The Violin That Started it All

Part 1) Chapter Eight

Percy smirked. “You’ll get used to it soon.”

“I don’t think I ever will,” I sighed. “And by the way, I already know all of your friends.”

Percy stopped and stared at me with a bewildered expression across his face. “You do?”

“Just their names.”

Percy rolled his eyes. “That doesn’t count.”

When we arrived to Percy’s big group of friends, I wasn’t very prepared for a tackle that almost knocked me to the ground.

I staggered backward, trying to contain my balance. “Uh, hello?” I didn’t know who it was, but I had a guess that was most likely right.

“Nico!” I heard Silena squeal. Yep, my suspicions have been confirmed. “I missed you!”

I rolled my eyes, not even attempting to hug her back. “It’s been a day, calm down. I feel like a celebrity, something I do not want to be.”

Silena pulled back an arm length away, her hands on my shoulders. She grinned wide at me, showing her perfectly straight and white teeth. “I know it’s been a day, but we should totally hang out more! I barely know anything about you!”

“And I plan to keep it that way,” I grumbled.

Silena pouted. “Hey, I want to share some secrets with you too! You’ve been hanging out an awful lot with Percy. Why not me?!” She whined.

“Sharing involves two people, which means you’ve got to share some secrets with me,” I remarked. “And I have the strangest feeling you don’t have any secrets.”

Silena tilted her head to the side. “Why’s that?”

“Because you’re a big mouth,” All of her friends around her replied—including me.

Silena jumped and stared at everyone with wide eyes. “Hey!” She protested.

A guy of African-American decent smirked. “I am already liking Nico.”

As I recall, his name was Charles Beckendorf, though everyone just calls him by his surname.  He was really muscular and really tall, I was always afraid I would get crushed under his feet. I wonder if he had an intimidating presence during a football game. He had big hands that reminded me of catcher’s mitts like in softball or baseball. His hands were also calloused, but that was because in his free time, he liked to invent machines with Leo Valdez and Jake Mason. They had a pretty strong bond when it came to building things.

Jake Mason had flat, short brown hair that was styled so that it looked like a proper schoolboy’s haircut from a rich private school.  He was as tall as Percy, and had hazel eyes. He also had calloused hands from building inventions, but they weren’t as big as Beckendorf’s. He typically wore nicer clothing than most people, and today he was wearing a dark blue cardigan over a navy blue shirt with white stripes and black skinny jeans. He also wore a pair of dark blue Vans that matched his cardigan.

Silena sighed, shaking her head while swinging an arm around my shoulders. “I don’t know why I’m friends with you guys.”

“Hey, I know you love me.” Beckendorf gave her a genuine smile.

Silena blushed. “I know I do, and I know you love me too.”

            Leo groaned. “This happens every single day. Get a—wait a second you guys already have. You guys do it way too many times if you ask me.” Beckendorf and Silena blushed deeply at Leo’s remark.

            “For one of the first times in my life, I am agreeing with Leo,” Reyna said. “And you guys all know that me agreeing with Leo is pretty rare.”