ConQuest (The Quest Saga)
Read ConQuest (The Quest Saga) Online
Authors: Dhayaa Anbajagane
C
ON
Q
UEST
Book one of The Quest Saga
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D
HAYAA
A
NBAJAGANE-
Dhayaa Anbajagane is a school-going teenager from Chinmaya Vidayalaya, Anna Nagar, Chennai, fondly known as CVA. He has an intense passion for physics and tries to connect everything in real life to it; from why the sky is blue to how Rafael Nadal uses the Banana Shot to MS Dhoni’s Helicopter Shot. This is one of the factors driving him to be at his tennis coaching every morning at 5 am so he can try to manipulate the game with physics.
Though he’s a mischievous student, he tries to maintain discipline within himself. A curious learner, he has tried his hands at many things ranging from piano to kalaripayuttu (Keralite martial arts) to acting to cooking.
He likes to write for himself and share it with others.
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are completely fictional. Any traits, characteristics and possessions they have in common with the real world are purely a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual people, living or dead, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2014 Dhayaa Anbajagane
Cover Design copyright © 2014 Dhayaa Anbajagane
Visit us at
Dhayaaanbajagane.com
C
ON
Q
UEST
Book one of The Quest Saga
-
D
HAYAA
A
NBAJAGANE-
Acknowledgements
Jency Samuel, my young-at-heart editor, who understood my world
My mom, dad and sister who stood by me ‘behind the scenes’
My friends who were the first readers and critics (and of course partners in crime!)
Ashok Uncle and Kalpana Aunty who taught me how to think differently
My teachers who encouraged me to be ‘me’
My friend, Swathi, who introduced me to the world of Rick Riordan
And Rick Riordan who ended his story with a cliffhanger and shook the slumbering author in me awake
To
My Sister, Nivedha, for showing me how to enjoy life
Gateway to Danger
“No video games in class,” screeched a voice.
That was Mrs. Angelo. You’d expect her to be a cool teacher considering that her name had both ‘Angel’ and ‘Jell-O’ in it, but if life teaches you anything it’s that it is never really what it looks like.
Oh, and by the way, she doesn’t like to catch you playing Super Mario in the middle of class. If you need to know more on that, just talk to Q.
Yes, his name is just ‘Q’. He was a dude of about fifteen years of age and this is a story that will change your perception of the word ‘Danger’.
Mrs. Angelo’s voice made everyone turn to look at Q. He was infamous for his addiction to breaking any rule enforced on him.
He looked at Mrs. Angelo, not even the slightest bit worried. He raked his hands through his wavy black hair. His dark eyes stared at Mrs. Angelo like they were ready to vaporize her. The harsh sunlight fell through the window and bathed his pale white skin.
“This is the limit. I’m going to call your brother!” she threatened him.
She put the phone to her ear, her foot tapping the floor. Q, though, wasn’t the least bit shaken.
Q lived with his brother Carlos, a nanotechnologist by profession. Carlos was a young guy of twenty-five, and had been featured in various magazines for the groundbreaking discoveries he had made in his field.
He had been at his prime when he developed a nano army that could wipe out any disease. The WHO had decided to use it as a form of combat against diseases like malaria and HIV.
Q was also a tech freak, though nanotech wasn’t his thing. He often wondered if the addiction to technology ran in his genes, but then again, that was something he could never find out…
Q had never seen his dad or mom even once in his entire life. Sure, it would’ve been painful for any kid who had had loving parents and then lost them, but when you’ve never had that experience, you’ll never know what you’ve missed.
Q’s parents had died when he was still a child, so he had no memory of them. Carlos had told him that his parents had been diagnosed with brain malfunction, but that happening to
both
your parents is definitely not normal.
He had to admit though, he’d always thought that their death had some mystery attached to it; but hey, what could he do about it? He’d learnt to live life without asking too many questions.
That aside, Q lived a luxurious life. Apparently nanotechnology was very profitable and so Carlos was this amazingly rich guy.
One look at his bank account and you would probably need a mathematician to tell you that such numbers even existed.
Q got anything that he wanted. Let’s face it. When a guy owns an iPhone, an iPad, a MacBook, a Nexus phone and an Alienware Laptop, he’s pretty much got it all. And this was without taking into account his fifteen game systems.
Of everything he owned, he had lost at least six gadgets to Mrs. Angelo.
Paulo Coelho in his book ‘Alchemist’ says, ‘everything that occurs once never occurs again, but everything that occurs twice will always happen a third time’. Q had proof that Coelho’s theory worked up to six.
The bell rang just as Mrs. Angelo came over to Q. He didn’t need an anvil dropped on his head to see that she was angry. If you’re wondering why, it was probably the Super Mario that he was playing in class. He swiftly put his Nintendo system into his pocket and made a run for it.
“Get back here, Q!” Mrs. Angelo demanded - bellowed was more like it - but Q wasn’t planning on going back.
Q was interrupted halfway through his getaway.
“In trouble again?” a voice said.
Q stopped and turned around. It was a girl. She was about as tall as Q. Her skin radiated like it was one of glow-in-the-dark costumes. Her blond hair was neatly pulled into a ponytail. Her lightning blue eyes gleamed in the light.
“Hi, Taylor,” Q said.
The girl’s name was Taylor, Taylor Quasar. She was a year older than him and had been a close friend of Q’s since his childhood. He’d spent many a winter throwing snowballs and making snowmen with her.
“Stop that boy!” Mrs. Angelo yelled.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Taylor grinned.
Q noticed two male teachers running after him.
Mrs. Angelo must have finally convinced someone to catch me, Q thought.
“Got to go, Taylor. Talk to you later,” he said in a rush.
“Sure. Later then.” She waved at him.