Dragonrider Academy: Episode 1

one today,” I vowed, and ripped off my shirt and my ruined shorts.
I’d worn a bathing suit underneath my outfit and it clung to my curves, luckily not touched by the grime, and instead glimmering with moisture that added a pleasant shine.
What to do about my hair, though, I wondered. I turned my shirt inside out and scrubbed my head as best I could, then tugged up the loose strands into a messy ponytail as I pulled over a hair-tie I kept permanently wrapped around my wrist.
Yanking up my side mirror from my bike, I appraised my appearance, tucking away a few more loose strands of hair.
Satisfied, I wrangled my bike and began walking, my rage too raw to be able to trust myself on any sort of vehicle right now.
The rest of the fifteen-minute walk gave me enough time to cool down and I stowed my bike in the trees before I stepped out onto the beach.
I spotted Julie in the distance pawing at Max, although he didn’t seem very interested. He nursed a beer as he leaned against a table. The roaring flames reflected pleasant gold and copper tones across the sharp angles of his face and I found myself mesmerized as I took my time with my approach.
He must have felt me studying him, because he glanced my way, then did a double-take.
I noticed that everyone else was fully clothed. I’d entirely forgotten that it would get chilly today, even though we were in summer the coast could sometimes get cold bursts. Although being the freak that I was, I never got cold, no matter what. It was a problem, really, and my mom constantly had to remind me to wear a jacket so I didn’t get sick—even though I couldn’t remember a time I was sick, either.
Yeah, a whole bunch of things were wrong with me, which made it clear why I didn’t get along very well with other people. I was too much of a freak and normally, I was invisible to them and I roamed through crowds without anyone noticing me.
Tonight, I definitely didn’t have that problem. I locked my knees to keep from allowing them to buckle when so many eyes landed on me at once. There I was, practically naked in front of half of my school bundled up in sweaters and scarves.
“Now it’s a party!” one of Max’s dude buddies shouted, whooping as he ripped off his shirt. “I need to catch up to where she is! Bring on the beers and let’s get this party started!”
The crowd cheered and Julie glared so hard I thought she might just melt a hole in my chest.
Max grabbed one of the red party cups and filled it from a keg. He marched over to me and handed me the drink. “Well, you sure know how to make an entrance.”
My mouth bobbed open on a silent sound, something in-between “thanks” and “oh my God I’m going to die of humiliation.”
Luckily, Max couldn’t decipher my meaning and chuckled as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. He surveyed the crowd who had started chugging beers and taking off articles of clothing. “I knew you’d liven up the party. I was bummed a cold front was coming through tonight.”
“Yeah,” I managed to chuckle against my dry throat. “Weather can be unpredictable out on the lake.” I glanced out at the dark waters on reflex, my heart skipping a beat as I thought of my father.
“You going to drink that?” Max asked, cutting into my thoughts. He bumped my drink with his. “It’ll loosen you up.”
I gave him a raised brow. “How can you tell I’m not, uh, loose?”
He chuckled and lowered so that his lips brushed my ear, making goosebumps shoot across my skin. “You might have everyone here fooled, but I know you’re about to bolt. Take the edge off, Viv, and relax. This is a party, after all.”
I gave him a nervous chuckle as I considered the drink again. It probably wouldn’t affect me, given how weirdly I reacted—or rather, didn’t react—to things. So I took a long gulp to satisfy him before I gave the dark silhouette of Silver Lake Resort a glance. If I got everybody drunk, then maybe I could slip away undetected, since clearly I was not invisible tonight.
“That’s my girl,” he said then whooped to his friends before knocking back his drink. “Turn up the music!”
The party ramped up from there, music pumping and everybody having fun. Of course Julie and her friends continued to stalk me and glare holes in the back of my head. Max didn’t take his arm off me the entire time, keeping me pinned to his side, and it felt kind of nice to be wrapped in a jock sweater for the night.
“What’s this, a tattoo?” he asked, running his fingers over the white swirl on my left shoulder.
I could almost feel Julie seething as he touched me, but I kind of liked it. “It’s nothing,” I said on a nervous laugh as I buried my face in my drink again.
“Is it a tattoo?” he asked, running his fingers over the elaborate swirls. “Although I don’t think I’ve ever seen a white tattoo before, not with ink, but it’s too intricate to be a birthmark.”
“There are so white tattoos,” I said, the lie my mother had taught me rolling right off my tongue. It was actually a birthmark, but who would believe that? “They just require more aftercare.”
He hummed thoughtfully, his fingers tracing the mark again. “Well, it’s beautiful.” He smiled, leaning in to press a light kiss against my hairline. “Just like you.”
I held my breath and was almost grateful when Max’s friends interrupted us and started swapping stories. And by swapping stories, I mean I sipped my latest drink while the guys talked about how awesome they all were and who was the fastest track runner.
Julie must have seen the kiss, though, because she stalked up to us a few minutes later.
“So