DELUSIONS (Sample) [PUBLISHED]

CHAPTER ONE

Abigale Fern knew what was coming before it happened. As the basketball soared through the air towards her, her mind blanked. She reached a hand up to cover her face at the last second, but it wasn't enough to stop it from hitting her square in the forehead. She landed on her back, her tailbone yelping in protest as it made contact with the gym floor.

"Abby!" she heard a girl shout from the other side of the gym. Through blurred vision, she could make out the lithe body of her best friend racing toward her. Tiffany Tuckerman kneeled beside her, taking stock of Abigale's possible injuries. "Are you okay?"

Nodding, Abigale raised her head. "Yeah, I'm fine." Then she noticed the rest of her gym class watching her lay on the floor, and her cheeks warmed.

Tiffany followed her gaze, frowning at the students. "What do you think you're looking at?"

At Tiffany's words, most of the students turned away with embarrassed looks on their faces. Others merely snickered at Abigale before grabbing their fallen basketballs.

"Need a hand?" she then asked Abigale, extending her own.

She took it, her vision clearing. Dusting off her pants, she smiled gratefully at Tiffany, whom of which was still threatening the teens that dared to look at the two girls.

"Just leave them alone," Abigale muttered, scowling. "They aren't worth it."

With reluctance, Tiffany turned away from the crowd, running a hand through her long, blonde hair. She took in Abigale's frazzled appearance—messy curls tucked into a pony-tail and shirt rumpled from the fall—and smiled. "I don't think you should be joining the basketball team anytime soon. Just saying."

On reflex, Abigale landed a playful punch to her friend's arm. "Jerk. You know I don't like sports to begin with."

"Ouch," Tiffany laughed. "Is it because of that time you knocked Herald Palmer out with a softball in sophomore year?"

Abigale rolled her eyes. "When will you let me forget about that? It was an accident!"

"It was too funny to forget about, Abby," said Tiffany, a grin as wide as a dinner plate donning her face. "I think it was the worst throw I'd ever seen somebody make in the history of baseball!"

Biting back the smile threatening to pass over her face, Abigale turned away. "It wasn't that bad, Tiff."

"Sure it was!" Tiffany piped up as the bell sounded above them. When she noticed Abigale's expression, her own softened. "You know I'm just bugging you, right?"

Her mouth went dry when she caught sight of a group of girls entering the gym for the next class. They were the popular girls, and the queen bee, Lauren Norris, had a personal vendetta against Abigale. Ever since she had accidently spilled grape juice on Lauren in first grade, it was as if Lauren had made it her personal mission to ruin her.

Because of this, Abigale wasn't the outgoing type. She'd rather sit in her room with her nose buried in a book than socialize with anyone outside her inner circle of friends, which was small to begin with. Over the years, Abigale had Tiffany and a few other friends, but they'd moved away before the beginning of the school year. So now, Tiffany was all she had. Besides Lauren, the rest of the school paid little attention to her, and she liked it that way. It was nice not to have to deal with the drama of having more than one close friend.

"Abby?"

Abigale averted her gaze as Lauren passed them, heading in the direction of the locker room. "Sorry, what were you saying?"