Dare You to See Me (Dare Bros Inc. #2)
Prologue
PROLOGUE
Malik - age 16
I watch the second hand tick on and on as I countdown to the end of school. The longer the time passes, the more my blood boils and rage builds. I can’t wait to beat in that assholes face in.
Everyone knows the story of the three boys no one wanted. The Dare brothers as we’ve become known as, because no one dare mess with us. If our looks don’t tell them to fuck off, our fists surely will. We’re used to a dig every now and then but for the most part, kids keep away.
But today, for some reason, Toren thought it’d be funny to point out our lack of money from our threadbare clothes to our subsidized school lunches. Apparently having money makes you exempt to being a good person.
Henny, Danté and I are jerks, but we never pick on someone for what they do or don’t have. It’s always because they’re a piece of shit.
“Hey look. It’s the poor little orphan boys. Emphasis on the poor.” He walked by our lunch table with his group of loser followers as we sat with our friends, all in similar places in their lives as us.
“Not today, Toren. You don’t want to fuck with us. So just walk away and we won’t give you a reason to visit the dentist.” Hendrix is always playing the mediator, trying to calm the waters before they get choppy.
He’d prefer not to settle arguments with his fists, but he isn’t opposed to posting up if reasoning doesn’t work.
“Aww. What’s the matter Orphan Annie? Did you find out your crackhead mom OD’d? Oh wait…you probably don’t know who your mom or dad is. They took one look at your bastard ass and dropped you at the nearest orphanage.” He laughed, as did his friends, and all I could see was red.
It was a bad day because it was the anniversary of Danté’s mom’s death. His mom always wanted him, unlike Henny and I. But the tragic story of how he came to be a warden of the state has never been shared with anyone but the foster families that took him and now with us. His brothers.
So Toren’s words hit too close to home and I’ll be damned if D has to deal with that today.
“You don’t know shit about us, so unless you want to roll up in a wheelchair next week, shut the fuck up,” I warned him.
But it seems my words only spurred him on more.
“Is that a threat?”
“Damn right it is.” The bell rang, ending the lunch period and our verbal spat. “After school. At the park. Let’s see if you’re still talking trash when I’m done with you.”
Another bell rings, snapping me out of plan. My plan to shut that jerk up and make sure he knows never to fuck with the Dare brothers again.
Students file out of classrooms and crowd the hallways, all trying to leave the prison we call school. My eyes search the see of pretentious kids for the only two people in the world I know I can trust. When I spot them, they have the same look on their face and are headed straight towards me.
“Mr. Khoury.” My name can be heard over the chatter.
My head turns slowly to look over my shoulder where I see Mrs. Cameron standing in the doorway.
“Could I speak to you for a minute?” She waves her fingers at me to meet her in the room I just exited.
I look back at Henny and D and give them the universal head nod I know they’ll understand, then go back in the opposite direction of where I want to go.
“Have a seat, Mr. Khoury.” I gulp and take a seat right in front of her desk instead of my usual in the back. “I am suggesting a curriculum change next year.”
My eyebrows knit together in confusion. “What do you mean?”
She grabs a stack of papers from the corner of her desk and places them in front of me.
“Your score on the exit quiz was impressive,” she states. “So impressive that I am recommending you for the honors program. It is a two year program in the STEM academy here on campus, and it will guarantee admission to any state university and just about any in the country.”
“I’m not going to college,” I tell her, having accepted my fate that I’ll never be anymore than a mashup.
“Excuse me? Did you just say you’re not going to college?”
“Yes ma’am.”
She round her desk, grabs the chair that sits behind it, and comes to sit directly in front of me.
“Malik. You have a brilliant mind and it deserves to shared with the world. Don’t give up on yourself before you get started. “
“No offense, Mrs. Cameron, but I don’t have the money nor the desire to go to college. I’ve got two years left on my sentence and then I’m done. I’m not looking to spending four more years tied to a desk or pulling all nighters to cram for exams.”
She tilts her head to the side and inhales a deep breath. “So what is it that you plan to do with your life after high school?” She asks and I shrug. “May I suggest something?”
“I would say no but you’re going to do it anyhow, so go right ahead.”
She gives me a small smirk. “Quit fighting others and fight for yourself.” I open my mouth to argue her on the statement but she holds up her hand, shutting me up. “You don’t have to let your past define your future. You are the only one who can choose the road to travel down. I know you and your foster siblings?—”
“Brothers. They’re my brothers.”
She nods and continues. “I know you and your brothers have not had easy lives and to be honest, I don’t think it’s fair. But you can change the trajectory. For all of you. Think about what college would mean for your future. Think about how your actions can influence others. Maybe college isn’t for your brothers, but witnessing your determination, your dedication, will have them wanting more. There is genius hiding beneath that anger. Your life may have started out as a nightmare, but it can end with all of your wildest dreams. You write the next chapters of your life.”
I sit quietly looking at her, absorbing all that she has said. I’ve never thought about a future beyond a series of mediocre jobs to help me get by. A career isn’t something I even considered.
Mrs. Cameron pats my hands that are folded on top of the desk and passes me a small smile.
“Think about what I’ve said here today, and make some decisions for your life.”
I stand and walk out of the classroom, looking back at her once more. Her eyes beg with me to make the right choice.
I find my brothers and after I bust Toren’s face, literally busting open his eye, I do think about my future. And what I want for me isn’t as important as what I want for my brothers. I want a better life for them.
So for them, I’ll fight my demons and come out victorious.