Nico's POV
Ring-ring. Oh goody, it's time to wake up. Ring-ring. I'll catch it later. Ring-ring. I finally just had enough time to smash it before it reached the fourth ring. I tremble out of bed as I hear my cousin Percy, trying to wake me up outside my cabin.
Oh yeah, I forgot. Sup. The name's Nico di Angelo; son of Hades. Yeah, my dad's the god of the Underworld. You could call it Hell, the place where everybody goes after they die. Nope, there is not a Heaven in the sky. That's Elysium, a spot in the underworld where Heroes go after a heroic death. I'm the Ghost king of the Underworld. No, not the king of death. That's Thantos, god of Death. My dad is just the god and King of the Underworld.
So, you think I'm considered either the stereotypic Goth or Emo person you would see in the streets. Nope. I'm considered anti-social, as you would call it. I felt neglected by the others here at camp when I was 12. If my father was neglected from mount. Olympus, then I should be neglected from camp Half-blood. That's what people are thinking in their heads. Camp Half-blood is a place where demigods train to become fierce fighters and heroes. They are half human, half god. Yes, half god. Greek gods like Artemis, Apollo, Hermes, Aphrodite, Zeus and Poseidon. There are plenty more gods like them.
There are our camp heroes like Percy; my cousin and his girlfriend, Annabeth. I'm not sure if you would wanna call her his girlfriend, it seems like they're in the complicated stage of a relationship. Then there's me. Your typical anti-social, sarcastic, dark, mysterious and apparently very handsome to the Aphrodite girls type of person. That means black shaggy hair. Black clothes. Circles under my eyes. Olive skin. And the most unique of me; I'm half Italian. Yes, Italian. My mother Maria di Angelo was from South Italy. Also hence my last name, 'di Angelo' as in meaning in Italian "of the angel," eluding me being the son of Hades.
Let me tell you more about my family. I'm a son of Hades. Yeah, I already said that but I didn't say the information was fresh. I have a deceased sister named Bianca di Angelo. My mother, Maria di Angelo, also deceased. I also have a half-sister named Hazel Lévesque. She's the daughter of Pluto, the Roman side of Hades. Also my cousin, the amazing Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. I also have another cousin named Thalia [Thal-ee-uh] Grace. We have…a unique relationship. I guess you could call her my girlfriend… I know what you are thinking. How could cousins date each other? Isn't that called incest? Well, the gods don't have DNA. As long as you don't date your own half-sibling, you're fine. Also in some countries, it's okay to date or marry your second cousin. And no, that is not considered incest. Incest is where two people from the same family or blood related have sex. You can be mature, right? No? I guess not.
Enough about my life story, and let's cut to the chase. I'm going to South Italy for the summer instead of camp. I leave today. Percy is driving me to the airport in New York. Scratch that, I mean he's driving me to a boat cruise ship heading to South Italy. Riding a plane is the last thing I would want to do on my list. I could ride an airplane, if I didn't mind getting blast to bits by Zeus. The sky is Zeus's domain. The sea is Poseidon's domain. Percy had a talk with Poseidon so he would let me take the cruise ship to Italy without me being drowned or washed up on the shore next to a sea lion. One of my powers is shadow traveling, but that could take most of my energy for a long trip such as Italy. If I could shadow travel to Italy, I would have to sleep for a month before going there. Yeah, it takes that long.
It was a pretty awkward conversation between Percy and me to the cruise. Percy was very cheery and…well…Percy. He has black hair and green eyes, resembling Poseidon. He was tall, while I am short. I'm only seventeen, while he's four years older than me. For all those lazy people who can't add four to seventeen, that's twenty one. Percy is twenty one. He would usually tease me for being short or for me being Greco-Roman.
"So…My Italian cousin is finally growing some balls and going to Italy, huh?" Oh how I hated being teased.
"Yeah. I grew bigger balls today than yours during the Titan war." I huffed and looked away. The Titan war was five years ago.
"You know I'm teasing, right?" He had a quick glance at me then back at the road.
"Yes, I know you are teasing." I mumbled. "Okay. Hey, sorry man for making you uncomfortable." Percy apologized.
"It's okay…I just don't like being teased." I replied.
"Hey, we're here." Percy called. I immediately looked up and saw a bunch of New Yorkers filling up the Cruise ship. I glanced to see if it was the S.S. Andromeda. The S.S. Andromeda was a ship Percy almost got killed on.
"Relax; it's not the S.S. Andromeda." Percy touched my shoulder. I shrugged it off, and got out of the car and grabbed my carry-on while Percy grabbed my luggage from the trunk. He set them down by my feet and gave me a bone-crushing man hug.
"Have fun in Italy. See you in a month." He smiled and gave me another hug. I couldn't stay mad at him right now. For once in three years, I didn't feel neglected. I was so filled with joy; I actually hugged back for like, ten seconds and then pulled away.
"Okay, enough. People might think we're gay." I said.
Percy pulled back and we shook hands. "Bye Nico. Hope you bring home some delicious pasta!" He called while going back in the car.
I waved back and replied "No promises!" I smiled a bit. He just chuckled and waved goodbye. He then proceeded to drive away.
I picked up my luggage and headed to the main entrance. I gave my ticket to the nice lady in the front entrance and she directed me to the first class rooms. Being the son of the god of riches pays off. Heh, pays off.
I went down the hall of the first class rooms and spotted my room. "361…362…363…ah! 364. Room 364."
I set down my luggage and opened my room with the lock the front desk gave me. The room was painted red and black. The bed sheets were red while all the pillows were black. It had a porthole and a mirror and lamp side. It had a table and a menu for room service. It had a decorative fridge that made me tempted to open what's inside it. The couch was red. "Ah, bliss…" I whispered to myself as I plopped on the king sized bed.
()()()
The whole trip to Italy was like a time skip. Even though I have only been here for a week, it kinda felt like just a night. It was probably my brain trolling me again. As we docked in Sicily, I was one of the first people to get out. 'Ah, my sweet motherland,' I thought blissfully. I carried my luggage and my backpack to the nearest café. "Caffè e biscotti per favore."[1] I said to the waitress while I sat down. I sniffed the South Italian air. Smells like tomatoes.
"Ecco il caffè e biscotti."[2] The waitress handed me my coffee and laid the biscotti on the table with a napkin.
"Grazie." I thanked her. I took a sip of my coffee and inhaled the rich smell of it. "Ah…" I said.
As I dipped the biscotti in the coffee and ate it, I drank the rest of the coffee. I got up and went to the market. 'Well, better get some food while I can,' I thought. As I enter one of the markets, there was a sign saying there was a huge sale on tomatoes. I went over to the tomato section and glanced at really delicious looking tomato. I went and reached for it, but another hand grabbed it. I looked at the person who grabbed it. He kinda looked like he was the same age as Percy. He wore an Old Italian light brown military suit. He had dark brown hair and a little curl sticking on the left side of his head.
"Guardarlo, bastardo."[3] He had a thick Italian accent. I felt so pissed at him, calling me a bastard even though we have never met before.
"Si guarda, idiota! Non andare in giro l'Italia e iniziare a chiamarli bastardo per nessun motivo! E penso che tu sei il bastardo reale qui per rubare il mio pomodoro!"[4] I yelled in the store. People are now looking at me and this person being a douche.
"Mi piaci, ragazzo. Parlano I'inglese?"[5] He asked me. I was kinda surprised at his reaction. I thought he would be pissed too. Instead, he's all calm.
"Actually, I speak perfect English." I replied. He made that 'not bad' face. "Name's Lovino [Low-vee-no] Vargas. You?" He asked. "Nico di Angelo." I mumbled.
He shook my hand and said "A fellow Italian American, I see?" He said while smiling.
"Actually, I'm Greco-Roman."
His eyes widen. "I see. Hey Nico, do you have a place to stay tonight?" He asked. "Nope. Not yet." I replied.
"Do you want to stay for the night?" He asked. I thought about it for a minute. "Sure." I immediately replied.
'Lovino seems like a cool person.' I thought.
Oh, how I thought wrong that day.
