“Tch,” Megan scoffed, tossing her head back. “You hardly did anything at the farm this morning!”

“I argue otherwise, I had to deal with the chickens and they were feisty today, not to mention the goats.” Gil shook himself. “Ugh, those goats will try to take over the globe one day, and then I will be the one to stand atop the rubble to cry out my woes from failed warning—”

“Stop being literate and admit you are exaggerating!” Megan cut him off, jabbing a finger at him. “You told Nickie it took me hours to get done with the milking. That is physically not possible to have taken that long!”

Nicole stood between the two siblings, grasping an array of pages as she glanced back and forth at them. She’d only come to share her latest works and somehow had ended up in the middle of country-folk argument land. She was not country-folk. She did not belong there, and she very well would step back if Megan didn’t bare her teeth and snarl warnings at her attempts to run.

“Um— I don’t understand anything right now. I can go. Really, I’m fine with coming back after my nap—” Nicole spoke up, shifting her weight a little to begin stepping back.

“NO! STAY! I want to see what you wrote once I’m done ruining Gil,” Megan commanded.

“You can’t ruin me,” Gil replied from where he sat at his desk. “I am not to be ruined—” He stopped once his sister began to turn and walk away, muttering as she prepared to go to her office. “WAIT! WAIT!” Gil laughed. “Actually, I can be ruined.”

“Good change, change is good.” Megan stopped walking, nodding as she spoke. “Now, back to what I said, he wasn’t working that tough this morning. Don’t trust him. Trust me.”

“I don’t know if I trust either of you,” Nicole murmured.

“What?”

“Nothing!” She smiled. “Here I—”

A shadow passed along the hall, and a faint whisper was heard from Kaitlin before the very shadow stopped and vanished again back down the hall. The three stared, ears tuned for Kaitlin’s footsteps which seemed to have faded.

Nicole blinked and then shrugged before—

Kaitlin’s shadow appeared again, then turned around once more the moment eyes landed on it.

“Kaitlin!” Megan called out. “HEY! We heard you! What did you want to come to Gil’s office for?! To help me with my plans?!”

Gil froze. “What plans?”

Nicole shrugged. “I wish you safety, though I know that means nothing. I can’t really get involved though, so…” she trailed off.

“KAITLIN!” Megan screamed, leaning out the door way.

“Huh?” Kaitlin’s voice called back. “Hi!”

“Hi! Why did you turn around?!”

Silence, but Megan’s words of “Well come back then!” meant a possible shrug.

Kaitlin soon appeared in the doorway.

“What were you going to say?” Nicole asked with a smile. “Any new updates on Aiden?”

Kaitlin opened her mouth, then shut it. “No. I forgot.”

“Awwww.”

“I know, sorry— Do you have a Fynn snippet today?!”

“Um—” Nicole glanced to the papers. “Not really? It’s a snippet on— Dorian and some other— people.”

Kaitlin raised a brow. “What other people?”

“Oh, you know. Heh. People.”

“What people?”

Nicole curled her lips into her mouth.

“Nickie!” Megan snapped.

Nicole flinched and made a pop noise before hissing in a breath. “Ah, you know— Some relatives—”

“NOT THOSE MONSTERS!” Kaitlin snapped.

Gil leaned onto his desk and continued to work on his project as Nicole was screamed at and then chased down when she tried to make a break for it.

Nicole Soto "Do it for the Fame!" A Contemporary/Semi-Dystopian novel touching on revenge and Corruption. Following Emeric through his fight with the Game Show Empire of Fame! Written Californian Author, Nicole Soto, we all are sad because it is... NOT YET RELEASED! Click ​HERE​ to read more about Nicole!

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