Hello! Here's a quick late chapter between exams, camp and more exams- enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own the premise of the Rick Riordan mythological universe or the characters of Nico and Will.
iv : plans
« Franca, » Will called from the living room. He was lounging on the couch with a huge medical dictionary, researching experimental pediatric neurosurgery something something science word- it was all very complicated and unclear to Nico (who was instead reading a comic book recommended by Cata, meaning he won).
Francesca swung into her room- her long and thick princess hair literally swinging. If people tended to think that blond-blue-eyed Daniel was Will's biological son, they associated Francesca, with her thick hair and darker skin and chocolatey eyes, to Nico immediately. Of course, Nico wasn't Filipino and he didn't have a smile half as bright as hers, but what did white people know?
"Yeah Dad?" She asked.
"When is your application due for NYU?" Will asked. "Did you need any help with that? You said you'd keep us posted and then got kind of quiet."
Francesca bit her lip and Nico instantly saw the life drain from her. She played with her flowery skirt nervously.
"Umm, actually… I wanted to run something by you guys."
"Okay," Will said putting the book aside and swinging his legs off the couch to stand up straight. "What's up?"
"I… I don't really want to go to NYU anymore," Franca said. "Actually, I don't want to university at all."
First of all, what? Francesca Solace had never brought a grade under 95% home. It was actually unreal. She didn't even dedicate the entierity of her life to schoolwork, she was a natural. Her favourite game had been animal-hospital since she was about eight, and she'd wanted to be a neurologist since she was 12. Oh well. Plans changed, Nico supposed.
Nico looked at Will. He himself was completely uneducated as far as the United States' Government knew, but Will had worked hard to get into med school. He had killed himself over time and time again in med school to get to where he was now.
"Is there a reason?" Will asked gently.
"I was in class," Francesca said, "I mean- bio. I was helping this guy Josh who's absolutely miserable and lost and panicky understand something from our genetics unit, and then my teacher said that this unit was now worth 40% of the class. Isn't that crazy? Out of nowhere one unit is worth a ton. And so I started stressing and panicking and I switched up my studying schedule and… and then I realised that it wasn't just Josh. My entire class was miserable and lost. And then I realised that I wasn't happy either- and it hit me really hard, just that one time. And I realised that I'm unhappy because of school right now. But I'm going to be in school for ten more years if I want to be a neurologist. Which means I might be unhappy for another ten years. That's a lot of time. That's more time than most demigods get, Dads."
"It is," Nico said. "Did you ever consider that university would be different?"
"Maybe," Franca said. "Maybe I'll be happy then. But then I thought; why would I do that, when I know I could be doing something that will definietely make me happy?"
"Not a bad logic," Will said. "What were you thinking?"
"Traveling," Franca said. They both frowned.
"Sweetie, you haven't traveled all that much…" Will said. When they could muster the time, they usually took their kids as far as Camp Half-Blood only.
"Well," Franca said. "See, this won't make Papà happy."
"Why not?" Nico asked, immediately on guard.
"I know you said no- I mean, your words were 'absolutely not as long as I live'... but the other kids in Cabin 13 showed me how to shadow-travel last summer," Franca said.
"Francesca Angelica-"
"I know, I know," Franca said. "I'm not very good at it, I barely managed it. I mean, children of Persephone can't do it as well, I even asked Chiron. But Daveed, the counsellor, he took people to the Czech Republic. And it was so much fun, Dads. We went to over twenty different countries last summer, it was crazy. And I was so happy no matter where I was- Estonia, Slovakia, Croatia, France, even Italy, Papà! Daveed brought me to the Philippines, just me. I want to do it again. Not the shadow-traveling part, but to buy a plane ticket and pack a bag and improvise… Maybe I can do volunteerwork or teach English or be a bartender too..."
Pissed off as he was at Daveed (Nico never should have showed the brat how to shadow-travel in the first place), he had to admit that Franca's face was lighting up as she told her stories. And if Nico was a sucker for anything, it was his kids being happy.
"I think traveling is cool," Nico said. "I did it. It helps you see more things, meet new people, understand more of the world…"
He turned to look at Will for his input. Will was quiet.
"I'm sorry Dad," Franca said. Her eyes were immediately watery, and Nico wondered how long she'd been waiting to drop the drop-out bomb on them. "I know you were super excited that a kid was going to med school, I really liked all the jokes we made and stuff but I… I have to be more happy than not, and spend more time being happy than not. That's how I'm going to make my life great, I think that's the secret."
"Sorry," Will said. "I was just thinking; I have a friend from college who's living in Kenya now, running a clinic. And a brother who runs an Irish hostel that might need some help, if you want to stop by there…"
Francesca beamed and let out a little choking sound and rushed to Will, wrapping her arms around his neck.
