Nico's unexpected encounters

Hunt the Hugger

PREVIOUSLY:

I looked through the cabinets in the kitchen just to see what they all looked like - I still have ADHD even if I try not to show it - and to my surprise, found them all full of food. One was even full of cereal. Probably Demeter's doing. I guess father is trying, in his own weird way, to actually be a good father.

Nah. Let's not keep my hopes up just yet.

***

NOW:

No one noticed when I walked into the school.

No one noticed when I put stuff in my locker.

No one noticed when I sat down in the back corner of the classroom.

And that's the way I prefer it.

If my days here kept on going like this I might just be able to make it through the school year.

Maybe.

My first class was English. And as Mr. What's-his-name kept babbling on about class assignments- Bla bla bla. My ADHD got the better of me within two minutes. The next thing I know, the bell has rung and it's time to move on. I was glad too. I didn't need to know how many books there were on the shelves. 73 to be exact.

I walked into my next class and began to take a back seat like in the last class, but immediately found myself feeling annoyed. Right before I got to the seat a tall guy with white-blond hair and a snarky look on his face steps into my way, almost making me crash into him.

"Well well well. Look at what we have here. A new kid." As his confident voice echoed through the room, all went silent waiting to hear what he had to say. " Let's take a look, shall we? A short kid who still thinks goth is in style and doesn't have the brains to figure out the pecking order fast enough. Hmmm. Sounds like fresh meat. What do you say, boys?" The goons behind him started snickering. The guy then hunched down to my height. "Why Don't we meet up after school Shorty? I'll let you in on some of the... rules, around here. Maybe even help you out with those clothes of yours."

I was steaming. 'WHAT!! WHO DOES THIS GUY THINK HE IS?! I AM THE GHOST KING FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! If only I could kick this little jerk's face right now. That would make my day. I am so tempted right now, but he's only a mortal. I've handled way worse than him. Probably best if I don't do anything stupid on my first day. So instead of beating him to a pulp, I decided to pull a persassy.

"Good observations blondie, but not good enough. I am not goth. I just like the color black. Next, you can come to find me after school if you want, but you probably won't be coming back for a while. Now move before I make you move." Ugg talking to people takes so much energy.

Blondie's snarky look twisted into a frown and he stood back up. "looks like the newbie here is a back talker boys. We will have that chat after school. I'll make sure of it. And then we'll see who-" footsteps came into the classroom and he stopped abruptly. He then reluctantly stepped out of my way and headed back to his seat. The teacher had arrived. Finally. That conversation was getting boring.

***

I ended up having a few more classes with jerk face, or should I say, Hunter. That's what the teachers called him anyway. I wonder what Thalia would think of that. She'd probably kick him where Apollo doesn't shine. His whole being was practically insulting the hunters of Artemis.

Anyway, he didn't say anything to me in the classes we had together. Which I suppose is a good thing. But he did glare at me when the teachers weren't looking. As if doing so would harm me. I've seen Aphrodite kids do better with intimidating someone than he has. It's sad if you think about it.