Page 1 of Surge of Fire

ONE

Samantha

Night has fallenover the woods that surround us, and the sound of the wheels hitting the pavement is calming. The bus takes yet another curve on the winding mountain road, shifting my spot on my seat for the thousandth time. A few students are still talking, but most of the conversations have lulled as people drifted off to sleep.

The sleeping students are the smart ones. They're sleeping in preparation for reaching the Phoenix Institute, the prestigious college program we’ve all been accepted to for the summer. They want to be at their sharpest, which I don't blame them for. If I could sleep, I would, but my nerves won't allow it.

Next to me, Dahlia groans and puts her phone down, her expression frustrated. “Still no connection. I’m going to lose my freaking mind!” Dahlia is many things, including dramatic, a phone-obsessed Gen-Zer, a genius, and one of my closest friends.

I grin at her antics. “Afraid to be alone with your thoughts?” I love her, but it’s hard to imagine what she’d look like without the glow of her phone illuminating her skin.

She gives me a half-hearted glare. “You know my thoughts are dumb bitches.Youwouldn’t want to be left alone with them either.” Dahlia combs her long, dark hair back from her face and wraps the back until it’s in a low bun.

It’s magic. I swear. Between her hair and makeup, she must have sold her soul to the devil to be so skilled. “Seriously, how the hell do you do that?”

Her laughter is like bells ringing. It’s one of the many deceiving things about her. This beautiful woman with a laugh like bells is tough as hell and will probably make the best game warden that anyone has ever seen. “Some of us weren’t raised in the woods with wolves and stinky boys.”

I scoff playfully. “I’ll have you know there was onlyonewolf.”

Dahlia has teased me since the first time she met me about my obvious lack of feminine charm. At first, I really think she was worried I was one of thosepick megirls who are just “not like all the other girls,” but then she realized that although I didn’t understand anything traditionally feminine, it wasn’t for lack of trying or lack of interest. I’d grown up in a small town racing around the woods with my two best friends, Granger and Aydan. By the time I realized that every other girl seemed to know how to flirt, do her hair, and dress cutely, it was too late for me.

Although, I’ve tried to discover those feminine sides to myself so hard it hurts my soul.

“Want me to help?” she offers, casting my hair a knowing look.

I nod, and shift on the seat while she grasps my unruly, curly red hair. I wouldn’t trust just anyone to do this. With curly hair, you’re more likely to end up with your hair in a knot than a bun,but Dahlia has magic fingers. In seconds, she releases my hair, and it stays.

“You’re a witch,” I tell her with a sigh. “In the best possible way.”

She laughs. “Thanks. Just know you’ll make it up to me when it'stesttime!”

Dahlia is a hell of a lot smarter than I am, but because I’m dyslexic, I’m a hell of a lot better at studying. I’ve spent my entire life, from elementary school through college, learning ways to appear as smart as everyone else, which basically required really good study skills. I haven’t completely figured it out, but the fact that I got into this program means I must be doing a damn good job of fooling them.

She’s back on her phone, tapping away and glaring. If glaring could get her what she wanted, Dahlia would have everything she ever wanted. That girl has the kind of glare that could burn through walls if you get her pissed enough.

I pick up my phone, unlock it, and check. No messages from Granger and Aydan yet, which means they’re still both stuck on this damn mountain without reception. Like me. Only my bus is ahead of theirs.

Biting my lip, I glance around the bus, then open my pictures and find the one of Aydan. It’s a few years old, before we left for college, but it's one of my favorites. He's laying beside a pool, hands behind his head, grinning at me.

My cheeks heat as I stare at the picture. He might only see me as a friend, but I’ve seen him as so much more since we were young. My only hope of getting my crush under control is if he’s gotten a hell of a lot uglier in the past few years.

Which is doubtful when he looked this good.

“This obsession is getting sad.”

I jump, and glare at Dahlia as she looks over my shoulder at the picture. “It’s not an obsession.”

She laughs and touches the screen. “You know, I wasn’t saying that in a judgy way. If you hadn’t peed all over him, I could get a little obsessed about him, too.”

My jaw drops. “I didn’tpeeall over him.” I’m not an animal claiming him as my own, and she knows it. I’m more like a good friend who will beat down any girl who so much as looks at him.A friend who would be more, if he let me.

She lifts a brow. “Are you saying he’s up for grabs?”

I mimic her words in a weird voice. “Are you saying he’s up for grabs?”

Then, we’re both laughing

She touches the screen again, zooming in on his abs. “He’s in Fire Sciences, huh?” She sighs dramatically. “Firefighters. Fuck me, I’ve got a weakness for them.”

---