Fire of Life (Fiery Soul Series Book 1)

Chapter 1

Oakland Institute stands as the academic heart of Oakland Township. When parents wanted their children away from alcohol, drugs, and sin in college during the 80s, real-estate developer Synchro Enterprises and retail/hotel giant Minerva Ltd discovered a business opportunity and built a private college to capitalize on it. Their collective business model for the institute focuses on proper moral behavior and academic excellence, while a planned community supports that heart with businesses and residents.

Three prominent campus buildings and a parking lot surround a courtyard of lush grass and oak trees. The following area serves as the social nervous system with students piling in with their luggage. While they abide by a business casual or modest casual dress code, the conversations are warm and light, which balances out the potential stuffiness.

An outlier swims through the crowd toward the bench. Unlike the social butterflies that flutter around, Briana Connell, a week shy of her nineteenth birthday, awkwardly wades through as her long red mane blows in the wind. She straightens her blouse after she sits and itches the black leggings under the plaid skirt. Her ocean-blue eyes peer out to the crowd before focusing on a book. Although the group floats along and ignores her, she couldn't help feeling something is off. She shakes her head and returns to her writing.

In the shadows of a small corner, a Romanian man stands with his smartphone to his ear. Andrei studies Briana as he licks his lips before the phone buzzes in his hand, and he groans.

"Seriously, Lily?"

"I need you to focus on people, and not look at them like lamb chops," a feminine voice teases him on the other end. "Do you see her or not?"

Andrei grunts as he looks at the phone with displeasure and glances at Briana again.

"Yes, I've got eyes on her."

The voice echoes an Eastern European origin but stays muffled to limit the audience to one. Awaiting the next command, Andrei fidgets with his clothes. While the summers are mild, the button-down shirt feels like more of a nuisance.

"Whose idea was it for these clothes?"

Andrei tears the shirt off, which reveals a wet and tight t-shirt. There are a few scoffs at the defiance, but more admire the physique straight out of a Renaissance sculptor's shop. The art piece shows a six-foot Adonis, whose long black hair contrast the pale skin and a white t-shirt. Young ladies and their parents clutch their pearls at the sight before he turns his attention to the phone.

"What is going on?" Lily asks with concern.

"Oh, people bitching because I took my shirt off," he moans into the phone.

"I sent you there to observe, which means not drawing attention to yourself!" Lily scolds with an underlying playful tone.

"The shirt was itchy!"

Andrei leans against the wall as a female student glances at him with interest, but a parent rushes her along. He chuckles as he gazes at Briana.

"So, do you see him?" Lily asks with nervousness, which causes Andrei to look around the courtyard.

"No," Andrei groans as he walks to the parking lot. As fresh faces appear in the parking area, Andrei scouts from the outskirts to avoid people. So far, none match the picture on his phone, which only gives a face with unkempt hair.

Just outside the parking lot, Eric Roberts sits in the back of his father's BMW 4 Series Coupe but feels sore as the front seat collides with his knees. To add to the torment, John, and Mary, his parents, continue to smoke, which tests Eric's gag reflex. When Oakland Institute appears outside the window, a choir of angels sings Hallelujah, but his father abruptly swerves into a parking spot so that Eric slams against the door.