Along Came Neil: Wings From Ashes, #3

By Linda Nelson

There's a new boy in town, and Ashley wants him badly. Will Karla steal her man too? 
Karla Centon no longer is the newest student at Brantwood High. Since moving to Brantwood six months ago, her life had been going nowhere in the right direction until she meets Neil Allard, a handsome cheerful boy who wrestles his way into her heart. Karla takes an instant disliking to Neil because she thinks he's not her type. However, what is her type? Is it tall skinny guys who wear baseball hats backwards and who happen to be bad boys or warm loveable funny guys who are more than just nice occasionally, like Neil? 
Ashley likes Neil too, and her friend Maggie tries her best to keep Karla away from him. However, when Ashley starts making a big deal out of his wandering eyes, Neil doesn't like it. Karla is his friend, which is more than either of the other two girls can say. Karla begins to notice that Neil is actually rather incredible at heart. He may not have the body type she is attracted to, but his good-hearted nature attracts her instead. Finally, when Ashley throws one last tantrum at the dance over Karla, Neil has had enough. Who will really win Neil's heart?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Keelaa B Publishing
• Release date: Jun 11, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386042488

Linda Nelson

Linda J Nelson  who is a Franklin Pierce University college student that studies Business, Accounting, and Social Services writes fiction about drugs, addiction, alcohol, and substance abuse as a mother and parent of an addict whose child was a runaway and involved in crime, and also writes Slipstream Fantasy and blogs about controversial subjects and the life of a writer. She lives in Southern New Hampshire and is a member of RWA and the Monadnock Writers Group

Book preview

1

ASHLEY SAW HIM FIRST, but there wasn’t much to miss. The blonde haired boy shuffled down the hallway to an empty locker that was available no longer. Apparently it was his locker now.

His hair was in need of a cut, which was evident by the way it curled about the bottom of the back of his neck while his bangs hung over his forehead almost hiding his eyes. He swung his head from side to side every so often to get his bangs out of his deep blue eyes.

He was stocky and chunky. Not actually fat he was just chunky. His face showed determination as he checked his paper before locating the appointed locker.

Ashley thought about asking him if he needed any help. She was just on the verge of going over to him when Maggie spotted her and called out.

Hey Ashley, are you going to class? The bell rang, you had better hurry, or you’ll be late.

Just need my book. Ashley said as she shut her locker.

They were about to reach the new guy, Ashley grabbed a hold of Maggie’s arm and steered her away from him. It wasn’t because she was afraid to bump into him. She wouldn’t have minded that at all. It was because she needed to tell Maggie something, it was about him.

Maggie, did you see him, the new kid?

Yeah, I saw him, Maggie looked toward the chunky boy, and he is at Gerry’s locker. That isn’t right. They have no right to give Gerry’s locker away to some new kid.

So I guess you don’t know who he is either?

Maggie stopped short. Are you asking me who he is? Why?

Ashley couldn’t help but smile as the stocky boy walked by.

Maggie saw her smile. She grabbed a hold of her friend’s arm and spun her around. You like him, don’t you?

Well he is kind of cute.

But he’s ... Maggie was afraid to say it.

He’s not fat Maggie. He is chunky. There is more to hold, and more to love, that’s all. It’s what’s inside is all that matters.

Ashley likes someone. Maggie decided right then and there, she was going to see to it that the two of them happened. This was going to be her calling. She would fix them up. Ashley would be grateful for her help.

Karla couldn’t help but notice Ashley and Maggie in the hallway. They were whispering behind their hands just as she had seen them do many times before, only this time they were a bit louder than normal. Karla heard every word they had said while talking about the new kid.

It was over; Maggie caught Karla looking at them. She stormed over to where she stood and yelled, Bitch, and shoved Karla into her locker causing her to hit her head and jam her finger in the nearly shut door while a group of students walked on by, paying them no attention.

Ouch... What the hell is wrong with you? Karla dropped her books on the floor and pressed one hand against where she had banged her head, and her jammed finger went into her mouth.

Maggie shoved Karla one more time. You’re my problem bitch. Learn to mind your own business.

Karla didn’t say a word. She knew what Maggie’s problem was, not just the fact that she just happened to overhear them talking just minutes before. She also had a choice, she could fight back and risk getting into trouble or let it all go.

The bell rang signaling everyone needed to be at their first class within the next few minutes or else they would be late.

This was one of those times where Karla was relieved to hear the bell.

So much had happened to Karla ever since her parents had decided to move to Brantwood about six months ago. Almost all of which were unpleasant in general, with lots of horrible choices.

After her last episode,  she was going to have to knuckle down on studying for the rest of the year just to catch up in order to pass on to the next grade with relatively decent grades. Right now she was averaging around a C minus, and that didn’t go over well with her plans she had for when she graduated from high school. She wanted to go off to college, get a degree just like her friends Jody and Sarah.

Ever since Karla had moved to Brantwood, her life seemed to be going downhill. Even her home life was disrupted.

The bell rang again just as Karla made it in the Science class behind the slow moving stocky guy. Great she thought, another new student, well at least she was finally moving up the totem pole.

If Carol, her new best friend, had been in school, Maggie would never have started going after her the way she had been doing as of late. She couldn’t wait for Carol to be back in school. She would put Maggie in her place once and for all. Karla could fight back if she wanted to. But she didn’t want to go that route.

Maggie sat at her desk and gave Karla a glare that she did her best to ignore while Maggie’s friend Ashley seemed to look right through her. Instinctively Karla turned to see what Ashley was looking at. She was looking at the new student. The boy the two girls had been talking about this morning right before she was shoved.

Science was the only class Karla had to suffer with Maggie. She could feel the invisible daggers stabbing her in the back right up until the next bell rang.

But an excellent Science teacher can make a student forget about everyone else in the room and that is just what Mrs. Bowman did for Karla. Before she knew it, class was over, and she was on her way, rushing off to her next class, leaving Maggie behind in her dust. 

2 

THE BELL RANG. NEIL lurched from his chair shoving his papers into his notebook. He needed to hurry to find his schedule and perhaps the map of the school. He didn’t have a clue as to where his next class was located.

Almost all of the students from the Science room had left. All but three, and one of them was on her way out the door. If he hurried, he could catch up with her, and maybe he could ask her where he was to go. But he was such a klutz. He dumped his notebook as one of the other girls still in the room joined the one leaving.

That meant there was only one left to ask, and she was about to leave too.

Hey, can you help me? Neil called out to the girl before she walked out the door. He once again shoved papers inside his notebook, this time he slowed down to put it away in his backpack, and hurried to catch up with her.

She slowed up and waited for him inside the doorway. He held out his schedule toward her.

I have Math next in room 224. How do I get there?

His voice was shaky, he was nervous from dumping his notebook plus he was talking to a girl and he was afraid he was going to be late to his next class

.

Karla stopped and waited. She took hold of his schedule and scanned it, rolling her eyes. Good Lord, she thought, he was in almost every one of her classes. She handed it back to him, and said, I’m going there next, follow me.

For the rest of the day,  Neil followed Karla all over the school like a long lost puppy dog. She couldn’t wait to get away from him at lunch. It was so annoying to have to take the new kid around school. Maybe this was how everyone else felt when she first started here just five months ago.

Karla was so relieved when he didn’t eat lunch with her, Darcy and Heath. It was the only peace she was able to find until the end of the school day. The kid was always asking her where this class was and where that class was. Hopefully he would be able to find them all on his own tomorrow.

So, who’s the new kid? Darcy and Heath asked, almost in unison.

I don’t know, Neil something. That’s it, that’s all I know. The frigging kid is in almost all of my classes too.

Well, I think he likes you, replied Darcy.

Karla rolled her eyes. She had a boyfriend. He was somewhere down south. It was only a matter of time before he came back to Brantwood.

Karla crunched up her lunch wrappings into a ball and held it in her fist. Naw, I think you are mistaking that look for someone who is grateful that they are being shown how to get around this place. She just couldn’t picture herself with someone that looked like him.

Darcy teased, No, I think I’m right. I think he really likes you. Maybe he’ll ask you out to the dance next month.

I’m not going to any dance with him.

Heath joined Darcy with the teasing, Why not?

Because I’m not...

But he’s cute, Karla, Darcy teased some more.

He’s not cute. He’s fat.

There, Karla blurted it out.

He’s not fat, Darcy giggled, He’s plump, no chunky. Yeah, chunky is a better word for him.

Come on Karla; give the kid a chance will you? How else do you think you’re going to find a date for the Valentines Dance? You need to ask him to go to it with you before someone else does.

You have to be kidding, Heath, I’m not going to go to the dance with him. I’ll be lucky to even be able to go to the dance period. My dad has me grounded until graduation. That’s like three years from now. Four years if I don’t graduate this year.

Heath and Darcy laughed at Karla. She always took things so seriously, sometimes too seriously.

TWO TABLES OVER, MAGGIE and Ashley were having their little chat about the new boy.

Did you see that? That Karla, the little slut bag, is about to steal your man. Are you going to sit back and let it happen?

Maggie, she hasn’t stolen him. He is just following her because he is in the same classes as her, that’s all.

How can you just sit back and make excuses for her? I thought you liked him? Well what is it, do you like him or not?

I do, it’s just that I think you are making a big deal out of nothing. It is his first day; give Karla a break for once. I really don’t think she is interested in him.

"I’m telling you, you shouldn’t trust that bitch. She’s a man stealer. She stole my man and see what happened to him.

Don’t you think it is odd that he is using Gerry’s locker? I think that is why she likes him."

What does that have to do with anything? Just because he is using Gerry’s locker, doesn’t mean a thing.

"Well I think it does. I think Karla is after him because he reminds her of Gerry.

I know, you’re afraid to ask him out, but I think you should before Karla does."

No,  I’m not.

Then prove it. Ask him to the Valentine’s Dance.

But I don’t like to dance.

"Well, maybe he doesn’t like to dance either. By the looks of it, he probably doesn’t, so you probably would be perfect for each other. You could both sit and sip drinks and watch everyone else dance.

And, if you’re afraid to ask him out, I’ll be more than happy to ask him out for you."

No, that’s quite alright. I can ask him out myself when I’m ready.

Well then you had better hurry. Maggie cast one more glare in Karla’s direction. If she made a move for that new kid before Ashley made her own move, then Karla, that bitch, would be in for it. Maggie would see to it. There was no way Maggie was going to sit by and watch Karla steal another girl’s man, especially when it was Ashley’s man.

So help her if she did...

3 

DODGE BALL, KARLA’S most hated game in gym. She wasn’t fast and was hit by the ball nearly as soon as the game would start, every single time. Why did the ball always have to sting so much?

She took a seat on the floor and waited out the game. Gym was never quite her favorite class. Sports wasn’t her thing.

A little over a month ago she had tried to fool herself about how she felt about sports by having her boyfriend, Max, teach her how to shoot hoops. It was funny that she was beginning to get pretty decent at it and was starting to enjoy the sport. But since she had gotten back and he was nowhere in sight she had lost all interest in the sport. There was no time to shoot hoops anyway. She had to pour herself into her school work if she were going to graduate this year.

Again the new kid, Neil was in another one of her classes. It was bold of him to get the guys to pick him early in the selection of teams. None of them knew if he could even play.

He was quite adept at Dodge Ball.

Karla watched as he moved back and forth with ease. Not bad for someone in his weight class. In fact,  he seemed pretty confident with the game. He had almost taken out the whole other team all on his own.

Thwack...

Neil was down. The ball hit him squarely in the chest knocking him off his feet. This was not just a dodge ball throw it was a deliberately whipped ball.

That had to hurt. Karla was sure of it.

The gym teacher blew his whistle bringing the game to a halt and addressed the student who had sent the ball sailing full speed at Neil.

Manny, that wasn’t necessary. I want ten laps around the gym and a detention after school.

Manny gave the teacher a tight lipped smile, mocking him.

"Do you want another