The Blue Ribbon

Prologue

It was an early August morning for Janeyah when the sun shone bright through her window, brightening up her room.

She groaned and opened her eyes, squinting as she was awakening. Still half asleep, she hopped out of bed and walked over to her closet to pick out something to wear.

But when she opened her closet, she found nothing. Not a single trace of clothing.

"What the..." she trailed off. "Ugh, Dad?!"

Janeyah trotted downstairs, only to find her dad packing everything that belonged to the kitchen into boxes.

"Dad... what's going on?" Janeyah asked, very confused.

"Well, good morning to you too, sweetheart," Dad greeted her with a big smile, but Janeyah noticed that he had to put some effort in trying to smile for real.

"Dad, where are all my things and what are you doing?"

"Oh, I hung a dress for you on the door in the bathroom."

"Why are you packing?" Janeyah asked again.

"Well, we're going on vacation," Dad replied. "Aren't you excited?"

"Where are we going?" she asked, frowning. "Where could you find an actual place to vacation here?"

"I'm not sure, honey. But we're going to start by finding a good peaceful place to visit for a while, then come back here and if we decide to go there again, we'll move there!" He said with excitement as he got up and looked at Janeyah.

"Where to? Is Matt coming too? Why so sudden? "Janeyah was very confused and beginning to worry about her dad.

He's had many problems since he started his new job. Is that what this was about? Did her dad get fired? Or did he and Matt have another fight? Why did he so suddenly decide to vacation? And where would he go? This territory was full of inspectors. All ten territories were packed with inspectors.

Janeyah couldn't figure it out why her dad thought it was such a great idea to just leave the territory.

"Well... no, sweetheart, Matt won't be joining us. I don't think you'll hear from him for a long time" Dad told her, looking down at Janeyah, with tears filling his eyes.

"Did you have another fight? "Janeyah asked. "Where did he go?"

"I really don't want to talk about it. Go get dressed and help me pack," Dad ordered.

"But Dad... " she started.

"I don't want to hear it, Jay! I said go get dressed! Now!!" Her dad yelled.

Janeyah ran out of the kitchen. She went to the bathroom and changed into her dress. She looked into the mirror and began to cry.

Why am I the way I am? She thought. Why can't I just be like all the other kids? With a mom who loves them, sisters and brothers who love and play with each other, not just one brother who always leaves. Matt hates me. I hate me. I hate my life.

Janeyah never knew her mother. After she gave birth to her, she was sent away to a place no one could know about, and she never came back.

Janeyah knew there was a better world out there. A world that didn't involve losing a family member every year. Each year, one person from each territory gets taken away from their homes, and they never come back. Janeyah thought that's how her mother disappeared.

Janeyah sat on the floor crying when she heard light tapping on the bathroom door.

"Yes?" Janeyah answered to whoever was behind the door.

Probably Dad, she thought.

Nobody answered.

"Yes??" she repeated.

Tap, tap, tap.

"Who is it?" Janeyah asked, getting a little terrified now.

Suddenly, the door down burst open with a loud bang. Janeyah screamed as an unfamiliar looking man came up to her and knocked her out by injecting a needle in her wrist. He swung her over his shoulder and carried her out. He brought her upstairs to check and make sure there was no one else in the house.

He checked the kitchen one last time before he headed outside. And in the kitchen by the counter on the floor,

lied the owner of the house.

* * *

Author's Note

There's the beginning of Blue Ribbon.

Did you like it?
What do you think will happen to Janeyah?
What kind of place do you think Janeyah's mother was sent to?
Are you excited for the first chapter?

So for those of you who are still wondering, I am still taking a break from the BW (Broken Wings) series. I still don't know when I'll get back to it, but I'll definitely let you know when I plan to.

March might be a busy month for me so I might not be able to update as often as I have lately.

I was planning to update a chapter of this story every Thursday and continue updating After Forever every Tuesday. But if I do end up being busy next month, I'll probably just have to stick with one story.

But what do you guys think? Should I start writing a new story (The Blue Ribbon) or shall I continue writing After Forever?

Dm me on Instagram to let me know!



Thanks for your support!

Love,
Sara❤