Hi, world. This is a new piece I dreamed up while reading Son of Neptune. Enjoy it, guys.

ALSO: my birthday passed in December! My account is a year old! 73 stories in a year. I'm proud of myself, guys.

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson & The Olympians, or The Heroes Of Olympus. Rick Riordan does.

. . .

Underestimated.

By Everyone's a Mortal.

. . .

"I might be insane, sir, but I ain't stupid."

. . .

I let them think I'm stupid.

I don't know why; I just do. Everyone seems to think I'm dumb or something. But when I lost my memory, I guess I stopped pretending I wasn't smart. All the people who'd labelled me as stupid, they were surprised. Then there's my appearance. I look more like a skater, I guess, like bad news. Longish black hair, always messed up because who has time for hair? A chipped tooth from my fight with Medusa when I was twelve. My green eyes are filled with this sadness that you can only see if you've suffered, too. To everyone it looks like innocence.

Yeah... No.

I'm good-looking. I know that. I used to be scrawny, but because of my fight for survival... it's kinda impossible to be out of shape. We all saw Deadelus. Anyway, I look like bad news, like a guy who only likes punching people and not thinking.

Annabeth, Clarisse, Malcolm, Drew, Travis, Chiron, Reyna, Frank, Hazel, Paul, Athena, Zeus, Thalia, Luke, Katie, Pollux, Juniper...

A lot of people consider me dumb. Even my girlfriend doesn't consider me the smartest person. And I'm not. I suck at math. I usually fail my spelling tests. Geography is a pain. History's okay, especially when we're talking about 'myths'. PE's better. That's how I don't fail Goode High. I focus more on the subjects I can pass.

The thing is, I'm analytical. I see things. Frank and Hazel's crushes on each other? Pfft, obvious. Octavian's way with words? I saw it. The fact that Annabeth is baiting me to kiss her just to shut her up?

Got it.

'Course I used to be dense, which, as Grover would say, is just a nice word for stupid.

Oh well.

My life is full of ups and downs and lately, it's been heading down. Way down. Like, to the ground down. Tartarus isn't fun. Being a demigod isn't fun. It's got it's own invisible sign, DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME! YOU'LL GET EATEN!

So back to the topic: I'm not dumb. I'm smart. Get that in your head. I've killed countless monsters to protect people by noticing they're weaknesses. That's how I fought Ares, and Jason (even if I was under the control of a demon). And Kronos. It's how I win. I don't rely on brute strength like most people believe. I'm analytical. I can see what you're thinking after a get a feel for you.

It's a secret even Annabeth hasn't mastered.

Sometimes, a long time ago, I'd wonder why I could do that. Poseidon is sort-of reckless. He doesn't think much, just, ah, causes earthquakes. It's sad, but true. So why was I so good finding my enemies weakness? I was ADHD. If you don't know what that means, it's attention deficit hyperactive disorder. So I wasn't very good at slowing down and studying the clouds.

And yet, when it came to life-or-death I was. When it comes to a new person, I am.

Example:

"What'd I do wrong? If it's about the chair -"

"It's not you. I hate senate meetings. When Octavian gets talking..."

"You're a warrior. Octavian is a talker. Put him in front of the senate, and suddenly he becomes the powerful one."

"You're smarter than you look."

Reyna and I, talking about praetorship. That's when she stopped underestimating me. I think the reason I can focus better when I'm in trouble is because I'm forced to focus on one thing: surival.

Strange.

So, listen well, 'cause I'm only telling you once: My name is Percy Jackson. My life isn't easy, but I'm determined to live it. I've been underestimated all my life. But that's okay. It makes it easier to surprise people that way.