Nico

I bolted down the street as fast as I could. It was monday morning, my first day on the job, and I had overslept. I stood on my toes and spotted Times Tower up ahead. I picked up speed and continued to shove my way through the crowd. Oversleep on your first day, I thought as I reached the building. Way to make a great first impression. The receptionist smiled and waved at me as I burst through the doors and raced across the foyer. I jumped onto the elevator just as the doors were closing, and told the operator to hit the thirty two button. 

Five minutes later, the doors slid open and I stepped onto the thirty second floor. I hurried down the hall until I reached the door to the newsroom. It was just as busy as the last time I visited, with people rushing around the room, all talking and shouting at one another. I made my way to the back of the room, and rapped on Mr. Zeus's door.

"Come in!" he called. I pushed open the door and entered his office. As I stepped over the threshold, I noticed a girl standing in the corner. She had a light tan that complimented her warm smile and stormy gray eyes. Her golden hair cascaded down her shoulders in elegant waves, like a waterfall with liquid gold instead of water. She was pretty. 

"Hello, sir," I said, taking a seat in the chair in front of his desk. 

"Ah, Nico. Our new employee," he answered. "I've decided that I'll let one of our more experienced employees show you around and help you get settled. You'll begin working on your own tomorrow," Mr. Zeus explained, gesturing towards the girl in the corner. 

She stepped forward and stuck out her hand, "Hi, I'm Annabeth Chase. I'll be showing you around."

"Nice to meet you, Annabeth," I answered, shaking her hand. "I'm Nico." 

"Likewise," she responded. She gestured for me to follow her, "I'll give you the tour." I trailed close behind Annabeth as we exited the office and returned to the newsroom. 

"Where to first?" I asked, practically shouting over the newsroom clamor. 

Annabeth shrugged, "I'll guess we'll start here." She turned and motioned to the newsroom, "I'll go ahead and warn you: it's always loud in the newsroom. You'll be spending a lot of time here. This is where we write and edit our stories for the paper." She waved her hand, "There's not a whole lot to see here, let's head to some of the other floors."

I spent the next few hours following Annabeth around the building. She showed me the other floors, the press rooms, and several other areas she thought I might need to know about. We finished the tour around noon, and returned to the newsroom. 

"Anything else you want to see?" Annabeth asked, taking a seat at her desk. 

I shook my head and pulled and empty chair over. "Not really."

"Alright, I guess I'll show you what you'll be doing, then," she said. She turned to face the typewriter on her desk, "You probably find out where your desk is tomorrow. You actually only spend about half your day writing. In the morning, you're told what you'll be reporting on by your supervisor. Most of the time, you get stuff that happened the previous day. But, occasionally, you'll get something that happened before you got to work. Once you get your assignment, you get to the fun part. You'll go visit the scene of whatever it is your reporting on and get interviews, take notes, and just gather information. Then, you come back here, and write your story."

I nodded, "Sounds simple enough."

"In words, it sounds like a piece of cake. But, you will have stressful days from time to time," Annabeth answered. 

"Is there anything else I need to know?" I inquired. 

Annabeth shook her head, "I think that about covers it." She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and sighed. "We still have about three hours left," she said, returning her attention to me. "You can just stay with me while I finish up a few things and then I'll take you back to Mr. Zeus at the end of the day. Sound okay?"

"Sounds fine," I answered. For the final three hours of the day, I sat beside Annabeth and watched as she wrote. Occasionally, she would look up at me to give me tips or explain something. 

When three o'clock rolled around, I followed Annabeth back to Mr. Zeus's office. When we entered, Mr. Zeus was busy reading a copy of tomorrow's paper. Annabeth cleared her throat, "Mr. Zeus?"

He looked up from the paper, "Ah, yes, you're here. Sit down." We settled ourselves in the two chairs in front of his desk. He folded the paper and placed it on his desk. "So," he began, focusing his icy stare on Annabeth. "Did you show him everything important?" 

Annabeth nodded, "Yes, sir. I showed him the newsroom, the press room, the break room-"

"Did you show him the copy editors' desk?" Mr. Zeus interrupted. 

She paused for a moment, "Well, no, but I-"

Mr. Zeus sighed, "You're giving a tour to a new reporter, but you didn't show him where to get is work edited and revised?"

"It's on this floor and there's a sign pointing to it, I just didn't think it would be necessary to show him something he can find on his own," Annabeth squeaked. 

"Do you know why I hired you, Annabeth?" Mr. Zeus said in a low voice, his tone menacing. "You are intelligent, highly intelligent. You are one of the brightest journalists I have ever hired. Yet, when I give you a task as simple as orientating a new employee, you fail."

"Sir, I-"

Mr. Zeus slammed his hand on the desk, "No! You have failed!"

"Sir," I said calmly. "I think I'm perfectly capable of finding the copy editors' desk on my own. I think Annabeth's tour was fine."

He turned his head towards me, his eyes burning. "Nico, have I spoken to you?"

"No, I just felt the need to say something. There's no reason for you to speak to Annabeth that way," I answered calmly. 

"Are you the Chief Editor here?"

"No, sir."

"Are you in any way in charge of Annabeth?"

"Of course not, I've hardly been here a day."

Mr. Zeus lowered his voice, "Then what makes you think you can tell me how to deal with my employees?"

"I was simply stating that there was nothing wrong with her tour, and that I can mange myself from now on," I replied. Annabeth gazed at me with a look that screamed, Stop while you still can!

Mr. Zeus stood from his desk. "I NEVER ASKED FOR YOUR OPINION!" he roared. "LEAVE MY OFFICE! I DON'T WANT TO SEE EITHER OF YOU UNTIL EIGHT AM TOMORROW! OUT!" 

I jumped back in surprise. I hadn't expected him to react that way. Annabeth stood from her seat and grabbed my shoulder, snapping me out of my stupor. I leapt to my feet and hurried behind her to the door. Together, we dashed out of the office and through the newsroom. Once we were in the hallway, we slowed to a stop. 

Annabeth cradled her face in her hands, "I'm so sorry! That was my fault, I'm so sorry!"

"It's not your fault," I answered softly. 

She shook her head, "Yes it is. If I had just used my brain and taken you to the stupid editors' desk, that wouldn't have happened!"

I placed my hand on her shoulder. "Please don't blame yourself," I pleaded. "It isn't your fault. I think he would've gone off anyway."

"Yeah, he does have a temper," Annabeth replied, slumping against the wall.

"Does he lose his temper a lot?" I asked. 

Annabeth sighed, "You have no idea. Sorry he has to be your new boss."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Poor me," I agreed.

Annabeth looked at the watch on her wrist. "Oh, god, I'm late!" she exclaimed. 

"Late for what?" I asked. 

She sighed, "My boyfriend, Percy. I promised him I'd meet him after work." She directed her attention to me, "I'm so sorry! I have to go!"

"No, no, go ahead," I insisted. 

Annabeh turned and headed down the hall, "Bye, Nico!" I listened as her footsteps grew fainter and fainter as she hurried away. 

I stood in the hallway even after Annabeth was gone, reviewing the day's events. "My editor hates me and I've only been here a day," I said to myself. "I'm going to get fired." I sighed and started down the hall. 

When I reached the lobby, it was empty except for the receptionist, who was busy rifling through a stack of papers. She looked up at me as I stepped out of the elevator and frowned. 

"Shitty day?" she asked.

I sighed, "I guess you could say that."

She pushed the stack of papers aside, "Talk to me about it."

I raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"Because sometimes the best thing you can do is talk to someone," she answered. 

"Well, to put it simply, I'm pretty sure the chief editor hates me," I told her. 

She waved her hand. "Don't take it personally, he hates everyone."

"You've met him?" I asked.

"Of course I have," she replied, giggling. "He's been pestering me everyday about his coffee for two years now."

I laughed, "Is there anyone in this building that doesn't hate him?" 

She shook her head, "Not that I can think of." She stuck out her hand, "I'm Calypso, by the way."

"Nico di Angelo," I replied, shaking her hand. 

"Nice to meet you, Nico. Welcome to Mr. Zeus's eternal prison, enjoy your stay!" she joked. I couldn't help but laugh a little. Suddenly the phone rang. Calypso rolled her eyes, "I gotta get this."

"I'll leave you alone," I said, stepping away from the desk.

"See you around, Nico!" she called. I waved to her before turning and heading towards the door.