LOGINChapter 7: The Stadium TrapThe suffocating silence under the cafeteria table seemed to go on as my lungs continued begging for air. Julian's hand was still clamped firmly around my knee. His long fingers were digging into my skin like iron bands anchoring me next to him.Victoria's sharp eyes kept darting forth between my terrified face and Julian's cold, blank expression.She was trying desperately to read the dangerous thread holding us together."I asked you a question, Julian, " Victoria whispered. Her voice shook with a mix of rage and desperation as she leaned further across the table. "What is she doing sitting here ? Why are you protecting this trash?"Julian slowly let go of my leg. The sudden absence of his palm felt freezing cold against my skin. He didn't look at Victoria. He didn't look at me either. He just picked up his glass of water, took a calm sip and set it down with a soft click."You embarrassed Victoria today Maya " Julian said. His voice was smooth, quiet and
Chapter 6: The Feast of SharksThe huge double doors of the cafeteria felt just like the entrance to a place where people get punished. I stood frozen in the doorway, my fingers gripping the worn-out straps of my backpack really tightly and my knuckles felt the pain .The room was a scary sea of loud noise, the constant clinking of fancy metal forks and knives, the mean laughter of rich teenagers and the greasy smell of fried food that made my empty stomach hurt.Every long table in the room was packed with students. My eyes went straight to the center of the cafeteria.There it was. The fancy central table. It was wider than all the others, clean and surrounded by comfy leather chairs instead of the cheap hard plastic benches everyone else had to use. Julian Vance sat in the middle of it. He was leaning back comfortably in his seat, his black leather jacket draped loosely over his broad shoulders talking softly to the boy sitting next to him. He didn't look up when I stepped into th
Chapter 5: The Price of OxygenThe passenger door of Julian's black sports car clicked open with a soft pop. The warmth from inside the car rushed out into the air smelling heavily of rich leather and Julian's sharp woodsy cologne."Get in " Julian said, his voice low and cutting through the drumming of the rain on the roof.I stood frozen on the sidewalk, water pouring down my face in thick streams. I looked at the leather seats then down at my dripping mud-stained clothes and my coffee-ruined sweater. I didn't move."I said, get in Maya " Julian repeated, not turning his head to look at me. He just tapped his fingers against the leather steering wheel, his face completely calm in the glowing light of the dashboard. "I don't like to repeat myself. You are letting the rain ruin my leather."My legs were shaking badly. I could barely lift my foot. I stumbled forward practically falling into the passenger seat. The second I pulled the door shut the roaring sound of the autumn storm died
Chapter 4: Shivering in the DarkThe burning pain on my chest felt like fire.. but I refused to give Victoria the satisfaction of seeing me cry. I bit my lip so hard that I tasted copper. I squeezed my eyes shut for one second to force the tears back down. The entire cafeteria was still laughing. Their phones were pointed at me like shiny weapons.. I did not look at any of them.I reached down through the cloud of steam. I grabbed the stack of university physics papers with both hands then pulled them tightly against my body as the wet hot fabric of my sweater clung to my skin.. I turned my back on the elite table and walked out.I did not run. I forced my legs to move in steady steps. I kept walking until the heavy double doors closed behind me, cutting off the sound of their voices.The school library was empty and freezing cold as I stumbled inside. I walked all the way to the back. hid behind the rows of old books where the shadows were deep and dark. I dropped into a wooden cha
Chapter 3:Standing Before the LionThe big glass doors of the cafeteria creaked as I pushed them open. The noise inside was super loud like hundreds of kids laughing, shouting and clinking their fancy metal silverware.But the second my old sneakers stepped onto the floor a sharp hush began to spread through the room. Heads turned, fingers pointed. The mean whispers spread fast like a flame catching grass. By the time I reached the middle of the room the entire cafeteria went dead silent. Hundreds of eyes locked onto me watching the scholarship girl who had been called a thief.I didn't look back at them. I kept my eyes fixed on the round table in the center of the room. The elite table.Julian Vance sat there leaning back in his chair like a king on a throne. His black leather jacket hung loosely over his shoulders. He was casually spinning an expensive silver pen between his long fingers. Around him sat his friends. Boys in perfect designer school blazers and girls with hair and spa
Chapter 2: The Painted ThroneMy hands were shaking a lot as I turned the key in our apartment door which made my palms hurt from the blisters on them. The old refrigerator in our living room hummed away in the dark as I stepped in, feeling the air that smelled like carpet and cheap soup. I leaned back against the door, took a long shaky breath as I tried to forget the look in Julian Vance's black eyes before I walked in to see my sister."Maya, is that you?" my sister Chloe called out from her bedroom with her tiny voice. Then I heard the sound of her inhaler clicking on her nightstand.I tried to look calm and swallowed the panic in my throat as I walked into her room where she was sitting under an old blanket. Her face looked so small in her oversized t-shirt, Her dark eyes were widely Filled with guilt which broke my heart before she even spoke."Hey sweetie, " I said softly with a crack in my voice. I sat down on the edge of her mattress. I hid my raw cut hands under my th







