Daughter of Fire | I ✓ [ SAMPLE ]

chapter 3

LOUD ROCK MUSIC was blaring through the car speakers; the discretion of the volume being Luca's. She was shrieking along to the lyrics at the top of her lungs —and on the outside, it appeared as though I too had entered into the spirit of things. My car was stuffed with her, a few of our other friends and me; all dressed up and ready for a night out. I had not realised that driving with a whole lot of screaming in one's ears was that difficult. I sang along politely, hitting all the notes, but my voice was drowned out by the off-pitch hysteria.

So, I gave up after a while and just concentrated on getting to Twilight in Saratoga Springs —where the party was supposed to be held. Francesca had sent directions on the group chat, so I could rule out the possibility of this all being an elaborate prank. Unfortunately, the unironic Homer Simpson voice on my GPS could not be heard over my ironically annoying passengers.

"Guys! I'm trying to drive here," I whined, finally snagging their attention —but only momentarily.

"Are we being too loud?" Luca asked.

"But it fits the occasion, doesn't it?" Samantha Gordon scoffed. Out of all of the cheerleaders I knew, she was the most down to Earth —the most genuinely invested in her craft, and not for the popularity. She tossed her wavy golden hair over her shoulder and grinned stupidly, showing off her dimples, before daring to stick out her tongue at me.

"Do you want us to arrive in one piece or not?" I responded, coming to a stop at a traffic light.

"It all depends," Olive Buhrnam —the self-proclaimed vegan witch and cynic of the group —stuck her freckled nose in the air. "Is it wise to get into a cat fight before, or after you die?"

"Ha ha," I scoffed.

"It's literally around the block now, Sav," Lauren Miller then sighed heavily. Lauren was an honour student and aspiring prima ballerina —she was the one who reined us all in and aimed to instil good moral values and habits —yet she knew full well that if she could not beat them, join them.

Everyone laughed at my written-off worry, while I was obligated to chuckle. It was then not even a minute before they started shrieking again. I gave up trying to reason with them —and by some damn miracle, we arrived at Twilight unscathed. It was a relief to spill out of the car after nearly an hour, and head for the entrance. We could hear the pop music and see the colourful flashing lights from outside, which got my friends squealing in anticipation again. I only added to their impatience by having to give our names and waiting for the bouncer to check them on the list.