No Second Chances

Prolouge

Prologue

My muscles were burning.

"Bet you can't last 20 more seconds," Joshua said through gritted teeth.

Stiffening my grasp on his hand, I chocked out a response; "Bet I can!" I gathered up every last ounce of strength in my upper body as my arms shook from pressure. One... Two... Three... I counted until I reached twenty, then with my adrenaline running high, and whispers around the lunchroom, with one last push, down his arm, went!

"Yes! In your face! Who's the princess now?!" I bellowed as Joshua shook his hand in pain, his face red and lungs catching their breath. "Next time you douche faucets challenge me, you'll be sorry!" Thrusting my fist up in the air, I celebrated.

It was now that the adrenaline wore off and the rush of winning an arm wrestle against a quarterback melted away. All of a sudden, my legs felt like giving out, and my arms dropped and hung by my sides. stumbling, I ran into Kenzie Moore; Joshua's sister, my best friend.

"Whoops." I squeaked as her hands landed in my armpits when she caught me. "Better not do that again."

I presented the eyes still watching me with a fake curtsey (no skirt), and another stumble. It's not every day you see a brunette with dark cyan eyes beat a blonde quarterback with biceps bigger than god himself in a measly arm wrestle. I sprung for the cafeteria exit as my strength reassembled itself back into my upper-arm muscles.

Now, I needed to find where I set my phone. I thought about my steps... Aaannnddd my mind drew a blank. Come on, Eve, think about where you've been today. All of a sudden, as if my metaphorical pecker followed its way to a brown pasture, I realized my phone was in the cafeteria with Kenzie and whiny-baby Joshua. And I made such a grand exit! It wasn't exactly 'grand', but it was still pretty funny. All my stumbling must've set off a couple laughs from the back tables.

Swallowing my pride, I turned around to face the doors that entered into the cafeteria. Once I opened these doors, I would be admitting my bad memory and un-coolness. I nudged the door: it moved. I nudged it farther: it moved more. I pushed it all the way open: all the eyes in the cafeteria moved back to me.

"Forgot my phone!" I bellowed into the cafeteria with finger-guns in the air, as if I were a general declaring war back in the 1800s. Wait, was it the 1600's? Was it a sergeant instead of a general? I need to stop watching war movies and start paying attention in history, I thought as I fought back a blush of embarrassment. "As you were!" Murmurs floated around me as I walked to Kenzie as she gave me an apologetic look.

"Sorry..." She whispered as she tossed my phone to me. "Forgot I had it."

I clutched it as the bell rang, sending everybody back to class, while I stood in the middle of the lunchroom, trying to maintain my spinning head. Damn, 2 more class periods to go. Better gain my strength, I need to go to the woodshop.

"I'm home!" I screeched as I pranced into the front door.

I chucked my backpack into the middle of the couch as usual, and kicked off my sneakers, sending them flying into the ceiling, then bouncing into the same couch as my backpack. I made my way through our doorway into the kitchen and grabbed the closest chip-bag I could possibly find. Ripping it open wolverine-style, I stuffed my face with the crunch and artificial-cheese flavor.

I jumped when I heard the door open with a clunk. "Um, Michel, is that you?" I said as I turned the corner.

"Yeah, Eve. It's just me." He walked into the house with Spark; our black Great Dane. "Brought you home a donut." Michel hugged me as he said this.

We walked into the kitchen together, and he stuffed his mouth with a handful of the same cheese chips I had been eating. I practically launched for the donut box that Spark was eyeing. I handed Spark an un-iced French crueler as he bobbed head, trying to get into the box on the counter. He grabbed it from my hand and booked it downstairs where his doggy bed was, and his unbelievable mess of ripped socks.

"Where's Jessimine?" I asked. "She's supposed to be home from work by now."

"Ah, she's coming in a bit late, sweetie." He said, through a mouthful of donut. I'm as lady-like as my own godfather. "Tell you what; let's go for a ride, then we'll come home and talk to Jess. How's that sound?"

"Perfect. Lemme find my cowboy boots- we can go to the roadhouse. Look the part." I Joked. "Spark! Let's go!"

When we walked in the door, Michel dropped his white foam box full of our leftovers, and I stopped mid-bite into a roll I took from the restaurant. There Jessimine was, crying, with two men before her on the couch. She stood up, taking a deep breath, and let it out.

"Michel, These men are here from Nainan." She croaked.

"Horses say what?" I said, scrunching my nose at the name.

"Nainan. It's been too soon. Shouldn't it have happened soon after her graduation? She's only a sophomore, Jessimine." Michel walked over and gave my godmother a hug. A genuine hug, one he only gives when tragedy strikes.

"Yes, I know, but she's dying." Jessimine sobbed into his coat, sniffling afterward.

"I'm not dying! What's going on?!" I shrilled. "Can someone please explain this to me?"

"Eve, we are so sorry." Jessimine had calmed down a bit by now. "These men, they're here to-"

"Eve, you have been requested to attend Regal High, to replace your mother as queen as she passes." One of the men said as he stood up, holding his wallet and a badge as if he was a U.S. Marshal. "We will need to take action immediately."