MY STORY BEFORE THE STORY ~ Nyssa ~ Fortune’s Fall ~ by Katherine Barger

Nyssa ~

“I’m not going. And you shouldn’t either.” I try to shove my best friend, Greer, out of my doorway, but he doesn’t budge. I glare up at him. A wisp of frizzy hair has fallen loose from my ponytail and tickles my cheek. I shove it behind my ear and try to close the door again.

            “Aw, come on, Nyssa,” Greer says. He presses his fingers against the door to keep it from closing. “You’ve been studying all week. You can take a break and go downtown with everyone. It’s just dinner.” He presses his hands together. “Please?”

            “Nope.” I shake my head. “Now get out. Go study. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I try to close the door again, and this time he takes a step backward with a wounded pout. “Night!” I slam the door, then whirl and lean against it to survey the small common room that connects my room with Ethelind’s. We’ve been roommates since we arrived seven years ago to study in the prestigious Presidential Education Program. Now, here we are: seventeen years old, on the cusp of our final exam and graduation, and about to enter the next level of elite training for America’s smartest students.

            Am I ready for this?

            I smooth a few more flyaways from my face and cross the common room to my bedroom, then take a running leap onto my bed and burrow beneath my paisley quilt. Some would say I was born ready. When you have a gift like mine, it’s hard to argue the point.

            I sigh and flip onto my back to stare up at the ceiling. My room is cold—too cold. It’s still spring, but the Central Capital’s humid summer heat will arrive any day, and this freezing temperature is a preemptive attack.

            The silence is soothing, and I close my eyes. It’s been a year since President Omri had his last prophetic dream. A year since my mentor Pallas and I explained to him what it meant. And while we wait and wonder whether he’ll ever have another, Pallas and I work through his others, studying the symbols and arguing over what they mean.

            I open my eyes. Tomorrow, I’ll take an exam that doesn’t matter. At least not to me. My friends’ futures might ride on their test scores, but mine was determined long ago.

            I’m destined to become the president’s dream interpreter.

            The silence lulls me into a daze, and my eyelids grow heavy. There’s no need to tell Greer I slept instead of studied. Sometimes, omission is better than truth.

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            The next morning, I sink into a metal chair placed at one of the many desks that sits in the auditorium. I spot Greer’s buzzed blond head near the front. He turns and our gazes meet. He grins, then whirls to face the front before I can respond.

            I shake my head, my own lips curled in a smile, as I secure my earpiece and turn on my tablet. There will be plenty of time for celebratory dinners after this is over.

             The mentor who will monitor our exams steps to the front of the room. “Good morning. Please press the green square at the top of your screen. The exam will begin shortly. Good luck."

            I do as commanded, then wait for the exam to start. The screen glows blue and a voice speaks the first question into my earpiece.

            One deep breath later and I’m ready. A bolt of excitement shoots down my spine. I’m about to finish this chapter and move to the next.

            If I’d known in that moment what the future held, would I still have wished for tomorrow? 

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The author will be gifting a winner an autographed copy of Fortune's Fall (U.S. Only)

Be sure to leave a comment with an email address where you can be reached should you win.

DRAWING TO BE HELD WEDNESDAY EVENING ~ November 25, 2020.

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My Story Title:     Fortune's Fall

My Story Genre:   YA Christian Dystopian 

My Story Released:         November 3, 2020

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The Author of My Story:    Katherine Barger

Katherine Barger  writes stories about characters of faith in a world where faith is challenged. When she’s not wrangling kids alongside her forever-forbearing husband, she’s writing, eating Mexican food, or snuggling with her family’s two rescue pets: a dog named Queen Elsa and a cat named Princess Jasmine. 

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Get Connected:

• Website:      https://katherinebarger.com
• Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/kbargerauthor/
• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/KBargerAuthor

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WHERE can the book be purchased?

• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Fortunes-Fall-Katherine-Barger-ebook/dp/B08KYFXTCN/ref

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