Percy Jackson One Shots and Short Stories

#32 - The College of New Rome

#32 - The College of New Rome
published: Monday, 27 May 2019

[ requested ]

—*—

Hazel clicked the bell on the front of her bike, signalling for the pedestrians in front of her to hop out of her way before she ran them over.

She parked the bike in the stand and quickly chained it to the post. As she removed her helmet, Hazel glanced up and took in the view of her new school for the first time.

The words "College of New Rome" were displayed above the entrance on a huge plague, and demigods were milling about, reuniting with old friends for the new school term or meeting new ones.

Feeling slightly daunted by everyone else's social lives, Hazel slung her book bag over her shoulder and shyly started towards the entrance.

"Hi, I'm Hazel Levesque, a new student?" she introduced herself to the man sitting behind the front desk. "Is the key to my new dorm here?"

The man barely gave her a second glance as he rolled his chair across the office and grabbed a file with her name on it. "Your lectures for the month, mandatory training days, and dorm information is here."

Hazel fumbled with the file before she backed out of the office. "Thank you!" The door swung close, rattling the windows, as Hazel opened up the map of the school grounds.

It took her a good fifteen minutes to find her way to her dorm building, and another five to find the right room. Hazel could already feel the familiar ache of missing her friends, especially Frank.

Hazel pushed the door to her dorm open, and promptly stared at the clothes strewn across the floor.

"Hi!" someone chirped. An Asian girl with straight black hair and dark eyes smiled at her. "You must be my new roommate." She fixed her with an odd look and tilted her head. "Have we met? You look familiar."

Hazel shook her hand awkwardly. "I don't think so. I'm Hazel."

Her roommate introduced herself as Veronica, and it soon became clear that she was chatty, bubbly, and extremely excitable.

"Do you think the professors are nice?" Veronica babbled. "And what about the students? Are they mean? Do you think there are any hot girls?"

Hazel also quickly caught on that Veronica was into girls.

"What about you?" Veronica paused in her speech to turn to Hazel.

Hazel blinked. She was putting away her folded clothes into the cupboard and started pulling out the few mementos she'd packed from her flat she shared with Annabeth and Piper.

There was a golden picture frame with a photograph of herself and her friends from a camping trip a while ago. It'd been where the boys had found and adopted a small half-cheetah half-monster pet — Split, a name that was the unfortunate result of miscommunication and, well, Leo.

"I have a boyfriend," Hazel said lamely.

Veronica laughed. "I figured you'd probably be straight. If you hadn't noticed, I'm—"

"Lesbian," Hazel finished. She blushed. "Sorry, I say things sometimes that are a little rude."

Veronica waved a hand dismissively. "It's fine, no harm done."

"My brother's gay," Hazel offered. "His name's Nico."

Veronica furrowed her brow. "Nico?" Her gaze said across Hazel's bed to the picture frame on her bedside table, and her eyes widened in shock. "Wait—Nico di Angelo is your brother? You're Hazel Levesque?"