Mavericks

Chapter 1: Midday

The beginning is the most important part of a story. If the first page holds action or secrets or some controversial proclamation, that novel is read, and that story is told to all who found their interest piqued by action or secrets or controversial proclamations. This very book starts with a mysterious girl and rather plain boy wandering about a forest past sunset, and the next chapter continues with a bold and contentious statement, and it seems that this novel is following a path you've read before. The trouble is, this is not the beginning of the story.

This story begins hundreds of years before its own characters are born, and this plot swells and moves before the heroes know there is a story to be told. And so here, at the start of the first chapter, is something of the middle of the tale. This moment is composed of neither action nor secrets, but instead it is composed of discovery. It was only now that Julian Abreu was in Verrien, Maine, that he could discover the trio of local high schoolers who were the lungs of the slumbering town. It was only now that summer had started that the trio could adventure and be seen by introverted new boys named Julian, and the trio only adventured because Elliot had fallen for a beautiful apparition in the forest. It was only because Finley cared about this apparition that Maeve followed, and it was only because Maeve followed that the beautiful apparition sought out the trio.

Alas, discovery. It's best, for the sake of understanding, to now turn to Finley, just as every character in this particular story tends to do. And Finley, you'll find, won't mind at all. He'll be at Patterson's Garden Supply, a large bag of mulch in hand, and a grin plastered onto his pretty, pale face. "So," he said teasingly as he hoisted the mulch into the bed of a pickup truck, "what's Nadia been up to?"

Elliot, who stood besides Finley in a matching green polo shirt, another bag of mulch just leaving his hands to join the pile Finley had started, grimaced. "Nadie," he corrected, his tone thick with disapproval. "Her name is Nadie, and if it's a joke to you -" he added another bag of mulch and it hit the truck bed with an unsettling thud, "don't ask about it."

"No!" Finley was at once no longer smirking, but instead his eyes spelled sincerity and the mulch on his cheek seemed desperate to prove that he was an honest man. "I want to know about her."

Elliot cautiously scanned his friend's face before turning back to the last bag of mulch and venturing, "There's nothing to say. She took me to a creek we've visited before and we sat in a tree and she told me stories. She never usually tries for variety." He dropped the final bag, wiped his hands on his jeans, and turned back to the shop.

There was a moment of silence as Elliot walked back to the doors before Finley reached him and said firmly, "I want to meet her."

"That's a nice idea," Elliot said, and he considered leaving it there before adding, "but I don't think you can."

"If she's real, that can't be true."

"No, Finley, if you haven't seen the mysterious girl who comes from the forest, it's because the mysterious girl who comes from the forest doesn't want you to see her."

"Oh, there's no reason you get to have everything exciting to yourself," he insisted.

"Except that you call her Nadia. Maybe she chooses friends based off of their ability to remember her name."

Finley was silent for a moment, and it seemed for a second like he might drop the idea, but then he said, "Maeve and I will be around your place by nine."

Elliot looked to Finley, incredulous, and said in an even tone, "If she doesn't come out because you two scare her away -"

"Don't blame Maeve for whatever happens. Nadie wouldn't know Maeve was there if she stood two feet in front of her. We won't ruin your date."