Single Riders: A YA Novella

Single Riders: A YA Novella
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 Selys Rivera
 Copyright
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 Copyright © 2022 by Worth a Read Too, LLC. 
 United States of America.
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 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review or academic paper so long as the book is cited. 
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 To request permission, email [email protected].
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 ISBN: 
 979-8-9863324-4-4 (eBook)
 979-8-9863324-3-7 (Paperback)
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 Originally published November 1, 2022 by Worth a Read Too, LLC.
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 Cover Design by Selys Rivera using Canva.
 Table of Contents
 Title Page
 Copyright Page
 Dedication
 Praise
 Disclaimer
 Content Warning
 Chapter 1: Duri
 Chapter 2: Alex
 Chapter 3: Jaya
 Chapter 4: Duri
 Chapter 5: Alex
 Chapter 6: Jaya
 Chapter 7: Duri
 Chapter 8: Jaya
 Chapter 9: Alex
 Chapter 10: Jaya
 Chapter 11: Duri
 Author’s Note
 Acknowledgements
 Further Reading: An Unconscious Mestiza: A Collection of Memoir Stories
 About the Author
 
 
 
 
 
 To the BookTok community.
 
 I don’t know how you do it, but y’all somehow manage to both inspire me to write and make me feel guilty for not writing enough. I also both blame and thank you for making my TBR list impossible to finish.
 
 This one’s for you, my BookTok besties!
 
 
 Praise 
 “I TRULY LOVED THIS story and every single one of the characters! I found the portrayal of these relationships and their growing friendship to be extremely heartwarming, realistic and relevant.” - Amanda Rodrigues, Author*
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 “IT’S HEARTWARMING IN general, but the ending particularly so.” - Anthony Woodside, Writer*
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 “IT FELT LIKE BEING in high school again and re-living an interesting night out with a great group of friends.” - S.C. Muir, Author*
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 *RECEIVED A COPY FROM the author in the hopes of an honest review.
 Disclaimer
 This is a work of fiction. While the author has pulled inspiration from the experiences in her life, the characters and events of the story are imaginary. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and will probably be as surprising to the author as they would be to the reader.
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 There are references to pop culture to help the story feel more relatable. However, these are neither endorsement nor defamation. Lastly, the characters in this book have minds of their own. Therefore, their opinions may not match the author’s, despite her best efforts to convince them otherwise.
 Content Warning
 IF YOU’VE READ EITHER of my last two books, you’ll know I believe in trigger warnings. I wouldn’t want to read a book that reminds me of something I want to forget. So, why should you?
 However, with the lighthearted nature of this book, I’m happy to say that the trigger warnings are minor. So much so that I referred to this section as Content Warning instead.
 But you have the right to know what you’re getting into.
 So, here is what you should know about this book:
 
 - Homophobia & Transphobia (including misgendering)
 - Learning Disability & Mental Health
 - Racism & Xenophobia
 - Sexual References
 - Swearing / Cussing
 - Unhealthy Relationships
 If it helps, I think you’ll be proud of how the main characters of this book handle each of these situations.
 Hope to see you on the other side!
 Chapter 1: Duri
 “SINGLE RIDER!” THE ride attendant points a somewhat wrinkled index finger towards Duri and then gestures at the next person in the regular line. “You two. Row 3.”
 Duri pauses the podcast episode of Sit and Kick she’d been listening to and takes her time putting her wireless earbuds back in their case. The ride attendant gives her an impatient look. Duri rolls her brown eyes and stuffs both the case and her smartphone into her front pockets. She steps toward the guy she’ll have to wait at the gate with until it opens for them to get on the ride. She sighs, reminding herself it’s a small price to pay to get on her favorite roller coaster sooner.Black Hole Planet is Duri’s guilty pleasure. She knows she should’ve grown out of it, especially after middle school. That’s when she realized she’s less of a space geek and more of a sports enthusiast. All things space related took a back seat once she discovered her passion for track and field in high school. 
 It was a slippery slope from there as that led to attending school soccer games, watching the Super Bowl, following the Olympics, and keeping track of everything the Orlando Magic did.
 Okay, so some might call that passion an obsession.Still, whenever Duri is really upset, it’s comforting to remember simpler times. Like when she was twelve. Back then, her biggest worry was doing all her chores, so her parents would take her and her twin sister to Black Hole Planet for their birthday. Hana also eventually fell out of love with the amusement park as she changed once she began high school. Except she found a passion for dance, being popular, and getting straight As so their parents would worship at her feet.But Duri doesn’t want to think about Hana right now. She’s why Duri faked a cold to get out of church and sneak out to the park. And while Duri doesn’t mind church, she also doesn’t feel like being stuck with her sister after last night.They’d gotten into another one of their arguments over college. Again. Because Duri should’ve picked her major by now. Duri should aim higher than community college. She should try to improve her life. Not just run around and get sweaty with girls. Blah. Blah.Honestly, Duri can’t even remember how the argument started, or who started it. All she remembers is standing furiously in the hallway in front of her and Hana’s rooms. Words escaping Duri’s lips as fast as she could regret them. Hana fighting back, her words cutting just as deadly.And who