AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I hop out of the couch and turn on the TV. There’s a news story on. Some guy named Patrick with bug eyes and frantic hand gestures is going on about planets and moon alignments.
I snort and listen to him a bit more.
So the planets are aligning. Are we all going to die?
I hope so.
I hope the world goes up in flames.
That would be fitting.
If only.
I aim my remote at the screen and change the channel. I already know what I’m going to watch. A trashy romantic drama—one where obviously twenty-five to thirty-year-old actors play the roles of high school seniors.
I scroll to my ‘frequently watched’ list.
A giant poster of a steely-eyed hunk in a preppy vest looks back at me.
Hawk.
Even with the snobbiest expression on his face, the actor radiates explosive charm. He has the look of an international model—broody, yet perfectly put-together. Dark hair roguishly mussed. Sharp jaw.
His eyebrows are two dark slashes above devastatingly gorgeous blue eyes.
Beside his stunning face, the title flashes in gold. The Heirs of Brighton Academy. A romp into a world where the sweet, naïve New Girl gets the hot and misunderstood Bad Boy.
It’s the age-old love story. They hate each other. They fall in love. Some stupid misunderstanding breaks them up. And in the end, they get back together via grand gesture.
It’s a perfectly cliché Cinderella story set on a secluded island. The characters attend a fancy boarding school where the ‘teens’ of the wealthiest and most influential people in the world live and learn.
While the movie starts, I pad to the freezer to snag a tub of ice cream. I already know what’s happening on the screen anyway. Catherine, the main character, is walking into Brighton Academy. She’s meeting the principal and getting her first taste of the Brighton Academy cold shoulder.
Next she’s going to run into Kaz, the black friend. Kaz does plenty of eye-rolling, says the cheesiest lines and barely gets any screen time or character development.
Yay for representation.
I hurry to dish my ice cream into a bowl. I want to get back before Catherine’s first encounter with Hawk.
As I grab a spoon, I hear a tinkling sound.
I stop.
Glance around.
The forks in the sink start to dance.
“Earthquake!” I shriek.
The cupboard doors fly open as the quake gets more intense. Glass dishes slide out of the shelves and crash to the floor.
I scream as one plate hurls dangerously close to my head. Holding my arms high to protect myself from the missiles, I dive beneath a table and wait for the madness to end.
The earthquake gets worse instead.
I bury my head in my hands and squeeze my eyes shut.
Suddenly, it stops.
