Look I didn't want to be a Demi-Titan if you're reading this because you think you might be one my advice is close this book right now. Believe whatever lies your mom and dad told you about your birth and try It' to lead a normal life.
Being a demi-titan is dangerous. It's scary most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways. If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think its fiction, great. Read on I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened. But if you recognize yourself in these pages-if you feel something stirring inside-stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before they sense it too, and they'll come for you.
Don't say I didn't warn you. My name is Percy Jackson I'm twelve years old with silver eyes. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York. Am I a troubled kid? No not most of the time. I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan-twenty eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff. I know- it sounds like cruel torture method.
Most Yancy field trips were. But Mr. Brunner our Latin teacher was leading this trip, so I had hopes. Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed teed jacket which always smelled like coffee. You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.
I hoped the trip would be okay. At least I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble. Boy was I wrong. See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary war cannon. I wasn't aiming for the doors but, of course I got expelled anyway.
And before that at my fourth-grade when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unexpected swim. And before that… Well, you get the hint. This trip, I was determined to be good.
All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-hot sauce sandwich. Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must have been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that he was crippled. He had a note excusing him from P.E. for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let that fool you. You should have seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.
Anyway Nancy Bobofit was throwing lumpy pieces at Grover which stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation. The headmaster had threatened me with death by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.
"I'm going to kill her." I mumbled Grover tried to calm me down.
"It's okay. I like peanut butter."
"I do too but not in my hair Grover." I replied He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.
"That's it." I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.
"You're already on probation." He reminded me.
"You know who'll get blamed if anything happens." Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy right there even if it was a girl.
Mr. Brunner led the museum tour. He rode up in his wheelchair, escorting us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery. It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand years, three thousand years. He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a huge picture of a man with hair and a scraggly beard and started telling us how it was the Titan Iapetus the titan of mortal life and how he held Ouranos in place when Kronos killed him with his scythe and Nancy mumbled something about how useless this all was and I snapped and said
"Will you shut up?" It came out louder than I meant it to. The whole group laughed.
Mr. Brunner stopped his story
"Mr. Jackson." He said, "Did you have a comment?" My face was totally red. I said,
"No, sir."
"Will you please tell us what this picture represents?" I felt a rush of relief as I recognized it
"That's Kronos eating his children."
"And why did he eat his children?"
"His mother Gaea was not happy with the way he ruled the world so she gave the same prophecy that Ouranos had that one of his children would overthrow him so he ate them trying to avoid it."
"Yes his wife Rhea hid baby Zeus and he grew up on the island of Delos gathering allies to overthrow his father Kronos, Zeus then fed his father a mixture of mustard and wine causing him to regurgitate the children on that happy note Ms. Dodds will you lead us outside for lunch."
"Mr. Jackson would you come here for a moment" I walked towards him "You must learn how this affects you in real life."
I wanted to get mad this guy pushed me so hard I mumbled something about trying harder even though it wasn't a matter of me trying hard or not. Outside I ate lunch with Grover and Nancy came up and dumped her half-eaten lunch and I happened to be the innocent bystander at the it fell on my lunch as well I got so mad I could hear hissing and Nancy looked like she aged 2-3 years or something and some flesh fell out exposing bone Nancy then screamed
"PERCY CUT ME!"
"Did you see-"
"It was like she aged" were some of the hushed whispers going around Ms. Dodds arrived with a triumphant fire in her eyes as if she had been waiting for this to happen
"Mr. Jackson please come with me." She was already at the steps by that time which made me wonder if this was my ADHD acting up my counselor told me that my brain misinterprets things making it seem like a piece of a puzzle left the universe. I wasn't so sure."
"Where is it where did you hide it" I didn't know what she was talking about I was praying that she didn't find out about the candy or the book report.
"Mam I have no idea what-." The weirdest thing happened she transformed into this bat like monster with 4 wings and razor sharp claws
"GIVE ME THE HELM" she screeched I realized this monster from Greek Mythology a fury one of Hades' punishment dealers. If this was from Greek Mythology an oath on the Styx is the most binding and the oath would prove I was innocent
"I swear on the Styx I have not stolen anything that belongs to you or your master." Thunder boomed sealing the oath I think. The fury looked stooped by this
"How did you know about Greek Mythology?" she questioned "Well you are one of Hades's punishment dealers and since you resemble a Fury I assumed that swearing an oath on the Styx would clear my name."
which came out surprisingly clearer since I was talking to a monster. "Well my mom is still alive and my dad died before I was born my mom said he controlled mortality as a joke." If possible the fury paled to a stark white… wait he controlled human mortality and the only one in Greek Mythology who could do that was Iapetus.
"What so I'm Iapetus's son?" Mr. Brunner walked in right as I said that which was pretty creepy.
"I had my suspicions about you but it seems I am correct." Grover then walked in looking at me as if I was an atomic bomb that would detonate anything at any time. "
We need to get you to Camp-Half-Blood right away." Mr. Brunner spoke
"Could you guys like tell my mom about all of this I don't want her to worry about this too much." I didn't care if they thought I was weak for caring for my mom I just wanted for her to be safe.
