Children of Loss 3

Chapter 3

Nico was woken by some loud knocking coming from the front door. He groaned and dragged himself out of bed, not even bothering to put on more clothes. He yawned as he opened the door to find Apollo standing there in a tight red shirt and some black swim trunks. He gave Nico a quick once over before returning his gaze to Nico's eyes. “Aren't you adorable in the morning?” Nico tossed him a death glare. “And a morning person, too.”

Nico yawned again. “What do you want?”

“Some of us were going to go down to the pool. You're welcome to join us. It would give you a chance to meet some more of us.”

Nico nodded. “Yeah. Just let me change and get cleaned up a little bit.”

Apollo tossed him a smile. “Alright, dude. I'll see you down there.” With that the blond jogged off down the hall. Nico shut the door again and headed for the bathroom to get a quick shower. Nico didn't see a point in spending much time in it, since he was just going to need another one after swimming.

After he was done, he went back into his bedroom. He faintly recalled seeing a pair of swim trunks in that pile of clothes Leo had given him. After digging in his drawers, he was victorious in finding them. They were completely green, except for a white logo of the Lotus Hotel printed on the bottom of the right leg. He quickly slipped them on, grabbed a towel from the bathroom, and headed out the door.

When he got in the elevator, his eyes immediately landed on the seventieth floor button. It was like the button was taunting him. A quick peek wouldn't hurt, right? He slipped the card Leo had given him into the slot and his finger pressed the button before he could change his mind. The elevator came to a stop a moment later. The doors slid open to a dimly lit hallway. Nico inched out slowly. There were small podiums on the left and right corners where the hall split into two wings. He heard footsteps closing in.

He thought about returning to the elevator, but before he could even turn around, two people had come around the corner from the right wing. The first one he took notice of was a very tall girl, who made Nico think of an amazon warrior. She wasn't frail looking, like most girls. This girl could probably take a tough football player in a fight. She had her long brown hair tied in a ponytail. Her brown eyes reminded Nico of a wild animal.

Next to her stood a slightly shorter guy. He had jet black glossy hair. He was pretty thin, but there were hints of muscles beneath his loose shirt. One of his eyes was dark brown, while the other was covered by a black eyepatch. He was definitely of Japanese descent.

They both narrowed their eye at him. “What are you doing up here?” the girl asked, sounding angry. “No admittance until business hours.”

The boy nudged her. “No. I think he's one of Percy's.” The girl looked him over. “The one he was talking about, the one he found the other night.”

The girl seemed to ease up. “Oh, yeah.” She crossed her arms. “You aren't supposed to be up here at all, then. Percy's orders.” Nico stared at her in confusion. Why wasn't he allowed up here? The girl turned back to the boy next to her. “Go fetch Percy.” The boy nodded and ran off. Nico gulped as the girl just stared blankly at him. He was going to be in trouble. Percy had been generous and had taken him in, he had even provided Nico with a job, and Nico just had to go and get into trouble. Would Percy kick him out? No, Percy didn't seem like the type.

He heard quiet mumbling coming back down the hall and soon the boy with the eyepatch came back around the corner with Percy in tow. Percy's gaze immediately landed on Nico, his eyes clearly upset at him. “What are you doing up here?” Percy asked rather harshly.

“I-I'm sorry. I just got curious,” Nico stuttered. Percy's eyes didn't soften. He just huffed and walked forward. He grabbed Nico's arm and dragged him back into the elevator. Without even asking where Nico was going, Percy hit the button to the ground floor. Nico looked up at Percy in shame. Percy wasn't looking at him, his eyes bore into the elevator door. “I'm sorry.”

“How did you get up there anyways?”

Nico pulled out the keycard. “Leo gave me a spare until I got my real one.” Percy let out a low growl. Nico had the feeling that Leo was in trouble.

“Don't go up there again, Nico.” Percy's voice was still harsh. Nico didn't think it was that big of a deal. Why was he so angry? Percy glanced over at him, his eyes softening when he saw Nico's hurt expression. “Sorry for getting upset. You just don't need to be up there. I'm doing you a favor by keeping you out of there.”

Nico looked up at him, confused. “Why?”

“Just drop it, ok? Go enjoy your day off.” The doors finally opened and Percy pushed against Nico's back to tell him to get out. “Have fun with the others, I'll probably see you tonight.” Nico nodded, trying to offer a smile. Percy gave him a small wave as the door closed.

He made his way through the hotel until he found the entrance to the pool. It was an indoor pool, but the entire room was made of glass so that the sun could still shine into it, allowing people to tan if they chose. Since it was still early there weren't that many people there. It looked to be primarily the people that worked there. He spotted Apollo, who was busy laughing as he gave a playful lap dance to an unamused Thalia. He waved over at Nico when he noticed him, beckoning him over.

“Hey, Nico. What took so long?” the blond asked, getting off the scowling black haired girl.

“I-I got a little sidetracked,” Nico replied. Which was half true.

Nico looked around at the boys and girls who littered the pool. Apollo was in front, shirt now off. Nico realized he couldn't look too long or he might start drooling. The blond's body was beautifully sculpted. His eyes seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. Thalia picked up a book she must have been reading before Apollo had assaulted her. She wore a small blue two piece that barely covered anything.

The twins were laying by the edge of the pool. Connor's head lay on the edge of Travis's stomach. They had sunshades on, so Nico couldn't tell if they were awake or asleep. However, that was the extent of people that Nico recognized. Apollo seemed to remember that Nico didn't know anyone there. “Hey, everyone!” Apollo yelled. Heads all looked over in their direction. “Come say hey to the new kid!” People started climbing out of the pool or off of lounging chairs.

A tall boy of African descent was the first to reach them, immediately reaching his hand out and grabbing Nico's to shake. He was very tall, maybe an inch taller than Percy. He was very muscular too and his grip was strong. His hand completely enveloped Nico's. He had a crew cut and friendly brown eyes. His stomach was a chiseled eight pack. “The name's Charles. This here is my girlfriend, Silena.” He gestured towards a shorter girl next to him.

She had long black hair which hung nearly to her waist. She had stunning crystal blue eyes. She was extremely beautiful, and while Nico didn't really go for girls, he had to admit she was gorgeous. She could have easily been a model if she had wanted to. She smiled and held out her hand to shake. Nico returned her smile, blushing slightly, and shook her hand as well.

“Looks like we have a new Lost Boy,” she said playfully. Apollo and Charles chuckled, but Nico didn't get it.

A girl around Nico's height walked up to them gracefully. She had long, silky black hair. She had a perfect tan complexion with flawless skin. Her eyes were pure black and she had a slightly upturned nose. Something about her made Nico think she looked like a princess. Her voice was a soothing melody as it played in Nico's ears. “He looks a little innocent to be a Lost Boy.” This made Nico shake his head out of his daze. He didn't understand the terminology. She held her hand out and Nico shook it. Her skin was soft like silk. “Zoë.”

The twins had come over and sat down on the chairs on Thalia's left. They gave simultaneous waves to Nico. “Now then, let's get back to swimming,” Apollo said, picking Nico up bridal style and jumping into the pool. Nico scowled and splashed the blond when they broke the surface. Nico quickly turned away from a splash caused by Charles jumping into the pool. Silena and Zoë sat on the edge of the pool with their feet soaking in the water. The both of them would flip their hair over their shoulder from time to time. From what Nico could hear, they were talking about fashion.

Charles was attempting to wrestle Apollo, but the blond just kicked away and floated to the edge of the pool, out of reach. Nico couldn't help but smile as he watched his new family. He turned when he heard a shriek. The twins had picked Thalia up and were carrying her to the edge of the pool. Her screeching was silenced when she fell beneath the water. She emerged with a scowl, handing her sunglasses to Silena. The twins were rolling with laughter. They grinned at each other and jumped into the pool, splashing everyone.

After a few hours of swimming, things started to wind down. Charles and Silena had left half an hour ago, and now the rest of them were relaxing in the chairs by the pool. Something Nico had noticed during their time at the pool was that some of the other guests kept staring at them. Some of the guests even winked at the other kids as they passed them by. None of them seemed to mind, as they just waved and winked back.

A tall red haired girl made her way into the room and came over to them. She had frizzy hair and piercing green eyes. Her face was littered with freckles, and she kept tucking her hair behind her ear. She was carrying one of those detachable tablet laptops. She picked up the towel at Nico's feet and tossed it at him. “Sorry to cut the fun short, but I need Nico for a while,” the girl said.

“Aww. Come on, Rachel, we were enjoying the day off,” Connor whined.

“Sorry. Percy's orders.” Nico felt the blood drain from his face. Was he in trouble for earlier? He stood up and slid his shirt on. She took off walking towards the exit and he quickly followed her, tossing a final wave at his new friends. They boarded the elevator and Rachel slid her card into the slot and then hit the sixty-eighth floor button. The elevator began its long trek upwards. Rachel dug out a card from her pocket and handed it to Nico. “Here. This is your new keycard.” Nico took the card from her. “I'll need the other one.” She held her hand out and Nico reluctantly handed it over to her. He knew his new card wouldn't give him the same access, so there would be no more attempts at sneaking into the top floor. The red haired girl then offered her hand and gave Nico's a shake. “I'm Rachel, by the way.”

“Nico.”

She smiled. “I know.”

“So, where are we going?”

“Percy wanted to see you about some stuff you need to know.”

Nico's face fell. He was in trouble. The elevator finally came to a stop and the two exited. Instead of going right, to Percy's apartment, they went left. They came to a door, which Rachel opened. Nico walked in first and found an office like area. There were two desks on opposite sides of the room, Leo sat at one. He offered Nico a small smile when the boy came in. Nico mouthed an apology to him.

Rachel proceeded into the room and knocked on the back door. He heard Percy's voice from the other side telling them to enter. Rachel held the door open for Nico, and the boy hesitantly walked in, the door closing behind him.

Percy sat behind a large wooden desk, his eyes were busily roaming a computer screen. There were two chairs in front of the desk. There was also a long couch to the right of the room, underneath a window. Percy looked away from his computer and motioned for him to sit down. Nico did slowly, trying not to look at Percy once he was finally seated.

“You aren't in trouble, Nico,” Percy said firmly.

Nico glanced up at him. The older boy had no emotion on his face and it was impossible for Nico to read. “Then why did you call for me?”

Percy leaned back in his chair. “I needed to run over a few things with you. I talked to Apollo, he said he had already told you that you would be going back to school.” Nico nodded. “You will, starting tomorrow.” He slid some paperwork across his desk to Nico. “There is everything you need to know. It's a nice school, I think you'll like it. You are fortunate, unlike many of those here, to not have been out on the streets for too long. A lot of them were out there for years, or some their whole lives.”

“So, I go to school during the day and work at night?”

Percy nodded. “I'll see about you getting off a little earlier on school nights, but you'll still be working late. Probably around two in the morning.” Percy pulled a phone out of the top drawer on his desk. “Here, I had Rachel pick this up for you.”

Nico picked up the new looking smartphone and gaped at Percy. “You got me a phone?” he exclaimed.

Percy let a small smile spread across his lips. “Yeah. I mean, you'll need a way to get in touch with one of us. I already put in everyone's numbers. Enjoy.”

Nico gleamed down at his new phone. “T-Thank you!”

Percy just shrugged. “Don't worry about it. Now, I trust you got your new card?” Nico nodded. “That will get you most places like your room, the kitchen, the pool, to the bar, and this floor.” His expression grew serious. “As I said earlier, I don't want to find you back on the top floor. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Nico squeaked out. It made Percy smile again.

“Don't call me 'sir'. I'm only four years older than you, Nico.”

Nico's eyes widened a bit. “You're only twenty?” Sure he knew Percy was young, but not that young. He was running the North American branch office of an international hotel chain!

Percy cocked his head to the side. “Do I look old?” Nico shook his head furiously. Percy smirked and stood up. He came around his desk and sat on the front of it, leaning down towards Nico. “Here I thought you found me attractive, Nico,” he almost purred into Nico's ear. Nico blushed furiously, trying to scramble as far back in his chair as he could. Percy just laughed at him. “You are free to go.”

Nico didn't have to be told twice, he gathered up the papers and his phone, and headed out the door. He whisked past Leo and Rachel and out of the office. He slammed into someone as soon as he was out the door. “Watch it!” the other person yelled at him. Nico peered up at the other boy. He was around six foot one with tan skin. He had short-cropped sandy blond hair and sharp blue eyes. They reminded Nico of Octavian's eyes. Even though his face was currently scowling, Nico admitted he was attractive. The only disturbing feature on him was a long scar that ran from his right eye down to his chin.

“S-Sorry,” Nico fumbled as he stood up. The blond just grunted and pushed past him, going into the office. Nico gulped and headed for the elevator. That must have been Octavian's brother, Luke. Nico entered the elevator and hit sixty-seven. The door opened a moment later on his floor and the slightly frightened boy headed for his room. He spotted Apollo just as the blond entered his own room. The door to the tall boy's room clicked shut. Nico thought about going down to hang out with him, but decided he should get a shower before work.

Nico stepped out into the once again loud bar. Chiron greeted him as he came behind the bar to clock in. Zoë came up to the bar and placed her tray down, nodding in Nico's direction, but not saying anything to him. “I hate politicians,” she said plainly as Chiron looked over the drink order she gave him.

“Don't let them hear you say that,” he mumbled back to her.

“Can I have a shot? That fat drunk over there keeps trying to feel me up,” she said, pointing inconspicuously over her shoulder. Chiron slid a shot glass across the bar and poured her a drink of some clear liquid, which she tossed back. She made a face upon setting it back down, gave him her thanks, and took the drinks he had laid on her tray.

“Chiron?” Nico piped up.

“Hmm?” Chiron asked, cleaning a glass.

“How old are most of the kids around here? I saw Percy drinking last night, but he's only twenty.”

Chiron smiled softly. “Most of them are between eighteen and twenty. Only a small few are over. Luke is the oldest, at twenty-three. Charles is twenty-two, and Apollo is twenty-one.” He set the glass down next to a few others. “I'm sorry to say, lad, but the innocent world that you may have thought existed is a lie. Especially here.” He had a sad look on his face as he spoke. “Don't let this paradise fool you. The people who pay to come here may see it as one, but those of us who live here don't see feel the same way.”

“Why?”

Chiron didn't answer. He just pursed his lips and gave Nico some drinks and a table number to take them to. Nico huffed as he walked off with the tray of drinks. Everyone was so evasive about stuff. Chiron seemed to feel sorry for the kids here, but all of them seemed happy. He spotted one of the twins in the corner lounge. He seemed to be flirting with some business woman dressed in a suit. He smiled flirtatiously at the woman and winked at her before walking off, a sway in his step. “Hey, Neeks!” Nico could tell it was Connor now that he was closer. “What did the boss man want with you earlier?”

Nico shrugged. “Just giving me my new phone and paperwork for school. I have to start tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah? Bummer.”

“Do you and Travis not go to college?”

“Nah. We just work around here.” The blond from earlier brushed past Nico, bumping his shoulder roughly against Nico's. “I see you met Luke.”

“Is he always this cheerful?”

Connor chuckled. “Don't mind Luke. He takes some warming up to. Well, I'm not really sure when he warms up, because, none of us really have gotten there yet.”

“I thought you were all a family?”

Connor sat his empty tray down at the bar and handed a new order to Chiron. “Oh we are. He's just the brother that none of us asked for,” Connor said with a smile. “You'll get used to him.”

“How many people are in this 'family'?” Nico asked, making air quotes.

“Well, Chiron would be like our favorite uncle that everyone goes to for words of wisdom.” The man in question chuckled at the brunet's analogy. “This could be Neverland...wait would that make you Captain Hook?” Connor asked looking at Chiron, who rolled his eyes. “Anyways, Percy would be Peter Pan and we can be the Lost Boys.”

“Is that why you call each other that?”

Connor nodded. “Yeah, it's a running joke around here. Anyways, to answer your question, there're about twenty of us. That includes Leo and Rachel, who you already met, and Clarisse and Ethan, who work security. All of us pulled off the streets.”

“And what is Gaea in this analogy?” Chiron asked, eyes twinkling with amusement.

Connor seemed to ponder this for a moment. “Wendy?”

“I'm not sure Wendy pulled Peter off the streets in the actual story,” Chiron stated with a chuckle.

“Wait, Percy lived on the streets too?” Nico asked.

“Hmm. Maybe we should drop this conversation,” Connor said hesitantly. “Percy doesn't like to talk about his past.” He picked up his tray and walked off.

As the night went on, it remained uneventful. It was almost as miserable for Nico as the previous night. He managed not to drop a tray tonight, though. He did however mix up tables three times, get orders wrong five times, and got a customer annoyed with him. Apparently, Thalia hadn't been kidding when she said to keep his nose out of their business. He had frozen up when he heard the man say something he could have sworn sounded like arms dealing. The man had instantly noticed Nico staring at him and had gotten angry. Unfortunately, Percy wasn't here to save his butt like he had the night before. When he had returned to the bar Luke had been smirking at him for his mistake.

As he came back from a short break, Chiron directed him to a table where a middle-aged man sat by himself. He pulled out his pen and headed over. “Senator.” He looked over his shoulder to see Zoë standing behind him. “Good luck,” she said with an encouraging smile. Nico tried not to shudder from the way she said it.

“Hi there, my name is Nico and I will be your server today,” Nico said with a smile. The man looked up at him, immediately giving Nico a once over. His eyes lit up and came back to rest on Nico's face.

“New here? I don't believe I've seen you before.”

“Yes, sir,” Nico replied, trying to sound cheerful. He didn't like the way this guy looked at him.

“I may have found a new reason to come back,” was the man's reply. Which definitely made Nico feel uncomfortable. “I'll have a vodka martini with an olive.” Nico nodded and scribbled down the request. When Nico was about to walk off the man spoke again. “Tell Percy that I will wish to set up an appointment in the future.” Nico nodded in confusion and walked off. This place was just weird.

Nico walked over to the bar and slid the order across to Chiron. “I think I just got hit on,” Nico said. All of the others looked over at him.

“Really?” Chiron asked, a hint of something in his voice.

“The higher up they are, they more disrespectful of the rules they are,” Zoë said dryly.

“He also said something about setting up an appointment with Percy, but I didn't really understand that part.”

Connor pursed his lips and Zoë frowned. Chiron glared over at the man's table. “What are you all worried about?” Luke asked, unamused. “It's not like Percy is going to allow it.” He glared over at Nico. “Someone seems to be the boss's favorite.”

“What?” Nico asked.

“Nothing,” Chiron replied, tossing a warning look at Luke, who shrugged and walked off. “Percy will deal with him, don't worry about him.” Nico nodded. He picked up the man's drink and walked back towards his table, only to find Percy now sitting with him. While he looked calm, his jaw was clenched as he listened to the man. Percy rubbed his temple. Nico slowly moved towards them so he could hear.

“I told you before, Senator Johnson, that I don't discuss those things here. Now, if you would like to discuss it upstairs, that would be fine. Though, I'm not sure if your request is of a...suitable nature. Now, if that will be all?” Senator Johnson didn't say anything else, so Percy rose from his chair and headed over to the bar. His eyes landed on Nico for a brief second as he passed the younger boy.

Nico sat the drink down in front of the senator and the man thanked him, handing him a five. Nice tip, Nico thought, looking the bill over. When Nico had returned to the bar, Percy was sitting in the same spot he had been last night. He gave Nico a smile as the boy went behind the bar. “You look tired,” Nico stated, looking Percy over.

“Rough night,” Percy mumbled, taking a sip from his glass. Luke came up and sat down next to Percy, who grunted at the blond. “What do you want, Luke?”

“I just wanted to see if I could come by and discuss my hours a little tonight? I could use a few more, I think.”

Percy held up his hand to make sure the boy didn't keep talking. “I'm really not in the mood to talk about it tonight. Besides, last I checked, you get as many hours as Annabeth. I think that's fair.”

Luke leaned in closer to Percy. Nico felt a surge of jealousy run through him. “Can't I at least come talk about it?” Luke asked with a wicked smile. He let his hand rest on Percy's thigh.

“Tomorrow. Now get back to your job.”

Percy let his head fall on to the wooden surface. He held his glass out and Chiron refilled it. Nico fidgeted with his shirt. “A-Am I supposed to be negotiating hours with you?” Nico asked quietly.

Percy looked up at him with wide eyes. “No!” Percy practically yelled. Chiron raised an eyebrow at him and Percy sat up straight. “I mean, no. Don't worry about it. I have you taken care of.” Things were just so confusing around here. Everyone else seemed to want to talk to Percy about their hours, but Nico wasn't expected to? Maybe it was because he was new. Nico nodded and walked off with another order of drinks. He barely managed to catch the next thing Percy said to Chiron. “He is going to be the death of me.” He heard Chiron let out a chuckle.

Not much else happened the rest of the night. Everything went on as normal. Percy had left after about thirty minutes without saying anything else to anyone. Chiron finally dismissed Nico at two and Nico unfastened his apron and headed for the elevator. He was about to hit the button to his floor when he saw a man in his thirties heading for the elevator. Nico held the door open for him, but when the man saw Nico he stopped. “That's ok, you go ahead. I, uh, need to wait on a friend of mine,” the man said. Nico arched an eyebrow and hit the button. He yawned and stretched as he waited for the elevator to come to a halt. He exited on to his floor, which was dead silent. Everybody must be working. He couldn't see any lights on under doors.

He slid his card in and went into his place. He found a note on the counter of the kitchen.

Hey, Nico,

Percy told me to go grocery shopping for you. I didn't really know what you liked so I just picked up a few things. So, if you get hungry, and don't want to order from the kitchen, you have food stocked here.

-Leo

P.S. Sorry about giving you that card. I guess I wasn't thinking.

Nico sighed as he wadded up the note and tossed it in the trash. He looked in his fridge, and sure enough, there was an assortment of things inside it. He reached in and grabbed a bottle of water before retreating to his bedroom. He plopped down on his bed and flipped the TV on. He smiled to himself as he flipped through the guide and found one of his favorite shows, The Walking Dead. He opened his water and took a swig. He figured it wouldn't hurt to watch a little TV before bed.

Nico shot up at the sound of an alarm. Apparently, Leo also took the liberty of setting his alarm clock. He scowled at the contraption, contemplating tossing it against the wall. He hit the button to turn it off and dragged himself out of bed. He supposed it was a good thing, since he had forgotten to set one, and he didn't want to be late on his first day at his new school.

When he stepped out of the shower, he heard his phone going off. He reached over and looked at the caller ID. It read Apollo's name. He slid his finger across the screen to unlock it, and brought it to his ear. “Hello?” he asked, wrapping a towel around his waist.

“Hey, buddy. Do you want a ride to school? I was going to leave soon, and figured you might like a ride.”

“Um. Sure.”

“Great. Now, open your door so I don't have to stand around in the hall.” Nico rolled his eyes as he hung up. He made his way to the front door and opened it for the blond. Today he was dressed in a red polo and a pair of dark jeans. “Well, I think I can get used to our morning encounters, Nico,” Apollo said, looking at Nico's wet form.

“Do you flirt with everyone?” Nico asked, walking towards his bathroom.

Apollo chuckled. “Need to make those big bucks somehow. I only mean it for the cuties.” Nico could practically see Apollo's grin as he stood in the bathroom. “Don't take too long. I need to have you to school by eight.”

“Ok,” Nico called back to him, pulling his pants on.

He emerged a few minutes later with a dark blue t-shirt with a drawing of an owl printed on it. “Ready?” Apollo asked, gesturing to the door. Nico nodded, grabbing the new backpack that Leo had left him. He made sure to get his schedule from the folder Percy had given him yesterday and made his way out the door with Apollo.

Apollo hit the basement button and they made their long descent down to the parking garage. “You work last night?” Nico asked after a moment of silence.

“Yeah,” Apollo replied with a yawn. He did look tired. He probably hadn't gotten much sleep last night. Nico wondered how they all managed to work so late and get up to go to classes. They probably went for later classes.

Nico figured he might as well ask. “So, do all of you get up this early for college? I mean, you guys work really late. I figure it would be brutal to do this every weekday.”

“I only get up this early on Mondays and Wednesdays. So, I'll give you rides on those days. I think Charles has an early class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So, maybe you can get a ride with him tomorrow.”

“What has you up so early? What do you study?”

“Well, I am at a school of the arts. I study dance and music.”

“What kind?”

Apollo smiled at Nico. “I study ballet and hip-hop for dancing. Then I have piano and singing for music.”

“That sounds cool.”

“Yeah, I love it. My-My dad didn't really approve of a lot of it. When I sat down and talked to him about it after I graduated high school he kicked me out. Well, it might have also had to do with me telling him I was gay,” Apollo said with a dry chuckle. This made Nico frown. “Don't worry about me, dude. Everything turned out fine.” The elevator came to a stop and they made their way through the parking garage. Apollo came to a stop in front of a red Maserati Spyder. Apollo smiled over at Nico's shocked expression. “What did you think we all drove junkers?”

“I-I just didn't think the job would pay this well,” Nico said, getting into the car.

“Well, the rest of us make more, but don't sweat it. You'll still make a good bit.” Apollo cranked the car and backed out. He didn't even bother to obey the speed limit as they zoomed down the streets. It made Nico a little nervous. He only stopped clenching his seat when the found too much traffic and had to slow down.

“So, do you miss anything about your old life?” Nico asked as they went under a green light.

“My sister. She meant a lot to me. We picked on each other a lot, but now that I don't get to see her, I really miss her. We were twins and really close,” Apollo said with a sad smile.

“What was her name?”

Apollo popped a piece of gum in his mouth. “Artemis. She was beautiful, just like her name. I had to play the jealous brother many times over the years.” The smile drifted off his face as he finished.

“Can't you find her?”

Apollo looked over at him. “Well, I kind of grew up in Florida. So, no, I haven't really been able to. I mean, I really don't know where to start. I guess I could ask Percy to track her down for me. I-I just don't know if I would want her to see me now.”

“Why not?” Nico asked, cocking his head to the side. Apollo made a point not to look at him.

 “Oh, look, we're at your new school.” Nico looked out his window and sure enough they were pulling up to a large high school. Apollo pulled up to a curb and stopped the car. “Well, good luck with your first day.” Apollo gave him a smile. Nico picked up his backpack and got out of the car. He waved at Apollo as the blond drove off. He let out a long sigh as he turned to look at his new school. It was probably twice the size of his old one, and much nicer. This one had to get a lot of funding. He slowly made his way up the sidewalk into the main building. He was already ready to get this day over with.