Rise of a Rebel (NightFly Book 2) by Christine Schulz

Author:Christine Schulz [Schulz, Christine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Christine Schulz
Published: 2022-04-24T16:00:00+00:00

13

Fear paralyzed my joints. My heart beat wildly in my chest and my knees nearly buckled under my weight. I waited for someone to throw a slab of meat in my face, or even a round of disapproving boos. While the cafeteria spectators raised their voices in conversation, no one openly rejected my mother. In fact, they seemed more in shock, perhaps a bit confused, rather than aggravated by her decision.

“Breathe, Zulli,” my mom encouraged with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes. “Say something to them.”

I drew a deep breath and exhaled my frustration.

“Are you nuts, Mom?” I threw up my hands and vented, although I kept my voice low enough so the rest of the cafeteria wouldn’t hear. “You couldn’t have warned me about this? I-I work for the military. I can’t just leave my job behind! These people don’t even know me, and they sure as hell don’t trust me.” I glimpsed at the man who I had jabbed with my elbow, the woman who was wearing her lunch, and the nerdy guy who I had chucked a tray at. “I’m not a leader, Mom. If you’ve really been watching me all these years, you’d know that.”

“Oh, kiddo.” Although we were still standing on the table, my mom turned her back to the crowd to give us some privacy. “Colonel Buckner and I have already discussed this. He thinks you’d be a great fit to help us, and he agreed that you and your teammates can stay here as long as you need to without any repercussions.”

“He … he said that? About me?”

My mom nodded with a smile. “He did. The military has many rules and regulations. Here … not so much. You’ll fit right in.”

Well, she had a point there.

“Zulli, I understand your concerns. This has to be your choice. But I want you to know that, despite what you think of yourself, you are a leader. Rebelling against your father is dangerous. You know that and so do your friends. Yet here they are with you right now, following and supporting you. The people here don’t know you like your friends do, but in time they will learn to trust and follow you. Now, go on … give them a speech!” My mom turned around and raised her hand to quiet the crowd.

“Uh …” A sea of faces full of different expressions ranging from disinterest to curiosity to excitement stared back at me. “Thank you for welcoming me here. My mother says a lot of good things about everyone.”

It was obviously a lie and everyone knew it. I had known for less than a day that my mother was still alive and I hadn’t even known what my father was up to until about a week ago. I watched as one woman turned around and continued eating her sandwich. A few others eyed the door, probably wondering if anyone would notice if they left.

I inhaled another deep breath, ready to speak whatever came out of my mouth.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.