You know that feeling when you're sure the universe is messing with you? Like, no matter what you do, it's got a bullseye painted on your back? That's my life, in a nutshell.

My name's Percy Jackson. I'm twelve years old, and I've got more problems than I can count. ADHD, dyslexia, and a knack for attracting bullies like flies to garbage. But even I wasn't ready for what went down on that school field trip.

It all started at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Our class was supposed to be learning about ancient Greek stuff, which, spoiler alert, was not my thing. The statues were cool, sure, but the plaques? They might as well have been written in Martian. Dyslexia's great like that.

I was trying to keep a low profile. Keyword: trying. But Nancy Bobofit, the queen of obnoxious, wasn't having it.

"Hey, Jackson!" she sneered, flicking bits of her peanut butter sandwich at me. "You trying to read that plaque? You're gonna hurt yourself."

She laughed, loud and nasty like she'd just told the funniest joke in the world. Her bright red hair made her look like a demented clown.

I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to ignore her. Nancy lived to torment me. It was her art form.

But when she dumped her lunch into Grover's lap, that was it.

"Cut it out, Nancy!" I snapped.

The whole class went quiet. Even Grover gave me a wide-eyed look, like, Dude, what are you doing?

Nancy grinned, like a cat about to pounce. "Oh, what are you gonna do about it, Jackson?"

I wanted to say something cool, something to shut her down. But before I could, Mr. Brunner's voice cut through the tension.

"Mr. Jackson," he called from across the room, his tone sharp but not unkind. "A word, please?"

Saved by the teacher.

I followed Mr. Brunner to the front of the gallery, where he was lecturing about a Greek vase. He didn't scold me or ask what happened. Instead, he gave me this look, like he knew I was on the edge.

"Keep your focus, Percy," he said quietly. "The truth is often more important than appearances."

I didn't know what he meant, but his words stuck with me.

Then, things got weird.

During lunch, we were hanging out by this big fountain. I was trying to zone out and forget about Nancy when she struck again.

"Oh no," she gasped, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Percy pushed me!"

She stumbled back dramatically, like she was auditioning for a soap opera. And then—splash!—she fell into the fountain.

The class erupted in laughter.

"I didn't touch her!" I said, but no one was listening. Even Grover looked at me like I'd done something.

Nancy scrambled out of the fountain, dripping wet and furious. "You're dead, Jackson!"

But before she could charge at me, Mrs. Dodds appeared.

"Percy," she said, her voice sharp and cold. "A word."

Her eyes were like daggers, and I knew I was in trouble.

She led me into a dark gallery, away from the class. My heart was pounding, but not because I thought I was getting detention. Something about her felt...off.

"Confess, Half-Blood," she snarled, her face twisting into something inhuman. Her eyes burned red, and wings erupted from her back.

She wasn't a teacher. She was a monster.

"What the—?!" I stumbled back, my mind racing. Was this real? Was I losing it?

She lunged at me, her talons aimed right for my face.

"Percy!" Mr. Brunner's voice boomed.

Out of nowhere, he tossed me something. At first, I thought it was a pen, but when I caught it, it transformed into a sword.

"Fight her, Percy!" he shouted.

I didn't know what I was doing, but instinct took over. I swung the sword, and—whoosh!—Mrs. Dodds exploded into golden dust.

I stood there, shaking, the sword still glowing in my hand. When I turned around, Mr. Brunner was gone. The sword? Just a pen again.

When I got back to the group, everyone acted like nothing had happened. No Mrs. Dodds. No monster attack.

"Hey," I said to Grover, "what happened to Mrs. Dodds?"

He frowned. "Who?"

That's when I realized. my life was about to get way more complicated. You know those moments when the world feels like it's spinning out of control? That was my entire life after Mrs. Dodds turned into a monster and vanished into dust.

No one else remembered her. Not my classmates. Not even Grover. Instead, they all acted like she'd never existed, like our math teacher was just some weird dream I had.

But I knew what I saw. And the thing that scared me the most? Mr. Brunner. The way he tossed me that sword like it was meant for me. Like he knew.

It all felt too real to ignore, but no one believed me. "Mrs. Dodds?" Grover had said, scratching his head. "We've never had a teacher by that name."

I wanted to scream, "I'm not crazy!" but what good would it do? So I played along, even as the questions in my head multiplied.

What was a Half-Blood? Why did Mrs. Dodds call me that? And why did it feel like something big—something terrifying—was just around the corner?

The next few weeks were torture. School went on as usual, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched. Not just by teachers or classmates, but by something else.

Grover didn't help my paranoia. He kept acting...strange. He'd glance over his shoulder like he was expecting something to jump out of the shadows. Once, I caught him muttering to himself, words I couldn't make out.

"Grover," I asked, trying to sound casual, "is something going on?"

He jumped, like I'd caught him in the middle of some secret mission. "What? No! Everything's fine, Percy! Totally fine!" His laugh was about as convincing as a cat claiming it didn't eat the canary.

Yeah, right.

The real breaking point came on the last day of school. We were riding the Greyhound bus back to the city. The weather was gloomy, like the sky itself was holding its breath.

That's when I noticed the old lady.

She was standing on the side of the road, draped in black. Her eyes met mine through the window, and a shiver ran down my spine. She looked like she was staring straight into my soul.

"Who is that?" I muttered.

Grover stiffened. His face went pale.

"Stop the bus," he whispered.

"What?"

"We have to get off. Now."

Before I could ask what he was talking about, the bus jerked to a stop. Grover grabbed my arm, his grip surprisingly strong for someone so scrawny.

"Percy," he said, his voice low and urgent, "we need to talk."

"About what?"

But he didn't answer. He just pulled me off the bus, his eyes darting around like he was searching for danger.

And then it happened.

The old lady was gone. In her place were them.

Three old women sat at a roadside fruit stand, knitting something long and dark—like the threads of fate itself. I don't know how I knew it, but I could feel it: they weren't human.

"Grover," I whispered, "who are they?"

He didn't answer. He just stared, his face pale and full of fear.

One of the women snipped a thread with her scissors, and my chest tightened like someone had just stepped on my lungs.

"We need to go," Grover said, pulling me back to the bus.

The rest of the ride was a blur. Grover wouldn't explain anything. But by the time we got back to New York, I was certain of one thing: my life was tied to something way bigger than I understood.

And it was about to unravel. That day when I went home Immediately after entering my home I could smell Gabe sweat through Gabe was, unfortunately, my stepfather married to my mother who is the best person in the world but with the most rotten luck well how so you ask let me tell you why my mom became orphan at the age of 5 raised by an uncle who couldn't even take care of himself and of course with my mom's luck she got busy taking care of her uncle until he died leaving my mom broke and hopeless until she met my dad but that was 12 years ago we don't talk about it much because it makes her sad.

The thing my mom told me about my dad was he was an important man, One day he set sail to the Atlantic ocean and never came back lost at sea she said.

She worked many jobs to get her High school diploma and raised me on her own I know it wouldn't have been easy I mean after all I am a troubled kid after all. Then again her luck strikes by marrying Gabe Ugliano after being pleasant for the first thirty seconds of our acquaintance, Gabe Ugliano revealed himself to be a world-class jerk. He was known to me as Smelly Gabe when I was younger. I apologize, but this is the reality. The man, dressed in gym shorts, smelled of rotting garlic pizza. The thing is we both made our mother's life Sally Jacksons life more difficult then it already is and me and Gabe's relationship is bad here is a good example for it when I just opened my door I could smell him Smelly Gabe and his friends were playing poker in the living room. ESPN blared on the TV. The carpet was covered in beer cans and chips.

"So, you're home," he replied, barely raising his gaze from his cigar.

"Where is my mother?"

"Working," he declared. "Do you have any money?"

That was it. No Welcome back. Nice to see you. How is your life been the last six months?

Gabe had grown heavier. Wearing clothes from the thrift store, he resembled a walrus without tusks. As though it made him attractive, he had roughly three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp.

I dont have any cash I told him

It was unexpected that Gabe could detect money like a bloodhound because his scent ought to have obscured everything else.

"From the bus station, you took a taxi," he added. Most likely, a twenty was used to pay. I received six and seven dollars in change. If someone wants to live under this roof, he should be responsible for his expenses.

FINE I said I dug a through my pocket pulled out a few dollars and threw them on the table "I hope you lose"

"I wouldn't act so tough today boy your report card came in today" I went to my room and slammed the door and then I heard someone call out my name "Percy" it was my mother after seeing her my mood instantly got better when I looked at her smile my heart melted her long brown hair with some white grey hair mixed in "Oh, Percy." She gave me a strong hug. "It's unbelievable. You have matured since Christmas!

Her Sweet on America attire, red, white, and blue, smelled like chocolate, licorice, and everything else she sold at the Grand Central candy store. As usual, she had brought me a large bag of "free samples" when I got home.

She asked me how have been the last six months of my life to tell her everything I hadn't written in my letters and I told her everything by the end of it she was comforting me. "Hey, Sally—how about some bean dip, huh?" shouted Gabe from the other room.

I tightened my jaw.

There is no nicer woman in the world than my mother. Instead of marrying a jackass like Gabe, she ought to have married a millionaire. I made an effort to seem positive about my final days at Yancy Academy for her benefit. I informed her that the expulsion didn't really bother me. This time, I had lasted nearly the entire year. I had gained several new acquaintances. I had performed fairly well in Latin. The fighting hadn't been as horrible as the headmaster claimed, to be honest. Yancy Academy appealed to me. Yes, I did. I nearly persuaded myself that I had a fantastic year. As I thought of Grover and Mr. Brunner, I began to choke. Suddenly, even Nancy Bobofit didn't seem so horrible.

Until that museum visit...

"What?" my mother inquired. Her gaze tried to extract the secrets while tugging at my conscience. "Did you feel afraid of anything?"

"No, mother."

Lying made me feel horrible. Though I believed it would sound foolish, I wanted to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three elderly women with the yarn.

Her lips were pursed. She didn't press me even though she knew I was holding back. Well after she said "Percy I have a surprise for you" she said "we are going to the beach" My eyes got big. "Montauk?"

"The same cabin—three nights."

"When?"

She grinned. "As quickly as I change."

It was unbelievable to me. Gabe claimed there wasn't enough money, so my mom and I hadn't visited Montauk in the previous two summers.

Sally, bean dip? Gabe snarled as he emerged in the doorway. Did you not hear me?

I wanted to punch him, but when I looked into my mother's eyes, I realized she was making me an offer: treat Gabe nicely for a short time. Only when she was prepared to depart for Montauk. After that, we would leave this place.

She informed Gabe, "Honey, I was on my way." "We were just discussing the trip."

Gabe's eyes narrowed. "The journey? You mean you took that seriously?

"I was aware of it," I whispered. "He will not let us leave." "He will, of course," my mother responded calmly. "Your stepfather is only concerned with his finances. That's all. Additionally, Gabriel won't have to make do with bean dip," she continued. He will get enough seven-layer dip from me for the entire weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The process.

Gabe became a little softer. "So, this trip money comes from your clothing budget, correct?"

"Yes," my mom answered, "honey."

"And you will only drive my car there and back."

"We'll use extreme caution. As sally goes to change and Gabe resumes his poker game.

Authors note we are seeing the other Main Character