Excerpt
Prologue
Sitting at my desk I chew on the end of my pen
waiting for Professor Kelly to finish writing on the whiteboard. This class
always drags and it being at noon I’m always hungry half way through.
Bored I trace the words stenciled into the top
of my desk with my index finger.
‘Lick it before you stick it.’
Where
do people even come up with this stuff?
“I love how her hand erases half of what she
writes as she moves across the board,” Keegan whispers next to me, bringing my
attention from my tracing to Professor Kelly. Sure enough, the sentence on the
left is half wiped off as she continues to write along the board.
Keegan is the only person I talk to here at
UCLA. I don’t know if I would call her a friend, more of a roommate, and study
partner. College isn’t any different than high school and I’d rather stay to
myself. If you’re making friends then
you’re a part of the drama. Who is screwing who, drugs, and mean girls, it’s a
vicious circle.
Keegan and I click because she’s different.
She has tattoos covering her arms and hands, and collects everything unicorn.
Not to mention I love her outlook on life. She could care less what people
think of her. She’s carefree and it scares people.
“Jacki, do you have your piece ready?”
Professor Kelly asks.
Jacki who sits in front of me clears her
throat, sitting straight in her seat.
“I’m just about done. I’m waiting for the
owner of the restaurant to call me back,” Jacki replies.
I’m majoring in journalism. I figured if I
can’t do what I love, I’ll do what comes next. Writing about it.
“Tatum, what about you?” I freeze.
“Yes, my piece is done,” I lie. I haven’t even
started. Professor Kelly smiles at me, knowing I wouldn’t disappoint. Little
does she know every piece I give her is last minute.
Jacki turns in her seat and eyes me with her
fake green contacts. Here she goes. For some reason I am always the target of
her bullying. I think it’s because a guy she was interested in sat next to me
two classes ago. After ignoring him, he got the hint and moved back to the
front of the class.
Either way, Jacki’s antics get old. I usually
just ignore her. What is sad is she used to be friendly. Then she started
sleeping with everyone and her ego became as big as the hole between her legs.
“Why do you dress like trash? It’s like, an
embarrassment to the graduating class.” Her friends laugh and she smiles proud
of herself.
“Ignore them,” Keegan mutters.
I
always do.
Professor Kelly sits at her desk to work
through the articles for the school paper, wasting the last ten minutes of
class. Kicking my backpack out from under my seat I pull out my book and start
to get lost in the pages of dragons and zombies.
“You know nobody has called me back?” Keegan
interrupts my reading.
“All those applications, and not one news
station has called. I should just give up, maybe I can be a maid,” she
continues, and I know she’s about to go on her rant. I should give up reading,
when she gets like this there’s no stopping her. Not one to give up, I narrow
my brows to indicate I’m in some deep reading. “Ooh, I could be a sex maid. You
know, the ones where I pretend to clean your house but then we have sex?”
I laugh, giving up on trying to read my book
and close it.
“Yes, I know the kind. But don’t give up, the right job will call
you back. Besides, you hate giving head and I’m pretty sure that will be a
requirement when you’re a sex maid.”
“Shit, you’re right.” She sags in her seat
like I just ruined her life goals.
“Speaking of shit, did you buy that bag from
someone homeless?” Jacki flips her blonde hair over her shoulder as she
eavesdrops. “I bet your mother is
embarrassed to have you as a daughter, I mean, did you get your hair done by a
hobo?” She continues to insult.
Something inside of me I thought was dead
ignites, swimming through my veins like a wild fire as I pin Jacki with a
stare.
“You should probably shut your mouth while
you’re ahead,” I warn. Keegan looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. I’ve never
reacted to Jacki’s insults. Today, though… I’ve had enough.
“Aww, did I hit a nerve?” Jacki laughs.
Closing my eyes I try to push through the violence wanting to be released. “Do
you even have a mother, or did she just give up when she had you?” She throws
her head back and laughs, revealing the trashy pink lipstick that’s smeared on
her teeth.
Anger thrusts through my arms and my hands curl
into fists. I’m going to lose it. I’m going to lose my temper and become irate,
right here.
“I need to get out of here.” I shove my book
in my bag and stand, trying to leave before something horrible surfaces. I have
been able to overlook anything and everything that triggers my temper, but my
mom… that is one I clearly can’t overcome.
“Aw look, you made her leave.” One of Jacki’s
friends taunts. I don’t even remember her name. They all sound alike anyway.
Jacki, Judy, Janet.
“Good, maybe she can run back to her momma for
some fashion advice,” Jacki continues.
I stall staring at the double doors that lead
out of the auditorium.
Just
leave. Keep going.
Closing my eyes, something I’ve suppressed for years breaks through it’s cage
slamming full force in my chest.
I drop my book bag, and turn on my heel.
“What’d you say?”
Sitting sideways in her seat, tapping her desk
with a pencil, Jacki giggles.
“You heard me, you’re a—“
I don’t let her finish. I leap over her friend
and grab Jacki by the throat, pulling her from her seat. She screams, her fake
blonde hair flailing everywhere as I drag her across the desks to the aisle.
The class screams with excitement as I drop
Jacki like the sack of shit she is. God I feel fantastic! Like a tiger at the
zoo finally being released into the wild.
I feel… alive. Day after day, I have sat in a
chair behind a desk living a mundane boring life. Giving up on family, dreams,
and most importantly, myself.
Jacki stares back at me with mascara smeared
eyes, the look of fear fueling me to continue. I smile, and strike her in the
face, throwing her back on the stairs.
But this, the violence, it’s what I long for.
She wails, cupping her nose. “You crazy
bitch!”
Keegan jumps to her feet in her seat looking
over Jacki laying in the aisle before looking up at me. “Holy shit!”
“What is going on?” Professor Kelly jumps from
her desk making her way up the stairs.
“Run!” Keegan points at the double doors
smiling just as big as I am.
Stepping over Jacki, I grab my bag but stop as
I look at Jacki who is only a foot from me.
“Remember that next time you want to bully
someone. Grow up.” I stand upright, shuffling my bag on my back, and I sprint
out of class.
Quickly, I make it to my dorm room and throw
what I can into bags. Drawers left on the floor and my mattress overturned, I
make a mess of the room. Keegan is going to kill me when she gets back. Swiping
my phone off the shelf where we keep the Ramen noodles, a pair of scissors fall
to the floor nearly spearing me in the foot and landing on a magazine. I stare
at the beautiful blonde on the front of the cover. I took this magazine into
the mall months ago trying to imitate the model’s makeup. Hundreds of dollars
later and I didn’t feel any prettier. I tried to fit into the LA lifestyle, I
really tried but I’m just different. I don’t care about fashion, or chick
flicks, or the so called normal shit that girls my age should like. If LA can’t turn me into a prima donna, then nobody
can.
I glance up finding Keegan’s giant mirror with
unicorn and mermaid stickers plastered all over it, my reflection looking back
at me. My painted eyes and fake blush looking ridiculous on me.
Grabbing a couple of Kleenex I rub at my face,
pressing as hard as I can to rub the shit off my eyelids and cheeks until my
skin is near raw.
I’m done pretending.
Dropping the makeup smeared tissues to the
floor I grab my bags and glance at the trashed room one last time.
My heart beats wildly as I flush my journalism
career down the drain.
This isn’t what I wanted anyway.
I don’t want to report about the best fighters
in the world.
I want to be one.
Meet Tatum and Camden
in this
second chance fighter
Romance!
Love Tap releases on
July 6th!
Blurb
All
I ever wanted was to be a female fighter.
It
was in my blood to smack people around.
Some
girls wore pink dresses and makeup, I wore sneakers and bruises.
I
was a loner, stuck to myself because I was different, until Camden Steel moved
next door.
I
punched him in the mouth, and he saw me through rose colored glasses from that
day on.
I
had everything I ever wanted.
The
boy next door, inspiring career… until I didn’t.
He
hates me. I deserve that.
They
say you have to fight for what you want… What they don’t tell you… is it’ll
cost you more than you're willing to give to reach the top.
About the Author
M.N.
Forgy was raised in Missouri where she still lives with her family. She's a
soccer mom by day and a saucy writer by night. M.N. Forgy started writing at a
young age but never took it seriously until years later, as a stay-at-home mom,
she opened her laptop and started writing again. As a role model for her
children, she felt she couldn't live with the "what if" anymore and
finally took a chance on her character's story. So, with her glass of wine in
hand and a stray Barbie sharing her seat, she continues to create and please
her fans.
