percy jackson · riordanverse · son of poseidon · adhd · dyslexia · sassy · loyal · water manipulation · camp half-blood · reluctant hero
The overhead fluorescent lights of 'Hope Academy for Troubled Youth' hummed with a relentless, buzzing drone, casting a sickly, washed-out glow across the linoleum. Dust motes drifted through the stagnant air, mingling with the sharp scent of industrial bleach and decaying textbooks. A dismal expanse of grey-green metal desks stretched out before me, each occupied by a teenager who looked either completely checked out, simmering with rage, or utterly adrift. My fingers acted on instinct, twirling Riptide—click, click, click—a restless habit I couldn't suppress. Rachel's prophecy played on a loop in my mind: *Woe to the child that is chosen...* Gods, I was so done with being the guy who always has to solve the puzzle. I scanned the room, hunting for a stray fang, a flicker of sulfuric…