New Release: The Seastead Girl
Sami leaves behind her whole life when her family moves to a seastead--an artificial island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
And the day she arrives, she overhears the hottest guy there secretly planning to oust her family from the island.
But two can play that game. Sami isn’t going to let any guy push around her family. Or her. No matter how gorgeous he is…
This is a stand-alone Young Adult Romance Science Fiction novel in the world of the Seastead Adventures.
The welcoming train arrived at the center of the seastead. In the hub clustered a number of large buildings, some of which looked like warehouses, some like factories, and one which proclaimed itself as the Sea Crest Grand Hotel. Next to the Grand Hotel was a huge swimming pool with water slides and fountains, like something you’d find at a small waterpark or on a cruise ship.
However, the waterpark disappeared from view as the train pulled in front of the entrance to the Grand Hotel, which had some architectural flair, but, compared to the hotels in Hawaii, didn't bowl me over with its opulence. We disembarked and entered the foyer. Fiona’s mom directed us to a standard hotel banquet room where a buffet had been set up along one wall. There were tables with tablecloth and silverware set out, far more than we needed. And we were invited to sit down wherever we choose after helping ourselves to as much of the food as we wanted. All of this was part of the company’s welcoming package.
The buffet had every variety of food you could imagine - shrimp, lobster legs, sushi, fish, salads and vegetables that couldn’t possibly grow on Sea Crest, ham, roast beef, turkey, chicken, sausages, noodles, pasta … I could go on and on, but you get the idea. We lugged our overflowing plates and found a table. About ten minutes after we sat down, the banquet room started to fill up with strangers. Fiona informed me they were mostly contract workers, not permanent residents, who lived in the hotel and ate here every day. They had that fit, competent look, strong bodies and scrubbed-faces, young men and women in their 20s and 30s. Some of them were in utility suits, and some of them were in business suits, and some of them relaxed in casual beach attire. I wondered what each of them did and why they had come to Sea Crest and if they planned to stay here permanently or go back home. Although everyone spoke English, the common language on Sea Crest, I could tell from the variety of accents that they came from all over the world.
I wolfed down my food and when I saw that I was the only one who had finished, asked to be excused to go to the restroom. Dad and Mom, who were both deep in conversation with Fiona’s mom and dad, nodded absentmindedly. I slipped away. It wasn’t hard to find a restroom. I briefly used the restroom as a refuge. When I emerged, I didn’t return to the banquet room right away.
Instead, I headed towards the back of the hotel lobby to where a huge glass wall showed the enticing swimming pool. The pool approximated a scalene triangle, but curvy on the sides, with fake coral reefs and real tropical plants along the edge. There was a structure in the middle, designed to look like a volcano in a lagoon, with the red slides of “lava” coming down the mountain sides in three directions to the water. A water bar jutted up from one of the triangular loops and a fountain gushed on the second. The third pseudopod of the pool bulged out into a jacuzzi, which was occupied by number of noisy teenagers.
I found a door to the outdoor pool area, and when no one was looking, I slipped out of the air-conditioned hotel into the intense afternoon heat.
I wasn’t ready to meet the group near the pool yet, but I admit I was curious. Thanks to the number of tropical plants in the courtyard, I was able to edge closer to the pool without being seen. I swear I wasn’t intending to eavesdrop, but to my surprise, because of the strange sound effects of their voices bouncing off the glass wall of the hotel, I was able to hear their conversation.
One of the boys sat with his back to me. He had short black hair, broad tanned shoulders and-it was clear even from this angle-an athletic build. But his voice was what caught my attention. He had a delicious, rich laugh, and a cultured British accent paired with a slightly ironic tone that made everything he said sound amusing, even when I couldn’t quite hear the words.
I crept a little closer, promising myself I would only linger a moment or two more before I returned to my family in the banquet room.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered the teens were talking about me.
I challenge you NOT to eavesdrop when you hear a group of total strangers, including one extreme hottie, say your name.
“Samantha Granger,” he said and this time I could hear his words as crisp and clear as daylight. “She’s the weak link.”
I stiffened. What. The. Hell.
“Are you really going to do it?” another voice asked, one of the girls. I couldn’t tell which one because a banana leaf blocked my view.
“Why not?” asked the hottie arrogantly. Whereas before he had sounded good-humored and ironic, now an angry edge entered his voice. “Everyone says you should go for your dream. Do whatever it takes to succeed. Why shouldn’t I do the same? And it’s never going to happen as long as the Grangers are here.”
“I don’t see how you’re going to do it,” said the girl. “This isn’t a Survivor rerun. We don’t get to vote people off the island.”
“Families can vote themselves off the island.” More ominously, the hottie-but-obviously-an-arrogant-jerk added, “Or they can be expelled. If the girl screws up big-time, the rest of the family will leave out of shame...”
I don’t think I moved or made a sound, but another guy in the jacuzzi, one of those the hottie was talking to, looked around nervously and cautioned, “Shhhhh. Don’t let anyone hear you. This isn’t the place to plan out what you’re going to do. But I want to help. This project sounds like fun.”
“Project Oust The Grangers,” said another boy, before he too was shushed.
After that they lowered their voices and, I assume, changed the conversation, but I didn’t take any chances that they would see me. I backed up as quietly and quickly as I could and returned to the banquet room. Inside I was seething.
We’d only just arrived, and already someone was determined to oust us-even worse, to sabotage us? But why, why, did they think we were a problem? And why did The Haughty Hottie think that I was the Weak Link? And what the hell was he planning to do about it?
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