As we approach the release of Merged, book two of the Forged series, I’ll be releasing the first couple of chapters of the companion novellas. Follow along and hop back into the Forged world. But be warned…
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.
The following file contains classified material related to the events of Shattered (Forged Series, Book One), so if you haven’t completed it, close this file now.
The cavernous cafeteria buzzed with an energy amped up by the first day of school. The pecking order in high school, as dictated by the generations before them, was in full swing. First-years flitted about, attempting to find a safe table while the second- and third-years swarmed to claim their spots. Fourth-years easily defended their territories, forcing students already seated to move if they wanted to claim a table.
Isaiah caught sight of Jere at the far end of the lunchroom, waving his arms. Jere’s second-period class was closest, so he’d been tasked with staking out prime real estate for their group’s domain for the school year—center back of the room along the outside wall.
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Isaiah eased his way down the outside aisle, cataloging the various student populations. His mom had always claimed that kids were either a lot like their parents or fell far from the tree. He picked out the science kids, debating or, with their noses pressed to their tablets, studying. He wanted to shout at them to chill. It was only the first day of school! The government kids, with their loud voices and brightly colored clothes, were boisterous and pretentious. The military kids, like him, had ramrod straight postures and smug demeanors. Yeah, he didn’t fall far, did he? At least he wasn’t as arrogant as many of the others raised under stringent rules of conformity.
Isaiah spotted the goon in the black suit and sunglasses. The sentry stood along the wall near the middle of the room. Zeke and his damn bodyguards. Sure enough, Zeke was with the rest of the Elites. They stood out. Despite being first-years, they carried an air of superiority over even the fourth-years, the one exception to the rule. The Grand Governor’s son probably would’ve gotten special treatment even without a security detail to intimidate everyone else. It had always been that way for Zeke. Z always got what he wanted.
Isaiah gripped his tray a little tighter than necessary and hurried past the table without a second glance.
He released his tray to the metal table with a thud and stretched his fingers. Surveying the chaos in the room again, the one person he wanted to see was nowhere to be found. The new girl, Tessa. Had she decided to skive off school after all?
Standing at the base of the steps before school, she’d seemed pretty skittish. He didn’t want her to have to sit by herself, especially on the first day. At least that’s what Isaiah told himself.
“Hey, Iverson, who we looking for?” Tony sidled up to him and asked, none-too-quietly.
Isaiah broke out of his trance and felt his face get hot. He cursed himself quietly and sat down with his back to the wall.
Tony plopped down across from him and gave Swick a fist bump.
Jere grabbed his water glass and said, “He’s probably scouting for the new girl.” He took a swig of water and gave Isaiah the side eye.
“Damn. That’s right.” Swick rotated to glance at the tables behind him. “That stick’s worth scouting.”
Isaiah said, “Her name is Tessa, and she doesn’t know anyone here.” His voice sounded defensive even to him. He tilted his head side to side to loosen the tension building up.
“Iverson, way to swoop in and save her from the goon squad this morning. That took some balls,” Jere said, still not looking at Isaiah directly.
“I think it was his dick leading him,” Swick laughed and shoveled in a massive bite of salad.
Tony swatted the back of Swick’s head.
“Ow! What’s that for?” Swick asked, lettuce dropping from his mouth, and rubbed the spot so his hair stuck out even more.
Jere put his hands up to block the projectiles and belly laughed.
Tony looked at Isaiah, a broad grin on his face, “It took brass cojones to save her from being trampled. Fast thinking, ché.”
“Thanks . . . I think.” Isaiah replied. He glanced across the room again, hoping to catch sight of her. He did tell her where to find the cafeteria, right? The school wasn’t that big.
His eyes landed on the table full of Elites, and Zeke was staring at him. Zeke lifted his chin in greeting. Isaiah did not return it. No way was he going to give Z the satisfaction of acknowledging him.
Isaiah gritted his teeth. He knew his face was probably shadowed over with anger. Not that he was still straight up angry with his former best friend. Isaiah just wasn’t ready to forgive him.
Zeke had always beaten him at everything. Sports. Academics. Marksmanship. His parents had always included Zeke in family trips because the Ryker family was too busy running the country to go camping or to the movies. When they were younger, it was the mast to do so much together. It was like having a brother before he had an actual younger brother. Then last December, his dad took the ‘bonus son’ title for Zeke too far. Instead of taking him, his actual son, on the planned skiing trip, his dad took Zeke and left Isaiah at home. That was the icing on the cake.
“Ché, so what did you find out about the new girl?” Swick asked. By the gleam in his eyes, Isaiah could tell that Swick was interested in getting into her pants.
Something stirred in Isaiah. A rage of . . . jealousy? Protectiveness? He took a breath to calm the growing irritation. “That she likes sun-bleached curls”—he shook his shaggy hair—“and not black brillo pads.”
Tony covered his mouth with his fist. “Ohhh. Guess you best step out of line for her attention, Swick.” He continued laughing while Swick made a face.
Isaiah darted a glance at Zeke again. He was more worried about the grand prince wanting Tessa. Z always took what should have been Isaiah’s.
“Not this time,” he thought. Isaiah made a mental note to sit on the other side of the table going forward. He didn’t want to ruin his appetite by looking at Zeke every day.
Mark your calendar! I’ll be at the Local Authors event held at the McMinnville Public Library on Saturday, March 28th, from noon to 4pm. More details to come.
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