Forbidden Games (Forbidden Ties Series Book 2) Read Free Page B

you.”
    The students cheered again as Principal Bale left the podium. My eyes searched the crowd for Angie to see if she was sweating bullets. Suddenly, I saw her walking past the principal. Her make up was caked on even more than usual and an orange tan spread across her repulsive body.
    “Hello, everyone!” Angie called out as she spoke into the microphone. I wanted to slap her again, only this time it would be so hard that she couldn’t fake another smile. Somehow she was getting away with it all and felt no remorse. “We are all here for the main event which will be homecoming nominations! As your senior class president–“
    “ She’s class president?” I asked in disbelief.
    “Like I said,” Jill explained. “She’s grotesquely popular. I wouldn’t be surprised if she calls her own name out for the homecoming queen nomination.”
    “–to make this year simpler,” Angie continued. “The student council decided to only take the top two king and queen nominations.”
    I looked over at Penny whose fingers were crossed in her lap. It seemed as though she had her hopes up to win. Though I wished it for her, I knew that none of us would be popular enough to find a nomination outside of our own.
    “And the nominations for homecoming king are….” Angie held out the last word as she opened a royal blue envelope. “Cade Vandercamp!”
    The crowd went crazy with cheers of Cade’s name. I looked around for him as I saw him make his way through the crowd toward the floor. It was great to see that Cade could overcome a terrible situation. Once near the podium, he raised his bandaged hand into the air while keeping a comfortable distance from Angie.
    “And the second nomination goes to Allen Dunbar!” Angie shouted as she gave Cade a twisted glance. The crowd started laughing hysterically at the announcement.
    “What?” gasped Jill. From the back of the room, Allen looked around in surprise. His friend with jet-black hair slapped Allen on the back as he pushed him toward the front of the room. Slowly, Allen walked next to Cade who shook his hand. The two were about the same height with Cade looking confident and Allen looking distressed.
    “Now for homecoming queen nominations,” Angie recited with a glossy grin. “The nominees are Angie Oberstone and Mairead Worthington!”
    “What the fuck?” I gasped after hearing my name echo through the crowd.
    “Who is that?” asked a girl sitting nearby to her friend. That was how I wanted to spend my final year in high school, oblivious to the rich kids that surrounded me. However, as I stepped in a spell toward the podium, I knew that the students of Mayville Academy wouldn’t allow me to carry on so easily.
     

Never Alone
     
                  The weather was transforming the landscape of Mayville. With each crisp breeze, trees shuddered their drying leaves. I watched the foliage gracefully flutter to the ground, joining heaps of their brethren that had drifted there before. Change wasn’t just in the air; it was on the ground, and in my mind.
                  Whoever nominated me for homecoming queen was pulling a hoax. It wasn’t possible for me to have enough votes because of how unknown I was at the academy; those girls in the gym asking who I was only sealed this statement. I knew that this was part of some sadistic plan that Angie was cooking up for me. After all, she did promise retribution for me slapping her at the fair.
                  As I walked home, I pulled on my jacket to shield me from the onslaught of cold weather. I expected California to be warm and sunny like it was on the television. Mayville was too far north where the mountaintops saw snow, and the scenery experienced true seasons.
                  After reaching the house, I pulled my keys from my book bag and unlocked the door. Usually, Alice greeted me while she spent the afternoon tidying up the home. Instead, I was met with