in a school where there the first five people on the position list get a scholarship to the same college and the other five,another college,a group of teens came together to create a hidden reading group. reading day and night to be the best. will they be able to win even with the challenges they face?

Its now morning and i think about how I've barely slept at all last night. I drag myself out of bed and slowly head down stairs, i look around and see no trace of my dad until i see a note on the counter. I examine the note for a little then get my sleepy self together to read it and it said "good morning JJ I'm already at work by the time your reading this but i was hoping that you could get the groceries and the list on the fridge, and i was aslo maeby wondering if you could stop at Sandra's house  and give her the gift basket on the table, i know you don't like going to her house but i was hoping that you could please do me this one favor? -from dad" i sigh and groan a little as i walk over to the fridge and snatch the list, i stop and stare at the gift basket too and the sadly grab it and walk out to the garage. Soon enuff i spot my bike and put both items in my bikes basket, i close the garage door and start riding to the grocery store, i see my neighbors out and about walking around enjoying their summer and start thinking "i wash i was enjoying mine" but the i quickly realise that I'm going to see my mom in two days so i won't be alone my whole summer. And just like that for the rest of my peaceful bike ride to the stare i was smiling for once. As soon as i pull in the the store i lock my bike and walk in side, of course there was some money on the back of the grocery list held together by some poorly placed tape. I walk around and try to find everything i need as fast as i can so i can leave, then out of no were i see some kids from school in one group, as the enter they are all laughing and talking and start to walk around. I was so shocked, if you were to see my expression when i saw them you would have been shocked too, i was speechless as i just froze and stood there, i heard them talking and it sounded pretty close so i had to move. Then as quickly and quietly as i could i run to a whole different aisle faraway, i look at my list and see that i still need one more thing witch was some bacon in the frozen food aisle so i walk over there making sure their not in site so i can hurry up to grab it and make my escape, i scan around to look for the bacon and then i spot it. I then smile and glade fully take it and speed walk my way to the checkout, i wait in line and hear the guys again so i put up my hoodie and stand in line patiently. Then the voices that i know so well are right behind me so i stand as still as i can be nervously waiting for the lady in front of me to be done. Soon enuff the cashier starts ringing up my items and says  "15.56" i then give him the 20 dollar that was taped on the back of the grocery list. He then gives me my change back along with the receipt, i grab my bags and bolt my way to the door, and just like that I'm safe. I unlock my bike and put the bags in my basket and on the sides of my bike handles, i get on and start riding down the street, i start thinking about how in only two days I'm going to see my mom and what its going to be like with her, and then i say outloud "at least i won't have to go though this crap when I'm with her."

Jonathan Jones is a sophomore in high school that has been geting bullied and picked on since freshmen year, but his luck change for the better over the summer when he meets his special someone?

Spending Friday evening at the busy mall was far from what I had imagined for myself just over a year ago. We ate to our heart's content and then watched a movie in a packed theater. I was able to laugh with everyone else and felt one step closer to being a normal teenager like Noah and them. 
Zeke allowed Dave to drive us home and even gave him some pointers for driving out at night. A relaxed atmosphere like this made me forget what we had gone to the mall for in the first place. 
As soon as Noah and I went to our room to get ready for bed though, he pulled out the bag that held Alisha's present. He pulled out a white bottle and tossed it at me, grinning. "I hid this in my pocket when leaving the store. I was so scared he was going to see me slip it in the bag when I got to the car. Luckily I distracted him by talking about Kyle's camping trip."

I read the bottle. "Instant color?" I kept reading. "Pink? Semi-permanent?" I looked up at Noah. "You want to dye their hair??"

Noah grinned and leaned against the door. "It's a good idea, isn't it?"

Uhhh. "Are your parents going to get mad?"

"No way. If they don't like it, they can just get hair cuts. It's not like it'll be super pink." He explained. "Their hair isn't bleached and because we aren't doing it the 'right' way, it should be more like a tinge of pink."

"Oh." I relaxed. "Okay, but how are we going to do this?"

"Zeke and them share the shower, right? They also share the soaps and stuf. Zeke just has to shower before them, empty out a bottle and then fill it up with this one."
"Wow. Sounds like it'll work." I gave him the bottle back. Then glanced at the bag of headbands. "Are you going to wrap those for Alisha's party?"

"Yea." He walked to his desk, placing them in a drawer, hiding the bottle as well. "I'll put them in a bag closer to the party day. I might lose it or forget it if I do it now." He looked at me. "Good thinking with that, by the way. Definitely threw Dave for a loop! He would have never known it was a cover."

I scratched my nose, wondering if I should tell Noah that it wasn't just a cover. Alisha really wanted a gift from him. 
"Jake?" Noah asked. "What are you thinking about?"

I shook my head and went to grab my pjs. "Just about the party."

"It'll be fun!" He grabbed his pjs too. "You know...that would be a good time to pass out Jeremy's autograph to everyone. Kind of like a party favor."

"Party favor?" I questioned, not understanding. 
"Yea. It's a small return gift for party guests. Kind of like a thanks for coming present?" He explained. "It was fun when we were kids. Now it'd be cool to see you pass them out."

"Even though it's not my party?" I asked. 
Noah waved his hand as if to swat my worry away. "Don't worry. I'm sure Alisha would love it too. The hard part would be getting the autographs. There's so many kids in our grade. I can't see Jeremy signing that many autographs."

Ah. I went to my backpack and pulled out a notebook. I turned to an empty page and started to make a list like Dr. Moore suggested. "I'll ask him on Sunday." I wrote it down. Then wrote a few more things I wanted to ask or talk about. 
Noah looked over my shoulder. "Don't forget to ask about Rose. You could have a sister-in-law soon if they're dating." I added it to the list. 
We stayed up later in the night coming up with things I could and probably should talk to Jeremy about. Nothing hardcore or brought up bad memories. Just maybe everything you should know about your brother. Like his birthday? Why he went pro instead of going to college? His high school baseball experience. The list went on. 
When we stopped to take a break and change into our pajamas, we realized that the house was silent. Everyone was already asleep. We moved like mice in the night, trying to keep it down as we really prepared for bed this time. 
"Goodnight, Jake." Noah yawned, turning the light off. 
"Night." I mumbled, passing out in seconds. 
It felt like I merely blinked before incessant knocking at the door made me opened my eyes. Light was leaking into the room, telling me that I really did sleep. 
"What??" Noah groaned from his bed. 
We were both sitting up now, our blurry eyes looking at Zeke, who was still knocking. 
"Rise and shine." Zeke's greeting sounded like a demand, making me shiver. 
"What are you doing..?" Noah squinted at his eldest brother. "It's like 7am. Is there an emergency or something?"

Zeke kept up the knocking. "I can stand here all day. Get up, get some workout clothes on and don't forget your running shoes."

I did what I was told, getting out of bed. I took my clothes to the bathroom to change in private. When I came back, Noah was still in bed, arguing with Zeke. 
"It's the weekend!" Noah complained. "We can start training when summer starts."
Zeke looked down at this troublesome brother of his, stopping with the knocking. He folded his arms across his chest. "Do you think if you keep being rebellious like this, that I would just go away? It's either my way, or the highway."

Noah flopped over in his bed. "I'm going back to sleep."

"Fine. You're just proving to Mom that you won't be able to listen to me over summer break." Zeke replied. "She won't be able to trust you to be here with me so you'll have to go with her to the twins school stuff. Not only that, I might as well not play softball with you."

Noah sat back up. "What? Why are you going this far? I just want to sleep in on a Saturday."

"It's called discipline." Zeke shot back. "I don't want to watch a disobedient brother all summer. If you don't want to do this, just say so. I can go somewhere else to train for the summer."

"I'm moving! I'm moving!" Noah rolled out of bed. "I'm having breakfast first though!" He hopped around, trying to find some clothes to wear. 
I put on my running shoes in silence, kind of scared of Zeke right now. He has always been strict, but he usually didn't threaten. I glanced at him and caught him slightly smiling at the fumbling Noah.
He caught me looking and dropped the smile. "Two bananas for first breakfast. Then we'll run. After weights, you can have a second breakfast."

"We're not even playing baseball..?" Noah was distressed as he changed and got his running shoes on. 
"Just playing baseball isn't enough." Zeke lectured. "You need strength, endurance, and a tough mentality. Do you want your spot stolen when the fall comes around? Do you think a softball league can really keep you in shape?"
"A little rest never hurt anyone." Noah mumbled. 
"We'll train today and tomorrow. Then next weekend. As soon as summer break starts, it'll be Monday to Friday, rest on Saturday and Sunday. There's plenty of time to rest." 
For some reason, I don't think the summer will be as fun and as easygoing as I first thought. 


Jake has it rough: a missing dad, an abusive mother and a hidden talent for baseball which sends his mother off the deep end. Sent to live with a foster family, his love for baseball is revived, and with their help, will Jake start to shine like the future superstar he is?
Venmo: @alwaysbroke (my profile pic is a baseball field). 

Please read on Webnovel!

Thanks for letting me turn your review into my new summary, Tashady!

**Names, faces, and places aren’t real. A work of fiction. Nonetheless, it is my work of fiction so please don’t post it without permission. *I have used school names that do exist though, but I would like everyone to know that I have no affiliation with them. Nor do my views reflect their views. 

**Also, I bought the royalty-free license for my cover. Which means I can use it without having to pay royalties. If you have any questions, comment on my latest chapter or reach me on discord.

The head cleaner of the Hilton Hotel was Qin Guan's customer. Both Chinese and American women loved to gossip. As a result, they knew every detail about the hotel and its large-scale redecoration.
The two girls were negotiating about the prices, each with her own axe to grind. The price was getting close to a price that both sides would accept.
Suddenly, Hilton looked at Qin Guan.
Qin Guan had been reading a newspaper on the couch, as if there was no one else present. At her look, he gave her a smile and stood up leisurely.
 "Take your time. I’ll go check on Lan Jing. It’s taking him too long to make that tea. He did not get this job based on his resume."
"Oh!"
Hilton was caught off guard by Qin Guan’s smile. When they stopped talking, she fell into deep thought again. Meanwhile, Cong Nianwei made a new offer about the catalogue.
"What about this, Hilton? Is that better?"
Hilton turned back to Cong Nianwei reluctantly and fixed her eyes on the list in annoyance.
"Let me have another look..." Suddenly, Qin Guan walked over again.
"Lan Jin is boiling water for the tea, but I think it will be too hot for this summer heat. I have some herbal jelly in the fridge. Would you like a taste? Wei loves it!"
Mesmerized by his smile, Hilton forgot about the paper in her hand.
"What's that? An Asian refreshment? I would like to try it!"
She paused as Qin Guan set the tray down before them.
Hilton saw several small dishes with bows on them. all looking fine and elegant. She had no idea what they contained though. What’s this black one?
Cong Nianwei winked at Qin Guan and pointed to the list. Qin Guan shot a supercilious look at her and made an impatient introduction.
He lifted gently the celadon bowl, the crystal herbal jelly inside it shaking. Then he pointed at it with his slender finger.
"This is herbal jelly, a popular snack among Chinese women. It tastes good and it’s very nourishing. It's the best snack when you want to cool down in the summer. You are really lucky. This is no ordinary supermarket product. It’s handmade by one of my customers, an experienced herbalist from Chinatown."
"Which taste do you prefer?" He pointed to the small dishes one by one. "There’s traditional honey, condensed milk, coconut milk, red beans, osmanthus sugar… They are all good. You can mix them up with the jelly."
Hilton’s eyes were fixed on his fingers.
"Anything that comes from your hand must be delicious..."
Cong Nianwei shook her head. The girl is hopeless. She poured honey onto her jelly and then enjoyed it.
Qin Guan was speechless. He mixed all the sweet dressings with the jelly, hoping to cover up its bitterness. This was the first time Hilton would taste it after all.
When Hilton took the bowl, he realized that he had been worrying unnecessarily. Her eyes were still fixed on his face as she swallowed the jelly up hurriedly.
Who cared about the taste?
"Is it good?"
Hilton nodded again and again, like a chicken pecking at grains.
Then she gave him the most splendid smile in the world, making the scorching summer feel cooler.
Glad that her plan was working, Cong Nianwei pulled Hilton's attention back to business.
"What do you think of our final offer?"
"If all goes well, my legal adviser will send you the contract in a week."
Hilton had no time to argue with her. The price had been close to her own expectations after all. She was not about to waste energy on negotiating over pocket money.
She had more important things to discuss with Qin Guan than the bookkeeping of the Hilton Hotel in New York.
When Cong Nianwei put away the catalogues in satisfaction, Hilton got up the courage to tell Qin Guan about her reason for visiting New York.
"I wonder if you would meet my unreasonable demands. Of course, I’m well-prepared to negotiate with your agent if I need to."
Cong Nianwei and Qin Guan were confused. Is this about the Hilton Hotel business? What happened?
"Do you remember that artist who gave you his card at the Hilton Art Fair?"
"Which one? I get a lot of cards every time I walk down the street."
Qin Guan pointed to a small case on the desk helplessly. "I keep them all in there, but I never call anyone back."


Qin Guan was reborn and sent back to his final semester in High School 18 years ago. Getting a second chance at life, he works hard to turn things around and eventually become a Prince Charming. What will his life be like the second time around? What will he have to go through? How will he succeed in turning from a loser into a Prince Charming? Read this story carefully and find out!

Hoi, and I'm sorry for not uploading a chapter in a while, but now that schools FINALLY OVER, I can put a little more dedication into it. So here's a list of everything I wanna go over, ranging from what I've been up too, what I'm going to be doing, and some exciting new things I have planned for the future [Please read everything, as it's all important(ish...)]

(1) Now that school and finals are over, I can dedicate more time to writing and coming up with new idea's for chapters. However, I will be taking a PE class over the summer. Not because I'm dumb and I need more credits or anything, but because I don't want to take a PE class during the school year. [Summer PE is just a lot of running, swimming, etc... School year PE has the dreaded thing known as dance... Seriously! Why the hell is it something our school requires all the kids to do!!!] This shouldn't get in the way of my writing all that much however due to the summer school class being PE

(2) I'm going to a friends house to play some d&d, so that'll be fun [they nerfed my characters armor class by 2. Why would they do that... Probably because I managed to scrape up a wopping 20 AC at level 1... The fun thing is that I did it legit as well..... Warforged Juggernaut OP.........]

(3) I absolutely WON'T drop this novel. However I will be taking a break from this story once it reaches 50 chapters (not counting the auxiliary...)

(4) I've been to busy reading other peoples novels or watching anime to write chapters... So I'm hoping that my brain can finally be at rest after binging railgun, railgun S, index I, II, and III, and the railgun and accelerator mangas... Also I can see why everyone loves accelerator now [A wild accelerator has appeared, accelerator is now enraged, accelerator used CHUCK A FREAKING SKYSCRAPER... It's super effective...]

(5) After effectively binging the whole magical index universe, along with having already finished binging mob psycho I and II before that. I've gone a little ESPer crazy (Tatsumaki from one punch man doesn't help by the way)... And I'm really excited to tell you guys about the new ESPer related story concept I've come up with for a new novel that I'm planning to write after this novel reaches 50 or more chapters (I'm already creating the characters, physics, and complex details of the world the story will take place in... And once I get all that stuff finished or close to finished, I'll start the story and post all that technical stuff about it in some informative chapters. The real story won't start tell I reach the 50 chapter mark here however

(6) I might make a discord channel dedicated to this story, and the new one I'm planning on making [The new story is actually serving as a good motivator to try and reach 50 chapters on this one...]

[Thank you for being patient for more chapters, please feel free to comment and >>review<<. As it inspires me to keep writing... I highlighted the review part by the way, as I'm sick of just seeing StaticCharacters reviews being the only ones there. And I'd like some ACTUAL feedback]

Bruce is a 16 year old sophomore in highschool who likes anime, manga, light novels, etc... He died in his sleep for an unknown reason after staying up to late reading. Afterwards however, he met god, who decided to reincarnate Bruce into another world. The world he reincarnated into wasn’t like his previous one. As the planet itself was a lot larger, magic exists, and massive monsters of incredible power seem to be around every corner, with Bruce being reincarnated as a dungeon core. A rare existence that creates magical dungeons filled with hordes of powerful monsters. The one question that Bruce has is... (Bruce) “Why was I reincarnated in the middle of the ocean!!!” [Hi, this is my first novel, and I’m only writing it for fun. The chapters will be written and posted whenever I want, so don’t expect a constant flow of chapters. Also, I didn’t think my novel would actually get a lot of views when I first wrote it. So I only had a filler synopsis written here, but I changed that due to the large amounts of reads. So, I hope you like my novel. I try my best to read the comments, and I’d also appreciate it if you’d leave a honest review of the novel. Also, if your curious about the novel or want to recommend any of your ideas to me. I’d recommend you join my discord server. The link to it is in the later chapters, so you’ll have to read a bit of my story before you can join the server. So go right ahead and start reading if the synopsis peaked your interest]

Selamat datang di chapter 6

Tinggalkan jejak dengan vote dan komen

Tandai jika ada typo (biasanya suka gentayangan)

Thanks

Happy reading everyone

Hope you like it

❤❤❤

________________________________________

A guy and a girl can be just friends. But at one point or another, they will fall for each other. Maybe temporarily, maybe at the wrong time, maybe too late, or maybe forever

••(500) Days of Summer)•• 

________________________________________

Jakarta, 10 September
18.55. p.m

Langit menghitam, bintang - bintang mulai bermunculan, angin yang sejuk menerpa, dan suara alunan musik mengalun lembut. Aku menatap sekeliling rooftop La Vue at the Hermitage yang mulai ramai pengunjung mengisi meja - meja di berbagai sudut, mencari tulisan Mr. Baldwin Melody di sekitarnya. Meskipun belum weekend tapi tempat ini selalu saja ramai. Apa lagi disuguhkan dengan pemandangan lampu - lampu dan hiruk pikuk daerah Menteng kota Jakarta yang indah. Beruntungnya keluargaku sudah melakukan reserved beberapa hari yang lalu.

Aku mulai duduk di salah satu sofa rotan bantal biru dekat pagar pembatas setelah menemukan nama daddyku tertera di sana. Aku sengaja memilih tempat ini agar lebih santai, tidak seformal dinner - dinner rutin kami sebelumnya.

Kulihat daddy duduk bersandar di kursi, sedangkan kak Brian duduk bersebelahan dengan pacarnya. Ia melambaikan tangan ke pramusaji agar kemari, berusaha cool di depan kak Bella.

Oh ya dinner kami kali ini sedikit berbeda karena kak Brian mengajak kak Bella. Mereka itu sudah pacaran hampir dua tahun ini, dan masih seperti saling kasmaran. Aku sudah akrab dengannya. Kadang mereka mengajakku ketika sedang kencan, kadang aku girls day out sendiri dengan kak Bella, kadang juga bertiga dengan Karina.

Kak Bella orangnya sangat cantik, ramah, periang, dan yang paling terpenting adalah sabar menghadapi kakakku yang julid itu. Secara keseluruhan, aku sangat senang malam ini ada kak Bella. Duo jahilun itu tidak akan julid karena harus jaga image. Jadi aku bisa menghirup oksigen sebanyak - banyaknya malam ini.

"Silahakan ini menunya," kata pramusaji wanita yang masih muda, menyuguhkan buku menu kepada kami.

"Tajima Wagyu Beef Tanderloin medium rare as always sama summer peach tea," kataku santai tanpa melihat menu karena sudah hafal menu - menu yang ada di sini.

"Daddy sama kayak Melody. Tapi minumnya aqua panna 750 ml aja," tukas daddy yang tampak melihat menu sekilas kemudian meletakkannya di atas meja.

"Yank, kamu mau makan apa?" tanya kak Brian pada kak Bella, nadanya manis, beda ketika berbicara denganku. Seketika membuatku mencibir dalam hati.

"Mini Wagyu Beef Tacos aja deh Yank," jawab kak Bella, suaranya lembut.

"Minumnya?" Kak Brian kembali bertanya.

Masih memegang buku menu, kak Bella menjawab tanpa melihat kak Brian. "Sama kayak om Baldwin. Kalo kamu apa?"

"Aku samain aja," ujar kak Brian sambil senyum yang di usahakan manis. Aku yang melihatnya reflek menunjukkan ekspresi muntah tapi tanpa suara kemudian mencondongkan tubuh ke daddy dan berbisik, "bucin ya dad?"

"Apa itu bucin?" Daddy balik berbisik kepadaku.

"Katanya anak gaul gimana sih dad? Bucin itu budak cinta."

"Ooo baru paham daddy."

Aku hanya menjawab daddy dengan mengacungkan jempol. Mengambil jeda, kami memperhatikan kak Bella yang sedang senyum - senyum karena menertawakan lawakan kakakku.

Sekitar dua puluh menit kemudian, pramusaji mengantarkan pesanan kami satu - persatu.

Aku memicingkan mata pada pramusaji yang sejak tadi kuamati selalu mencuri pandang ke arah daddyku. Apa sebegitunya ya pesona duda? Aku tidak mengerti selera orang.

Sekarang gantian daddy yang sedang mengambil menu makanannya yang kuamati. Melihat dari atas hingga bawah, meneliti setiap balutan pakaian mewah dan jam tangan harga fantastis yang melekat pada daddy. Jangan lupakan wajah beliau yang sangat luar biasa tampan itu. Jika aku meletakkan dalam daftar. Aku akan mencentang apa pun yang di pikirkan wanita ketika melihat daddyku.

Ganteng? Cek list. Gumamku dalam hati.

Tajir? Cek list.

Baik hati? Cek list.

Lucu dan jenaka? Cek list.

Royal? Cek list.

Dudda? Cek list.

Anak cowoknya yang sama gantengnya tapi nyebelin dan punya pacar yang cantiknya kebangetan dan baiknya kayak ibu peri? Cek list

Anak gadisnya yang unyu -unyu, lucu, gemesin tapi jomblo? Cek list dong.

Kulirik pramusaji yang matanya masih jelalatan itu kemudian menambah daftar dalam hati. Cewek yang keliatan matre dan gatel? Not cek list!

Saat menyuguhkan menu makanan yang kupesan di depanku, kutatap pramusaji itu sesisnis mungkin agar matanya tidak jelalatan lagi melihat daddy. Benar saja ia langsung melengos. Rasain!

"Pesanannya sudah lengkap semua?" tanyanya sambil tersenyum, ketika melirik ke arah daddy kutatap sinis lagi, senyum yang tadinya tulus jadi sedikit kelihatan di paksakan. Aku hanya bersorak gembira dalam hati.

Setelah pramusaji itu pergi kami mulai makan. Awalnya dengan khitmad lalu suara sendawa kak Brian yang keras menjadikan tawa kami pecah dan mulai mengobrol santai cukup lama hingga makanan yang kami pesan sudah habis dan kak Bella mengajakku ke rest room.

"Aku liat kamu tambah manis akhir - akhir ini Mel," ucap kak Bella sambil mencuci tangan di washtafle ketika melihatku memoles lip tint warna bibir di depan kaca.

"Oh ya?" Tidak dapat di pungkiri pujian kak Bella membuatku senang, karena kak Bella adalah orang yang tulus.

"Lagi pdkt ya?" godanya.

Aku mencebik, menutup lip tint-ku dan menoleh ke arah kak Bella yang sudah selesai mencuci tangan, kemudian mengambil tisyu untuk mengeringkannya. Ekspresiku yamg semula senang berubah datar. "Pasti si julid itu yang cerita ya?"

"Ketahuan ya?"

"Terus siapa lagi emangnya?" Jayden Wilder yang irit ngomong itu? Ya kali dia gibah? lanjutku dalam hati, entah kenapa tiba - tiba mengingatnya. "Karena kak Bella yang di kasih tau jadi nggak papa deh kak," tambahku yang seujujurnya untuk mengabaikan laki - laki preman itu.

"Thanks, btw cowok kayak gimana sih yang bisa bikin Brian ama om Baldwin ngerestuin terus kamu nekat pdkt?" tanya kak Bella penasaran. Namun entah kenapa aku kurang bersemangat menceritakan kak Jordan karena insident kak Novem yang mem-bully-ku beberapa hari lalu.

"Sebenarnya nggak tau nih kak mau lanjut pdkt atau nggak," kataku sedikit loyo.

"Kenapa emangnya?" Raut wajah kak Bella berubah serius. Padahal tadi kelihatan gembira saat tahu aku akhirnya nekat pdkt.

"Kapan hari tuh mantannya kayak ngelabrak, terus aku ngelawan dan jadinya kayak berantem gitu lho, terus si doi tau, dan WA kayak gini." Aku mengambil ponsel dalam tas selempang kecil, membuka aplikasi WA lalu menyodorkannya pada kak Bella agar dapat membaca chatku dengan kak Jordan beberapa hari lalu.

From J.❤ :
Tadi berantem sama Novem ya?

To J.❤ :
Kok bisa tau?

From J.❤ :
Gue nggak tau masalah kalian apa tapi Mel, jangan berantem sama dia

Lalu aku tidak membalasnya karena tidak tahu harus membalas apa. Kak Bella yang membaca pun manggut - manggut.

"Gimana nggak ciut coba kalo doi kayaknya masih belain mantan, uda gitu mantannya bilang mereka mau balikan lagi," keluhku ketika kak Bella sudah selesai membaca chat dan mengembalikan ponselku.

"Mel gini ya, jangan menyimpulkan sesuatu dari satu sudut pandang aja, mungkin aja doi khawatir sama kamu tapi pesannya tersirat, terus malu aja mau ngugakapinnya," terang kak Bella yang membuatku kagum. Kata - katanya membuat semangat pdkt-ku bangkit lagi.

Jadi begini ya bersikap dewasa itu? Beruntung sekali kak Brian ini bisa pacaran sama kak Bella. Semoga mereka awet - awet ampe nikah. Amiiinn.

Aku tersenyum lagi dan berterima kasih padanya yang telah mendukungku dalam hal ini. Aku sangat senang, rasanya seperti memiliki saudara perempuan.

Setelah sesi curhat tentang gebetan, kami baru kembali ke meja. Kulihat suasananya sudah sepi pengunjung. Mungkin karena sudah malam.

Aku baru akan duduk di kursi rotan kembali ketika kak Brian bertanya pada kak Bella. "Yank, kamu nggak pingsan nungguin adekku eek?"

"Siapa yang eek?!" pekikku sedikit berani menaikkan tanda nada karena sudah sepi, melengkapinya dengan melempar tisyu ke arah kak Brian tapi meleset.

Bukannya menjawab, kakak malah menggerutu, "kenapa sih cewek selalu bawa temen ke rest room? Uda gitu lama banget lagi. Emang ngapain aja? Hajatan bareng?"

Kuhiraukan wajah kak Brian yang kelihatan kesal karena lama menungguku dan kak Bella keluar dari rest room untuk melihat daddy yang hanya tersenyum, sedangkan Kak Bella bahkan mulai terkekeh.

"Kak liat deh, pacarmu itu!" geramku mengadu ke kak Bella.

"Yank, kamu ini jahil terus ya ke Melody," semprot kak Bella. Walau pun sebenarnya itu tidak bisa di katakan 'semprot' karena suara kak Bella yang lembut dan kalem tidak bisa menaikkan nada untuk marah.

Aku melihat raut wajah kakakku yang seperti ciut lalu kesengsem karena senyuman kak Bella. Lagi pula siapa  yang tidak jatuh hati pada senyum kak Bella ini?

~~~

Jakarta, 10 September
21.30 p.m.

Malam itu kakak mengantar kak Bella pulang sedangkan aku semobil dengan daddy. Tampaknya beliau sudah sedikit lelah dan mengantuk, tertanda dari tidak menjahiliku. Aku memaksa mengambil alih untuk menyetir mobilnya dan daddy hanya menurut. Sepanjang perjalanan bahkan beliau tidur.

Sesampainy di rumah kami berpencar kembali ke kamar masing -masing.

Dalam kamar, sebelum melakukan ritual perempuan saat akan tidur ; ganti baju, gosok gigi dan lain lain, aku merbahkan badan di kasur sambil memikirkan kembali wejangan dari kak Bella.

Beberapa detik berikutnya setelah menyuntikkan semangat, kuambil ponsel dari dalam tas yang masih tergeletak di sebelah tempatku rebahan, lalu mengetikkan sesuatu, mencoba mengirimkan pesan pada kak Jordan.

From Mel :
Gue sebenernya nggak ada niatan berantem kok, cuma kak Novem aja yang mulai

From J.❤ :
Lain kali nggak usah di ladenin

From Mel :
Maaf deh kak kalo misal gue ganggu kalian yang lagi mau balikan

Sudah, kak Jordan tidak lagi membalas pesanku. Hanya di baca saja. Aku menunggunya berjam - jam hingga ketiduran. Lalu keesokan harinya dan beberapa hari setelah itu kak Jordan juga tidak kunjung membalas pesanku sama sekali. Kami juga tidak bertemu di sekolah. Ia seperti sedang menghindar.

Sejak saat itu pula aku juga tidak pernah bertemu lagi dengan Jayden Wilder mau pun memikirkannya karena fokus memikirkan kak Jordan.

Saat memasuki sebulan tepat kak Jordan menghindar, aku mencoba menanyakan kabarnya lewat WA. Namun sekali lagi aku juga harus kecewa karena pesanku tidak di balas. Jangankan di balas, di baca pun tidak, padahal ia selalu online dan beberapa kali membuat status story tentang kegiatan OSIS. Nyaliku malah semakin menciut karena ini. 

Berbeda dengan Karina yang lancar - lancar saja menjalankan pdkt dengan kak Rico. Ketika di kantin aku juga melihat mereka lebih kelihatan akrab. Sedangkan kak Jordan sama sekali tidak pernah ke kantin semenjak itu. Padahal kak Rico dan kak Henry masih rutin ke kantin langganan kami.

Memasuki bulan kedua kak Jordan menghindariku, suatu saat aku tidak bisa mengrontrol diriku untuk bertanya pada kak Henry saat di kantin. "Kak Hen, kok kak Jordan nggak pernah ke sini lag sih?"

"Lagi ngelarin masalah dianya."

"Masalah apa? Kok kalian nggak bantuin?"

Kak Henry melirik kanan kiri lalu memajukan badan, mengkode agar aku mendekat untuk berbisik, "Jordan lagi ngelarin hubungannya sama Novem, biar dia bisa bebas nggak di ekorin mulu. Si Novem itu masih sering banget nyamperin si Jo, apa lagi sejak lo deket ama dia. Jadi si Jo emang nggak mau bales WA dari lo soalnya nggak mau lo di labrak ama si Novem lagi."

Aku yang mendengarnya menahan diri untuk tidak koprol, jingkrak - jingkrak, jungkir balik atau sebaliknya karena terlalu bahagia.

Akhirnya dapat lampu hijau!

Beberapa hari kemudian kak Jordan kembali menghubungiku, mengatakan yang sebenarnya terjadi tentang dirinya dan kak Novem, ia juga meminta maaf atas kejadian mantannya yang melabrak aku. Lalu aku mulai lebih sering modus lagi selama beberapa minggu terakhir.

Inilah saatnya aku terus maju pantang menyerah. Mungkin saja kak Jordan sudah mulai menyukaiku juga. Aku akan berusaha menyatakan cintaku jika waktunya tepat. Persetan dengan budaya ketimuran tentang perempuan yang harusnya menunggu laki - laki menyatakan perasaanya. Tapi saat ini perasaanku sudah memuncak, apa lagi kak Jordan yang populer pasti sudah sering mendengar pernyataan cinta dari banyak perempuan. Jadi mendapat pernyataan cinta dariku mungkin tidak masalah kan?

Pokoknya kali ini aku harus!

Lalu suatu hari pada saat akhir tahun, daddy meminta atau lebih tepatnya memaksaku ikut ke acara pesta topeng itu.

________________________________________

Thanks for reading this chapter

Terima kasih juga yang uda sempetin baca, komen dan vote

See you next chapter teman temin

With Love
Chacha Nobili
👻👻👻

Post : 22 Juli 2019
Revisi : 23 Maret 2020

WARNING YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE  18 +
TERDAPAT KATA - KATA KASAR, FRONTAL, ADEGAN KEKERASAN, DLL

Berlian Melody cewek umur enam belas tahun yang baru masuk SMA, tidak cantik, tidak tinggi, tidak pintar, apa lagi populer, menyukai kakak kelas yang sempurna bernama Jordan Michelle.

Melody pun mulai berusaha mendekati kakak kelas itu hingga puncaknya menyatakan perasaannya saat pesta topeng dan di terima.

Tapi Melody melakukan kesalahan, ia salah orang, bukan Jordan Michelle yang ia nyatakan perasaannya, melainkan Jayden Wilder, sahabat kakaknya yang bad boy, wajah seram, berandalan dan dalam sekejap mampu membuat Melody jatuh cinta padanya.

Bagaimana reaksi Jordan Michelle ketika tahu Melody berpacaran dengan Jayden padahal ia sudah mulai menyukai dan memberi lampu hijau pada gadis itu?

Bagaimana pula reaksi Jayden Wilder ketika tahu fakta bahwa Melody salah nembak orang?

__________________________________________________

Berlian Melody : Meski jutaan kali kehidupan yang akan datang, aku akan tetap memilihmu

__________________________________________________

Selamat membaca

With love by Chacha Prima

Third person POV

Lu Ping was directly sent by Weisheng to protect Hong er from any harm. But he had another motive other than that. He wanted to see Hong er's reaction when she was told that she would be an empress of another country. He knew that Weisheng was undercover as Sheng ge to court Hong er and that's why he wanted to know if she would be happy to be an empress and decided to forget Sheng ge.

But her reaction was different from what he expected, it seems like she wanted to reject the offer of being an empress but she was hesitant to reject it too. Then he noticed that she kept spacing out and sometimes she stares at Xu Tingfeng and Bai Huiqing. For a genius advisor like him, it was easy to guess what bothered Hong er.

Lu Ping: ' So she didn't want to marry His Majesty but she can't reject an imperial edict because of her family. What a filial daughter.'

Even though he stared at her with a smile on his face, Hong er shivered under his stares. It felt like everything inside her mind was being read by Lu Ping and it was similar to Lan Qingshan when he was teaching. Lu Ping noticed the slight changes in Hong er's eyes, he only smiled at her and continued to speak.

Lu Ping: " The dower will arrive in 5 days. We have an urgent matter to do so we left the other entourage that carried the dower from the capital of Da Qi. Please forgive us for the delay and here is the list of the dower."

Lu Ping bowed his head towards the three of them and handed a black and golden scroll to Xu Tingfeng. Xu Tingfeng unrolled the thick scroll and the end of the scroll rolled down until it bumped onto Hong er's foot, that shows how many the dower Weisheng gave to Hong er. Xu Tingfeng had expected Weisheng to do all of these things to marry Hong er but he didn't expect that Weisheng would go all out on the dower. Even Bai Huiqing almost collapsed after she read the list of the dower, her personal maid managed to catch her before she fall.

Just by looking at the length of the scroll, Hong er knew that it was no joke. She was aware that Da Qi was very wealthy and powerful thanks to the new emperor. He had made an alliance with Xi Bei the moment he ascended the throne, Xi Bei was well known in sea products and their fur coats since their country was at the northern part of the continent. Xi Bei's economics state and wealth suddenly risen and accumulate for these 13 years and now they became one of the richest countries in this continent. But despite their accumulating wealth, their power in military was not very good and that was one of their reasons in alliance with Da Qi. Da Qi was famous for their military forces and their mining products, they created great weapons with their high quality material.

Meanwhile, Da Chu was famous for their textile, herb and holy land. Many ancient and holy places were in Da Chu like Thousands Beasts Forest and Mountain of Goddess. Especially Mountain of Goddess, it was the place where the legends said that the Goddess of Light had descended from the heaven to visit the earth when there was a calamity where creatures suddenly found dead with unknown disease. She poured half of her power into the mountain and spread it all around the world from the ground, her light power stabilized the dark power and the world went back to its peace. Furthermore, her power had attracted many spirits to stay around the mountain and it results the land around the mountain to be very fertile.

Since Da Chu was the nearest to Mountain of Goddess, the highest quality of herb likely to grew around the mountain. Even if it was in winter, every kind of herbs would still grew even though the herbs were supposed to grow in summer. 

Xu Tingfeng could only sigh and facepalm himself while reading the dower list.

Xu Tingfeng: ' This kiddo wants me to go bankrupt. And I only just read a quarter of the dower. My god…'

The keen eyed Lu Ping noticed Xu Tingfeng's concern, he slowly approached Xu Tingfeng and whispered in his ears. Xu Tingfeng slightly leaned his ears to listen to Lu Ping.

Lu Ping: " His Majesty said that you can just use part of his dower as dowry."

Xu Tingfeng touched his chin with his finger and nodded his head in agreement. Hong er who was standing on the side was baffled by Xu Tingfeng and Lu Ping's close relationship, she never seen Xu Tingfeng being too friendly to anyone from Da Chu, rather than that, Xu Tingfeng's friends were most likely live in different country. Sometimes he went to some hidden places to meet up with friends and have a drink with them, his friends always gave gifts or letters to Hong er and greetings to Bai Huiqing. 

Usually Hong er was very patient in everything but seeing his father's expression after reading the dower list made her worry. She picked up the other end of the scroll that bumped onto her foot and read it, her body immediately froze after she read three lines of the list. She robotically turned her head and stared open mouthed at Lu Ping who was smiling at her.

Hong er: " Ex-excuse me, I-I think you had make a mistake."

Lu Ping: " No, we aren't, Miss Xu. This had been checked 3 times and by the emperor himself."

Hong er was once again dumbfounded by this Da Qi emperor's action.

Hong er: ' Does he has nothing to do? Is there something behind this? Is he trying to provoke Da Chu's emperor?'

Hong er tried hard to find a reason behind the enormous amount of expensive things in the list. She scrunched her eyebrows and continued to read the list, even the list was written in golden ink. Hong er couldn't bear looking at the list anymore, these kind of extravagant things were not suited for her. She couldn't accept all of the dower as she felt that she wasn't worth as much as the dower. Hong er rolled back the scroll and took it from Xu Tingfeng's hand and handed it over to Lu Ping. The puzzled Lu Ping only look fixedly at Hong er without having any intention to take the scroll from Hong er's hand.

Hong er: " My apologies Lu Gongzi. I can't accept this dower, this is too much for someone like me. I will still marry His Majesty even if he didn't give me this much of dower. Please take it back."

( A/N: Gongzi = son of nobility.)

Lu Ping's smile grew bigger and he chuckled, he expected that she would jump up and down from happiness after seeing the list of the dower. Usually most of the girls would be elated if they were given expensive accessories but Hong er's really a special one. He was very satisfied that Weisheng had chosen such a humble girl as the love of his life and as his empress, she would be a great leader for the people. Lu Ping shook his head to reject Hong er suggestion.

Lu Ping: " No, Miss Xu. You have to accept this dower or else…"

Lu Ping looked downwards in contemplation. Hong er became anxious when Lu Ping suddenly stopped in the middle of his sentence.

Hong er: " Or else?"

Lu Ping: " Or else His Majesty will add more things into the dower."

Hong er stood in silence. She really didn't get what this Da Qi emperor's mind, she started to think that he was crazy.

When the God of Darkness and the Goddess of Light fell in love with each other, the whole heaven was shaken.

Their creator descended and gave them a trial to test their love. They have to reborn to the world as human beings and love each other like how they once told their creator.

***

Xu Feihong was born with her parent's identity unknown to her and her only family was killed, later she became a war slave. She could survive years of torture with her intelligence and adaptability. Then a boy saved her from that horrendous place.

Liu Weisheng was born with silver spoon in his mouth but he was pretty much hated by people around him for his ruthless and merciless personality. But ever since he met a little angel while on a mission, his whole life changed.

He even dared to abandon his throne and disguised as a general of an opposing country just to protect his little angel.

But life isn't easy.

She have to be strong to protect her family from every danger that awaits them.

Read this to see their thrilling, romantic, and funny adventure.

English is not my mother language therefore there will be minor mistakes. This story won't disappoint you.

«Mu Jian, I need a favour,» Xu Mei whispered. They were sitting in the school library, which stayed open all day even in summer, and were pretending to study to blend in with the surroundings.
«What?»
«I need a gun.»
«Where is yours?»
«It was taken away...»
«Did your senator discover it?»
«No, it was taken away by Shen Peng.»
«When?»
«A few days ago.»
«How... Shen Peng wanted to meet with you?»
«Not with me, of course. I just happened to be there and kind of lost control.»«You tried to shoot him?»
«No, of course not! I'm not stupid.»
«Why don't you buy a new one?»
«How am I supposed to do that?»
«The same way you used the first time.»
«I can't, right now.»
«How come?»
«I believe that someone will know about it if I do.»
«What are you talking about? Do you perhaps think that your senator is connected to Peach Blossom?»
«He's not. Well, not directly at least.»
«Then?»
«I believe someone he knows is. Hence, he will find out that I'm buying smuggled goods and would be very mad. Please, Mu Jian, do me this favour. In exchange, I'll give you Wang Meng's phone number!»
«Why would I want his number?»
«Ah, you already have it, don't you?»
«What are you talking about?» the young man uttered and looked around with a bored expression.
«You do! How did you manage to extort it?»
«I simply asked,» he sentenced. «Who can say no to me, after all?»
«Then, will you buy the gun for me?»
«I will,» he accepted, in the end. «But you have to promise that you won't tell your senator that I helped you. Deal?»
«Yes, of course. He won't find out that I have a weapon with me, so you don't have to worry.»
«How can you be sure that they won't tell him about me, by the way? If he is connected to Peach Blossom and since you don't know exactly how he is connected, you can't be sure they don't know we're collaborating. Right?»
«Wrong, I am quite sure it's not someone from the party.»
«Who then?»
She shrugged and turned the page of the book in front of her with a smile. «I will make cookies to thank you.»
«Please, don't!»
«Hey, my cookies are delicious!»
«It's the middle of summer, who bakes cookies with this weather?»
«I do.»
Mu Jian snorted and shook his head with a grimace. «Are you trying to kill me, Xu Mei?»
«No, I wouldn't use cookies for that. Don't forget ammo.»
«I'll go to the guild soon, ok?»
«Be careful. It's not safe there in this period...»
«I'm not a child, Xu Mei. I know how to take care of myself.»
«If you die I'll have to find a weapon on my own, so please be safe.»
Lin Longwei closed the window he was reading on the computer when he saw Xu Mei entering the study.
«It's late,» she said and moved to the liquor cabinet and read some etiquettes before choosing a bottle. She poured a glass and brought it to him. «You should relax, now.»
«Are you planning to use alcohol to lure me into your bed?» he asked with a mischievous smile.
«Don't be stupid, your bed is more comfortable.»
«Is it? Should I buy a new one for your room, then?»
«Don't worry. I'm not using it too much, am I?»
He got up from the desk and accepted the glass, sipping the brandy with pleasure.
«I'm worried,» Xu Mei uttered at some point.
«About what?»
«About what will happen next. I'm sure the Prime Minister has found a way to stop the killing by now, but he's not making any clear move. Either he's even more discreet than usual, or he's waiting because he wants some of the people from the list out of the scene.»
«He wouldn't put his life on the line, would he?»
«I don't know. Maybe he would. He wouldn't risk Xu Manho nor Xu Ting, and when he's in danger, they are too.»
«He's not really in danger, little rabbit.»
«I'm not worried about him, Longwei. I don't know what his next move will be.»
«This mess will end soon.»
«The Prime Minister is behind the attacks at the Senator's residences, two months ago. Four of the five Senators that were targeted are in his party. They were making problems, and three of them are now behaving. The fourth is on the list now.»
«Are you suggesting that Xu Yanhuo is the mastermind?»
«No, I think he's part of the game as we are. There is someone that is playing around. Remember the people missing from the lab?»
«They all are back to work, now.»
«What did they say about the absence?»
«They weren't doing anything special, they just forgot to come to work.»
«How many?»
«Eleven.»
«Eleven people forgot to go to work all in the same day? Isn't it strange?»
«It is, but I like relaxed environments, so I don't force people to come to work when they are not in the mood.»
«Really?» she asked, visibly sceptic. «What should I do to work for you, then?»
«I wouldn't hire you by any means,» he said and the girl flinched, surprised and deeply hurt.

Xu Mei is the granddaughter of the Prime Minister. Her father died in an accident years ago, and her mother was chased away from the Xu family. She joined the Insurgents, whose head has an unseen talent for getting information that makes him look like an oracle that can see the future.
One day, she is delivered as a ’gift’ to the main political adversary of her grandfather, Lin Longwei.
He is handsome and powerful, and resisting at his charisma is nearly impossible. While they fall in love with each other, the war between Government and Insurgents gets violent, involving mafia bosses and quantum physics.
In a world that changes faster and faster, can two people find a spot where to enjoy love and peace?

"You stand accused of treason. How do you plead, Count Successor Karia Graig?"
     "Why, guilty of course." What an incredibly idiotic question! Karia groaned silently as the accusations droned on, all of them true. But get to it! Yes, I stole the seal to falsify a council order. Yes, I falsely ceded command to Imperial Colonel Trindai de Laiden when our capital was under attack.
     He nodded to the presiding greybeard between accusations. It wouldn't do to add insubordination to the charges as well. Not any that could be seen at least. Yes, I was quite aware Colonel de Laiden was not, is not and will not become a sworn man. And that's probably why he organized a coherent defence of Belgera rather than fighting for who should be in command.
     And that was probably the single most important reason they were at all able to hold this trial, Karia knew. The fighting had been bad. Faced with outworlder weapons only battlemages stood any chance. But the defenders hadn't known that at the time of the attack. City guards attacking with spears went down like just so much grain late in summer. It really had been like harvest with constant outworlder hammering in the background and invisible scythes cutting down sworn men and citizens alike.
     He turned his attention to the tirade once more. They were getting to the more dangerous part now. He had consorted with an enemy and he had shown her the secret tunnels under Belgera. What else was he supposed to do? The khragan mindwalker had been the only thing between total annihilation of his entire command and survival. No sworn man had ever taken such risks as she did to keep him alive.
     Karia shook his head and stared ahead. First at grey stone walls, then up at an equally grey ceiling. We didn't build with beauty in mind, did we? He was proud of the walled capital nonetheless. Then he allowed his eyes to wander over the presiding council. His accusers and judges alike. Only the king was absent, but he was about as powerless as kings ever came and didn't bother with affairs of state.
     Karia followed a long table with his eyes, drank heavy bread and fortified wine with his mind and wished he could taste some for real. Then he let his gaze leave the food and settled on the present guests. In one corner some, but not all persons involved in the madness, stood and watched impassively.
     Colonel de Laiden, from Keen. Old, but age had yet to bend him. That face had probably been shaved until recently. In Belgera that was about as outlandish as it got. He still wore a torn linen uniform under his winter clothes. Yellow cloth with black leather refused to stay hidden under the furs he'd draped over his shoulders. To his right, Mindwalker Hwain. The golden came and went, always exotic but their visits always frequent enough for people to take for granted another visit not too far in the future. Silver hair and golden eyes, and only the gods knew what their clothes were made of. Khanati silk with the magic of Ira sewed into the very fabric if rumours were true. Karia grinned. They probably weren't. He failed to stifle a laugh which bought him another disapproving glare from old Tanaihac who paused reading the long list of wrongs Karia was guilty of.
     He nodded acceptance to yet another accusation while he studied the reason for it. Clean shaved and a full head taller than all but one. Clothes glimmering with a metallic sheen hugging close to his body he belied Colonel de Laiden's looks as the most outlandish. Outworlder Major Heinrich Goldberger made an utterly failed attempt to look as if he belonged here. He had arrived, with his men, in outworlder moving armour to tip the scales. Had been jumped inside the city walls, and that took a dragon to do if legends were true. Outworlder armour and outworlder weapons. Belgera had turned into a screeching abyss of fire and death when two armed outworlder forces clashed, one eating the other and both eating whomever was caught in the middle.
     Karia shook his head as a long tirade about his responsibility for damages done to buildings reached him. Not his fault. Neither he nor his men commanded the kind of weapons that could rip stone walls apart. That blame had to be placed squarely with Christina Ulfsdotir, yet another outworlder, who descended on Belgera with her mercenaries on a manhunt.
     How had he even managed to get involved in something like this? Life was supposed to be much easier, like fighting for his life high up among the mountains each summer campaign. Fighting khraga. Because fighting khraga was what they did, and Gring ghara Khat was very much a khraga and she was also present at the behest of Colonel de Laiden and Mindwalker Hwain both.
     A khraga in the royal castle. Standing here among them. A few eightdays earlier he would have been among those who cried bloody murder, and now, now his heart swelled with pride watching her. Jet black fur oiled and combed so it glittered in the lamplight, tusks polished to shine as bright as her fur. Taller even than the outworlder.
     And a taleweaver had been here. The target of Ulfsdotir's madness, but he was gone. Gone as well was Harbend de Garak, the head of the caravan still trading for all it was worth in Downtown. And so was Khar Escha from Khanati. A pity. I would have wanted to talk with him. Khanati was a legend, a land where winter was supposedly unknown.
     He turned his attention back the council members. The list of evil deeds was long but it was coming to an end. "Yes, I have understood what I stand accused of," Karia said. Whatever the verdict was it couldn't possibly be more exciting than the events he had lived through during one, single mad day. Probably a boring execution, with him as the main attraction.
     Life, however, refused to be so easy. Karia choked down his reply when he heard his sentence.

Great tales need to be told, but those that shape the world must be added to the Weave.

With the awakening of a god two taleweavers sharing two worlds meet and shape a new future for both. As they add new strands to the Weave in a way no taleweaver has ever done before ripples run through reality and the Weave begins to unravel.

Soon there are frays in the Weave.

Frays in the Weave is book two in the Taleweaver Saga. Book one is The Taleweaver.

Once again she was sitting at a fast-food joint, waiting for yet another failed friend to return from only God knows where, so she'd have a place to lay her head for the night. She looked around the McDonald, taking everything in. The Wi-Fi warning restriction caught her eye for the millionth time then she turned back to her now cold McCafé. 

She had only herself to blame for all of this and it pained her deeply.

It was summer again- yes summer, her worse time of the year, but that wasn't what troubled her. She was still stuck in this damned city, two years and counting, with no signs that she would be free of it soon. Of all the emotions she'd expected to overwhelm her, numb was nowhere on the list.

She'd willed her subconscious away so she wouldn't feel the pain anymore and just as she'd feared, she couldn't reach it now. All she had left was the stench of failure and an emptiness nothing could fill: not the booze, not the sex and apparently not her new obsession.

Her eyes raised from the little brown journal that Zeus had given her last summer, to the figure in front of her- her dismissive glare came ready too.

"Need company?" the scruffy stranger asked.

Her mind stilled, thinking on how oddly disproportionate the world was. That such a person would approach her was quite insulting. Here in front of her stood the picture of what very well described scum. If he'd had a bath in a week, she'd be surprised. His eyes darted about the cafe erratically and the uneasy in them was unsettling.

"Obviously not yours," she said.

He looked himself over- in a time when she had not lost the ability to feel; she was quite certain she'd feel sorry for him. He turned back to find her eyes fixated on him. 

"Keep it moving, pal." She turned back to the story she was attempting to write. Failed writer surely looked ready to join the list of failures she had going.

The stranger set his medium iced coffee down on the table, right next to her beverage and sank into the adjacent seat. She eyed him and turned back to her journal. He did that to prove a point. It was a public space and a free country.

"Must feel mighty big of yourself." Her eyes remained glued to her journal as she spoke.

He chuckled loudly and her eyes raised to his for a moment then dropped back to her reading. He was human, but he had the mark of an envoy burned into his neck.

"Your assumptions about me are inaccurate miss," he said. She turned her gaze on him. "I asked if you needed company, I never offered mine."

"Yet here you are." She tied her journal shut and relaxed. Her mind took flight and soared about the McDonalds. It settled on the familiar scent of sandalwood and richness of tobacco. She didn't need to turn to know who it was.

"Mr Dante will like a word," the stranger said. He rose as if to indicate that she followed him.

"He knows where to find me."

He started to argue but stopped when he saw the look in her eyes. With a nod, he left her and went to Dante and his little entourage to the far left of her. She watched them through the side of her eyes, trying to mind the story forming in her head. She noticed the envoy start back for her and half-smiled. He reached her and lowered to the seat he just vacated.

"Mr Dante needs a moment, Jade," he said, firmly this time. "I'll have to insist that you come with me."

She looked around the cafe again and sighed. There were too many humans, she would have to use her words this time even though that line of action rarely helped anything.

"Aaron, I will only say this once. Tell Traci I'm not moving an inch. If he needs something, let him come get it. Disturb me again and you will not like the outcome."

He sat there for a moment, wondering two things: how she knew his name and if she was as dangerous as he'd heard she was. He didn't know what to think with the gifted. She shot him a dismissive glare, and he felt a chill travel up his spine. Her abilities may have been exaggerated but her ominous glares were another story. He rose and went back to his boss. 

Evita packed up her table as she listened in on the exchange between Traci and Aaron. Were she merely human, she would worry herself about how they tracked her here but she wasn't. They had their way- the gifted.

As new as she was to their community, she knew enough. They were a privileged lineage blessed with unique abilities and as expected, men like Dante sort to exploit it. She'd been introduced and registered as a gifted. Before her, gifted only ever had the one ability. She was the abnormality, and it made her highly sorted after by the high tier clans.

The Conquered Colony only knew of three of her abilities and she couldn't comprehend their reaction if they discovered her other diverse abilities that only seemed to multiply the more she used them.

"Jade." His familiar intoxicating voice came from above her. The Lord of the Lynx Conglomerate, stood almost six feet tall with short auburn hair that framed a well-formed face, was now standing in front of her bent slightly against a walking stick merely for show. Those familiar unreadable grey eyes with a unique golden glint held hers softly. She eyed him and adjusted in her seat. "We need to talk."

"Talk."

"Don't give me that, Jade," he warned quietly. "You have a duty to your kind."

"What is my kind, really Traci?" she asked.

He knew her well enough to know she genuinely meant to know. He sighed visibly, shifted his weight off the cane and eyed the seat in front of her before lowering into it. He set the black glistering stick which looked ominously expensive on the table and turned those bewitching eyes back on her.

"You have no idea the honour your abilities bestow upon you Jade and it makes me wonder if you're deserving of it," he confessed. No response came, so he continued. "To be offered a seat at the table with the elites of the Colony is the grandest of gestures. You simply cannot turn it down. You have a people to serve."

She watched him quietly. She had no words for him. If this was the reason he'd tracked her down again, to force her into their inner bureaucratic nonsense and not even consider the risk of confronting her in a room full of humans, he was more damaged than she'd thought.

"First, you lured me into your world with promises of a better existence, away from human contempt. I fell for it. Then you used me, exploited my abilities and as though that wasn't enough you think naming me an elite will make me easier to use?"

"You're serving the greater good, Jade. Goodness! This is how the world works, and the idea that you can't comprehend that is fucked up!"

Heads turned towards them at his response, and Evita laughed at the absurdity of his outburst. His eyes darkened in anger. One thing the almighty Traci could not stomach was mockery. She raked her fingers through her pitch-black long locks with the patch of silver and rose with a sigh.

"I suppose I cannot change the way the world works, even with all my righteous indignation." She smiled. "But I do get a say in who I let use me and let me make this very clear Mr Dante, it sure as hell isn't going to be you." She strapped her black backpack on, adjusted her blue jean jacket and stormed out of the McDonalds. Zar had better be home when she reached his place.

There's a myth about life's best teachers; an empty pocket, heartbreak, and failure. All three are marked and have Evita beat, and as if all that wasn't enough, she's tossed into a new world that brings its own headaches with no promises of helping her already damned existence.

npr summer reading list

the diamonte

St.Mary Lake(BL storey)

The Hitting Zone

Rebirth: How A Loser Became A Prince Charming

So... I Reincarnated as a Dungeon Core... In the Middle of the Ocean...

Bad Boy in the Mask

Incarnation of Gods: Endless War

Unexpected Gift

Frays in the Weave

The Other Side of Tomorrow

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