Anonymous. // Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

6

I sat in the office for about two minutes until a boy came rushing down the corridor. He had rustic brown hair and brown eyes to match. He looked quite elfish and... I don't know, a boopable nose? It was thin and pointed, but rounded on the end. I don't really know. I don't really know why I was even thinking about it.

As he ran, I saw that his uniform looked like it was put on in a rush. He wore a orange t-shirt instead of the issues one, and had a leather bead necklace with clay beads around his neck. Every kid had a leather beaded necklace or a tattoo on their forearm. I found it odd.

"Travis, this is Nico. He only speaks Italian, and doesn't know any English. Do you think you can take him to Art since Mrs. Aggio has a class right now?" Mrs. Smith asked from the front desk. He looked at me and then nodded.

"Sure, if I don't have to do tonight's math homework." Travis gave her a mischievous smirk and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Don't push it, Stoll." She gave Travis a glare before continuing, "Don't get him in trouble either, okay?"

"Okay." He smiled impishly and put his hands up defensively. Mrs. Smith just smiled at you and then went back to typing something out on the computer next to her.

"I'm Travis, Travis Stoll. I'll be taking you to art." He told me, and it was in fluent Italian. Annabeth spoke Italian, but she stuttered and messed up her words sometimes. Travis sounded like he was actually Italian.

"..I'm Nico." I replied quietly, twisting my skull necklace on my finger. He nodded, telling me to follow him down the hall.

I followed him down some corridors and up a flight of stairs in silence before he initiated conversation.

"So, you got any interests?" Travis asked suddenly, and I nodded my head slightly.

"I... Like to draw."

"Cool. I like to prank people with my brother, Connor." He smiled proudly, before asking, "So, what part of Italy did you live in before coming to America?"

"Rome. Before... I...." I trailed off, forcing myself to not think about that. His eyes widened and he studied my face, before simply nodding.

He continued walking down the hall before he stopped in front of a brightly coloured door. The top had a name tag that said 'Mrs. Stella' in big, readable handwriting. My dyslexia never made it easy to read, but this made it almost perfect.

"This is the Art room. Just a tip before you go in; Mrs. Stella is a bit of a whoohoo." He said, before making a swirl in the air next to his head.

"Thank you," I waved a feint goodbye before he walked away with a smile on his lips.

I opened the colourful door to hear the buzz of multiple voices talking all at once. As I looked around the classroom, I noticed that the whole room was decked out with rainbow-coloured decor. There were almost nowhere that wasn't covered with rainbows (which I did not want to comment on, by the way) besides the students. They were all working on a project, apparently. It must have been difficult because they didn't even look up when I entered the classroom, even the person who I assumed was Mrs. Stella. She was sitting in the back of the classroom, a bright desk in front of her.

I walked over to the brightly coloured desk slowly. She was sitting in a chair I could only describe as a rolly chair, reading a book. She didn't seem to notice me, so I cleared my throat and twisted my skull ring. She looked up quickly, and then smiled widely.

"Hello! You're Nico, right? I'm Mrs Stella, the art teacher!" She told me, somehow smiling even wider than before. I vaguely picked out a few words about me, so I just nodded after she stopped talking.