Las Vegas, Nevada [Private]

Pulling my hair back into a tight ponytail, I let it fall back and swing a couple times. It swung back and forth before settling still, and it hadn't been left long before I was pulling the bobbin out and letting my hair fall down its usual style. I hadn't bothered straightening it, so it was curlier than usual, but it still had a lot of length to it.
Probably gonna need a hair cut soon. Should have done that before today. Too bad I didn't think about it.
My white studded suitcase was resting by the door of the Hera Cabin, my denim jacket thrown over it. Inside were all the clothes I'd decided to bring, some shoes, Nectar and Ambrosia and some other random stuff. I also had a black studded backpack thing which was filled with water, food, my iPod and an old style Nokia phone, other stuff which I'd need for the drive and plane ride. I was planning on buying some stuff in the Airport as well, just so that I had somethings to do, and of course I was planning on shopping with Natalia. I'd heard Las Vegas was famous for a lot of things, and I was pretty sure the things you could buy there were a lot better than the things which could be bought in my hometown.
I was wearing a new pair of white skinny jeans, which hopefully would be comfortable travelling clothes. I'd spent a lot of time travelling back and forth from Bulgaria and America as a child, and a few other trips too, so I had experience with how stuff worked. They should be comfortable, but I had sweats in my suitcase if I needed them. I also had a new black top that said what I thought was "Youth Gone Wild". It had taken a while to figure out for sure, but it certainly described me and Natalia's situation. Going off without adult supervision and all that.
My shoes were these super amazing brown boot heels, which I'd been waiting ages to have a chance to wear. They weren't the type of thing you'd wear with a dress, but they went really well with the rest of my outfit.
I hadn't worn much more jewelry than I usually wore. Just a cross necklace thing with an old silver heart bracelet. And of course the bracelet which was nearly always on my left wrist, which was actually my sword, Eastern, in disguise. Thankfully security would have no chance of finding the sword, since they got you to take off metal before going through the big metal detector, and all that would come up would be an innocent looking bracelet. I knew that Nat had throwing knives as her weapon of choice, but I wasn't too sure on if they were retractable. Before we left I'd have to ask about that. It would suck if we got held back at the airport cause we had dangerous weapons on our persons.

Isn't there something else about today? I mean, I realize its our trip to Las Vegas, but there's something else, right? Wasn't there something I needed to remember?
Unfortunately, I'd always had a bad memory. Always late and such. I'd started to write everything on little post-it notes and then stick them up on my mirror, but when I'd been doing my hair there hadn't been any yellow slip for today. Obviously I was just being an idiot.
Its normal. For once you're prepared. Your passport is in your bag, your clothes are packed and your suitcase is ready to go. You've remembered to put essential phone numbers in your phone and all that jazz. You're being paranoid, cause you usually have forgotten something, and today you haven't. Be happy. You'll be playing with slot machines soon enough.
It was around nine in the morning, and I'd been up since the crack of dawn making sure that I had indeed brought everything. I'd gone and had food at around eight, when the Mess Hall was basically empty. The muffin and coffee had done wonders for how tired I'd felt before, and now I was practically bouncing. Only one more problem...
Should I be ringing Mom?
It was probably a bad idea to be going somewhere so... large and busy without telling my Mom. If I'd told anyone I hadn't told her, there would have been hell to pay. But I knew my Mom wouldn't let me go if she knew I wasn't going with a group. Las Vegas was home to casinos and hustlers and all them things, and she certainly wouldn't want me going there being who I was. All those monsters that could be lurking. But the thing was, I wanted to go. I wanted to go with Nat, one of my very good friends, and I wanted to have some girl time without the hassle of daily fights and stuff. It would be different and fun. If Mom knew... I wouldn't be allowed to go. So it had been a choice between asking and not going or not telling and then going anyways. It was pretty obvious which answer I'd chosen.

Finally, when I looked up the clock told me it was half nine. Plenty of time to get to Half-Blood Hill and meet Natalia, and I'd even have some time to spare. Taking another look around my bunk and bedside cabinet, I threw a glance into my wardrobe and chest, trying to see if there was anything else I wanted. Lying on top of some pages in my chest were a pair of black sunglasses that I'd forgotten I even owned, and I plucked them out, sliding them over my eyes before moving to the door and swinging on my jacket. Once that was on I pulled my black studded bag onto my shoulders, and then lifted the suitcase, carrying it down the few steps.
OH MY GODS!
Dropping the suitcases handle and letting it lean against the bottom of the steps, I rushed back up, running to my bed. Pulling the covers back, I smiled in relief as I pulled the box out with the card.
'Paranoid, huh? I knew I'd forgotten something!'
The box held my birthday present for Natalia, and the card was a homemade thing I'd made for her birthday. Slipping the card into my black bag, I had a moment of panic when I realized there probably wasn't enough room to hide the present in my suitcase.
Thankfully, when I'd gotten back to the suitcase and opened it, I found there was actually quite a lot of room left, so if I moved the towel and swimming stuff to the side and pushed the sundress up... tada! It fit perfectly, and wouldn't even jostle too much.
Zipping the case back up, I made sure once again that my passport was in my bag and that I had my wallet with ID and everything. I had a credit card slipping into the back of my wallet, and some spare money which I'd been saving for a while. Enough for Las Vegas for sure.

Pulling the suitcase past the Mess Hall, the smell got to me. I'd only had a muffin after all and... surely I had enough time? Checking my watch, I frowned at the two hands which were telling me it was ten to ten.
Okay. I'll make my way in, get some food that I can take with me, maybe a travel cup of coffee to wake me up a little more, and then I'll rush to meet Natalia. She's hardly gonna leave without me, and there's still twenty five minutes. I've got plenty of time.
Inside, I got two more muffins (chocolate chip, one for me and one for Nat), and a couple bags of crisps. It took some time to get the coffee, and put my sugar and milk in, but when I emerged I was actually quite happy with it. That couldn't have taken that much time, and I'd make it there in good time.
I didn't rush walking through Camp, stopping to say hi to a few people. Not many actually knew where we were going as far as I knew, so it was fun saying I was going on a holiday with my friend. I waved to some people I knew vaguely, but not enough to have a full conversation with, and made my way slowly but surely to Half-Blood Hill.

That was where it got tricky. The suitcase was nice and all, but there were roots and bits of grass sticking out randomly everywhere, and the wheels kept getting stuck. I nearly fell a few times, tripping over my own feet and my bag, but as I reached the top, I hadn't had many serious injuries.
Unfortunately, I hadn't done as good in time as I thought I had.
My watch was saying it was nearly half past ten, and Natalia was already there.
Uh oh.
Pasting a smile onto my  face, I walked forward pulling the suitcase with me, and tapped her on the back lightly. Play it nice and pretend I thought it was this time we were meeting. Then maybe I won't have so much hell to pay over being late.
[color=DodgerBlue]'Hey Nat! Hope you weren't waiting too long. I stopped by the Mess Hall to get some muffins and crisps on the way, and I got myself a coffee. This is gonna be so much fun!'

Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot! You can't leave someone waiting for nearly fifteen minutes. Okay, its not as long as you've left other people but its still long. People get bored and annoyed when you leave them waiting.
Like those thoughts weren't bad enough, I'd only remembered halfway up the hill that we were sort of on a deadline. We needed to get to the airport, check in, put our luggage through (get more coffee) and then get on the plane! That'll take ages.
Yes, thank you for pointing out that I have now hindered our trip.

Thankfully, Nat didn't actually seem very angry. Maybe she was just too excited to be going on a trip to bother about me being late right now.
'I'm still reeeeally sorry! I sort of needed to make sure I had everything and then stopping to get coffee sort of held me up and em yeah.'
Even to your ears, you know that sounded pathetic.
'Ooooo Hollywood! But lets just enjoy Las Vegas for now, and then we can start planning our next trip.'

I nodded to Natalia, and followed her down the hill to the super-sweet car. I handed my suitcase to Nat as she opened the trunk of the car, and once it was in with hers I moved to the side of it, putting my hand on the handle.
'Shotgun sounds awesome,' I laughed, and opened the door quickly, sliding into the seat and pulling the seatbelt over my chest.