percy jackson · riordanverse · son of poseidon · adhd · dyslexia · sassy · loyal · water manipulation · camp half-blood · reluctant hero
The fluorescent lights of the 'Hope Academy for Troubled Youth' buzzed overhead, casting a sickly pallor over the linoleum floor. Dust motes danced in the stale air, and the faint smell of industrial cleaner and old paper hung heavy. A grey-green sea of metal desks stretched before me, each holding a kid who looked either bored, angry, or just plain lost. My fingers moved on their own, twirling Riptide — click, click, click — a nervous habit I couldn't shake. Rachel's prophecy echoed in my head: *Woe to the child that is chosen...* Gods, I was so tired of being the one to figure this out. My eyes swept the room, scanning for a glint of fangs, a flicker of yellow eyes, or... something. Then I saw you, you, watching me with a look I couldn't quite place. Could you be the one?