Dragonrider Academy: Episode 1

you’re a slut now?” Julie snapped as she crossed her arms, plumping up her breasts to show off her cleavage. She had taken off her sweater and now had jeans and her bra as a top, but the pebbles across her skin betrayed that she had to be freezing.
“Exluse… uh, I mean, excuse me? You’re one to talk,” I said, surprised by the slur in my voice. Well, maybe alcohol did affect me a little bit.
She smirked at my clear inebriation. “Maybe I should tell your daddy that you’re underage drinking,” she said, then covered her mouth. “Oh, that’s right, I can’t. He’s dead.”
Every muscle in my body went stiff as I resisted the urge to punch her in the face. A few more beers in and I just might have let go of my control.
“Julie,” Max said with a warning tone. “That’s enough.”
She tapped her chin. “Didn’t he drown, oh I don’t know, right over there?”
My vision went red and somebody screamed. I didn’t realize it was me until I had dived onto Julie and clawed my fingers into her hair as I slammed her head against the ground.
Luckily we were on a beach and the sand wasn’t too packed in this area, or I might have actually hurt her, but in the moment, I didn’t care if I hurt her or not, I just wanted her to stop.
Strong arms ripped me off of the girl as I snarled, turning wild. It was something I hadn’t had to deal with in a long time. As a child, I would go into my “primal fits” as my mom called them, a sort of steroid-level temper tantrum when I felt out of control. It only happened when I felt justice needed to be served, or that I’d been deeply wronged. At least, that’s how I had tried to explain it to her, but she’d just said I was a horrible child to raise and she didn’t know how she would have done it without my father to keep me in line.
Now, there was nobody to keep me in line, which was one of the many reasons it was best I stayed away from people in general. I bit down on a hand that strayed too close to my mouth, only to hear a male growl as I was dragged away.
“You don’t have to bite,” one of Max’s buddies complained as he shook his hand.
Max chuckled as he steered me away from the fire and toward the water. “I told you not to grab her like that.” He rested a light touch on my shoulder, making me flinch. “Hey, you okay? I’m sorry about her. She’s just mad I won’t take her back after I caught her cheating on me… and she can get nasty when she’s told no.”
I gulped in fresh air, regaining my senses as I looked back to see Julie being restrained by her friends. She shook them off and seethed at me as sand-matted hair hung about her face, but she didn’t move to follow us.
I turned on Max. “Is that why you invited me? You wanted to use me to make her jealous?”
“It’s not like that,” Max insisted.
“Yeah, he could have used any of Julie’s friends if he just wanted to make her jealous,” the tallest of his buddies said with a wry smile. “The cheerleaders are all over you, man.”
His buddies chuckled and it bothered me that they were still walking with us down to the coastline. Silver Lake Resort was one of the few landmarks next to the coveted public beaches that dotted Silver Lake. They were part natural phenomenon and part manmade, with trucks full of fresh sand brought in every year to replenish the coastlines.
My toes dug into the sand as we reached the water, leaving behind glimmering residue in my footprints. The real sand from Silver Lake had natural minerals that glimmered and was part of the tourist attraction around here.
Max’s buddies waded into the water, their larger footprints leaving behind more of the shimmering grains. Max rarely went anywhere without half of the track team to worship his every move. The tall one was Henry, and the twins with wild blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes were Michael and Kevin, although I wasn’t ever able to tell which one was which.
“Then why did you invite me?” I insisted. “Henry’s right. You could have used any of those girls.”
“But none of them would have pissed her off like you can,” he said, his voice low.
I glanced at him, sensing truth in his words, but he was still hiding something. “I see.” I balled up my fists and turned to leave. “Well, thanks but no thanks. I’ll be leaving now.”
He grabbed my wrist, making me freeze. “Viv, look, I’m sorry. I do like you, okay? Let’s just… let’s just go for a swim and cool off, yeah?”
I glanced back at his buddies splashing in the water as they tackled each other, having a good time. I knew the water was probably cold, or at least it would feel cold to them, and a part of me longed to slip into the dark satin lake and never come out. Despite losing my father here, I loved the water. I always had.
“Only if you make me a promise,” I shot back, looking him directly in his striking blue eyes.
“Anything you want,” he said with a smile as he loosened his grip.
“I want to see my dad’s old office.”
He went still as darkness swept over his face. He schooled his features a moment later, making me wonder if I’d imagined it. “Yeah, I could arrange that. Just take a swim with me.”
He let go of me and offered his hand, giving me the choice to take it.
Going against my better judgment, I slipped my fingers into his.
That was the biggest mistake of my life.

Suppressing a shiver, I slipped into the cool embrace of the waters and tried to enjoy the moment. It felt