Iris Giorgianni is no ordinary girl. She's living a double life: a neglected daughter at home, but a fighter on the streets. As the leader of The Sangue - one of the most wanted and well-known gangs in London - Iris has a reputation to uphold. Only...
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"We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies."
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
BY THE time Iris and Levi had finished their activities, the rest of the camp mates had arrived at the lake where they were waiting for their next instructions.
Hunter's eyes, after scanning around the group, found his brothers, and he bounded over like a deranged puppy.
"Did you know I'm a sucker for canoeing?" Hunter whispered in Iris' ear, a grin on his lips.
Iris rolled her eyes. "I really don't care."
"Whoa!" Hunter gasped, putting a hand on his chest and turning to Levi, who had an amused look on his face. "What is up with her today?"
Levi ran a hand through his soft, blonde hair, turning to look out distantly into the lake. He seemed distracted, as if something was bothering him. Iris wondered whether he'd finally tired himself out. Maybe he was beginning to have second thoughts on the training program. She hoped, at least. "Nothing's wrong with her, she's just having a sulk because I made her do one hundred press ups."
Iris shoved him, hard. "I am not. Fuck you."
"Alright!" Jade's voice boomed over the noise of the camp mates. She was accompanied by John, who had a pained look on his face. One of the newer camp mates was eyeing him up scarily, inching closer by the minute. John moved to the other side of Jade and wiped his forehead, plastering an awkward smile on his face.
Jade continued. "As I mentioned earlier, we're going canoeing. You will be partnered up and given a canoe, with which you and your partner should use your team working skills to paddle to Rocky Island. It's a long way out, so you should be prepared to evenly distribute your paddling between you. Alright. So, I'll call out you and your roommate and you can come and collect a canoe."
"Did she just say you and your roommate?" Iris asked Levi, beginning to panic. She had been able to avoid Ember, mostly, albeit for going to bed or seeing her around when Chase was there. Other than that, there had been no problems, but she knew that was due to their absence of time spent with one another. Being stuck on a canoe for an hour in the middle of a lake was quite possibly one of the worst ordeals she was going to have to go through.
Levi chucked, his hazel eyes sparkling at her. "Yep. Have fun, Klutz."
Iris watched sadly as he made his way over to Chase, high-fiving him with a sudden burst of energy that she hadn't seen before. The only friends Iris ever had were boys, and sometimes she felt as if they were only her friends because they had to be. Because most people were scared of her.
A part of her ached to have a real friend. Perhaps her and Ember could work it out – maybe it would be okay.
"Ember and Iris." Jade called out, signalling for them to collect their canoe.
