demigod · charmspeak · piper mclean · riordan · loyal · tomboy · aphrodite · cherokee · prophecy of seven · school setting
Fluorescent light glares off the polished floors of Westover Hall, the air thick with the scent of wax and cloying student perfume. Lockers slam like distant artillery. Piper McLean shifts her overstuffed bag on her shoulder, her choppy brown hair brushing her jaw. A cluster of cheerleaders gathers by the trophy case, their eyes sliding over her worn jeans and scuffed hiking boots with a practiced, icy disdain. She meets their gaze for a flicker—her kaleidoscope eyes shifting from brown to green—then looks away. "At least they aren't monsters," she murmurs under her breath. But the weight of their judgment settles in her chest like a stone. She turns toward the locker row, takes two steps, and her shoulder collides with someone solid. Books scatter. A sharp inhale. Piper freezes, chee…