Eternal Spring A Young Adult Short Story Collection (39 page)

In some ways it feels good to be back. Even school seems
like a relief after all I’d been through. But the unexplainable events continue
to haunt me. I can’t talk to anybody about them. No one would believe my story.
And I’m in no mood to be sent in for psychiatric evaluation.

What would some shrink say about the mysterious bull harp
sounds I hear on certain days? Like the vibrations that are cascading through
the air right now. Deep and rich, building in intensity.

I wish Jerrod were here. And not just to talk to.

I march down Twenty-first Street determined to come to grips
with this bizarre thing that’s hijacked my life. Reading my Dad’s letter every
night gives me the courage to keep searching and to try and believe it all.

Only I can’t help asking:
Why me?

I pass a little white terrier that licks my fingers as its
owner scoops its poop from the curb and drops it in a nearby Dumpster. I try to
focus on the sweet dog instead of the familiar looking trio rounding the corner
at the end of the street. But some things take time to change.

My neck and shoulders tighten as Cheryl and her posse
swagger toward me. The pleased look in Cheryl’s eyes tells me El Bitcho clearly
has me in her sights.

Chin jutting forward with that cocksure bossy attitude of
hers seeping from every pore, she stands there blocking my way. Her buds
converge from the sides to cut off any route for my escape.

She moves in so close her nose is practically touching mine,
and I can feel her breath on my face. “Where do you think you’re going, loser?”

“Anywhere I please.” The words just pop out of my mouth.

Cheryl’s face contorts in shock. “What did you say?”

“Move your fat butt. Or I will.” At first I have to struggle
to hide my own shock that I’ve said this.

But then everything shifts. Humming vibrations surround me,
and the world moves in slow motion.

I watch her shoulder drop down just a hair as Cheryl prepares
to launch a punch to my face. But it never makes it off the pad. I slap it away
so hard it spins her halfway around. That’s when the bull lyre’s chords start
to pick up. Its energy flows through every part of my body. I point my hand at
Cheryl’s chest and raise my arm. She lifts at least ten feet up into the air as
if responding to an invisible tractor beam emanating from my fingertips.

“Oh. My. God.” says one of her not-so-tough-after-all peeps.

I smile. “Now, where to deliver her?” I remember the sweet
little terrier I’d seen moments ago. With a single, arching motion of my arm, I
send a freaked out Cheryl sailing over the dumpster’s edge and crashing down
into a pile of garbage garnished with savory dog poop.

Statement made.

Cheryl’s two buddies, or most likely ex—buddies,
hightail it in the opposite direction. They really looked very shook-up. Don’t
think I’ll be hearing from them again.

I ignored a couple witnesses standing across the street with
their mouths hanging. As if they’ve never seen tele-transportation before.

Well, get used to it. Cause the new kid on the block has some new
tricks
.

I continue my walk home, an odd lightness in my stride. The
guttural, crackling sounds of a motorcycle approach from behind.

It pulls up alongside me. “Want a ride?”

“Jerrod!”

He gives me a breathtaking grin and tosses me a helmet. I
hand him my schoolbooks, strap on the helmet and climb on.

Jerrod glances over his shoulder at me and says, “Hold
tight.”

I blush and wrap my arms around his solid torso.

Then we’re off and running.

Together.

Maybe I don’t understand who he is yet.

Or who I am either.

But I’ll figure it all out.

Sometime.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

This short story is a prequel to
Inanna’s Mark
, Book 1 of the Sometime
series that will be coming out this summer. I’ll be creating a special Sometime
website, but meanwhile, if you would like to be notified when the first book is
released, you can leave your name on my mailing list at
http://www.aliciastreet-roystreet.com.

***

Alicia Street writes in several genres, both solo and in
collaboration with her husband Roy Street. In 2009 they won a Daphne du Maurier
Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. Alicia spent many years as a professional
dancer and choreographer, but now she channels those creative impulses into the
DANCE ‘N’LUV romantic comedy series. She is a compulsive, omnivorous reader and
enjoys chatting about books with cyber-friends. Follow her on Twitter:
@AliciaStreet1.

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About the Stories in Eternal Spring

Camp Cauldron
by Juli Alexander
Forced
to spend Spring Break as a counselor at a camp for troublesome young witches
instead of drooling over hotties at the beach, Emma relinquishes her hopes for
romance. Could the perfect guy be waiting in the midst of poison ivy, s'mores,
elephant
trunks and kangaroo feet.

Barre Hopping at Midnight
by Amanda
Brice
How can aspiring ballerina Dani Spevak concentrate on
performing at a spring arts festival when her not-quite-boyfriend is in town
filming the lead in a hot new vampire movie and he was seen kissing his costar.

The Vanishing Spring
by Carey Corp
More than a century earlier, Eleanor Quimby tumbled into the water to escape an
arranged marriage and disappeared. But was that the tragic end or a brave new
beginning?

T
he Princess of Egypt Must Die
by Stephanie
Dray
A lonely Princess is tempted by a forbidden love and forced to
make a heartbreaking choice that will upend a kingdom and change her forever.

Spring Perfection
by Leslie Dubois
Star
athlete Scott Kincaid is about to make history and pitch a perfect game. But
when he realizes that true perfection lies in the relationship he has with his
best friend, Reyna, will he risk everything in order to keep a promise to her?

Picture Not Perfect
by Lois Lavrisa
Seventeen-year-old Tim wants to go to senior prom. Why doesn't his girlfriend,
Gabrielle, want to go with him? Is she not who she says she is?

Potionate Love
by P.R. Mason
Math geek,
Tina, has found a way to get the popular jock, Ronny, to fall for her: a love
potion. It'll work unless her best friend Nathan gets in the way.

1:30, Tour Eiffel
by Jennifer McAndrews
A
kiss in the dark will ruin Spring Break and a lifelong friendship unless Rachel
Healey can prove she is a pawn in someone else's game.

Off Balance
by Renee Pace
Jennifer's
secret is big, but she loves Charlie enough to know ending their teenage
relationship will set him free and enable him to join the Army. When Charlie
discovers the truth, it's up to him to convince Jen their young love was meant
to be.

On A Field, Sable
by Diana Peterfreund
After the shocking events of Ascendant, what awaits the unicorn hunter
Melissende Holtz on the mountaintop where she watched her comrades fall?

The Language of Flowers
by Rhonda
Stapleton
Chrissy, a clerk at her aunt's flower shop, starts getting
her own romantic surprises—flowers with a special secret meeting. Can she
bury her longstanding unrequited crush on her best friend's brother to take a
chance on mysterious love?

Dating After Dark (With Clowns)
by Tawny
Stokes
All teenage exorcist Caden Butcher wants is a demon-free
night to take his new girl to the spring fair. Is that too much to ask for?

Sometime
by Alicia Street
Sixteen-year-old mythology buff Terry Conn finally gets the after-school museum
job she wanted so badly, but who knew those ancient dragon figures would dredge
up images of a past she only half-remembered? Or that drool-worthy Jerrod
Pierce would be part of it?

About the Authors

Collectively, the thirteen authors in Eternal Spring
have published over 90 books, and have received or have been nominated for several
prestigious awards, including the RITA
,®
the Golden
Heart,® the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence in Mystery and Suspense, the
Jasmine, the Maggie, the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, the Cybil Award for
Best Young Adult Fiction, the EPIC e-book Award, the Romantic Times Reviewers
Choice Award, and the New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age list.

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