Shadow Force (eBook)

Zontea Andrei (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
200 Seiten
Publishdrive (Verlag)
978-0-00-107885-7 (ISBN)

Infos

Andrei and Andreea thought starting high school in Toronto would be a easy fresh start-but they couldn't be more wrong. From the moment they arrive, the city teems with people who wield strange and dangerous powers. Friendships are tested, secrets come to light, and everyday life becomes a battlefield. As threats rise around them, Andrei and Andreea must figure out how this will affect their life.

Textauszug

Prologue-August 8th 2022,Galati

Andrei

“Wake up, bro—11A.M,” Roxana calls from the doorway, her tone half-annoyed, half-amused. My twin sister clearly gets a kick out of dragging me out of bed.

“Do you know I was up until four a.m.?” I mumble, eyes barely open. “Why can’t you let me sleep in peace?”

She steps into the room, arms crossed. “One: you need a better sleep schedule. Two: someone’s been waiting for you this whole time, so get up.”

“Can you tell them I’d rather fuckin'—” I start, yawning, but the door swings open again before I can finish.

“Andrei,” Andreea’s voice rings out, warm but firm. She brushes past Roxana and stands at the foot of my bed. “I was hoping you’d be up so we can grab that coffee you promised. Guess I’m out of luck.” And there it is—Andreea, my best friend (and the girl I’m terrified to tell I like).

“Oh shit, sorry—I completely forgot,” I say, springing out of bed. “Give me five minutes to get ready.”

“Five minutes,” Andreea repeats, smirking. “Tick tock.”

Once I’m dressed, I fling my phone into my bag and race downstairs. Andreea’s already leaning against the wall outside.

“You’re actually on time for once,” she teases.

“I overslept,” I admit, shrugging. “We’re late.”

“True,” she laughs. “But you usually make me wait.”

“If we’re done with the commentary, let’s go.” I say, then together we head toward the coffee shop.

Five minutes later, we slip into the coffee shop and place our orders. Andreea and I settle at a corner table by the window, where sunlight glints off her iced latte.

“You know Roxana’s on a date with Fabian, right?” Andreea asks, taking a slow sip.

“Yeah,” I grin, scanning the street beyond the glass. “It’s pretty obvious they’re into each other.”

“They’ve been flirting forever,” she teases. “But what about you?”

I shift in my seat, watching a group of pigeons peck at crumbs. “You know me—I always run it by you first.”

“Fair enough,” she laughs, then grows more serious. “Two weeks until Toronto. How do you feel about it?”

“A fresh start in a new country is exciting,” I admit, finishing my coffee. “But I’m also really looking forward to meeting Anis and Susie.”

“And you’re calling her Susie in person? Not Sayo?” Andreea raises an eyebrow.

I shrug. “Yeah. It’s weird—everyone online knows her as Sayo, but in real life, it feels different.” She smiles knowingly. “Fair point.”

Andreea stands and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Park?” she asks, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Sure,” I reply, pushing back from the table.

She grins. “Maybe I’ll help you find someone to talk to.”

I roll my eyes but can’t help smiling. “Let's just go.”

Together, we step out into the sunlit street, laughter trailing behind us as we head toward the park.

“We could talk about Spurs’ 4–1 win over Southampton,” I suggest, walking beside her as we approach the park entrance.

“No thanks,” Andreea replies, shaking her head. “I heard Fabian screaming last night—his team can’t catch a break.”

“He’s a United fan,” I shrug. “But losing to Brighton at home is pretty traumatic.”

She slides onto a sun-warmed bench. “So… any ideas what our new school will look like? I heard they’ve got lockers and all that.”

“Don’t set your hopes too high,” I say, settling beside her and watching a few kids chase a frisbee. “It’ll probably be about the same. We still haven’t figured out room assignments, either.”

Andreea tilts her head, a playful glint in her eye. “Anis already said he’s crashing in Sayo’s room. We could take one and leave the other to Roxana and Fabian.”

I meet her gaze, deadpan. “I don’t mind—as long as you let me sleep through the night.”

She laughs. “We’ll see. And no more gaming at 3 A.M., okay?” “Can’t promise anything,” I grin softly.

She taps her phone. “Has Alin said anything about moving? You haven’t mentioned him lately.”

I sigh. “Not really. He’s still upset he can’t come with us.”

“It wasn’t easy convincing our parents,” she nods. “Fabian and I had a nightmare of an argument with ours.”

“Well, one fewer drinking buddy,” I tease. “But at least you’re my roommate now.”

She checks her screen. “Promise to tell me if you bring someone back here. I don’t want any surprises.” I laugh. “Fair enough. Everything okay?”

“My mom wants me home now,” she says, standing. “Something’s up.” “Alright, let’s go—Fabian might be back by now,” I say, rising.

“We’ll see,” she replies, and together we head out of the park.

We get home around 12P.M. As I push open the front door, I hear my mom and Roxana chatting in the kitchen.

“How was your date, Rox?” I ask, padding toward them.

Roxana arches an eyebrow. “It was good. But how’d you know I was on a date?”

I grab a glass of water from the counter. “Andreea told me—she told me, we had coffee together, until her mom called her back.”

My mom looks up from her phone. “Roxana said you were on a date with Andreea, too.”

I flop onto a chair at the kitchen table. “Come on, it wasn’t a date. Just coffee.”

She reaches over and ruffles my hair. “I can see the way you look at her, bro. You don’t have to hide it—”

“You can believe whatever you want,” I grin, pushing back my chair. “I’m heading to my room.” “Don’t you want to eat?” Mom calls after me.

“Nah, I’ll grab something later,” I reply, ducking out of the kitchen.

Once in my room, the temperature drops. Even though it’s scorching outside, my room feels like a freezer.

“Damn, feels like I’m in an icebox,” I mutter, closing the door and locking it behind me. I collapse onto my chair and power on my laptop—Minecraft was tempting, but a ping from Anis lights up the screen:

Anis: “Get on Free Fire—Rahul’s in the lobby. If Karma’s free, we could run some squads.”

I type back, “I was about to log into Minecraft, but sure.” As Anis waits, I call up Fabian. Two minutes later, I message: “He’s joining,” and we dive into our first squad match.

2 hours later, we finally wrap up our last match.

“Had enough for today—let’s get some air,” Fabian’s voice buzzes through my headphones.

“Alright, let’s go,” I reply, tapping “Exit” on the game and sliding my phone into my bag.

I stand, cross my room to the door, after I grab my bag, slip my feet into shoes, then i start unlocking the door.

“Mom, I’m heading out with Fabian,” I call through the half-open door.

“Alright, be safe—bye!” she answers from the kitchen down the hall.

“Yeah, bye,” I say, then tighten my grip on my bag strap and close my door behind me.

Fabian is already waiting by my door leaning against the railing. “Bro, those matches were so good,” he says before starting to walk down the stairs.

“Yeah, you and Anis carried,” I grin, descending the staircase beside him.

“Nah, you held your own,” he counters

“I was nowhere near you two,” I shrug, with a smile.

He pauses halfway down. “So… that coffee with Andreea—how was your ‘date’?”

I laugh. “Not a date, bro—we just got coffee.”

“Uh-huh,” he teases, unlocking the front door of our building . “You’ve definitely got a thing for her. I don’t mind—just don’t ghost on her.”

I hesitate at the entrance. “I don’t want to mess up our friendship. What if she doesn’t feel the same?”

Fabian gives me a quick bump with his shoulder. “You’ll never know unless you try.” I nod, stepping outside into the warm afternoon sun alongside him.

The streets are quiet as we stroll through our neighborhood, the late afternoon sun dipping low.

“I’ll think about it,” I say, kicking at a loose pebble on the sidewalk.

Fabian bumps my shoulder. “You never know—it’s worth a shot. You’ll regret it if you don’t try. Don’t overthink it.”

I grin. “Fair enough. Hey, how was that loss to Brighton? I heard you didn’t take it well.”

His jaw tightens. “Horrible. We couldn’t finish at all, and Ronaldo only came on in the second half, we played like shit”

“True,” I agree. “But we crushed Southampton, and next up is Chelsea. Not sure we’ll get another win.”

“At least you’re in the Champions League,” he points out. “We’re stuck in the Europa League this season.”

I shrug. “Conte hasn’t impressed me yet. Hopefully we draw an easy group.” Just then I spot two familiar figures on a bench ahead. “Wait—Andreea and Rox?” “Where?” Fabian scans the street.

“Bench on the right,” I say, veering off the path.

“I wonder what they are doing out here” he says, following me.

“Didn’t know you two were out’’ I say as we approach the bench they are sitting on.

Andreea brushes a strand of dark hair from her face. “We got tired of sitting inside,” she says. “By the way, you should’ve checked your messages—I invited you out.”

I shrug. “Didn’t get a notification.”

Fabian smirks. “You only see game invites.”

Roxana rises, tossing...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 15.10.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Kinder- / Jugendbuch
• ISBN-10: 0-00-107885-2 / 0001078852
• ISBN-13: 978-0-00-107885-7 / 9780001078857