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- Herausgeber: Gemma Open Door for Literacy
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Serie: The Activ8r Adventures
- Sprache: Englisch
Lucy Brick, a college student, starts noticing delivery drivers on motorbikes zooming all over Manhattan. They look alike and act weird. They use chopsticks to "charge" themselves. They even ignore traffic warnings. Some of Lucy's friends have joined the drivers. They invite Lucy to sign up, too. Her friends tell her it's the best time in their lives. Being a dliv gives them lots of energy. Better, it makes them more popular than their wildest dreams. It's very tempting! But Lucy begins to wonder what has really happened to these drivers. How can they have such abilities? Could joining them be fun—or dangerous? Lucy is going to find out. Velocity is the first in the series The Activ8r Adventures, where AI enhancements to human beings give them amazing powers…but at what cost?
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Seitenzahl: 51
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
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Rebecca Rolland
VELOCITY
An Activ8r Adventure
Rebecca Rolland is a Harvard lecturer, speech pathologist, consultant, and mom of two. She recently published The Art of Talking with Children (HarperOne), which has translations planned into 11 languages. Rebecca is passionate about the power of language and conversation to enhance relationships. She offers professional development services to organizations, districts, and schools. Velocity is her first work of fiction.
First published by Gemma in 2024.
www.gemmamedia.org
©2024 by Rebecca Rolland
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Printed in the United States of America
978-1-956476-30-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in Publication Data available.
Cover by Laura Shaw Design
Named after the brightest star in the Northern Crown, Gemma is a nonprofit organization that helps new readers acquire English language literacy skills with relevant, engaging books, eBooks, and audiobooks. Always original, never adapted, these stories introduce adults and young adults to the life-changing power of reading.
Open Door
To my daughter Sophie, my first editor and the inspiration for this book
Chapter One
“Join DLIV in only 20 days!” an orange and blue billboard blared in Times Square. Lucy James, a college student, was walking through the busiest part of New York City. She stopped to stare. The billboard showed two happy women and one man. They wore blue pants with orange stripes and matching shirts. They rode bright blue motorcycles. Their helmets shone, as orange and blue as the sun and sky. They had huge smiles.
“Lose your worries and your sleepless nights,” the ad read. “Gain energy. Feel a new vitality. Become popular again—or for the first time.”
In smaller letters, the ad offered: “And enjoy free snacks.”
Lucy walked fast. She was late for her engineering class. She was studying to make machines to assist humans. She wanted to build robots to help in surgeries. She loved learning everything about robots. She glanced at the ad again. It made her laugh. In New York City, she saw a lot of crazy things. On the subway, people danced or dressed up in funny costumes. Some people walked strange pets, like lizards or frogs.
Lucy was always busy, taking five college classes and babysitting on the side. Since she did not have much savings, she had to work a lot. She earned good grades her first semester. Soon, she might be able to get a scholarship. Still, she was always tired.
Today’s class was boring. “When building anything, try to keep it simple,” her professor, Mr. Brick, said. “Simple is best.”
After the first hour, she thought she might fall asleep. She let her mind drift. She thought of her home in New Mexico. She moved last year. She missed home and did not have many friends now. She gazed at the other students slumped in their seats. They looked as bored as she was. One of them, a boy named Pete, wore an orange and blue shirt. On the back was a picture of two women and a man riding motorcycles. Their faces were the same as the those on the billboard. They were smiling brightly.
“Join dliv!” the shirt read in cursive. “Gain energy! Gain vitality! Feel alive again!”
That was odd, Lucy thought. Why would Pete wear that shirt?
She went up to Pete when class ended. He was half a foot taller than her, with black hair and dark brown eyes.
“I’m curious,” she said. “Where did you buy that shirt?”
“Oh, this?” Pointing to his shirt, he smiled. “I’m part of dliv. Haven’t you heard of us?”
“You’re part of what?”
“Dliv. I’m one of the ‘Popular People’.” He showed a logo on his shirt that said “PP.” “You must have heard about us on the news.”
“I haven’t.” She remembered the billboard. “But I did see an ad.”
“It’s the best job I’ve ever had,” Pete said. “You should think about joining us.”
“I don’t understand.” She paused as the other students left. “What’s dliv?”
“We deliver things super-fast.” Pete showed his bag full of groceries. He had a dozen bottles of juice and three loaves of bread. “Groceries in five minutes. Or they are free.”
“That’s cool.” It did sound like good work. “Is it fun?”
“Oh, absolutely.” He showed her his phone, lit up with messages. “I have these new friends now. I’m never alone. I’m very popular.”
“How do you get a job like that?”
“It takes work. It’s not for everyone. But it’s worth it.”
“But what about having more energy?”
“I do have more energy. I feel more vital. And I sleep better.” Pete pretended to yawn. “That’s the best part.”
“How does a job give you energy?”
Pete did look energetic, yet peaceful, too. He was twenty years old, the same age as Lucy. Maybe he just had natural energy.
“It’s hard to explain. It’s more than a job. It’s a lifestyle. And the free snacks are for real.”
“What kind of free snacks?” Lucy never passed up free food.
“Pizza, usually. Sometimes, chocolate croissants. If it’s a good week, homemade cake.”
“That sounds amazing.” Lucy rarely cooked. The thought of homemade cake made her stomach growl. Something was different about Pete, though. She could not put her finger on it. Her phone alarm beeped.
“Oh, sorry,” she said. “I’m late for my babysitting job.”
“Well, have fun.” Pete put on his backpack. “You should think about joining dliv. You won’t regret it.”
He turned to leave. She watched him carefully.
His ears, she thought.
His ears were the normal size. But the holes in his ears were too small. They were so small she almost could not see them. She checked again.
“Your ears,” she blurted.
“What’s wrong with my ears?”
“The holes.” She did not want to be rude. “They’re so small.”
“Oh.” He smiled and shrugged. “That’s part of joining dliv. You have to shrink them. The good thing is, I can hear very well. Better than ever.”
