First little extract...

My first book that I want to publish is called 'The Myth Project'. It is targeted at young adults (teenagers) and other adults too.
The genre is a mixture of sci-fi/fantasy/action/romance...I like to keep my work very original and interesting.
So...I'm going to include the first chapter of 'The Myth Project' and you lovely people can read it...
I haven't yet worked out how to attatch word documents, so bear with me...I'm afraid for the time being you will have to read it inside the blog box.
I would love for you to make comments; positive or negative...but please be constructive and try to keep the bad language to a minimum...thanks...
beasle95

Chapter 1
“See you later Dad!” I called into the hallway as I walked out the door to go to school. I briefly heard his muffled response from the kitchen before it was shut out as I slammed the door closed.
The morning was warm, but grey. A soft wind rustled the leaves and made my hair tickle the back of my neck. I tucked it behind one ear and tried to stand tall as I walked down the quiet street.
It was a Monday and I wasn’t looking forward to going back to the normal routine of work and homework. I’d been studying all weekend for an English exam and was tired and stressed out, so I wasn’t in the best of moods.
Turning the corner, I walked up to a familiar Victorian red brick house. Ringing the bell, I heard it echo through and someone ran to answer it.
“I’m just coming – let me get my bag,” Sam said, flicking her long golden hair off her shoulder and ran back down the corridor to grab a scruffy backpack, which she pulled on. She called a farewell into her house and we were off.
Sam’s my best friend and we are sworn sisters, even if we aren’t by blood or looks. Sam’s hair is a beautiful wavy gold that comes down almost to her waist (she refuses to be called a blond). Her deep shining blue eyes hold no secrets and I can normally tell if they do. My hair is a deep brown that turns coppery red in the sunlight that comes just beyond my shoulders and looks very different. My eyes are also a deep brown that Sam says are like melted chocolate buttons. I’m not sure that’s a good thing...
But despite out difference in looks, we couldn’t be closer. We practically live at each others houses and have no secrets between us.
“Have you revised for the English exam?” Sam asked, bumping me with her elbow.
I groaned. “All weekend! I’ll be so glad when it’s all over. How much did you do?”
“Loads; I got so stressed out and annoyed about it, my dad started bringing me hot chocolate up. It was good...”
I laughed, feeling some tension leaving my shoulders. “That’s good then.”
“Oh my gosh, he is fit!” Sam stated and I looked in the direction she was gaping at.
A tall, shaggy dark haired guy crossed the road up from us, his ripped jeans and scruffy trainers immediately catching Sam’s attention. He was dressed completely in black; from his black jacket to black shoes.
“Hottie gothy!” Sam staged whispered and I elbowed her in the ribs.
“Sam! He’s at least three years older than us! No way!”
Sam sniffed in annoyance. “I know. And he has a girlfriend.” She shot daggers across the street as the guy greeted a girl on the corner and put his arm around her. “I hate her.” I rolled my eyes at Sam and changed topics.
We chatted as we walked; discussing everything that had happened since we last saw each other.
“So, how’s your Dad?” Sam asked, glancing sideways up at me.
“He’s good. He’s so much happier than he used to be – especially since he got that new job, and obviously since he married Sarah.” I smiled. “And since they had Daniel and Lily. How’s your Dad?”
“He’s alright too. A bit stressed out ‘coz Dylan managed to lose Dad’s car keys.” She shook her head. “It wasn’t the smartest move; I mean Dylan loses everything! You’d think he’d learn after nineteen years.”
Sam’s older brother Dylan is a bit out of control. He does everything with complete and utter enthusiasm and often doesn’t stop to think about the consequences of his actions. Personally, I found Dylan hilarious and Sam was very close to him as well.
You may be wondering why both of us only mentioned our fathers. Well Sam and I are similar in other ways than personality. Both our mothers died when we were only a few years old. My Dad married to Sarah a few years ago, but Sam’s father never re-married. Since then, they both looked after each other’s daughters and have made a close friendship through the mutual grief they shared.
“He’ll learn soon enough.” I laughed and Sam joined in.
We rounded the corner and approached the school gates. The dark metal towered over us set in huge stone walls. Red brick buildings clustered together the other side of the gates.
We walked through; up the steps and down the corridor to get to our form room. It was bright and colourful, the walls plastered with sugar paper and posters. Blue lockers lined the far wall and we headed to them to switch our books over and dump our lunches.
“Heya.” I turned to look at Aaron who had just walked in behind us.
Aaron is my other best friend. I’ve known him since I was born –our mothers were also best friends. Sam’s mum, my mum and Aaron’s mum made quite a group!
“Hi, how was your weekend?” I asked and he nodded enthusiastically.
“Great – our team won football yesterday so we’re in the finals baby!” I laughed and Sam slammed her locker shut, making it rattle and crash.
“Did you revise for the English test?” she asked. Aaron’s face immediately looked sheepish.
“We have an English exam today?” His face slipped into a guilty grin. “Oops.”
Sam rolled her eyes. “Smooth move nimrod. This exam counts for more than half our final grade. Idiot – if you flunk, you’re stuck.”
“Oops,” Aaron trailed off, scuffing his shoe against the carpet. His shaggy surfer’s blond hair flopped over his bright blue eyes as he looked down, his tie very short and askew.
Our form tutor Miss Kenston entered the room at that minute and we quickly rushed to our seats.
“Everybody please get out something constructive to do please,” she called and I pulled out a book from my bag, glad that I could have a chance to relax for half an hour.
As I was getting stuck into a key section, the door opened and a tall, dark haired boy walked in. His skin was toned slightly olive and his eyes were a deep, thoughtful brown.
I looked up and clocked his appearance with interest. He was gorgeous – mysterious and good looking. I tried to fight a smile as Sam turned round in the seat in front of me and mouthed He’s really fit!
Miss Kenston turned him to face the class.
“Everyone, I’d like you to meet Blaze Roberts. He’s just joined the school today and I expect everyone to make him feel very welcome.” She pointed to a seat at the back of the class, two down from me. “There’s a seat there for you.”
Blaze nodded his thanks and walked across the room. As he passed me I got a slight smell of washing powder and mint. I breathed it in – it was a nice smell. Clean and fresh.
I couldn’t concentrate on my book again; the fascination of having a new member of the class seemed to be affecting everyone. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye and realised with a start that he was doing the same to me. I blushed and sat tensely . The minutes dragged by and I prayed for the bell to ring. Finally it did and I gratefully packed my things away. I needed to clear my head.
“So...” Aaron came up behind me and slung his arm across my shoulders. I dropped one of them so that his arm slipped off again.
“So what?” I asked, holding my art folder tight to my chest.
“You still free to come over Saturday night?” he asked. “My parents are so glad that you could help out.”
“Sure, no problem. Waitressing right?”
“Yup. Be smart though and wear heals; it’s my Dad’s conference and he wants to show us all off.”
I nodded and stopped to wait for Sam who was catching up
“Cool then – I’ll catch you later.”
“See you.” Sam came up and threw me a sympathetic glance.
“Is he still flirting with you?” she guessed, seeing my guarded expression. I nodded seriously.
“He can’t help himself. I wish he’d give me some space. I mean, he’s one of my best friends but he’s just so...clingy. It’s so frustrating.”
“Don’t worry honey – it’ll all sort itself out for sure.”
I smiled gratefully and made my way to my first lesson.
I couldn’t concentrate all morning. My art project went wrong and I worked through my English exam mechanically, barely noticing what I was writing down. My head was full of thoughts: Aaron, Sam, the English exam, Blaze...
I wondered again about the new guy. It would be difficult for him – he’d turned up right in the middle of the school year and we were halfway through the work for our exams. It seemed like a strange and awkward time to change schools, but I didn’t question it further.
The day crawled by slowly, each hour seeming to take three or ten. I was extremely relieved when the bell rang for lunch.
I was walking down one of the quiet corridors to go back to the form room when someone crashed into me from around the corner. I immediately dropped my books that I had been carrying onto the floor.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” I dropped to my knees and tried to collect them all together before I blocked the corridor up.
“No, it was my fault.” The person bent down and helped me collect them into a pile. Pushing my hair out of my face, I finally looked up to see who I had crashed into. With a shock, I realised it was Blaze.
“Hi, I’m Rachel.” I stuck out one hand, the other clutching my pile of books. A small smile tugged on the edges of him lips.
“Blaze.” He shook my hand and I stood up again.
“Sorry, I was in such a dream world; away with the fairies!” I babbled then bit my lip in embarrassment. So not cool Rachel I thought.
“That’s alright, I wasn’t concentrating either. Too busy looking at this.” He held up a map of the school in one hand.
“Where are you headed to? I can help, if you want.”
The smile tugged upwards further into a grin, revealing two sets of perfectly white teeth.
“Thanks – I was actually heading back to the form room, but I got a bit lost.” His smile was sheepish and made my heart stutter.
“That’s good - I was just going there myself.” I pointed a hand out in the direction he had come from. “Shall we?”
We walked down the corridors for a few metres when suddenly there was a sharp sound of someone running behind us.
“Rachel!” I turned at the voice and saw to my surprise Mrs Richards the deputy head calling down the corridor. Mrs Richards has been a close friend of my family for years because she and my Mum were friends for a long time. After Mum died, Mrs Richards helped my Dad look after me and helped us around the house with cooking and cleaning. Her face was stern and although she was trying to hide it, I could see bitter disappointment there too.
“Rachel, can I have a word?” Mrs Richards said and threw a brief apologetic smile in Blaze’s direction.
“I’m sorry Mr Roberts, but I’m afraid you’ll have to find your way on your own.” Mrs Richards strode determinedly off. I turned back to Blaze, shrugged my shoulders and mouthed sorry to him. He smiled back, but his brow was creased in concern.
I followed Mrs Richards back down the corridors to her office. Walking around her desk she stood by the window and invited me to sit down.
I sat, feeling tense and twisted my fingers in my lap. I hadn’t done anything wrong had I? So why was she not even looking me in the eye?
Mrs Richards opened the window wide and a light breeze drifted in and moved the papers on her desk. She didn’t say anything and continued to stare out the window. The silence was awkward and stretched on endlessly.
“Erm...” My voice after the silence seemed very loud even though I barely whispered. “What exactly is this about?”
Mrs Richards breathed out heavily and turned to face me. She looked over to her chair and sat down, steepling her fingers and regarding me seriously. Her eyes were cold but I resisted the urge to look away.
“Rachel.” She shuffled the papers on her desk, making the corners line up. “It seems...that you’ve, well...been accused of cheating on your English exam.”
My mouth fell open. “What...?”
Mrs Richards held up a hand. “Marcie Coleman has accused you of copying her answers.”
I clamped my mouth shut and clenched my teeth together tightly.
Marcie Coleman was a class A bully. She was beautiful, she was rich but she had a personality of a cold, wet fish. With a new boyfriend every week, I was surprised there were any left for her. But yet all of them still tried desperately to be her next choice. Marcie had a way of manipulating people like no-one else and she and her friends had endless victims.
It seemed I was next in line.
Because in English that day it had in fact been Marcie copying off of me. I had glared at her throughout it and tried to shield my answers with my arm but she had quietly yanked it back to reveal the words underneath.
“I didn’t!” I gasped, shocked at this sudden turn of events. “I studied all weekend for this exam, why would I need to cheat?”I felt anger building up inside me like hot lava, but I pushed it down.
“I’m afraid your answers beg to differ – they’re exactly the same.” She held up two papers, one containing my handwriting and the other Marcie’s swirling print.
“But she copied off me!” My voice rose in tone, but at Mrs Richards’ warning look I tried to calm myself down.
At that moment, Marcie herself strode into the room. Her hair was bleach blonde and straightened and her skirt rolled up so high it barely covered her bum.
Marcie’s mouth clamped open and shut noisily as she chewed on a piece of gum.
“’Sup,” she drawled and strutted across the room to slumped in a chair.
“Look at her!” I pointed firmly in Marcie’s direction, my eyes taking in her appearance.”I’m a straight A student and she’s a plastic Barbie doll with nothing better to do then make everybody’s life a misery. Who do you think is more likely to cheat in an exam?”
Even though I couldn’t feel it, I noticed that the wind had picked up. Some of Mrs Richards’ papers were moving around on their own. But I tried to ignore it and attempted to squash down the rising lava in my stomach.
Marcie leant forward, one hand over her heart and her expression one of shocked innocence. “You think I’d cheat?” she gasped theatrically. “I’m hurt Rachel. That’s pretty low from someone like yourself.”
The papers lifted into the air and started swirling around.
“Excuse me?” I spat. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Marcie sneered. “Well you’ve had no Mummy to guide you, have you, you freak? Bet she was so glad when she could get away from you.”
I reeled backwards, feeling like I’d been slapped. The papers and larger, heavier objects swirled around in the air and crashed into each other. A stapler flew past my left ear and I ducked before it whacked me over the head. I felt like I was about to explode with anger. How dare Marcie say stuff like that to me!
“Marcie! Don’t be so cruel!” Mrs Richards’ voice cut through the argument and I could see that her cheeks were flushed with anger. She had been Mum’s best friend after all – Marcie wasn’t just insulting me. “I won’t tolerate that kind of behaviour – I’ll see you tomorrow lunchtime for detention. We’ll discuss the matter of the cheating later on but I want a word with Rachel in private now.” Marcie strode out of the room, her nose high in the air. I shot daggers in her direction as she left.
As soon as she walked out the room I let out a shaky sigh of relief. The wind suddenly stopped and all the things that had been floating in the air suddenly dropped to the floor and clattered on Mrs Richards’ desk. I rubbed my temples and closed my eyes. I suddenly had a massive headache and I felt exhausted.
Mrs Richards gaped all around her at the fallen stationary and muddled papers. “How strange...” She shook her head and drew herself up tall.
“I’m so sorry Rachel – I should have known better than to believe that you would cheat. Or that Marcie would try and pull something like this.” She walked around her desk and rubbed my back fondly. “But are you alright Rachel? I hope what Marcie said didn’t upset you to much. It isn’t true, you do know that right?” I raised my head and looked her straight in the eye.
“But how do I know what she was saying isn’t true? For all I know Marcie may have been bang on. Mum died when I was only three, I barely remember her at all and I only really know what she looked like from pictures. Maybe she really was glad to be rid of me...”
Mrs Richards smiled sadly, but determinedly. “I know that what Marcie said holds no truth what so ever. Your Mum was beside herself with pride when you were born – I’d never seen her happier. She always had a feeling that she wouldn’t see you grow up and was heartbroken. She relished every second she had with you and rarely let anyone touch her new baby girl.”
I smiled. “Thanks Mrs Richards.” I got up and then hesitated. “Is it alright if I go, or do you still need to talk to me?”
Mrs Richards laughed. “No dear, you can go. I know exactly who the culprit was. Marcie is going to be spending a joyful hour with me tomorrow – lucky me.” She winked and I smiled again.
“Thanks.” I got up and slung my bag on my shoulder. “See you soon.”
“Bye Rachel.” Mrs Richards threw me one last sympathetic smile and then I closed the door and left her alone.