Authors: Isobel Lucas
On Raven's Wings
the first installment in the
Hell Bent/Heaven Sent
series
by
Isobel Lucas
Copyright © 2012 by 80 Pages, Inc
Published by 80 Pages, Inc
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used factitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form by or any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.
1
st
Edition: September 2012
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"Hey, check it out! It's the Virgin Mary!"
I dipped my chin, refusing to look at any of the kids who were snickering at me. My first day in public school at Hills of Bradford High and already I was an outcast. My Catholic school reputation obviously preceded me. If my dad’s company hadn’t cut his salary by twenty percent and my mom’s realtor business hadn’t crashed, I’d still be among the quiet, hallowed halls of St. Lucy’s instead of this riotous bedlam only two months after school started.
An arm slung around my shoulder, guiding me to the side of the hallway. My best friend, Triniti, went to HBHS. Over the summer, I replied to a flyer she’d put on lampposts downtown. She wanted someone to play drums in her band, Devastation. I applied and within days we were best friends.
Triniti was willowy, beautiful, and quite simply hot. I was the exact opposite: short, dumpy, and forgettable. The Virgin Mary comment wasn't far off, but they didn't need to know that.
"Ignore them. By the end of the night, they'll all know your face and they'll all love you."
"You said no one would come to our first gig."
Triniti twirled a finger in a lock of hair. I didn't buy the innocent act for a second.
"Why did you lie to me?"
"I didn't exactly lie, love. I just thought it might calm your nerves a bit."
"It isn't doing much good now that I know. The whole school won't be there, right?"
Triniti patted me on the head. "Not the whole school. I don't think the teachers will show up."
I sighed inside and mentally rolled my eyes. Catholic school had taught me discipline over my emotions. The teachers didn't strike the students for misbehaving anymore, but they knew who acted up and who didn't. My mental defiance was good enough for me. Like the nuns, I didn't think Triniti would appreciate it if I dissed her. Besides, she was the only friend I had at HBHS. I didn't want to screw that up.
"So have you checked out any of the guys here yet? They're all dying to get with the new girl. It wouldn't take much to lose the Virgin Mary nickname."
"Can't you just tell everyone my stage name? If they know me as Raven, the Virgin Mary thing will disappear, right?"
"No, love, it'll take only one bragging guy besmirching your chastity to get rid of that nickname." Triniti spun the combo on her locker like a pro. "Besides, I think half of them suspect you're already a raging nympho. The whole Catholic schoolgirl thing is really sexy."
I glanced down at my baggy ripped jeans and neon hoodie. Somehow I didn't think anyone would mistake me for a sexpot.
"Which guys will take advantage of me?"
Triniti wiggled an eyebrow at me. "Oooh, so you can find them and get rid of that nickname right away?"
Another mental eye roll. "No, so I can avoid them."
Triniti sighed. "Once I point them out to you, you'll be dying to unbutton their flies. Trust me. We have some scorching guys in this school."
The crowd in the hallway slowly parted. Like a scene in a bad teen movie, a group of guys sauntered down the hall in a reverse phalanx, with the tallest, most muscular, hottest teen boy I'd ever seen leading the group.
"That's Ian," Triniti sighed in my ear. "Lose your virginity to him and everyone within his text network will know in minutes. They'll probably even get a video of it."
"Have you been with him?"
"Oh, God, no. He's a total ass. Besides, I only go for college boys. They're better lovers."
I thought about asking how many guys she'd been with to justify that statement, but I didn't want to know. Not really. Well, maybe a little, but I held my tongue anyway. I'd find out later.
"He looks like a god.” I immediately regretted saying it. He was hotter than any god in all the religious texts I'd studied over the years.
"He thinks he's one too," Triniti said, her voice laced with disgust. "Seriously. Avoid him."
Ian and his groupies passed by us, and I couldn't help but stare at his ass, popping up and down with his legs. I drooled mentally, while reminding myself that he was so far out of my league. Plus I didn't really want to get with a guy who'd tape the whole thing then text it to the world.
I slammed my locker shut, algebra book tucked tightly against my chest. "I'll find some cute nerd in my math class instead."
Triniti snorted, which, ironically, was really adorable. Every noise I made was awful. I had to learn from this girl.
"Love, even the nerds are hot commodities in this school. They're going to be the billionaire engineers of the future."
"What about girls like me? Who do I get to date?" At Catholic school, I didn't have a chance. It was an all-girls school. Our principal, who was also a nun, was so strict that we weren't allowed to have mixers with the boys' school down the road. I had hoped someone with a penis would look my way at HBHS.
"Girls like you have to hope the girls like me toss you our leftovers." Triniti laughed so hard her hoop earrings shook. "I'm totally kidding, Raven. You'll find a guy here, I promise. You're the new girl. Every guy will want a piece of you."
The warning bell rang and the crowds dispersed. I gave Triniti a quick hug, and then ran down the hall to algebra. Last night I took the virtual tour of the school on their website. It was so accurate, I felt like I’d been going there all my life. I flung the door open and gave the teacher, Mr. Michaels, my transfer slip. He should have been expecting me, but the school secretary gave me a note for each teacher to remind them.
"Ms. Joseph." Yes, my name was Mary Joseph. It couldn't get more biblical than that. Was it any wonder I’d taken Raven as my stage name? "Welcome to algebra. Take a seat over there." He waved absently to the back corner of the room, right next the guy who was hotter than the gods.
Ian kicked the chair next to him, pushing it back for me. It was the closest thing to chivalry I'd seen in a teen boy. I mentally swooned, but as far as anyone else knew I casually sat down, not even acknowledging his presence.
The rest of the class went by in a blur. I didn’t hear a word Mr. Michaels said. I'd been too busy purposely ignoring Ian.
"Psst, Virgin Mary," he said after class. I closed my notepad, pretending not to hear him. I refused to answer to that nickname anyway. If I did it once, everyone would think it was okay. It wasn't.
"Raven," he said. This time I stopped what I was doing and looked up at him.
"Yeah?"
"Go back to your old school. We don't need your kind here."
Triniti and I squirreled into the tiny dressing room backstage. Troy and Rick used the dank guys bathroom down the hall. They both claimed all they needed was a place to pee. I tried to see my reflection in the grimy mirror in front of me. My hair hung straight to my shoulders, like a curtain from the turn of the century, dark, thick, and boring. Triniti pulled the plaid headband out of my hair.
“This is from Catholic school, right?”
I nodded. I’d worn headbands like that since preschool. I wasn’t even sure how to do anything else with my hair.
“It’s lame. You’re not in Catholic school anymore. Let’s kill off Virgin Mary before the concert.” Triniti reached into her bag and pulled out a makeup case. She dumped its contents on the table in front of us. Tubes I couldn’t even identify rolled on the table.
“You use all of this?” I stretched up and touched her face with a fingertip. It didn’t feel, or look, made up.
“Absolutely. It’s knowing how to put it on that makes a difference.” She cocked her head to the side, staring at me. “But with you, I think we’re going to go for something dramatic.”
Triniti grabbed a ponytail holder, pulled my hair away from my face, and secured it in back. A little makeup would just make me look stupid. I tried before and I always looked like a little girl playing dress up. While I hoped Triniti could do more with me, I wasn’t holding my breath.
“Close your eyes.”
I complied but asked, “How will that help? Don’t my eyes need to be open to put on eyeliner?”
Triniti didn’t say another word. Crinkling fabric told me she was reaching into her bag for something. Probably base. That’s what always went on first, right?
With a quick tug on the ponytail, a metallic shushing noise brought me to attention. My head suddenly felt five pounds lighter. “What did you do?” My eyelids flipped open and I grabbed the back of my head.
My hair was gone, lying in a dismembered ponytail on the floor.
“What did you do?” I squealed again.
Triniti placed her hands on the side of my head so I couldn’t jerk again. “Hold still. I still have to cut the rest.”
“Have you ever cut anyone’s hair before?” Dread poured into my chest. My mom was going to kill me.
Triniti shook her head. “I’m going for the choppy look anyway. No one will know it wasn’t done in a salon for a stupid amount of money.”
She happily snipped my hair. It floated to the floor like feathers falling from a torn pillow in a slumber party fight. The mirror showed a girl with funky hair and a sour look on her face. The corner of my mouth lifted. Maybe it was just the look I needed to break free from Virgin Mary.
When Triniti finished destroying my good girl cut, she spun my chair around and grabbed a tube of liquid black eyeliner. Her thumb tugged on the corner of my eye, stretching it until I thought it might tear, and then she layered on the makeup.
“Wow, Raven, you actually look like your nickname now.” She placed her hands on my shoulders. “Do you want to see?”
I sat still, not answering.
“You’ll love it. I promise.” Triniti turned the chair around, without my permission again. “Have I ever led you astray?”
My lap still had a few chunks of hair lying on it. I said a quick prayer for the death of my old look and glanced in the mirror.
The girl looking back at me wasn’t someone I recognized. She was a hardcore rocker. A troublemaker. A girl who’d never said ten Hail Mary’s every night before nodding off to sleep.
I reached out, touching my fingertips to hers. The old me had one thing in common with the new me – black nail polish. It was my only rebellious change after leaving Catholic school. Turns out it was just the first step to turning into this new person.
I cracked a smile, which was all it took for Triniti to jump up and down, screaming. “I knew you’d love it! You’re gorgeous and it totally fits in with the band’s look. You’re dangerous and sexy now, Raven. It’s been hiding inside, clawing to come out. Good thing I had the right key to set it free. You’re going to kill it tonight. Now put this on.”
She tossed me a tiny black dress. I stripped out of my jeans and sweater, pulling the dress over my head. It shimmied over my body, falling over every curve I never knew I had.
“Take off your underwear!” Triniti ordered. “It’s hideous.”
True. I wasn’t expecting to change clothes and had worn an old, ratty pair. “What? No! Did you bring extra clean underwear too?” The mirror agreed with Triniti. The bunches and folds in my granny pants were creating bulges in the dress.