Bad Reputation
(North Shore, #1)
By: P.W. Creighton
Publisher: Self-Published
Published: Sept. 5, 2013
Genre: YA Mystery/Romance
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The North Shore Sheriff’s Department has a bit of a problem. Someone contacted the local radio station last night and left an alarming confession.
Logan and his friends may be gossiping about it but their only concern is getting through the last day of school before summer vacation. After all, tonight is the party of the year. No one wants to miss it.
But the weight of secrets will have a costly price…
Through the trees I could just barely make out the practice field ahead of me. Another little secret Sara had let me in on. The truant officer tended to make his rounds on the half-hour and kept a close eye on the path through the woods to the parking lot. If I came in from the practice field, no one would bat an eye.
“Then again,” I said aloud.
I thought about grabbing my jacket, but it really wasn’t cold enough. My phone on the other hand, I needed. Checking the screen, it was only a little after nine. Tardy, but not something that would stand out.
There was still a chance to ditch the entire day. My phone gave a brief buzz of notification. I checked it to find a text waiting. It was Hailey again.
“Where R U?”
I groaned. She was pissed at me. If I bailed, not only would Sara and Mom freak on me, Hailey would jump down my throat. I could avoid them, but I needed to take Hailey to the party tonight. I could just stand her up. I let out a heavy breath. I wanted to go though, and if I didn’t take her, she would still find a way to get there. It was just better to deal with her now than to put it off till the end of the day. Maybe she wouldn’t be too pissed.
“5 Min” I texted back and started walking towards the practice field. Old leaves and branches crunched underfoot, keeping my mind off the fact that Hailey was going to rip me a new one, and I had no clue what she was going to want.
The girl could hold a grudge better than anyone I’ve ever known.
I emerged into the open near one of the maintenance sheds. Why was I still with Hailey? She was constantly pissing me off, and she didn’t even hear me most of the time. I turned right to follow the maintenance path. I dumped Jamie for less than what I was putting up with now. I opened the texts from Hailey to scroll back. There had to be some reason.
A few days back through the texts was all I needed as a reminder. It was a ‘selfie’ shot from Hailey angled down at her. She was giving me a playful smile. Straight, platinum blonde hair, a tight low-cut top and a teasing attitude, she was hot. Knowing how she felt silenced any objections my brain could come up with at the moment.
I smiled to myself.
Tucking the phone in my front pocket, I crossed into the parking lot. I couldn’t see anyone over the cars but I didn’t need to push it. I quickened my pace towards the end of the science building.
At the far end of the concrete and faux wood building I walked around the corner to the concrete steps and black railing. I took one last breath of the free air before climbing the stairs to the heavy fire-door. It was always left unlocked so teachers could duck out to the parking lot or students could get to the athletic fields. The cold handle slipped from my grasp as I tried to open the door. I finally noticed the grease and dirt on my hands.
“Ugh,” I groaned.
A Matter of Perception
“The Boldest Actions Often Conceal The Darkest Secrets…”
While high school feels like it was an eternity ago, a statement one of my teachers made has been a defining influence on my life. When one student was concerned with how everyone was going to see them, the teachers stated that- “Everyone is too caught up in their own drama to even notice. Why waste your time wondering what they think when they’re wondering what everyone else is thinking?”
It’s that sentiment that we always fail to recognize.
There are motivations for everything. Why that one person is a bully, why that girl is a cheerleader, why that boy is a geek, and even why that teacher is being so mean.
It’s all about how we perceive it.
That very thought is at the heart of all of my novels. It was also really prevalent in our high school days because most of us just wouldn’t question the motivations, nor would we look at it from any perspective but our own. It’s in our nature to just accept what we see and filter it through our own beliefs and ideals rather than attempt to understand.
Looking at that cool guy from high school: we only saw him from our perspective. We saw that he always seemed to be mouthing off to teachers, getting in fights in the hall, skipping class, going to all of the parties and even getting in trouble with the police. Everyone knew him but no one ever questioned just why he did the things he did.
The same is true of everyone that we knew, everyone that we currently know. We perceive the actions but we never really know the motivations unless we seek to understand. Even then, the more bold the action, the more guarded the motivation.
Everyone has secrets that drive their motivations and actions.
Born in California, I have spent most of my life traveling throughout the US. I draw inspiration from my many adventures, turning my strange reality into fiction.
Over the years, I’ve found myself in many unusual situations, ranging from hanging off an 80 foot cliff-face in New York, to sailing off the coast of Salem, Massachusetts. I have had an opportunity to work at an archaeological excavation, and have even reported from the middle of a police stand-off.
When a teacher asked me in the second grade what I wanted to be when I grew up, I didn’t have an answer. To be honest, I still don’t know. I let my characters make that decision for me.
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