Friday Flash: Russian Roulette

Russian Roulette

by Eric J. Krause

 

Ryan took a deep breath and tried to remain invisible. He'd already revealed that he asked Hannah Bailey, the prettiest girl in school, out on a date. She'd been polite about it, but still turned him down faster than a rocket accelerating out of the Earth's atmosphere. He'd never told anyone, not even James, his best friend, and now everyone at the party knew. No doubt that would equate to the entire school. Why had he come tonight? He'd have been much happier mining and blacksmithing in World of Warcraft while watching a MythBusters marathon. But, no, he had to be stupid and show up in the hopes that a girl would somehow notice him. He should wait for college when girls actually took brains into account when judging guys. At least that's what Brandon, his big brother, and maybe the only person he knew who was smarter than him, said.

Now he just had to stay hidden in the background and hope no one noticed. It worked well at school, and since these were his classmates, there was no reason it shouldn't work here. He hoped. After all, in this game of Truth or Dare, if someone didn't answer a truth or perform a dare, they'd be held down, pummeled, and who knows what else. From the stories he heard, the last part was scariest.

Diana Samson scanned the room and found Tyler Huxley. "Tyler, Truth or Dare?"

Tyler flipped his hair and flashed a smile that made the girls swoon. Ryan didn't get it, as Tyler was a slacker who did nothing with his life but smoke pot, drink booze, and skateboard. What sort of future was that setting up? He probably wasn't even going to college, which Ryan had planned for himself since the second grade.

"Dare, baby," Tyler said. "And I hope it involves you."

Diana giggled, blushed, and looked at her friends, who giggled back and nodded. "Yeah," she said. "I dare you to go into one of the empty bedrooms with me."

Tyler shrugged and stood. "Accepted." The two headed for the back of the house amid cheers and cat-calls. If Ryan could be assured of a dare like that, especially with a hottie like Diana Samson, he'd try to be noticed.

"Okay," Henry Rogers said, "we're not going to wait for them to come back, so I'll choose the next person." No one objected. "How about you, Ryan? Want to tell us about more girls who were out of your league?"

Ryan's face ignited as all eyes turned to him. He looked to James for support, but found him staring at his shoes. Thanks for the support, bro.

"What's it gonna be, lover-boy? Truth or Dare?"

Everyone expected him to choose Truth, but there was nothing safe about that. By the twinkle in Henry's eyes, the question wouldn't be comfortable, and maybe a bit dangerous. Besides, since Henry, who was quite popular, teased him about girls, maybe he'd pick one of his lady friends to do something with Ryan. And if not, Henry had the imagination of toast and would probably come up with a lame dare on the spur of the moment. Ryan wasn't a gambler, but this bet was worth taking.

"Dare." He again glanced to James, and this time his friend stared back, but his expression didn't exactly send Ryan's confidence soaring.

"Wow, didn't think you had the balls, Egghead. But let's see what you're really made of. If you do this, Hannah Bailey might even go out with you." Henry reached into the backpack lying at his feet and pulled out a pistol. The room gasped and went silent. "This is a six-shooter with one bullet loaded. You ever hear of Russian Roulette?"

Ryan nodded, his mouth too dry and his throat clenched too tight to answer.

"Good. I dare you to play. Just one time. Spin the chamber, put the barrel to your head, and pull the trigger. That's it."

"No, come on, that's stupid," James said, leaping to his feet. "Where'd you even get the gun, Rogers?"

"What does that matter? He doesn't have to play. But, remember, there are consequences."

"No, Ryan, don't do it" James said. "It's better to get beat up than risk your life. C'mon, man, you got MIT waiting for you. Take the black eye, and we'll get out of here."

Ryan almost agreed, but then he looked around the room. Some of the girls had lust in their eyes. If he did this, it might mean a date before high school was over. Maybe more than a date. Sure, the one in six odds were bad, but still. Five out of six were safe.

He strode over to Henry. "Fine. Give it here." Ryan had been smart his entire life, and he'd received great grades and entry into a pristine university because of it. But right now he wanted a girl. A hot girl. And this was his best bet.

Henry popped out the chamber, showed him that there was indeed only a single shot loaded, and spun it before popping it back in. Ryan couldn't tell where the bullet went. He took the gun and saw the fear in Henry's eyes despite a desperate attempt to remain cool. No doubt he'd expected Ryan to not only decline but to try to run to get out of the punishment. It wasn't too late, and now he had the gun in his hands. No one would grab him while he held a gun.

Another quick peek around at the girls drove him to continue this stupidity. He'd be a legend, right? And girls loved legends. James again tried to talk him out of it, but Ryan ignored his buddy. Henry gave him a shrug which said, "Whenever you're ready," and Ryan put the gun to his right temple. Sweat beaded up on his forehead, but he barely felt it. He cocked the hammer back, took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger.

Writing Prompt #128

Here is this week's speculative fiction prompt. I'm not labeling it this week, so take it whatever direction you choose. Have fun with it!

One of the books in the library glows.

Final #NaNoReMo Post for 2013

It's a week into March, and I'm just now calling National Novel Reading Month done for me. Yes, it took an extra week than it should have, and since I finished one book (see here if you're interested) in the allotted time, I feel I'm well within my rights to extend the reading month a bit. If you disagree, I guess you can always call the Literature Police on me, eh?

Anyway, last night I finished Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera. I enjoyed the heck out of it. You can visit my review at Goodreads, or you can simply read here what I said about the book:

"Really enjoyed this one. I had no idea what to expect from it; yes, I know all about the movies and the big Broadway musical (which I saw many, many years ago in LA), but I honestly knew nothing about the original book. I thought it was a very smooth, fast read. The characters were fun, and the phantom was an excellent villain, well worth being an iconic horror figure (though for different reasons than I first thought). I found the main story enthralling - the love triangle between Raul, Christine, and the Phantom - while the portion of the Phantom vs. the Opera House managers to be quite funny. I read that portion as more comic relief than anything. Even if you don't like to read classics, give this one a shot. I highly recommend it!"

So I view this year's National Novel Reading Month a success, even if I did add a week to it. I don't know if I ever would have gotten to the two books I did if it hadn't been for this kick in the pants. And I enjoyed both reads immensely. I've already planned on reading The Picture of Dorian Gray next year (unless I get to it sooner, though it is unlikely). If you also participated, I hope you got as much out of the experience as I did!

Quick update on A Princess of Mars: I said I had put John Carter, the big budget movie from a couple of years ago based on the book, at the top of my Netflix queue. That is true, and the movie is even now here at my house. I haven't had a chance to watch it yet, but I plan to soon. (I also have the movie based on the Broadway musical based on The Phantom of the Opera here, too.) I doubt I'll blog about my experience watching it, but if you're interested in my views, feel free to ask me in the comments of this post or contact me on Twitter or Facebook. I did watch a movie called Princess of Mars on the SyFy Channel last week, which was loosely based on the book - it was a present day retelling where John Carter went to a planet called Mars in a distant galaxy, not our solar system's Mars. Both the acting and the story were awful. Though many pieces of the movie were taken from the book, the overall story was changed. If it had been done well, that might have been okay, but it wasn't. I don't recommend that particular flick to anyone.

Writing Prompt #127

Here is this week's speculative fiction prompt. I'm labeling it as horror this week, but, as always, take it whatever direction you choose. Have fun with it!

A mummy's curse falls over an entire town.

Big Beginnings

I'm a believer in books starting off big in the first chapter. You need to get your reader hooked as early as possible. It doesn't have to be on page one, but before you end that first chapter, you need a big piece of action, or a large chunk of drama. Don't simply set up your character with back story and static action. Readers don't want to be introduced to your character as he or she is going through a normal day (unless a normal day is packed with more action than most people experience in a year, and even then you need to ramp it up). I'm not saying to forgo characterization in chapter one. No, not at all. After all, what better way to see how someone ticks than how they react to danger or other stressful situations? I'm willing to bet you'll find it easier to introduce your main character to your readers that way.

For example, in my novel, Dragon Guard, we meet fifteen year old Ben Phillips as he's walking to school, as he does every weekday. His mind is on his unfinished math homework and how his teacher is going to yell at him in front of the entire class. Pretty mundane so far, so to ramp things up, I have Ben run into a couple of zombies. Not only does the excitement level elevate (Hey, zombies!), but it helps set up the main story while giving the reader more insight into Ben than they would have received had he simply continued on to school, dreading math and wondering how best to not sweat during PE. And, as an added bonus, the reader also sees how Ben's world works. Based on his reaction, zombies and other supernatural things shouldn't exist. This action scene is a much more satisfying way to set up the story than simple exposition.

Sometimes you need to build up to the big bang of your main plot. It might not get there until chapter two, three, or four. (If it happens later than that, you'd better have a ton o' short chapters or it might be time to think about restructuring your story.) So what does this mean for the big beginning? One thing you can do is tease the main plot. You might start with someone other than the main character as the viewpoint character for the first chapter. Some people argue that you must start with your main character, but I'm in the camp of as long as he or she shows up by chapter two or three, you're fine. You might also start your story with a prologue, meaning your main character can still be there for chapter one. There are many anti-prologue sentiments out there, but I believe, as long as you do them right, prologues can be powerful storytelling devices.

If you decide you simply do not want to touch your main plot in chapter one, you have another option for your big beginning: subplots. Your novel is going to have them, so why not use one to hook readers into your story? Even if you want the main plot to unfold slowly, you can't have the story itself start slow, or you will lose bored and frustrated readers. A subplot can work great for a big beginning. Just as if the subplot were your main plot, it needs to set up the main character and setting in an organic way. And, of course, like all subplots, make sure to wrap it up before the end of your story.

What do you think about big beginnings? Do you agree with me that they are necessary, or do you have no problem with stories slowly building up? Do you have any favorite novels that started big, ones that always stick in your mind?

Writing Prompt #126

Here is this week's speculative fiction prompt. I'm not labeling it this week, so take it whatever direction you choose. Have fun with it!

Your fingernails fall out, but are replaced by retractable claws.

My #NaNoReMo Update

First off, here's the first post I made about my month of #NaNoReMo (National Novel Reading Month). As you can see from that, I chose to read Edgar Rice Burrough's A Princess of Mars. If I finished that, I had two others I planned to tackle. I've finished A Princess of Mars, though it took longer than I'd hoped (not because it was a hard book to read, get into, stay interested in, or anything like that, but simply because I didn't carve out as much reading time as I should have), so I won't be able to get to both the other books I'd planned. Since it is still February, I will continue on with one of them - The Phantom of the Opera. If I finish it in the next week, great, but if not, I'll continue on with it in March. Two classics that I likely wouldn't have otherwise picked up is a huge bucket of win in my view.

As for A Princess of Mars, I enjoyed it, and highly recommend it. At some point, I'm going to have to continue on with the series, as this one ended on a real cliffhanger. I also want to watch the movie, John Carter, again, as I saw it last summer, well before I'd even planned on reading the book. The only thing that really stuck out in the movie for me was that I was underwhelmed with the special effects, though I did enjoy the story. I honestly don't remember how well it followed the book, so that's why I need to see it again.

As for a review, I did post one on my Goodreads site. You can click to view it here, though I'll post it for those of you who don't like clicking links:

This was a fun read. The look at a Mars that could have been played out like any contemporary science fiction story. John Carter was certainly a hero in this, a step above basically every other character, both physically and morally, but he couldn't simply get whatever he wanted all the time, which made for a better read. It was a neat way to look at this land of Mars through his eyes, which were from Civil War Virgina. Description didn't always rely on images from Earth, but when they did, it flowed well with the story. All in all, even though this book is almost 100 years old, it still holds up, and I recommend it to any science fiction and/or adventure fan. 

That's it for now. I'll post one final update about Phantom of the Opera when I finish it. Hope everyone else who is participating is having a great time with their choice(s)!

Writing Prompt #125

Here is this week's speculative fiction prompt. I'm labeling it as fantasy this week, but, as always, take it whatever direction you choose. Have fun with it!

An app store lets you download magic spells.

Writing Prompt #124

Here is this week's speculative fiction prompt. I'm labeling it as science fiction this week, but, as always, take it whatever direction you choose. Have fun with it!

Those toy laser guns at the amusement park souvenir stand aren't toys.

Chapter 3 Part 3: Dragon Guard

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Dragon Guard
Chapter 3
Part 3

When Andi was alone, she said, "Okay, that was weird." When did Mom ever care if she did her homework? She sealed the bacon up with the zip top packaging, placed it back in the fridge, and headed out to find her parents. If she was quiet enough, they'd have no idea she was listening. She'd done it before.

A quick glance around showed them out in the backyard. If the window upstairs in the extra bedroom, which was right above the patio, was open, she'd have no problem hearing the conversation. And luck was on her side. Though Mom didn't look to have worked in here, the window was up. She snuck over as quiet as she could and listened.

"She's too young," her father said. "She's barely over 750 years old. The earliest her mate should come is at 900, and I'd much prefer 1000."

"I know, I know," Mom said. "And it's not just about her. The boy is far too young at 15. He looked like a deer in headlights this morning. But we're not in charge of choosing, no matter how much you believe it to be true. It's fate's decision, and there's nothing we can do to change that."

Dad grunted. "It doesn't matter anyway. She's a teenaged girl. She has a crush. I don't like that, either, but it's not a big deal."

With the tone of her voice, Andi guessed Mom had rolled her eyes. "She's the equivalent of a fifteen year old girl. I'm assuming she's had crushes before, but has she ever brought one up? No. And you can't deny you sensed something in that boy. I felt it, too. Don't be stubborn, admit it."

Her father didn't say anything for a minute, and when he spoke again, it was in a low voice, almost a whisper. "Being bound, married, at 15 might have been fine in the past, but it's not appropriate for this day and age."

"Fair enough, but you know as well as I that dragon laws can't always fit into human society. Do you really think it coincidence that the boy shows up at our doorstep this morning? We haven't been troubled by anything supernatural since Andi was born. His being here means something big is on the horizon, and whatever powers he possesses are there to keep her safe. If you refuse to acknowledge that, you do nothing but needlessly endanger both of their lives."

Andi could almost hear her father's teeth grind. She might have done the same if she wasn't being ultra-careful to stay silent. All of this sounded big, too big. She'd just met Ben. He couldn't be her mate, her husband, or whatever it was they were talking about. Dad was right; they were too young. If danger was coming, what could Ben possibly do about it? But having said all that, why in the world couldn't she get him out of her mind?

"Fine," her father said. "Since you're so big on fate, we'll let it make the next move. If it points to the boy again, we'll give them a minor binding. That will give him enough power to get through this. Whatever is coming will be directed at us, not them."

Her mother let out a frustrated sigh. "I can't argue with you when you're being pigheaded for the sake of it. There's too much to do inside." The sliding glass door opened and closed with exaggerated gentleness.

Andi snuck back to her room so her mom wouldn't catch her eavesdropping. As she went, she heard her father mutter, "Why can't fate ever make any of this easy?"

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Chapter 3 Part 2: Dragon Guard

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Dragon Guard

Chapter 3

Part 2

"A couple of walking corpses paid us a visit, and Ben was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Poor kid thought they were after him for a minute. Your father pulled him into the house, and I sent him in here while we dispatched them in the hallway."

Andi wrinkled her nose. "I knew I smelled something gross in there."

"Yeah, I'm sure you and your father will gag over it for a few days. It's times like these that I'm glad I don't have your sense of smell."

Andi picked up her bacon slice and continued nibbling. "There doesn't seem to be any disturbance out there, so the neighbors must not have noticed."

"We're guessing whoever sent them put a spell on the neighborhood, imploring everyone to stay inside for a few minutes."

"Who did it?" She finished the first piece of bacon and pulled off a second.

"Don't know. We've stayed out of the supernatural spotlight since you were born, so neither of us can figure it out. Might have been a random attack. Someone lost control of their zombies and they were drawn to our magic. We'll have to wait and see if anything comes of it."

"Why didn't Ben mention any of this when we talked?" Andi asked. "It would have made a pretty big impression on my day, and I know this stuff exists."

"Maybe he convinced himself it didn't happen. Though I don't know how he can believe it was a hallucination after I drove him to school."

"You what? You drove him to school? Jeez, Mother, you really are trying to set me up."

"I swear I'm not. I didn't want him to be late on top of everything else." She paused and gave Andi a piercing stare. "Though I did feel something special about him."

"I did, too." Andi squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. "No, no, no. I can't feel anything for him. I've purposely avoided this every time I'm at a new school because it can only end in heartbreak."

"Not necessarily," her mom said, almost too low to hear.

"What do you mean? He's going to grow up, and I'm going to look exactly the same."

Her mother stood and returned to the dishwasher. "Eat your snack and think about it. Do you have any idea what I am?"

She started to say, "Of course," but didn't have anything to add after that. She took a sip of soda and concentrated on the bubbles running down her throat. Mom wasn't a dragon, not like her and Dad. But other than that, she never really gave it much thought. Mom aged at the same rate, roughly one dragon year for every fifty human years, but besides her almost superhuman dexterity, she seemed normal.

"Well?"

"I don't know. You're my mom. Other than having a dragon age, you're human."

"I am human," Mom said as she put a few more plates into their new home. "Or at least I was. Now I'm a Dragon Guard, your father's bound mate."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I'm your father's one and only. We share a bond stronger than any other. Only dragons and their guards have it. I always know where he is and what he's feeling. And when he's in his true form, we can communicate without speaking, though you already know that. Plus so much more."

"Wait, what are you saying? You think Ben is this to me?" She jumped out of her chair. "No, he can't be my one true love or any of that sappy Disney princess stuff. I just met him."

"Like I said, I felt something about him this morning, but I mostly ignored it. We never told you any of this because fate waits until the dragon and her guard are in their late teens or early 20s, dragon-year-wise, before introducing them. That way both are physically and mentally able to handle it all. They never meet earlier unless…" Mom's eyes went wide, and this time she did drop a plate, though it was a cheap plastic one that didn't break.

"Unless what?"

Mom took a deep breath and headed out of the kitchen. "Finish up, Andi, and then hit the books. I need to talk to your father."

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Chapter 3 Part 1: Dragon Guard

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Dragon Guard

Chapter 3

Part 1

Andi walked into this new house and yelled out, "I'm home!" even if it didn't feel like home yet.

"In the kitchen," her mom called. "Come in and tell me about your day."

As she breezed through the short entry hall, a strange scent hit her. It was mostly cleaning disinfectant, but something she couldn't place lay underneath it. Something that hadn't been there this morning. Something yucky. It faded as she passed through the living room, which still had boxes stacked against the bare walls. Mom must've tackled other parts of the house today.

She pushed into the kitchen and found her mom pulling plates out of the dishwasher and stacking them in one of the cabinets above the sink. When she saw Andi, Mom stopped and turned towards her.

"How was your first day?"

"Same as any first day, I guess."

"Meet any nice people?"

Andi shrugged, and though she tried her hardest not to, her face flushed. "There was this one guy."

Her mom had started stocking the cabinet again, but that statement froze her. Only her amazing dexterity kept her from dropping a plate. "Doesn't sound like a normal first day to me."

"Whatever. Not like it matters. Even if I liked him and started going out, it wouldn't mean anything. We'll still have to leave in a couple of years."

"What's wrong with having fun until then? Be a teenager."

She wanted to. For some reason, she really liked Ben, even though she didn't know anything about him. Sure, he looked good, with his playfully unkempt brown hair and understated fashion sense of a plain t-shirt and simple jeans that actually fit right, unlike how many boys wore them nowadays. But aside from his looks, there was something different about him, something she'd never noticed in any of the other boys she'd met. She felt it from that first second they locked eyes at break. And what about that shock when she'd touched his arm after lunch? That was definitely a first.

"I guess," she said. "Do we have any venison jerky left?"

"Sorry, your dad polished it off. We'll get more this weekend." Mom turned to the mostly empty fridge. "We do have bacon. I can heat it up, if you'd like."

"That's okay. I like it cold." Andi opened the package, peeled a strip off, and took a bite.

Mom took a seat in one of the chairs opposite her. "So, tell me about this boy. His name wasn't Ben, was it?"

Andi stared at her mom. "How did you know?"

Mom had a hard time hiding a smile. "That poor boy had an interesting morning. I told him to say hi if he saw you."

"Wait. What's going on?"

"We had a couple of, uh, strange visitors this morning, and poor Ben got caught in the middle on his way to school."

Andi got up and crossed to the refrigerator. "Did you buy any soda yet?"

"Wouldn't you rather have milk?"

"Not after I found out my mother's trying to set me up with boys. So what do you mean by strange visitors and him being caught in the middle?" She found a can of generic caffeine-free soda and popped it open.

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Dragon Guard Description

Dragons and the undead only exist in fairy tales and video games. Fifteen year-old Ben Phillips knows this as surely as he knows the sun rises in the morning and sets at night. And then he gets attacked by zombies on his way to school. But that’s not the worst thing that’s happened to him lately. He’s also fallen for the new girl in school, Andi Thomas, who turns out to be a 758 year-old dragon in a fifteen year-old girl's body. If that wasn’t enough to make it the worst school year of his life, fate has also decided Ben should be Andi's Dragon Guard, her bound mate with superpowers right out of comic books. And then an ancient evil bent on destroying the world kidnaps Ben's parents. Ben’s had better years. But evil necromancers and over-protective parents aside, Ben’s going to do everything he can, with or without the full powers of Dragon Guard, to do the right thing, not just for Andi, but for the world. 

And still get his math homework done on time.

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Chapter 2 Part 2: Dragon Guard

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Dragon Guard
Chapter 2
Part 2

Ben walked from his normal lunch spot to fifth period PE, a smile on his lips. His friends had resumed their teasing from break, but it had been good-natured, so he didn't mind. And each got a turn in getting picked on about a girl, so it was all fair. He supposed he liked Melissa well enough, and they'd probably be going out again, as soon as she pushed the topic enough for him to ask her. But there was something about the new girl. He'd never felt this way about Melissa, and he hadn't even talked to Andi yet. She'd been in his thoughts nonstop since break. He'd hardly even thought about the zombies.

Whoa! He stopped in his tracks. What was stranger? The fact that he'd seen what he assumed were real zombies, or that a few hours later it hardly phased him? Shouldn't something like that consume his thoughts? Give him walking nightmares? But it didn't bother him at all.

As if on cue, he looked to his left and saw Andi by herself at a drinking fountain. It was the perfect opportunity. With the distraction of everyone heading to class, no one would notice him talking to her. And her mom did tell him to say hi, right?

Who was he kidding? He couldn't do that. What would he say? Yes, he'd dated Melissa last year, but the guys were right. If she hadn't initiated it all, basically insisted, they'd have never gone out. And they'd been flirting on and off since elementary school. How would he start something with a girl he didn't even know?

She finished her drink and turned towards him. He should go, continue on to the locker room for PE, but his feet wouldn't move. What was it about this girl? He needed to at least look somewhere else so she didn't think he was some creepy stalker.

Too late. Her eyes caught his, and she smiled, ducked her head, and looked up again. C'mon, do it. There would never be a better opportunity. He'd faced zombies that morning. This whole day was probably a dream anyway, right? Go up to her. Say hi.

His legs obeyed even as him mind screamed, "No!" What was he doing? He couldn't think of anything to say. Wasn't his first remark supposed to be witty or funny or something? This could only end with him looking dumb.

Thankfully, or maybe unfortunately, she didn't run away. Her smile brightened and her cheeks blushed, but she held eye contact. "Hi," he said when he was close enough. "My name's Ben." Somehow his voice came out comprehensible.

"Hi, I'm Andi. Well, really Alexandria, but I go by Andi."

"Cool. First day, huh?" What? Lead with that? Stupid-stupid-stupid.

"Yeah. Seems like a good school. People have been really great so far."

"Nice. Where are you off to next?" Better.

"Algebra with Mr. Simms. Do you have him?"

"Yeah. First period. Always do your homework and you'll be fine."

"You can pretty much say that for any class, though, right?" she said with a laugh.

"He gets mean when you don't do it. Way more than other teachers. I'm still stinging from this morning."

"But I bet it motivates you to finish your assignments for the rest of the week." A half-smile lingered on her lips.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"So there you go." She gave him a playful nudge on the arm, and a spark shot between them. Not like a static electricity shock, but something deeper, something he couldn't explain. She felt it, too, because her eyes went wide.

"Can I eat lunch with you tomorrow?" he asked, the question coming out all at once. "I mean, unless you already have someone to sit with. Or something." Not only did he have no clue where that came from, but it sounded way too lame for her to accept.

"Yeah, that sounds great."

Wait, had he heard her right? She said yes? Yeah, she did. "Meet me here and we'll pick a spot." Did she notice he had a hard time getting it out without hyperventilating?

Her slight smile said yes, but instead of commenting, she said, "Sounds good. I'll be here."

"Awesome."

"We better get to class. You already skipped homework today, so you probably don't want to get a tardy, too."

"I'll be fine. I have PE. But you shouldn't be late to Simms's class. I'll see you tomorrow, if not later today."

"Sounds great. Thanks for everything."

She smiled, waved, and headed towards the math building. He watched for a second, and then turned towards the locker rooms. As he did, he gave a start. Across the way stood Melissa, dressed head to toe in her signature pink, staring at him with a big frown on her face. He contemplated waving, but that might make things worse. Instead he ducked his head and pretended he hadn't seen her. It wouldn't work, but at least it would keep him out of a confrontation for the moment. As he walked into the locker room, it came to him that he didn't care if he smoothed things over with Melissa. There was something special about Andi Thomas.

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Chapter 2 Part 1: Dragon Guard

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Dragon Guard
Chapter 2
Part 1

"So you played all night instead of doing homework for Simms's class?" Randy said, laughing.

"Man," Jay said. "Even if you found good groups, it couldn't make up for the wrath of Old Man Simms."

"I didn't mean to," Ben said. "Every group I joined couldn't lose. I kept saying I was going to get to my homework, but all of the sudden it was after eleven."

"You should have seen it," Vince said. "Simms was in fine form. Especially since Ben was the only one who didn't finish."

His three friends laughed while Ben polished off the bag of potato chips he brought for a snack. "Glad you guys are enjoying this. It was a pretty crappy morning." He sighed. And they didn't know the half of it. In a way, he didn't mind the tongue lashing Old Man Simms gave him. It felt normal.

Jay punched Ben's arm. "Melissa says hi, by the way."

"When are you going to ask her out again?" Randy said. "She's only going to keep bugging us until you do."

Ben was about to say something about finding the right time when she caught his eye. Not Melissa, but the new girl, Mrs. Thomas's daughter. What was her name? Angie? Annie? Andi? Yes, Andi. As Mrs. Thomas said, there was no doubt who her parents were. She had long dark hair, the color of her father's, the petite, athletic frame and good looks of her mother, and…

She looked up at him, and her bright blue eyes pierced through him, like her father's. But unlike his stare, which brought intimidation, hers filled him with a sense of peace and happiness. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. She smiled, and he tried to smile back, hoped he did. He didn't dare look down because he was afraid he'd find himself floating a few inches off the ground.

His buddies burst out laughing.

"What?" he said, breaking eye contact. When he glanced back, she was already on her way in the opposite direction.

"Nothing," Vince said. "It was just perfect timing. We're talking about Melissa, and you're making eyes at the new girl."

"Yeah," Randy said. "That chick's pretty hot. You should've said hi, Benny."

"I don't know…"

"Sure, just like he did with Melissa last year," Jay said. "Oh, wait, that never happened. She had to finally make him ask her out."

Randy took a turn punching him in the arm. Like Jay's punch, it didn't hurt. Luckily, Ben's friends were all built like him, more for video games than physical activity. "For a guy with no game, you sure are a chick magnet."

"Whatever."

Before he had to endure any more, the bell rang, ending break and signaling the start of third period. The guys all said bye and headed for class. Ben hurried to Language Arts, hopeful this would be the one he shared with Andi Thomas.

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