So as manny of you know, I'm writing a legitimat book in real life. As of a couple weeks ago, I've officially put THE END OF BOOK ONE on it, and now I'm in the editing and revising stage, and looking for an agent to rep me to a publishing company. The book is called RAPTORS, and it's a YA sci-fi. I'd tell you more but I don't want to spoil it. Since you guys are my readers right now, I've decided to give you all a Scratch exclusive sneak peak at the prologue and first chapter of RAPTORS. Please note that these two pieces I wrote a year ago, so they're not as refined as my other works, that said, I'm going through and edittig them as you read this, so they're getting constantly better. The two pieces are pretty long too, so I'm going to have to release them in several pieces because of the character limit on these pages. I would just coppy and paste it all onto the backround of a project, but for some reason Scratch has been glitching out, and no matter what device ai use, I can't use text on a sprite or backdrop anymore. So without further ado, Here's the second bit of the sneak peak. It'll take a few parts for chapter one so here's the first bit. I didn’t go looking for trouble, it just always seems to find me. It always has, ever since I can remember. Today, the trouble was in the form of Trent, the school bully and world-class jerk, who had me pinned to the lockers by my backpack. But before I explain why, there are a few things you should probably know about me, and why I’m telling this story. Well, my story. I’ll admit, I never thought it would turn out the way it did. I always thought I would just be another person. Normal, uninteresting, unimportant. But I guess the simple life just isn’t for me. A great philosopher once said “All who find themselves in hard times wish it wasn’t so, but that is not for them to decide, what they choose is what to do with the time given to them.” That philosopher was Gandalf the Wizard, and his words have kind of defined my life. Why they define my life is a long story, so I’d better start at the beginning. The way my life got totally ruined started out pretty normal, with Trent slamming me into my locker. “C’mon Jackie,” He said, using the nickname he made for me and grinning wickedly, “You’re not just going to sit there are you?” He pushed me again, knocking me to the ground. His friends laughed stupidly behind his back. I glared up at him, the shoves weren’t meant to hurt me, but to embarrass me. Based on the heat rising in my cheeks, it was working. “Come on Trent,” I sighed, “Let me go. You’ve had your fun.” He cracked an evil smile. “What’s that Little Jackie? Are you giving up?” He knelt next to me, and I looked away. It was the end of the schoolday, and the hall was mostly empty. But the few people still milling about had seen what was going on and were giving me sympathetic looks. They felt bad, but no one was stupid enough to mess with Trent. I hated people feeling sorry for me. “Look at me Jackie.” Trent said. I kept my gaze firmly on the floor, shaking with anger and resentment. Jackie. It had been his nickname for me since we were in sixth grade. He probably thought it was all clever and witty, but all it did was remind me that when that name come out, I was helpless. Trent grabbed my chin and forced my eyes up. “That’s better, now, what did we say about giving up?” His cronies were laughing with glee behind him, and I had the sudden urge to strike out… drive him to the wall… it would be easy, just a knuckle jab to the throat… I shut the thought down, fighting would result in nothing except for me getting my butt handed to me. Trent and his buddies were way more muscular than any eighth grader had the right to be. I wouldn't last thirty seconds against all three of them. My chin was forced painfully upwards, and Trent leaned in closer. “Answer the question Jackie.” He snarled. I forced a couple words out, but with Trent holding my head up, they were garbled and unintelligible. “What’s that?” He asked victoriously, releasing my face. I spit on the ground and cleared my throat. “Giving up is for babies and losers.” I recited. It had to be the single most un-witty line in the world, but Trent and his buddies all laughed. “That’s right Little Jackie, and you gave up, so you know what that makes you?” He said, relishing the moment. Hmm, let me think… I thought sarcastically.
“A baby.” Trent said, right on cue. I kept my eyes on my feet as they chuckled, and the last few stragglers left the hall with one last pitiful look at me. “Woah, what happened, Mr. Sunshine?” Kevin asked as I walked up to him. One hand was holding the handle bars of my bike, the other resting on his. “Trent happened.” I said. Kevin frowned at me. We had both been bullied by Trent before, often at the same time, so he knew how much I hated pity. “Sorry dude.” He said. I just shrugged as he handed me my helmet. “I don’t mind him calling me names, most of them aren’t even witty or clever. I just hate that he has to do it in front of other people. It makes me seem like some helpless little kid who needs everyone's sorrow and pity.” I slammed the helmet down on my head, clasping the latch under my chin. “He definitely just needs more confidence, because he’s so ugly.” Kevin said wisely, buckling his own helmet on. I nodded. “I know, right? It’s like he needs other people to see him being all super alpha male so that he can feel good about himself.” “Alpha male my butt,” Kevin said, “Only his stupid cronies follow him around.” I chuckled and hopped on my bike. “I mean, who even wears one-hundred dollar cologne in eighth grade?” I agreed. “People whose brain cell to money ratio is one to seven trillion.” Kevin said. We soundly abused Trent the whole ride home, and by the time we reached the crossroads where we would split off, I felt marginally better. “See you tomorrow Jack!” Kevin called as he wheeled off towards his street. I saluted, then pedalled down the road to my house. I grinned as the brisk air breezed across my face. Summer was only a week away, and the bright, San Diego sun balanced the cool wind perfectly. My episode with Trent seemed to melt away as I pedalled harder, gaining speed for a hill. I loved it here, with the ocean breezes and hot summers, it made you come alive. How could I be so upset about Trent when I had it as good as this?
