I wasn’t worried about how hot I looked. I wanted out of whatever situation Lydia was dragging me into. I quickly reminded myself to be a good friend. Not to mention, I owed it to the Ghosts to make an appearance. I’d become an unintentional hero for them.
Across the room, Bailen donned a blue polo and jeans. He smiled then headed toward us. He slung his arm around my shoulder and kissed me on the cheek. “Bailen, this is my best friend, Lydia. Lydia, this is Bailen, my…” I didn’t know what to call him.
“Your boyfriend,” Lydia said. “And we’ve met. In fact, we’ve talked. Quite a bit.” Lydia patted Bailen on the arm. “Right, Bay?” She winked at him liked they’d shared an entire universe worth of secrets already.
“Oh, yeah, Lydia and I are great friends. We had lots of time to chat while you were recovering.” If he was trying to pay me back for the fast ones I’d pulled on him, his inability to stop grinning ear to ear gave him away immediately.
Regardless, knowing Lydia she’d used her magic to get all the finer details from him. The thought of them already meeting and chatting set my nerves on edge.
Lydia must have picked up on my discomfort because she pulled her arm from mine. “I’ll let you two talk.” She wiggled her eyebrows and disappeared.
As much as she dragged me into things, I loved Lydia for her ability to take subtle hints. She may have embarrassed me, but never too much. She definitely knew when to drop something and back away.
“Your boyfriend, huh? Why wasn’t I made aware of this?” Bailen whispered in my ear.
“It’s news to me too. Lydia likes to make assumptions.”
Bailen lightly slung his arms around my waist and coaxed me closer. “Well, I like Lydia and her assumptions.”
“Oh, do you now?”
He nodded with his usual charming grin. “You look”—he sucked in a breath like he was trying to breathe me in all at once—“amazing.”
“Thanks.” The temperature in my cheeks rose ten degrees.
“Remember the last time I brought you here?”
I did.
He was so close, his warm breath beat on my ear. His words sent shivers through me.
I was back in that moment. The neon drinks that had made my head spin. The music thudding through my body. A stolen moment. Our first kiss. It was a shame thoughts of Harlow had marred it. Regardless, I leaned in. “I think I need a reminder.”
He kissed me, lightly at first, then our lips crushed together, sending sparks into my chest. When he finally pulled away, I checked the room to see who was watching. Everyone seemed preoccupied. In one corner, Lydia was already working her charms on Jeremy. I’d have to remember to ask her about that later. Peyton danced with a group of people I didn’t recognize. It was good to see her almost smiling. And Mom chatted with Lydia’s parents and Myles by the bar. But where was Dad?
I stepped back and turned right into him. My cheeks flushed. How much had he seen? But then I noticed his glazed-over eyes staring into space.
“Dad?” I waved my hand in front of his face, but he appeared frozen. If I didn’t know better… I shook my head. He must have been lost in thought. He’d been through a lot. We all had.
“Dad?” I touched him lightly on the arm.
He jumped then focused on me. “Yes, sweetheart?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” He held up the glass of neon liquid. “You guys didn’t drink any of this, did you?”
I stifled a laugh and shook my head.
He shot Bailen a look I’d often seen on Jake’s face when he’d been trying to decide if he’d wanted to pummel someone or not.
“No, sir,” Bailen said, straightening his posture.
“Good. It’s vile stuff. It’ll mess with your head.”
“Trackers will mess with your head too.” Bailen turned his back on my dad and stared straight at me with a devious grin. “But I prefer the drink,” he said in a hushed tone.
I leaned in and whispered into his ear, “Maybe later.”
THE END
Acknowledgements
When they say it takes a village to make a book happen they are not kidding. It takes a literal army of Jedi Knights to make a book. There were so many people that had a hand in making TRACKER220 come to life. And I’m so thankful for every single one of them.
Shawntelle Madison and Heather Reid, thank you for being my Jedi Masters on my indie publishing journey. I’d be completely lost without you.
Tom Torre, we’ve been through the good, the bad, and the ugly on this journey and I for sure would not still be here without you. Thank you for reading. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for talking me off the ledge… more than once.
Mandy Pietruszewski Self, my evil twin, I never expected to meet a fellow rocket scientist who also writes similar stuff to me, but I’m so glad I reached out when I saw your CP match post. It’s been an adventure online—and in real life. I’m a better writer and person because I know you! Thank you for being you and for nerding out with me!
Bert Beattie, you believed in me before anyone else. I was looking for an excuse to quit writing and you were right behind me cheering me on from the very beginning. None of this would have been possible without your initial enthusiasm.
Stella Luciano, you haven’t read this one, but thank you for reading my other book that might never see the light of day. Your enthusiasm as someone in the target audience (at the time) was infectious. I still think about your excitement often when I’m writing. You inspired me to be a better writer.
Kira Watson, thank you for believing in this book enough to take it on. Thank you for your wise notes and pulling things out of me I never thought possible.
Gwen Hayes, you made this book shine. Thank you for taking my words and teaching me how to make each one count.
Amy McNulty, you gave this book the polish it needed. Thanks for fixing all the verb tenses, grammar, homonyms, misplaced commas, and various other punctuation. You’re a lifesaver!
Jennifer Stolzer, thank you again for my GORGEOUS cover. You took my incoherent babbling and turned it into a masterpiece.
Sam Tilson, thank you for the AMAZING book trailer. I always wanted one and you made it happen. You have incredible vision, and I appreciate you letting me steal some of your time for this book.
Meredith Tate, Jennifer Stolzer, Michelle Mason, Debra Spiegel, Paula Stokes, Lydia Kang, Christina Kim Ahn Hickey, and Julie Sharp, you all read various versions of this book and it would not be where it is today without each and every one of you.
To the storycrafters, John Sullivan, Ruth Donnelly, Donna J. Essner & Christy Burkley, you helped nurture my craft early on, cheered for this story, and helped shape it into something magical.
To the CSS, Sarah Johnson, Nicole Lanahan, Shawntelle Madison, Heather Reid, Emily Hall Schroen, Linda Stevens, and Cori Bair. Thanks for the laughs, the tears, the coffee (even though I don’t drink it), and more importantly the wine. You’re the best sounding board a girl could ever have.
To all of Snowy Wings Publishing. You’ve been a light in a very dark tunnel. Thank you for all the guidance and support. You lifted a huge weight off my shoulders and made all this possible.
To the whole Middle Grade Minded team (old and new), I feel like I found my people in you. This may be a YA, but MG still has my heart. You gave me hope that MG is awesome and should have its day.
To the Write Pack/SLWG clan, Jessica Mathews, Jennifer Stolzer, Amy Zlatic, David Lucas, Lauren Miller, Brad Cook, Teresa Fendley, and Cherie Postill. Thank you for the writing foundation, all the write ins, and the hours of sci fi and nerdy talk. And thank you letting me babble endlessly about ideas until I finally worked through all the plot bunnies.
To anyone who ever gave me feedback in a contest or during write on con or whoever liked, retweeted, or shared my pitches for TRACKER on Twitter: Thank you!
And last but not least, thank you to my family. Thanks, Mom and Erin, for the enthusiasm aro
und my writing. Thank you, Andrew, for giving me the time and space to write. And to “little man,” thanks for being you. Keep smiling and laughing. I love you all.
About the Author
Growing up with a fascination for space and things that fly, Jamie turned that love into a career as an Aerospace Engineer. Combining her natural enthusiasm for Science Fiction and her love of reading, she now spends a lot of her time writing Middle Grade and Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Jamie lives in St. Louis, Missouri with her husband, Andrew, their son, and their dog, Rogue (named after the X-men not Star Wars although she loves both). When she isn't being a Rocket Scientist by day and a writer by night, she can be found catching up on the latest sci fi TV, books, and movies as well as spending time on Twitter (maybe a little too much time :-P). And no, the rocket science jokes never get old!
Through Snowy Wings Publishing, Jamie is the author of Tracker220 (October 2020). She also has two female in STEM short stories published in the Brave New Girls anthologies and two engineering-centered nonfiction pieces that published in Writer’s Digest’s Putting the Science in Fiction.
Social Media Links
Blog – http://jamiekrakover.blogspot.com/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/Rockets2Writing
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jamiekrakover/
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16483406.Jamie_Krakover?from_search=true
*Photo credit: Sharon Gutowski
Also from Snowy Wings Publishing
Starswept by Mary Fan
Earth. A century later, 15-year-old violist Iris Lei considers herself lucky to attend Papilio, a prestigious performing arts school powered by their technology. Born penniless, Iris’s one shot at a better life is to attract an Adryil patron. But only the best get hired, and competition is fierce.
A sudden encounter with an Adryil boy upends her world. Iris longs to learn about him and his faraway realm, but after the authorities arrest him for trespassing, the only evidence she has of his existence is the mysterious alien device he slipped to her.
When she starts hearing his voice in her head, she wonders if her world of backstabbing artists and pressure for perfection is driving her insane. Then, she discovers that her visions of him are real—by way of telepathy—and soon finds herself lost in the kind of impossible love she depicts in her music.
But even as their bond deepens, Iris realizes that he’s hiding something from her—and it’s dangerous. Her quest for answers leads her past her sheltered world to a strange planet lightyears away, where she uncovers secrets about Earth’s alien allies that shatter everything she knows.
http://books2read.com/starswept
Drifters by Carmen Webster Buxton
In the far future, sixteen-year-old Jehan Amato lives on Menkar VII, a colony world only recently rediscovered by the rest of the galaxy. After a run-in with a dangerous gang that wants to exploit his secret psy talent for opening locks with his mind, Jehan is sent to live in a Drifter caravan with his estranged father. But though Jehan, who has lived in New Hope City all his life, is initially wary of the nomadic people and their unfamiliar customs, in the caravan he comes to learn things about his family and himself that will change his life forever.
https://books2read.com/u/mlwxnq
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