Thunderbirds bring the thunder

Thunderbirds bring the rain

That's why sunlight only comes

after the Thunderbirds reign

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The Gear City Thunderbirds are second in all the ways that count. Second-best volleyball team, second-best gang. Even their captain is second best. After losing her volleyball scholarship to her number one competitor in the region and being rejected for her first- and second-choice colleges, Roshelle Dumas is done with expectations. 

When the girl Roshelle's had a crush on for months rides her Harley Davidson into the sunset with someone who is very much not Roshelle, Roshelle is just DONE, period. She grabs her diploma, packs her bags, and hightails it out of Gear City like the city is falling into the sea.

This summer, all Roshelle wants is enough money to keep gas in her bike and buy tickets to all the concerts and music festivals her parents banned her from when she was a kid.  She doesn't count on a posse of left-behind high school rejects from both sides of the city limits wanting in on her escape plan.

Bestie Calisto goes where Roshelle goes, though she complains the whole way. Former class president Alayna Hu has summer school to look forward to after her campaign against her ex-girlfriend went too far, but she'd rather hide from her parents's homophobic disapproval than make amends.  Wild Child Nagin Figueroa just wants out--it's the GED way or the highway, and xe'll choose burning rubber any time.

It's Tempest Kennedy whose appearance stuns Roshelle the most. The Wild Girl has a reputation for pranks and stand-up comedy; she's all jokes until ish gets real. With sun at their back and the road under their wheels, things between Roshelle and Tempest get very real, real fast.  They may never go home again.

This summer, everybody rides and NOBODY gets left behind.

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All rights are reserved to me, the creator. No portion of this entry may be reproduced, re-distributed, or transmitted in any form without express permission from the author. Rights to the images used in the cover and additional media belong to their respective owners. Title based on Taylor Swift's 'Cruel Summer'. No copyright infringement is intended. All characters and events depicted in this story are fictional. Any similarity to real people or events is purely incidental.

© 2020-present Idris Grey

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