Percy's POV

Percy leaned back in his chair and groaned. Loudly. So all the class could hear. Annabeth elbowed him in the ribcage.

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain," she whispered.

They were in the middle The Roman Empire 101, a very boring class that he and Annabeth were, unfortunately, required to take. Fortunately, it was the last class of the day.

Percy's status as one of the only two Greek demigods in the college made it difficult to care about what was being taught, but their professor, Professor Judson, was making it impossible.

"And so," he was saying. "We know that as soon as the West expanded, Jupiter and Juno decided blah, blah, blah."

Of course he didn't actually say that last bit, but Percy's ADHD filled it in. He put his elbow on the desk and rested his head on his hand as he let his mind wander.

Professor Judson sure did have a big nose. Percy wondered if that made it easier or harder to lick his nose. The bigger question, could Percy lick his own nose? He hadn't really sat down and tried it before. Of course, he wasn't about to now. Annabeth would be irritated as all get out.

He glanced over at his girlfriend. Her hair looked really pretty in this light, and she looked really cute when she was focusing like she was. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and she was pinching her bottom lip, and—

"Hey, Greek," the Roman on his right whispered. "Would you stop making goo-goo eyes at your girlfriend and get your elbows off my papers?"

Percy felt his face flush in embarrassment. He removed his elbow.

"I would pay attention if I were you, Greek," the Roman continued. "This stuff will be important to your grade."

Annabeth suddenly spoke up next to Percy. "He will, thank you."

"Miss Chase," Professor Judson grabbed her attention. "I'm not sure how things work in the Greek society, but in Rome, class is not a time for socialization."

"I— uh – yes… Yes, sir," Annabeth stuttered.

Great, Percy thought. He had got her in trouble. Now she would be mad. That was just what they needed right now. Their relationship was strained enough, as it was, and, to be honest, it had been that way since they arrived in New Rome.

Percy couldn't put his finger right on it, but something was off about everything. Annabeth seemed sort of… distant. This was supposed to be good for them.

Percy got so caught up in his worry, he missed the entire point of the lesson. Class was over before he could blink, and Annabeth had stormed off without him.

He tripped over himself to catch up to her. "Annabeth," he called. "Annabeth, I'm sorry."

She stopped abruptly and spun around to face him. "Listen, Percy. You don't have to apologize. I'm not hurt, only my pride."

"I didn't mean to humiliate you."

She sighed. "I know, Percy. I know. But the thing is, we're the only Greeks here. People are already prejudiced against us. We have to really prove ourselves if we want to be accepted here, and it's not helping to slack off in class."

"Right. I'm sorry. I'll work harder. I'll pay attention. This was my idea and I'll make it work."

She poked his arm. "We'll make it work, Seaweed Brain. This may be your idea, but we're doing this thing together."

Percy nodded, pulling Annabeth in to a tight hug and kissing the top of her head. "Couldn't do it without you."

They stood that way for a while until Annabeth pulled away. "Hey," she said. "You're going to be late for your shift."

Annabeth was referring to the job Percy had at Old Rome Delicacies. He worked from after school until closing.

It was a very busy place, the café. Percy figured it had something to do with the specialty: fried dormouse. Now, that sounded disgusting. It really did, but really you just had to get over what it was.

Annabeth would sit in the café while Percy worked. Percy got to admire her for hours as she poured over her books, and the job helped pay for his tuition, so it was a pretty good arrangement.

They reached the café, and the woman who ran the place, a large lady called Emilia Donati, came fuming from the kitchen.

"So, you decide to leave me all alone today, eh?" Emilia scolded, her thick Italian accent seeping through with every syllable. "You are late, Signore Jackson. I do not pay you so I can work all by myself!"

The people crowding in the café only looked amused at this outburst. Most of them knew Mrs. Donati. She was notorious for her quick temper and overreactions.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Donati," Annabeth apologized. "It was my fault. I kept him."

Emilia looked the pair of them up and down, judgmentally. "Well... Make sure that it never happens again!"

"Yes, ma'am," Annabeth responded and went to sit down with her books.

Percy put on his apron. He always felt weird in it, but it was required. He got to work which was the same as always: serving people, cleaning things, the waiter business.

Annabeth eventually finished her studies and went back to her dorm room, leaving Percy all alone.

Percy had a hard time focusing on his work. He kept thinking about what Annabeth had said about proving themselves. It was never this complicated back in New York, not even with the boarding schools they attended. They never had to be worried about being accepted.

In the end, the shop closed and Percy was left to clean up after the customers. Mrs. Donati came out to help, because she was nice like that, despite her temper.

After a few moments she spoke up. "You are being very quiet, Perseus."

Percy shrugged. "Sorry. I've just… got a lot on my mind, I guess."

Emilia nodded. "About Annabeth?"

"How did you know?"

"You're falling apart, no? Slowly, but even an old woman can see. You can tell me, Percy."

Percy kept forgetting that Emilia was the daughter of Aphrodite (well, technically Venus.) And as much as Percy hated to admit it, he needed help. "It's just," he began. "This whole college thing was my idea. I wanted to come here with her, but I guess I didn't really think it through. I thought it would be just like normal, but people treat us differently. She's been trying really hard to fit in, and… well, I haven't been trying as hard. I think she's upset with me."

Mrs. Donati snorted. "You think? Listen, this was your idea. She's not trying to fit in for her, or for us Romans. She's doing it for you, but you're not going to fix your problem by doing the same thing she's doing."

"Then what am I supposed to do, Mrs. Donati? I don't want to lose her, but I don't know what to do."

She didn't say anything for about thirty minutes. At the end of it, the whole place was clean and ready for tomorrow. Only then did Emilia speak. "You do a good job around here, Jackson."

"Um, thank you," Percy replied, somewhat taken aback.

"I'll tell you what, you can take the month off, the whole month. Take Annabeth, go home, back to New York."

So this was the genius plan? Was it really that simple? "Are you serious?"

"When do I kid around, huh?"

"Thank… Thank you, Mrs. Donati. I won't forget this."

Percy left with a smile on his face and a bounce in his step. They were going home.