Teagan’s Prologue
Prologue
High School - Freshman Year
A silver paper clip sailed across the classroom and collided with a model frog skeleton on the windowsill. The tiny foot snapped like a parched twig and tumbled to the hard, linoleum floor. A cheer erupted from the jocks in the back of the room, muffling my sigh.
“Bullseye!” Scott Anderson boomed, fist-punching the air. His buddies cheered him on like he had just won the Nobel prize for discovering a cure for cancer. Wait…who am I kidding? They cheered as if he’d caught the winning touchdown pass in the town’s annual Turkey Bowl, an accomplishment that definitely would make the headlines around here.
Seriously, how did they find those games funny year after year? Freshman year hadn’t been the change I hoped to see. For that matter, high school itself wasn’t quite the experience I’d imagined.
I snapped the little frog-foot back in place, then let out a frustrated groan as the chipped bones swayed a bit to the side.
Scott sent me a beaming smile, quirking his head the same way he had when we’d played together as kids. He was always the one for mischief, while I’d been left to bail him out. Despite my blatant eye roll, he headed my way, hopping over a few desks in the process.
He propped himself on the empty one beside me. “Hey, Teagan. How’s it going?”
“Fine.” I shook my head to loosen his gentle tug on my ponytail—another thing that hadn’t changed since childhood.
“So, who’s taking you to the Spring Fling?”
Couldn’t anyone talk about anything else? No one around here saw anything outside of our small town and its outdated traditions. “I’m not sure I’m even going.”
“You gotta go. Come with me. It’ll be fun.” His eyes took on that mischievous glint that always came before what was certain to be a fun-but-foolish adventure.
Jamie gasped behind me, and I almost laughed out loud. An invitation from Scott to…well, anywhere…would probably be a dream for most girls in our class. For me, though, the guy was like a brother—a loud, annoying, rowdy one. Granted, he was also cute and lovable in his own way, but still a huge pain.
So, while going to the dance with Scott wasn’t a dream come true for me, it was better than being set up by one of my friends and having to make tedious conversation all night with some guy I didn’t even know. If I was going to get dragged to the dance anyway, I might as well go with him.
I shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
“Ah, the answer every guy wants to hear.” He laughed and tugged my ponytail one last time before heading back to his buddies. “I’ll call you.”
I nodded without looking back.
Jamie sighed. “You’re so lucky.”
Before I could respond, the classroom door swung open.
“Attention, class!” Mrs. Benson hollered the greeting as she spun on one heel. “We have a very special guest today.” She swung one arm in a lavish flourish as a man followed her into the room. “This is Mr. Sean Fitzpatrick, program director of the Emerald Isle University’s Science Research Scholar’s Program.”
Wearing green plaid pants, a brown sweater vest, and swinging a walking stick, Mr. Fitzpatrick might have stepped straight out of an Irish fairytale. To further the illusion, a black tweed cap sat slightly askew on his round head, and wiry red hair poked out from under the brim.
As the funny-looking man talked about the research program, I sat up straighter and leaned forward, the tingle of a new dream taking root. The possibility of an adventure—one Scott’s antics could never come close to matching—called to me from somewhere in the distance. All thoughts of the Spring Fling disappeared from my mind. I envisioned instead the possibility of a very different future—one where I’m far, far away in a land of rolling green hills and magical tales.
And so my story begins.
Copyright 2023 Colleen Marie