Arianna's Awakening (Arianna Rose Part 1 & The Awakening Part 2) by Christopher Martucci, Jennifer Martucci Page B

trespass against the Lord.”
    “Amen!” Mark said and gripped his son MJ’s shoulder.  “Amen son.”
    Howard watched as MJ’s eyes surveyed the room, the blood that had splattered against the concrete walls and seemed to dance in the flickering candlelight.  A smile tugged at the corner of the boy’s mouth and he looked to Howard and said, “Amen.”  With his loyal followers and God on his side, Howard knew the Sola’s days were numbered.  She, like the sinners he stood before, would fall.

Chapter 8
     
    Starting the day by losing control of her bike and careening down a stretch of road on her back had not been Arianna’s first choice of ways to begin her day.  She felt safe assuming that the accident would be the lowest point of her day, and that anything else that happened thereafter couldn’t possibly be worse.  Not even her second day at her new school.  In fact, thanks to her new friend, Luke, Herald Falls High School didn’t seem half bad, even though she was forced to face it dressed like a prostitute.  She ran her hands down her abdomen and touched her borrowed clothes.  Luke’s sister had surprised her with her generosity, but in her clothes, she felt less like herself.  She felt vulnerable.  Though she’d never shied away from wearing tight clothing, the thin material of Stephanie’s yoga pants left little to the imagination.  Every curve of her body was on display.  The T-shirt she’d borrowed was more fitted than the ones she normally wore as well.  The cotton and spandex blend of the fabric stretched and strained across her chest and hugged the contours of her breasts.   She wished her sweater had fared better so that she could have covered up with it.  She’d wanted to ask Luke for his, but he’d done so much for her already.  His offer to connect her with an inexpensive mechanic to fix her bike was more than she could have possibly expected, not that she’d expected anything that had happened earlier in the morning.
    The morning, and the accident, was still so fresh in her mind.  Each time she blinked, she saw a glimpse of it.  The world rushing at her as her bike spiraled out of control, scraping along the asphalt, rolling down the hill, and the strange man on the side of the road.  Images unceasingly presented themselves, but none more disturbing than the man.  The stranger on the side of the road had distracted her, and had arguably instigated her crash.  But she did not want to think about him.  Not now.  She had a long day ahead of her.
    Pulling one of two large doors toward her, she pushed the mystery man to the back of her mind, replaced by a sudden need for nicotine.  She could not remember when she’d had her last cigarette and felt a distinct edge encroaching on her temper.  Walking toward her first period class, she decided she’d sneak out at her first opportunity to the small clearing.  Even if she only managed a few drags, the nicotine would mellow the irritability she felt.  She dug through her bag and found her course schedule wadded at the bottom.  She smoothed the creases as best she could and saw that her first class was just a few doors from where she stood.  Few students lingered in the hallway.  The first bell had rung while she had been in the parking lot with Luke.  The ones that remained watched her, though they tried to do so discreetly.  She would have loved to stare each of them down, freeze them out with her hardest look, but there was no time.  She jogged to her class and crossed the threshold just as the second bell rang.
    Everyone was already seated.  Arianna looked at roughly twenty-five or so sets of eyes.  And they were all on her.  All looked unfamiliar, save for one.  Cheryl Charles narrowed her green eyes at her and smirked. 
    Arianna resisted the urge to walk to her desk and wipe the stupid grin she wore right off her face, and probably would have, had her teacher not begun to speak.
    “Oh, hello there,” he