Caesar
was on his way back to Rome and had wanted a triumphal festival over the defeat
of Pompey. The legion was on their way and they were expecting a procession to
thank Jupiter over their victory. Nero and his slave, Avitus, walked towards
the Forum Romanum so that Nero could go to school. Avitus never left Nero and had
always waited for his master to be done so that they could walk back home
together. Nero’s family had bought Avitus with the intent that he would tend
for Nero. As the two walked down the Palatine hill, Nero caught a glimpse of
the bright sun shinning down on the city. He walked down the stairs and made
his way towards the basilica where the school was held. Once he was at the
forum, Nero saw Julia ahead of him. He immediately ran towards her and called
her name, “Julia! How have you been? I’ve been meaning to talk to you about our
former acquaintance…” However, Julia had cut Nero short and stated that she
needed to hurry to the horrea in order to find a new toga for the celebratory
festival. Julia said that she would discuss the matter at a later time and told
him that she had to go. Nero’s expression immediately changed from being happy
to dismay. Although Nero wanted to sulk, he realized that he was going to be
late for school and started to run towards the Basilica Aemilia. Nero finally
reached the steps of the basilica only to see his tutor walking towards him.
Nero and his teacher walked into the building- Nero conducted his studies about
Latin, history, and politics. Once, Nero’s schooling was finished, he walked to
the forum and decided to shop for a new toga as well because he had small rips
on the side of his toga. He walked passed many people shopping for Caesar’s
return to the city. Nero finally found a toga that he liked- a nice, new white
toga that fitted him better than the previous one he had. After shopping for a
while, he decided to go home once he realized that the sun was setting. Nero
came home to his family and to dinner but had wanted to go to bed instead in order
to try to forget about his day. The day of the festival finally arrived and
Nero was content again, trying not to think about his encounter with Julia
yesterday. All he wanted to do was focus on the festival and the legion’s
success over Pompey. Nero walked with his family to the forum waiting for the
legion to walk through the via sacra so that they could cheer for the army's victory.
