BORROWED [Watty Awards Finalist/NEWLY EDITED!]

*NEW* Draft5 [ Chapter One ]

Note: I'm sharing this because I want all the fans of Borrowed to know how hard I've been working on this novel for the past two years. The changes are BIG. I hope it will not deter anyone from eventually reading the FINAL version. Enjoy this sneak peek of chapter one of my fifth revision of Borrowed.

 

[ GRADUATE ]

Low chattering accumulates around the stark white cafeteria. I look around at the uniformed students, hoping no one pays attention to me walking in. Lunch seems crowded today, since the twelve o’ clock students merged with the twelve-thirty. I notice a table in the corner still has one seat left, so I quickly make my way towards it, slinking down into the red plastic seat. Letting my straight brown hair fall past my face, I listen to three girls chatter next to me, passing around enclosed envelopes.

I glance at the blonde from the corner of my eye. She sighs dramatically, sipping on her milk, while the brunette next to her catches me watching. Positioning my body sideways, I try to ignore her as she scoots the chair closer to mine. She leans in, tucking stands of hair behind my ear. Her smile is wicked.

“This creep is spying on us, again,” she says over her shoulder to the two, now-giggling friends. “She can’t seem to find her own table, away from the people that matter. Isn’t that right?” Her breath smells like dairy that has sat in the sun far too long. I try holding back my look of disgust.

I’m not going to speak. I’m afraid if I do, I will have an outburst, and say something I will regret. So I remain quiet, letting them all laugh at me all the while my blood is boiling inside my veins.

She nudges my arm, leaning closer to whisper. “Got a letter, Irissa?” I cringe at how loosely she says my name, surprised she even knows my name. I don’t even know hers.

“Orientation is tomorrow?” the blonde girl whines, pulling the brunette's gaze from me. She waves the piece of paper in front of her friend’s face.

“I can see it you dimwit!” the friend says, snatching away the paper. Her hair is a darker brown than mine, and her broad shoulders expose her athletic abilities. “We’re just lucky we won’t ever have to do labor work, right?” The letter crumples up in her hand. She tosses it a great distance across the cafeteria, watching the ball of paper land inside a garbage can, a smile creeps across her tanned face.

“Well…we’ll labor Seraphim,” says the blonde. “That's all I seem to think about! I’m scared out of my mind. But my mom keeps telling me that I will profit from being chosen. Still seems strange to me.” Her eyes linger to the ebony skinned girl sitting next to her, coaxing her to speak up in her behalf.

“Nothing we can do about it,” says the third girl, who was seemingly quiet until now. “Just stop fussing so much, suck it up, and…” She loses her train of thought, biting down on her thumbnail. “We have the letters. We'll know if we’re chosen or not soon enough.”

“Is this seat taken?” a deep male voice says from behind.

The girl next to me sits back, gazing up at the new arrival. She sighs, slouching forward. “Not anymore.”

“Mind if I sit?” he says, waiting with a tray of food in his hands. I look up, staring into his familiar chocolate colored eyes that speckle with hints of gold. He pulls back from my gaze, and scales the seat where the girl still idly sits.

She slithers from the seat like a snake, knocking her elbow into my arm. I watch her pout as she walks away, her friends in tow, an army of mean girls. Kyler’s arm nudges mine as he sits down next to me. I should have known it was him. My body seems to rise in temperature with his closeness. Feeling uncomfortable, I scoot my chair slightly over. The metal knobs on the legs of the chair scrape across the cafeteria floor, creating more attention.