Learn Italian With Nicolo di Angelo!

Second Day In The Infirmary

The aroma of freshly baked pancakes wafted through the air, a delightful reward for Will's successful conquest of the Italian alphabet. Nico, spatula in hand, expertly flipped a stack of golden brown cakes while Will sipped on his orange juice, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Those smell amazing, Nico," Will said, taking a bite of a pancake dripping with maple syrup. "You're a much better cook than you are a wake-up call."

Nico smirked. "Hey, drastic times call for drastic measures, Solace. Besides, who needs an alarm clock when you have a willing demigod friend at your service?"

Will chuckled. "Fair enough. But seriously, thanks for being so patient with me yesterday. Learning a whole alphabet is harder than it looks."

"You did great," Nico reassured him, placing a plate piled high with pancakes in front of Will. "Now, with a full stomach, are you ready for your next Italian lesson?"

Will's eyes widened slightly. "More lessons already? Can't we take a break and enjoy breakfast first?"

Nico raised an eyebrow playfully. "Consider this breakfast your reward for yesterday's hard work. But remember, knowledge is power, Solace, and the power to find delicious gelato on a hot day is a power worth having."

Will's eyes lit up. "Gelato, huh? Didn't you once say that with great power comes great need to take a nap? 'Cause that's what I wanna do after all that alphabet wrangling. But yeah, alright, Professor di Morte. Teach me how to ask for directions in Italian."

Nico blushed, and hid his face in Will's chest. Will, being the amazing boyfriend that he is, then cupped Nico's face in his hands, tilted it up, and kissed him.

"Mmph! Stop it, Will!"

"Fine, fine, I'll stop..." Will said, and booped Nico on the nose. 

Nico rolled his eyes, and sat back on the chair next to Will. "Imagine you're walking down a street in Rome, completely lost, and you see a friendly local. How would you ask them where the Trevi Fountain is?"

"Fontana."

"Trevi Fontana, right?" [Time to use your AMAZING new Italian knowledge on the alphabet to figure out how to pronounce this word!]

"Exactly," Nico said, impressed. "So, you could start by saying 'Scusi,' which means 'excuse me.'"

Will wrote this down in his notebook. "Scusi... got it."

"Then," Nico continued, "you can ask 'Dov'è la Fontana di Trevi?' This means 'Where is the Trevi Fountain?'"

Will wrote this down as well, then looked up at Nico with a questioning frown. "Dov'è? Isn't that where we learned 'where' yesterday?"

"Close," Nico explained. "Dov'è is the formal way to ask 'where.' There's also a more casual way, 'Dove sta?' which literally means 'Where is it located?'"

Will repeated the phrases back to Nico, practicing the pronunciation. He liked the sound of 'Dove sta la Fontana di Trevi?' It felt more natural than the formal version, like something he might hear someone say on a bustling Roman street. He also made a mental note to ask Nico about the difference in using 'dov'è' and 'dove sta' later. There were just so many nuances to this language!

"Perfect!" Nico said, clapping his hands. "Now, listen carefully. The local might respond in a few ways. They might simply say 'È lì' (pronounced 'eh lee'), which means 'It's there.'"

Will wrote this down, a sense of accomplishment blooming in his chest. "So I understand that."

"They might also give you directions," Nico continued. "For example, they could say 'Dritto per questa strada, poi la prima a sinistra' (dree-toh per questa stra-da, poi la pee-rth-ah ah sinis-tra). This means 'Go straight down this street, then the first left.'"