The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1)

by Rick Riordan

I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting, but everybody around me was talking, and every time I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye.

I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I’ve missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it.

I felt like drowning myself. The only problem: I was immune to drowning.

If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself. I can’t let a god take care of me…or my son. I have to…find the courage on my own.