Fierce as I Want to Be

By Tawana Daniel

Who is Samantha O. Michaels? Everyone else seems to know, except for Samantha herself. After waking up out of a coma from a tragic accident, Samantha realizes that putting together the pieces of her life, is not going to be as easy as she thinks. From mysterious people to dark secrets, Samantha is on a quest for answers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 21, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493196388

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Tawana Daniel.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2014906150

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-4931-9639-5

                Softcover         978-1-4931-9640-1

                eBook               978-1-4931-9638-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Rev. date: 05/12/2014

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris LLC

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

618008

Contents

Chapter 1   Hold Me Back:

Chapter 2   Drama Queen:

Chapter 3   Going Crazy:

Chapter 4   Oompa Loompa:

Chapter 5   Shine Bright Like A Diamond:

Chapter 6   Girl Interrupted:

Chapter 7   Hot Pink Elephant:

Chapter 8   Apricots And Vanilla Ice Cream:

Chapter 9   Hearts And Skulls:

Chapter 10   Princeton

Chapter 11   Candies, Candies Everywhere!

Chapter 12   The Tall Guy

Chapter 13   Party Hardy

Chapter 14   Just In The Nick Of Time

Chapter 15   The World Of The Wicked Witch Of The West:

Chapter 16   Ghost Town:

Chapter 17   Lexi’s Private Thoughts:

Chapter 18   Blood, Sweat Or Tears

In loving memory of Oscar Rhodes.

Dedication

I want to dedicate this book to my past, present and future students. I hope this book not only inspires you to write, but also teaches you a little grammar. As you read it for recreation, I challenge you to see how many grammatical errors you can find. There are punctuation, spelling and tense errors to look for. Remember, there’s always a lesson to be learned in everything! Happy hunting!

Acknowledgements

I wish to extend my sincerest thanks to the following: My mother, Bertha Logan, who always taught me that nothing comes easy, but with hard work anything is possible; My husband, Winsor Daniel Jr., who has truly showed me that the sky is the limit; My children, Shey and Mikey Daniel, whose go getter attitudes continue to fuel my fire; and the numerous family, close friends and students who have supported me.

For I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.—Phillipians 4:13

Chapter 1

HOLD ME BACK:

As I sized up the competition around me, I knew that this was it. This was my opportunity to show all those haters who was boss. I am tired of them thinking that I was the underdog of the team. After the third rotation, I am in the lead. 9.6 on vault, 9.75 on floor and 9.45 on beam. Bars are my favorite event, so I know I can win this. As I chalk up and wait for my turn, Nancy is up. Right before she presents to the judges, she looks at me and gives me the I hope you choke look. Screw her. I know we are supposed to be teammates, but I sure hope she chokes. There’s no I in team, but there is one in gymnastics.

While she does her routine, I go through mine in my head. It was perfect in my head, so I am feeling super confident. I am Samantha Olivia Michaels, the star of this team. I run this. Rick Ross’s ‘Hold Me Back’ song plays in my head. I got this.

As I hear her feet hit the mat at the finish of her dismount, my heart starts to pound. I’m up. I take a big sip of my water and step up to the mat. Samantha Michaels, calls the judge. I present and begin. Let’s get the mental checklist started. Kip, check. Free hip back to kip, check. Cast pike on, check. Jump to high bar, check. Tap swing to uprise, check. Cast handstand, check. Giant, giant, pirouette, check. Giant, giant, lay out fly away… sudden blackness. Wait, what’s going on? What’s happening? Am I dreaming?

Chapter 2

DRAMA QUEEN:

It’s dark in here. I am really hot. Where am I? I can’t open my eyes. I keep hearing a