Chapter One: But Only Chihuahuas

I didn't want to be considered special. I never asked for it. I was comfortable with the life I had before I knew. It was just my mom, me, and the neighborhood where I grew up. That was all I needed. There was no reason to need anything else. I was content with it. But the Fates had other plans, and those plans involved me being a half-blood.

"MOM," I shout as I walk through our apartment. Depending on her work, she tries to be home before I go to school. Mom always tries to have breakfast with me, but she is Brooklyn's most feared lawyer, so she can't make it most of the time. "I guess she isn't here."

My assumption is correct when I see a yellow sticky note on the fridge. I am on my own today for breakfast and dinner, probably for the next week. It is the last week of school, and I can't spend it with her. Big shock there. Everyone wants her to be their lawyer, and it keeps her busy for a single mom of a teenager. But she is doing what she loves, and we have more than enough money to live off of.

I roll my eyes and head back to my room to get ready for school. I throw on a pair of black ripped skinny jeans and a random tank top. I sit on my bed and carefully Dutch braid my hair. The braid keeps my tangled black mess of hair out of my face. I hate it with a passion, but my mom loves it because it reminds her of my dad. My black hair and my fiery eyes are from my dad. The guy who abandoned her when I was born, yet she still loves him more than anything. More than me. She keeps waiting for the day he comes back to her.

I carefully put on the necklace that I got from my dad when I was 13 and stuff it behind my shirt. I never saw him, never knew him, never talked to him, but on my 13th birthday, he left me a present at our apartment door. I hate the man for leaving us and being a coward, but the necklace was too perfect for me not to wear. It is a chain with a small dagger charm attached to it. I always wore it, no matter what. It was the only thing I had of him.

Once I was ready, I slid on my black converse. I swing my backpack onto my shoulder as I walk to our door. Grabbing my keys and skateboard as I walk out, making sure I lock the door behind me. Making my way through the building, saying hi to a few of my neighbors, and the workers I see, I arrive in front of the elevator. I wait for the elevator to come and ride it to the ground floor.

As I stepped out of the elevator, I saw Robert, our doorman, at the front desk. He tries to keep an eye on me for my mom, but he isn't very good at it. He only catches me if I go through the front door, not the fire escape. I love the guy to death, but if he is going to report every time I leave to my mother, he needs to keep an eye on the fire escape as well.

"Good morning, Robert," I said as I lean against the front desk. Robert hates when I do this. He thinks that he has to clean it after someone has leaned on it. Yes, I live in a nice building, but it isn't that nice. "How are you today?"

"I'm doing well, Miss Niki. Headed off to school early today, are we?" He asked.

"Mom has already left for work, so I was going to stop at Jerold's store for some breakfast."

Jerold's is a little convenience store on my way to school. I hang out there all the time and have become good friends with Jerold and his wife, Patricia. Eventually, Jerold gave me a part-time job, closing the store for him a couple of times a week. This way, he can spend more time with Patricia before he officially retires in a few years.

Robert smiles and says, "You best be going then. I don't want you to be late for school, now do we?"

"Of course not," I say with a smile before I walk out of the building. I lay my skateboard down on the sidewalk and placed my foot on it to prevent it from rolling away. I put my earbuds in my ears to play music before taking off through the busy streets of Brooklyn.

I pass people who are rushing to work or trying to catch a taxi. The peaceful sound of people shouting and cars honking in my music background fills my ears as I fly down the sidewalks, dodging anyone that was in my way. The sound of the city was always relaxing for me. It reminds me that no matter how much trouble I get into, I am not the worst one out there.

I fly down an alleyway that takes me straight to Jerold's. However, I stopped in front of my favorite homeless man, Harry. He is the sweetest man I ever met, and I try to see him every day. When I see him, I make sure to give him some money if I have any cash.

"Hey Harry," I said, as I placed a five-dollar bill in his coffee container and took out an earbud. It was all I had on me cash wise or else I would have given him more.

Harry looked up and smiled, "Niki, I wasn't expecting to see you today."

"Yeah, well, here I am. I'm on my way to Jerold's to get breakfast before I go to school. Of course, I had to stop by and say hi to you."

"Well, it is always a pleasure to see you," He said. I smiled at him before taking off to Jerold's.

Walking into Jerold's, I could smell cheaply made breakfast sandwiches and hotdogs just recently put on the rollers. This was the smell of home. I was here at least three times a week just for food. In all, I am here at least once a day, every day, for work and because my mother doesn't have time for me.

I walk down a familiar aisle and grab a bag of gummy worms and to the fridges to grab a Hawaiian Punch. All I need is a taste of childhood to get me going with the day. Plus, it's my favorite. I don't need a healthy breakfast anyways.

"Jerold," I shouted, knowing he was in the back. He is hardly out in the front when we first open the store. He isn't super busy in the mornings or evenings. He is busy in the afternoon because all the students come here for lunch or an after school snack. "I'm taking a bag of gummy worms and a Hawaiian Punch. Would you put it on my tab?"

Jerold came out of the back and sighed, "Niki, you know you are the only person I have a tab for."

"And I love you for it. Plus, I work for you so you can just take whatever is on my tab off of my paycheck," I said with a smile.

"Get out of here, Kid. Don't forget, you are working tonight."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll see you then," I said as I hurried out of the store. Stopping to talk to everyone is going to make me late to school. However, I don't really care that much. I will probably get into trouble once I get there anyways. I always do even though I don't mean to.

I started skating my way to school, taking shortcuts through alleyways. I hope that I didn't get murdered by a crazy mad man or something like that as I skated. You never know. A young girl, by herself in alleyways, could lead to many illegal activities.

"Niki," A voice said as I skated through the school's yard. I stop my board and look around to see my best friend, Evadne, come running towards me. She is the nicest person I have met even though she is totally obsessed with witchcraft. You wouldn't realize it, but she has only been here since January. She is friends with almost everyone at our school, but she always sticks with me.

"Gummy worm?" I offer when I finally open my bag of goodies. She gladly takes one, and we begin walking into our school. The sound of students chatting and rushing to class fills the halls. What a living nightmare. "Do we have to?"

She laughs, "Yes, but we only have a few more days. Then it is summer vacation."

"Oh, goodie. I can't wait to spend my whole summer locked up in my apartment, or at Jerold's working. God forbid my mom let me do anything because she is terrified that I will get into trouble."

"Oh, it can't be that bad. I would join you, but I'm going to be at a camp all summer."

"Gross. I'd rather do what I am doing than be stuck doing what I am doing to go to a gross camp all summer," I said. I open my locker and shove my bag and skateboard in there. As I grab my stuff for class, I feel someone grab my butt. I turn around and see Johnny, the school's quarterback, standing behind me with a smile. "What the heck, Johnny. Do you always grab girls like that?"

"Only the ones I like," He said with his dumb smile. What a jerk. If only there was something I could do so, he will never do this again. Oh, wait, there is.

I grab his shoulders and slam my knee into his groin. He doubles over in pain while his friends look at us in shock. I mean, it isn't every day some girl knees the star quarterback. But hey, he needed to be taught a lesson if he thinks it is okay to grab girls.

I grab his shirt, and I whisper in his ear, "If I hear you grab another girl like that again, I am going to tell your friends that you have cynophobia, the fear of dogs. But only chihuahuas. Do you understand me?" He nods in agreement. I shove him away, but not before punching him in the eye. I grab my class stuff, my gummy worms, and my Hawaiian Punch before making my way to class. Evadne follows me with an impressed look on her face.