Tempest (#1 Destroyers Series) (32 page)

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Authors: Holly Hook

Tags: #romance, #girl, #adventure, #paranormal romance, #fantasy, #young adult, #childrens, #contemporary, #action adventure, #storms, #juvenile, #bargain, #hurricane, #storm, #weather, #99 cents, #meteorology

BOOK: Tempest (#1 Destroyers Series)

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Her dad woke her up early the next morning,
dressed in a tan business jacket. “You’ve got to get ready to
present yourself, honey. You can’t show up on Alara in jeans.”

Janelle blinked the sleep from her eyes and
pushed the covers off. Oh, no. She’d almost forgotten about her new
role as Tempest High Leader.

Butterflies raced around in her stomach as
she combed her hair and brushed her teeth. A couple of business
suits hung on the inside of the bathroom door, a tan one and a
lavender one. Her father knew better than to bring her any gray
ones.

She plucked the lavender one out of its
bag—it looked like something Andrina never would’ve worn—and put it
on. A pair of dress shoes waited on the floor, and they weren’t
high heels.

“Everyone’s going to be staring at me,”
Janelle said a minute later, closing the bathroom door behind her.
She’d never dressed like this in her life. And it felt weird.

“You look fine,” her father said.
“Everything’s going to turn out all right. And according to a poll
that
Surge
took, most Tempests are pretty optimistic that
you’ll do a better job than Andrina. You’ll see.”

Everyone gathered at the front of the boat as
Deon steered it closer to Alara and through its winding cave. This
time, it didn't have the same sinister feel. The cave and the green
water seemed almost beautiful.

Janelle reached out and took Gary’s hand,
holding it tight.

The cave opened up into its underground
marina, and standing on the opposite dock was a huge group of
people.

Janelle’s stomach tightened and she fought
down an urge to run and hide. People seemed to have come from all
over the planet to meet her: Asia, Africa, India, and who knew
where else. There were whole families, even. Including little kids
in little dresses and suits.

“The kids,” Janelle breathed. “They’re all
back with their families?”

Her father patted her on the shoulder. “Yes,
honey. Most of them are. A couple are still waiting for passports
to go home, but they’ll have them soon enough. Now step out and say
hi to everyone.”

* * * * *

The main entrance hall now boasted
refreshment tables and a dance floor. Because she’d had to
transform, her start-of-term party had been pushed back to
today.

Once the introductions had died down and the
photos had been taken for
Surge
, Janelle had made her way to
the side of the room and behind one of the food tables. Safety. All
around the chamber, people socialized in tight groups, speaking in
at least five different languages. Mr. Deville and Deon had
wandered over to a group of Australian Tempests and started up a
conversation.

Sweat formed on her palms at the sight of it
all. Everyone had such high expectations of her, and she hadn’t
even graduated high school yet. How could they expect her to lead
when she’d only been a part of this world for a few weeks?

Her father appeared out of the crowd and
offered a plate of appetizers. “Don't be shy at your own party,” he
said.

Janelle’s stomach rumbled at the smell of
fish. “What did you expect, Dad? I’m a little nervous.”

A few kids crawled under the table at the
other end of the room, trying to hide under the tablecloth, and
Joey stood over with a girl in her twenties. There really weren’t
any teenagers to hang out with. Gary had vanished a while ago. She
couldn’t blame him any…but this party would be a lot better with
him around.

Her father seemed to have read her mind. “I
think someone else is coming.”

Two people walked down the right hallway,
Gary and a woman with black hair. His mother. Gary wore a black
suit, and judging from the look on his face, it hadn’t been his
idea. Janelle stifled down a snicker. Her clothes weren’t much
better than his. She’d kill for her jeans back.

His mother separated from him and headed over
to Deon. Her father gave her a pat on the back, turned, and
vanished into the crowd.

“Geez,” said Gary, picking at his suit. “My
mom must think it’s a wedding or something.”

“Well, almost everyone here’s in formal,” she
said. “And I’m stuck dressing like this for…how long do Tempest
High Leaders stay in office?”

He nodded at her clothes. “Life.”

“Great. So much for wearing jeans ever
again.”

Gary dunked a cracker into some dip and took
a bite. “Did you know my mom quit drinking three years ago? Andrina
knew and never told me.” He studied the food again. “Look, I didn’t
mean to pull you into all that mess with Andrina and all. I thought
I was doing the right thing by helping you run away. I was
stupid.”

Janelle looked down at her dress shoes and
wiggled her cramped toes inside of them. Her face heated up. But at
least she could talk now. “No, you weren’t. You didn’t know that
would happen. And if it weren’t for you, Andrina would still be in
power.” She swallowed. “Thank you.”

Gary parted his bangs from his face and shot
her another one of his rare smiles.

The lights dimmed, leaving only the orange
glow of the setting sun peeking in through the windows. The shadows
of palm fronds bobbed up and down on the walls. Voices died down
and soft music started to play over the room’s speakers.

One by one, people made their way out onto
the dance floor. Within a few minutes, skirts swished and feet
tapped in circles on the polished gray spiral. The air conditioning
raised little bumps on Janelle’s skin.

Gary shifted leg to leg and tossed one of the
crackers down onto the plate. “Um…do you want to dance?”

Janelle nodded. “Sure.”

# # #

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