I absolutely do not own PJO or HoO. All rights go to Rick Riordan.

I

Reyna drummed her hand against the side of her desk. Her eyes flitted back and forth between the clock on the wall and her teacher, Mr. Delaney, who was going on and on and on about the Holocaust. She rolled her eyes as he bad-mouth about Adolf Hitler. Yeah, he was bad and he killed thousands of people…and he was probably a little insane in the head but, hey, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. At least that's what Reyna thought…the streets had taught her that.

After another ten minutes, she couldn't stand it. 6th period was taking waaaaay too long. Her hand shot into the air, and Mr. Delaney raised an eyebrow at her, surprised. Reyna was one of his quiet students. She never talked unless she was called on, and even then he had to pry answers from her. "Yes, Reyna?" he said.

"Mr. Delaney, sorry to interrupt such a thrilling lecture but I'm feeling really really sick. May I go to the nurse?"

Mr. Delaney pursed his lips. There was only 20 more minutes left. So much more to learn. But for Reyna to actually speak, it must've been serious. Maybe she was pregnant? He considered it, immediately rejecting the thought and he said. "Sure. Just make sure to get tonight's homework from someone in the class."

Reyna nodded, making brief contact with Miguel, her next door neighbor. Miguel nodded, a goofy smile spreading across his tanned face. If there was anyone Reyna could count on, it was Miguel. They had lived next door to each other since they were in 3rd grade. Reyna had recently moved from Puerto Rico to the city of Chicago with her parents and her sister, Hylla when he'd planted himself firmly on their porch and refused to leave until Reyna played ball with him.

Reyna's house was a little brick complex with three bedrooms and some serious drainage problems. The sink was always getting backed up, and the water became murky at some intervals. But Reyna guessed that's what you got when you bought a house with cheap rent in the sketchy parts of the city.

Reyna didn't mind the first few years after she moved. Chicago turned out to be an interesting city—constantly changing. It was vastly different than Puerto Rico. Well, the United States in general was different than Puerto Rico. For one, the weather was crazy. Her mother joked that you could experience the four estaciones (seasons) in one day. For example, it was September when Reyna moved to Chicago. The mornings would be breezy. In the early afternoon, during recess, it'd be unbearably hot. By the time she sort of finished her homework and went outside, it'd be chilly. By night, she had to make sure she wore double socks and snuggled up close to Hylla because the cold chilled her bones.

Another thing that was different for Reyna was the language. Back in Puerto Rico she had some basic understanding of the language. Most residents in her native country had to know English in order to interact with tourists, but at home and among each other, they spoke Spanish. So when little Reyna was tossed into school and teachers started asking her questions, she only knew how to say "Hello. My name is Reyna and I am 8." Immediately kids had started snickering and mumbling, "She talks funny."

Reyna had been confused. She talked funny? She couldn't even understand their English. Words were pronounced differently, and the Americans talked too fast. They also used weird expressions. What on earth do you mean it's raining cat and dogs? After her embarrassing introduction, Reyna plopped into her seat and vouched to never ever speak in class again.

Reyna hoisted her backpack on her shoulder, and marched out class. In fact, she marched to the nurse's office, past it and out of school. She had enough for one day. Plus…no one would notice she was gone. Except for maybe Miguel. If he could peel his lips off his girlfriend for a minute.

Reyna walked a couple of blocks down before she realized where she wanted to go. She raced down the next couple of blocks, until she heard the familiar rumbling of the CTA. She took the stairs two at a time, rummaged around for her Ventra pass, and scanned it just as the train was coming to a halt. Normally, the pink line was one of the busiest trains but today, as Reyna boarded, there were only two people boarding along with her. She slipped into the nearest car, and nestled into the seats. The pink line wouldn't take her to her favorite place in the city but it didn't matter. Most trains around the city all lead back into the heart of Chicago, called the Loop. Reyna knew the Loop by heart. The crazy commuters of the blue line, the damp smell of the red, the rowdiness of the college kids on the brown…etc.

The doors of the train finally closed, and the automatic recording sounded through the speakers. "Thank you for boarding the Pink Line. This train goes to downtown Chicago. Next stop…."

Reyna popped in her headphones and gazed out the window. She wondered what Hylla was doing right now.

It took her a total of 35 minutes to get there. After getting off in the downtown loop, she had to catch the redline all the way to uptown. The redline was so packed that she had spent most of the time, uncomfortably sandwiched between two grandmothers. Their old lady perfume gave Reyna a headache.

Finally she boarded off on Wilson and headed to Skinny's. From the outside, Skinny's looked like it was out of business but the regulars knew better. The establishment was a brick building with tinted black windows and a black door. Ominous, really. The neon Skinny's sign flickered on and off constantly. As Reyna approached the store, she felt a familiar rush.

The place inside was…how to describe it? A teen's heaven? There was a bar but no alcoholic drinks were served. Instead, the bartenders made customers some downright good smoothies and milkshakes. They also had pretty good burgers and hot dogs. Reyna loved their Chicago style hot dogs with extra extra relish.

The store was dark inside, except for the random Technicolor lights and lanterns that hung around on the walls. The walls were adorned with signed autographs of baseball players, pictures of Chicago in the early 1900s, rock legends and few pictures of Al Capone. Why? Reyna didn't know. As far as she knew, Al Capone was pretty douche. Assorted plush couches and chairs were placed throughout the establishment. There were a couple of retro looking booths with lava lamps as centerpieces. Skinny's also had a small dance floor that got packed with sweaty bodies on weekends and a small stage where Skinny would host different events. Local bands? Sure, let the kids have 5 minutes of fame. Poetry readings? Skinny had a gloomy side too and it was a good excuse to finger snap. Hypnosis show? Sure, it was a sham anyway but he got a kick out of seeing freaked out kid.

Whatever. Reyna loved this place. She had been coming since she was a freshman and now she was a senior. If she was feeling nice, she even worked for Skinny a couple of weekends for some extra cash.

Reyna made her way to the jukebox. Her favorite. Skinny had a good variety of music on it, ranging from Ellie Goulding to Skrillex to Pink Floyd. She settled on a Led Zeppelin song and bopped her way to the counter, where she then laid her head down.

It was a few minutes before Skinny emerged from the back, phone glued to his ear. He noticed Reyna and waggled his eyebrows. He muttered a brief goodbye into the phone, shut it and turned to her. Skinny was skinny. Perhaps too skinny. His skinny jeans hung too loosely on his hips and he was bald. By choice. He also had too many piercings and wore cat eye glasses, which should've looked weird but amazingly, he pulled it off. He had gone to Loyola University, and graduated with a degree in Chemistry but ended up opening his joint for stressed teens. Skinny patted Reyna's hair before asking, "The usual?"

She nodded, boring her big brown eyes into his. She was glad for Skinny. He was like the big brother she had never had. In no time, he was humming to Reyna's song pick and chopping up a mango. Reyna watched as the knife slid into the juicy yellow fruit and then was blended together with milk and sugar. Just the way she liked it. It reminded her of the fresh mangoes she and Hylla would eat from their abuela's house back in Puerto Rico.

Skinny set it on the bar for her before turning around to clean the mango mess. "So, I take it you didn't have an early dismissal?"

Reyna stayed quiet. She didn't expect Skinny to chew her out. He was usually cool with seeing her around before school let out.

"What's bothering you today, Reynita?" Queenie.

Reyna's mouth twisted at the nickname. She hated it and wished Skinny wouldn't add –ita or –ito to everything he came into contact with. Mangito. Carito. Streetito? He couldn't even pronounce it right which pissed Reyna off. If there was one thing she was fond of, it was her native tongue. It was the sacred communication tool between her sister and her parents. It was a sacred gift from her home country.

"Honestly," she replied after too long. "Nothing."

Skinny barked out a laugh. "Cut the bullshit, Reyna. I know you like I know my bar."

She bit her lip to hold back a smile. Skinny did in fact know her very well. From her preferred smoothie, down to her favorite color and he could easily identify each of Reyna's deadly moods. That was Skinny though, so easy at reading people. Reyna sighed and swirled her straw around in the thick mixture. "It's the stupid gang again," she admitted. "They've terrorizing the neighborhood for the past few weeks and last night, they cornered my dad. Apparently, someone has been snitchin' and they're determined to get to the bottom of it. We're thinking of moving but there's not enough money with Hylla off at school and mom's hours cut. No se."

She blew her bangs off her face, getting frustrated with herself. Skinny nodded sympathetically and resumed wiping down the counter. "Tough shit, kiddo. But you can't get involved with the police."

Reyna knew. The gangs in her neighborhood had eyes and ears everywhere. They also had resources. One little slip up and Reyna's entire family would be in trouble. Even her family in Puerto Rico. That's how powerful some gangs were.

The gangs were old news. They had always been around but up until now they had never interfered with Reyna's family. More than anything, it infuriated her that she couldn't do anything. It ticked her off that a couple of macho men thought they could terrorize entire neighborhoods and stomp on anyone. Their power hungriness pissed her off. It pissed her off so much that it made her tired and fed up—almost wanting to give up. But that wasn't Reyna's style—she was just biding her time. Sooner or later, those silly gang members would pay for interfering with her life.

Reyna finished her smoothie and started the homework of the morning classes she had gone to. Time flew. She got lost in the poetic words of Aerosmith, and belted out lyrics to Paramore with Skinny. By the time she looked at the clock again, it was 4:23 and she had 7 missed calls from Miguel. So needy, and he's not even my boyfriend. I feel sorry for his girl, she thought and promised herself she wouldn't act like that over some boy.

"Reyna," Skinny called, snapping his fingers at her. "You okay? You looked pretty pissed off….more than usual." He laughed as if it had been the silliest thing he'd ever said.

"It's just—I—ugh, I don't understand relationships," she huffed. "The whole groping each other in the hallway during passing periods, possessiveness and blowing up your phone? No thank you. I'd rather be single until I'm 30 and hit the bars every night."

Skinny laughed. "Gosh, Reyna, if I didn't know any better, I would think you're on the way to becoming a nun." She rolled her eyes at him but Skinny continued. "Y'know this bar will always be here for you. And if things don't turn out well for you….you could always just join a band of immortal teenagers and swear off men for good."

Reyna narrowed her eyes at Skinny. "Don't be foolish. There's no such thing. If there was, I'd be the leader of that band."

Skinny threw his head back and laughed. It was one of Reyna's favorite sounds in the world. "Kid, you crack me up. Hows about you go restock for me—chips, pops, napkins, and whatnot—for tonight. I've got a couple of friends coming and I want you to meet them."

Reyna scowled at the bar owner. "Friends? God, don't tell me you're hosting the crazies again. Last time, that one girl splattered ketchup all over the booth and said she was performing a sacrifice." It had creeped the bejesus out of her.

"Oh, come on, those kids were a riot!" he said. Reyna shot him a dirty look and he held his hands up in protest. "Okay, maybe they were a bit off. And yes, it took a while for the ketchup stains to come out but even they need to have some fun once in a while."

Before Reyna could counter his comment, Skinny quickly continued. "As much as I'd like our friends from Harpers's School for Troubled Children to come back, no. I invited my cousin and his friends over to check it out."

"Cousins? I didn't know you had family here."

Skinny chuckled. He could detect the slight jealousy in Reyna's voice. "I didn't. He and his mother moved here a week ago."

Reyna furrowed her brow. Only a week here and the boy already had friends? Huh. The whole concept of friends was foreign to Reyna. The closest to friends she'd ever gotten was Hylla, her sister and Miguel. But Hylla was just as secretive as her and they rarely had any sisterly gossiping time together. And Miguel…he was just downright annoying. Give a boy a mustache, some muscles and throw him into a school with girls with self-esteem issues and he turned into the world's biggest swine. Reyna was sure that a big part of being friends with him had to do with the fact that he was her neighbor and their moms were BFFs. Still.

Reyna glanced back at her cellphone. 8 missed calls. She resisted the urge to huff, and glanced back at Skinny. "Cool. If they're related to you, I'm definitely in for a show."

Skinny laughed, and patted her on the shoulder. There was a mischievous twinkle in his eye that, for a second, worried Reyna. But this was Skinny. He knew not to mess with her…right? "I'll get the new shipment of Dr Pepper in the back for you," was all he said and disappeared.

AN: Aaaand that was chapter one. I hoped you guys enjoyed the boring introduction. Those are always hard to get through.

Anyway, I'm trying out this fanfic thing again because I have so many ideas but so little time.

I've plotted out where I want to go with this story and let's just say, it'll get more interesting.

Love it? Hate it? Is there a typo you're dying to correct? Lemme know.

Passy