PJO Family (AU)

Reyna's POV (INTRO)

My name is Reyna Avila Argo, and I love my family more than anything. I have five siblings and although they're annoying, they're why I get up in the morning. In order, there's me, the oldest, Piper, who's in eighth grade, Nico, who's in sixth grade, Leo, who's in fourth grade, Percy, a second grader, and little Hazel, who's only in kindergarten. Since our parents died a few years back, I've been working multiple jobs to support us. In fact, I'm at my morning job now. I hear a bell ring and see a girl in punk clothes walk into the coffee shop.

"Hey," She says as she walks up to the counter and puts a black bag covered with punk and pride stickers and pins on the stool next to her. She sits down and points to her pixie cut. "Notice anything different about me?" "I know that you dyed your hair Thalia, but I refuse to acknowledge it." "But it's purple and blue!" She protests, holding up the colored parts with one hand and pointing with the other. "I thought you liked purple!" "Awww! Did you dye your hair for me?" I ask sarcastically, looking into her eyes, before turning my head to another customer and telling Thalia "I won't acknowledge your hair or your feelings." "It's just one date!" "I don't have that much time on my hands Thalia, and I'd rather spend it with my siblings. I've told you this." She looks down at the counter, a little dejected and I feel bad. "So, what do you want to drink? Hot cocoa?" She chuckles and says "You will never get me on the hot cocoa train. Black coffee with lots of whipped cream please." "I won't stop trying." she laughs and mumbles something that she probably didn't want me to hear. For good reason, because it made me feel horrible. "I won't stop trying either."

I bike to the library and it's a little dull, but it's a welcome type of dull. It gives me time to think. About Thalia, about how upset I am that it's a Monday, (surprisingly not much) and Piper and Nico. Apparently they feel like taking responsibility, but what they do is enough. Nico cooks, tutors, and goes shopping with Piper, who is practically her siblings mother who distributes and does chores, and they both probably do more I don't know about. Piper is ready to get a job as soon as she is legally old enough to get a job. They claim I should be enjoying my prime, but I have a responsibility to them to let them be kids. I think about my sister Hylla, who's two years older than me. We were both in college when our parents died, but I dropped out. She's still at college, and works to pay off the student debt. I don't talk to her often, but I think about her a lot. I find it funny how Hazel and Percy don't even remember her. Suddenly, I hear my phone buzz dragging my out of my thoughts, and open my phone to see it's another message from her.

"Her" is Hazel's biological mother. She was a drug addict, and when Hazel was about two her father intervened for the first and only time and contacted child services. Then she was put up for adoption and Leo and I's parents adopted them. Percy, Nico and Piper are also adopted for different reasons. Percy's dad was lost at sea and his mom disappeared. Piper's adoption sounds like something out of a soap opera. Her mother was a movie star as was her father, but they spent a night together and her mom got pregnant as a result. She decided to hide from the cameras to have the baby, let Piper's dad help pick a name, then put her up for adoption. Nico's mom immigrated from Italy when he was young, and he lived with his mom and sister Bianca in California, when an earthquake hit, killing his mother. He and Bianca lived in a few different foster homes, and my parents went through the process. Before officially moving in Bianca went on a walk, and a car ran a red light, hitting her. She died in the ambulance. It crushed Nico, but he's doing better. His dad was never present in his life, but lately he's been getting what seems to be child support money from an Italian company.

Hazel's mom is the only one I still 'talk' to after four years. She reached out when she was in a mental hospital soon after my parents died looking to take Hazel back. Since then she occasionally asks me about Hazel. She's Hazel's mom, so it feels like I'm doing wrong to Hazel to block or not reply. Instead I just respond vaguely like I do now. "Hazel is doing well" I read aloud to nobody as I text. I breathe in, out, then turn around to shelve some books.