Everything was changing way faster than Ceanna could have fathomed.
She had gone from inconspicuous and uninteresting to the center of attention and the name on every high school senior’s lips in a matter of hours. All because Prince Keion had put his arms around her and called her his girlfriend.
Nobody even knew the back story to that! They were all just running with it... how can they even believe that he would pick an obscure girl like me? Because of fireworks?!
Blowing a stray curl out of her face, she crossed her arms and looked at herself in the mirror.
Honestly, she had tried her darnedest to remain nondescript, and nothing that she saw in the reflection called particular attention to her. Her hair was dark and curly but easy to manage and the bun she’d barely twisted up didn’t yell, ‘Hey, I’m cute!’ The baggy jersey was a vintage acquisition from Daddy Daley and hung on her the same way a car cover draped over a bicycle, pre
Msia Hamadi smiled at his head of security when he walked in. “Good morning, Chief.” “Good morning, your highness.” His smile faded slightly. “Ah, so it really is one of those visits.” He gestured to the chair across from his. “Have a seat.” “Thank you.” Msia’s PA came in and offered the chief of police a variety of beverages. When he declined, she left as quietly as she had come in and Msia had given Chief Ruthers all his attention. “I’m all ears.” “Nomusa Chule’s behavior recently changed.” “So I’ve heard. Is there something you think I need to be aware of?” “She’s watching a child.” Msia frowned. “A child?” Placing a piece of paper on the desk in front of the king, the chief of police added, “Someone who interacts with one of your sons.” Reading the transcript, Msia’s lips pursed and he looked out the window for a short moment. “It’s alright Paul. I know exactly who this is about.”
It didn’t take long for Keion’s Politics of History assignment to consume him. In fact, the same day he decided his research topic, he headed to the library during lunch time. He pored over the limited passages written in the books he could find and scribbled notes, intending to go by Mrs. Greens’ classroom again after school. One particular book, written by none other than Dr. Calum Daley, held more insight on the Chule Kingdom than he had hoped to find in the school library. Happily, he tucked it under his arm and kept browsing for possible additions to his book list for the week. As he was doing that, he stumbled over someone who was sitting on the floor, their back against the book case. As an apology already forming on his lips, he looked down to see who he’d almost stepped on. He couldn’t believe his eyes when Ceanna looked up, already protesting against the interruption. The moment she saw who it was, she shut her eyes in what can only be described as
His experience walking through the halls with Ceanna still played in his mind as he got into his car and drove to the police headquarters to see his godfather, Paul Ruthers. It had been greatly uncomfortable even for him and he was sure he’d heard her moan of sheer distress at least once. Ceanna wasn’t the first person he’d dated from Alcombey, but she was the first person he had officially made his girlfriend. While his wolf was a little confused about that move, he reasoned that it was to keep the flock at bay. The likelihood of his mate being Ceanna Daley was so slim; he figured he could get to know this quirky wallflower without doing anything dishonorable toward her or his future mate. And the fact that she constantly wanted to run in the opposite direction meant her wolf hadn’t felt the same infinitesimal spark which had triggered the dream and therefore, she probably wasn’t the one. In his quest to whittle down the list of possibilities, Ceanna on his arm would
Ceanna couldn’t have known that this was what she’d been missing in advanced classes all this time. Sitting in the classroom's corner, where she had an excellent view of everyone else, she listened to their views about supreme legacy: what should be an heir’s right and what they should earn as with every other wolf. She tapped her converse sneaker on the floor and twirled a loose curl around her finger while a debate formed. Zach, who she knew was the Model United Nations chairperson for their school, was leading the argument for fair treatment and insisting that all heirs to any rank should prove themselves worthy. Nancy, a nominee for class representative, claimed that the entire notion then negated the import and point of divine nomination and legacy being passed on as a birthright. She was more inclined to agree with Nancy, but Ceanna felt like both sides of the argument lacked objectivity, which was ironic because they were both good friends with someone who exi
“Besides the fact that she was brilliant in this discourse, my girl- I mean Ceanna Daley,” he grinned cheekily, “has a more rounded worldview than most of us here, simply because she wasn’t born here. So while she’s one of us, she adds an air of diversity which may make our student body committee more inclusive. I even believe she would work well with our international students.” More students in the class started nodding as he listed her attributes and before he knew it, they entered her name into the system. Leaning back in his seat, Keion smiled, a little surprised at the quick uptake of the idea that had come to him on a whim. Looking over at Ceanna, Keion started slightly seeing how unhappy she seemed with the nomination. The frown faded as understanding lit on his face a moment later. He leaned over and whispered. “I’m sorry about the girlfriend part. It was just a joke.” She whispered back emphatically, “You are not sorry.” Pause. “You realize you just rigged the whole electi
Despite her objective understanding of who Keion was and how unlikely a real relationship with him would ever be, Ceanna did her best to keep her head down and avoid him whenever she could. Holding onto as many of her ordinary classes as she could reasonably fight for, she kept herself busy and tried to be the last one to leave a classroom so that he couldn’t wait for her all the time. A part of her was very aware that attachments were easily formed with prolonged periods in each other’s company.Every now and then their schedules overlapped and Keion seemed to enjoy making a point to go out of his way to shower her with attention in those instances. As Nancy kept him abreast on the campaign she had devised for the Student Leader elections, he started asking her how she felt about it and what her thoughts were.At first, she reluctantly offered her opinions but as she saw it taking shape and showing up on school bulletins Ceanna started to push back and giv
Keion was running drills with his team. His coach had revved everyone up for being slow after winter break and this was the second week he’d been put to task, driving ball skills and sprints from the front. Physically, Keion could handle it but he knew he was stretching the weaker guys’ limits. Mentally, he was a little annoyed because whenever someone made a mistake, coach would jeer about how their captain had spent his time kissing girls instead of staying on course and everyone else thought they could do the same.After an hour of that, Keion and everyone else had had enough. Coach Ferreira told them to take ten and he went outside to smoke behind the gym. The cheerleaders were practicing on the other side of the sports complex and Keion was aware that some of them were seniors who had been at the party.Pushing that to the back of his mind, he apologized for the way coach was using his incident as a point of reference.“Even if you hadn&rs
Ceanna... Books slipping from Ceanna’s hands, she gasped and froze in the middle of the busy staircase. Are you alright? Shaking her head slightly, she scurried down the stairs, collecting her stuff and thanking those who stopped to help her. How can I hear you right now? Where are you? I think I am closer than I have been in years... I felt your tears. What’s going on? I-I’m okay. I was just having a bad day. That must have been one hell of a bad day, little sister, came the wry reply. Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it’s really you, her voice wobbled. Keep it together, Cece, you don’t want to have that meltdown in public, do you, he chuckled. Haha, right. I have to go to class... Okay. Hang in there. If you are in any danger, I will come. As far as I know, I'm fine. Come anyway... I miss you s