Ravenwood Chronicles: Shadows and Sacrifice

Chapter One

Mr. and Mrs. Elliot, of number four Ravenswood, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in a misunderstanding or divorce, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense. Mr. Elliot was a marriage consultant who preached against divorce. He was a tall man with an athletic build and a faded moustache. Mrs. Elliot was a beautiful, thin woman with blonde hair; she loved to party, and this was the root of their divorce. She fell in love with Mr. Elliot's friend, Dwayne Garfield, and couldn't bear the guilt of cheating, so she decided to divorce without even considering their seventeen-year-old son, Chris.

Chris felt like the main victim of everything. His father was in prison for stabbing a man at a bar in a drunken rage after receiving the divorce papers. Left alone, Chris waited for his mother, Mrs. Elliot, who usually came home on weekends. But she hadn't been back in two weeks. Chris wasn't bothered about either of them because their presence had never really made a difference. He had always been a victim of bullying since he was six, but his parents never paid attention whenever he tried to talk. His father was a workaholic, and Mrs. Elliot would come home to prepare dinner and then go partying.

It was another lonely day for Chris. He stood up from his bed and walked to the bathroom to brush his teeth. After he was done, he took a shower, preparing to go to school. Once dressed, he left the house to have his breakfast at a fast-food stand, where his mother had prepaid for his meals.

"Good morning, Chris. I've been expecting you. Go have a seat; I'll bring it over," the man at the stand said. Chris sat down at an empty seat, waiting patiently for his food. A few minutes later, his food was served. He was almost done with his meal when he saw his school bus approaching. He ran to catch up with the bus, waving his hand, hoping the driver would see his reflection in the side mirror. The bus stopped, and he ran to get on before the driver changed his mind.

"Good morning," Chris greeted as he adjusted his backpack and settled down in an empty seat, adjusting his glasses.

Everyone alighted from the bus as they reached the school junction, including Chris. Murmuring filled the air; it was the normal school atmosphere with everyone walking to their various classes and students parking their bikes and cars.

Everyone got distracted by a sleek Mercedes coupe that had just parked. Curiosity peaked as they wondered who was in the car. The first thing they saw was a leg wearing an expensive high heel. The girl alighted from the car majestically. She shook her head, throwing her chestnut brown hair into the air, adjusting her stance.

"Bella, come on, let's go. We're late already," Ethan said as he exited the car. He strutted to her side, and they locked arms, walking through the school hall. As they headed to their classroom, everyone in the hall was gazing at them. Both Ethan and Bella looked expensive.

Since their first year, they had always been the talk of the school. They both came from very wealthy families and had been together for a while. They fit each other perfectly. Their relationship brought more enemies than friends. Bella was the top girl in the school, and everyone wanted to date her, but no one could compete with Ethan. The same went for Ethan; he was every girl's dream, but no one could match Bella.

They settled down in their seats, Bella at the front and Ethan behind her. The first class of the morning was history. As the students settled in, a man in a green shirt and black trousers walked in. "Good morning, everyone," he greeted.

"Good morning," the class echoed.

"I'm Andrew Nicolas," he said as he wrote his name on the dark green board. "I will be your substitute teacher. Your teacher went on an important vacation and won't be back until next month."

Murmuring filled the classroom as everyone wondered where Miss Lydia had gone.

"The class will start soon, but first I would like to know your names, starting with you," Nicolas said, pointing to the lady at the front of the left column.

"I'm Alex," she said, and the introductions began. Everyone introduced themselves. The introductions were almost over when a young man barged in with his bags.

"Good morning, sir," he said as he walked to his seat.

"Are you in this class?" Nicolas inquired curiously.

"Yes, I-"

"I lost track of time," the class echoed before he could finish his statement. Nicolas shook his head and stared at him. "What's your name?"

"I'm Bruce," he said.

"Bruce, you seem to be a perpetual latecomer. Don't be late to my class again."

"Okay, sir, I-"

"I promise it won't happen again," the class echoed along with Bruce.

"Really," Nicolas said, placing his hands on his waist. "Just go have your seat."

Bruce settled down, and the introductions continued. After they were all done, the bell rang, indicating the period was over.

"We will start our full lesson next time we meet," Nicolas said as he watched them all walk out of the classroom.

"Guy, you really have to start coming early," Ryan, Bruce's best friend, advised as they walked out of the classroom.

"I'm sorry, my phone was dead, and you know that's what I use for my alarm," Bruce said.

"Ah God, you really suck at lying. But anyway, I hope you're prepared for tonight's basketball game."

"Yes, I am, but that's not the issue right now," Bruce said as he opened his locker.

"What do you mean?" Ryan asked curiously.

"Look at that over there," Bruce said, nodding towards Bella and Ethan.

"Really? I already told you to forget about dating Bella. She won't date you. Stop living in this fantasy and come to reality," Ryan discouraged.

"Why? Because she's with Ethan? Ethan doesn't even like her. He's with her because he knows he would get more attention from people through her. He's a guy that seeks attention," Bruce said as he locked his locker. They were heading to the basketball court to train before tonight's match. Both of them were on the school basketball team, but Ryan had never started a game; he was always benched. He had been benched since he flopped in his first game in his third year.

"Ethan needs attention? Come on, he's the richest guy in school and the captain of the basketball team. That's enough to be the most popular guy on campus. Dating the richest girl in school isn't giving him any more attention," Ryan said.

"Whatever, but I promise you, she will be mine soon. I will strip him of the basketball captaincy this year, and I will be the new captain."

"I'm not saying it's impossible, but remember this is our last year," Ryan reminded him, pointing out his slim chances. They reached the basketball court where the school basketball team was discussing tonight's game strategy with Coach Kyle.

"Bruce Cole! Come over here," the coach called him. They dropped their bags at the audience seats and changed into the school training outfits. They moved closer to Mr. Kyle to discuss the game tactics.

"Bruce and Ethan, you guys really have to work together, especially you, Bruce. I'm supposed to bench you, but Henry is injured. You had a lot of chances to pass the ball to Ethan last game, but you decided to shoot. Thank God we didn't lose, but it almost cost us. I want teamwork. We can only proceed to the next stage if we all work together. When we win, we all shine. Is that clear? Pass the ball to Ethan. You only shoot when necessary," Mr. Kyle instructed.

"Yes, coach, I will make you proud tonight," Bruce said.

"No, I'm not asking you to make me proud. I want you to pass the ball to Ethan. The instruction is clear and simple: pass the ball to Ethan," Mr. Kyle repeated.

"Okay, coach," Bruce said.

"Good. Let's try out the tactics. Don't forget to pass the ball to Ethan, Bruce. Come on, boys," Mr. Kyle said, clapping his hands to energize the team.

They did a few laps and stretches before starting the tactics training. The discussed tactics took some time to perfect. The game meant a lot to everyone on the team because it was an elimination match. If they won, they would proceed to the semi-finals; if they lost, they were out. They had come too far to be eliminated now. But that never really mattered to Bruce. All he was thinking about was outshining Ethan in tonight's game, just hoping it wouldn't cost them the game.