for his eyes, which were as gray and stormy as my first weird dream. They seemed to hold a million hurricanes in one glance. It made me feel uneasy, and yet... intrigued.
"You're the new girl, right?" he asked softly when we reached each other. "CJ?"
"AJ." I corrected. "Does Mr. D get people's names wrong on purpose?"
