Excerpt: The Isles of Alaenya

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11/10/08 - From the start of Chapter Nine:
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Steven stood on Allyson’s porch, with the sun at his back, using his shadow as a mirror to smooth out the stubborn pieces of his hair that were sticking up at odd angles. His finger hovered over the doorbell and then retracted. He stared at the two-liter bottle of Coca-Cola in his right hand – his mother had always told him never to show up as an empty-handed party guest – and wondered, again, if he was making a big mistake.

“I’m voluntarily becoming a geek just to impress a girl,” he told the soda bottle.

Not surprisingly, the beverage said nothing.

He looked to his car – a beat up but well-running two-decade-old Chevy – and contemplated leaving but quickly turned back to the door. He reached for the bell again, yet still held back. He wasn’t so worried about the geek factor. He could deal with the fact that he was crossing the line between those he had always considered normal and those who played silly fantasy games. He wasn’t afraid of Claudia’s disapproving glares or Erika’s petite wrath.

It was Allyson that he feared the most. She was the one, who had welcomed him into this, who now held the guillotine of rejection above his exposed neck.

Maybe it was the tremble of his nervous hand - for it was far from an intentional move - but at that moment, with his confidence wavering and the unsupportive two-liter bottle of pop gripped in his hand, Steven Parker rang the doorbell.

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11/03/08 - From somewhere in the middle of Chapter Three:
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“I should probably be going,” he was pleased to see what looked like disappointment in her expression, “I guess I’ll just take this for now.”

He passed the Green Lantern comic to her and smiled when their hands touched. She walked to the register and scanned a small barcode on the back of the plastic. Steven pulled out his wallet and began to reach for a ten-dollar bill when he glanced at the price that rang up on the register’s display.

“So with tax that comes to five hundred and thirty five dollars,” Allyson announced brightly.

Steven blanched at the price. He had assumed that the “500” on the tag indicated five dollars and never imagined that a single comic would be priced at five hundred dollars. Thinking quickly, he responded, “This is kind of embarrassing but I think I left my VISA card at home…” He rifled through his wallet as part of the ruse.

“Oh, well, I could just keep it on hold for you if you like,” suggested Allyson. “You could come back for it another day.”

Her eyes brightened when she suggested that he return. “That would be great,” he told her with a smile, “I’ll see you again.”

“Bye,” she sighed.

Steven turned and suavely walked to the door. Something about Allyson and the comic store in general put a bounce in his step and a huge grin on his face. He felt the picture of coolness until he saw his mother enter the store.

“Are you coming, Stevie?” she called out from the doorway. She was paused just inside the door and the entrance bell was sounding consistently, ensuring that Allyson and everyone else in the store witnessed her entrance and heard her pet name for her son.

He glared incredulously at his mom and called out a hasty farewell to Allyson who was grinning widely. “See you later.”

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