Read Dragon Guard: Book 1: Prophecy of the Dragons for Free Online Page B

and sleeping bag I can use."
    "What's wrong with your sleeping bag?" Dad asked. "You don't think your little girlfriend will climb in with you when she sees it's the Power Rangers?"
    Ben groaned and his mom shouted, "Trent, that's not appropriate."
    "I'm clearly joking, Heidi. I wish I could pinpoint when you lost your sense of humor." He turned to Ben. "You knew I was kidding, right?"
    Ben nodded and managed a weak smile.
    "It's still not a good message to send our son." She turned to Ben. "Don't listen to him. You shouldn't be letting this girl climb into a sleeping bag with you, no matter how it's decorated."
    Now Dad groaned, and Ben wanted to join him. He was sure his face was beet-red, but he jumped on the opportunity they presented him with. "Her parents will be there, so she won't be able to get into my sleeping bag," then quickly added, "Not that I'd let her anyway."
    "Good catch," Dad said.
    "So I can go?"
    "We didn't say that," Mom said, while Dad said, "Not so fast," at the same time.
    "But …"
    Mom put up her hand, and he stopped. If he played this cool, he might still get them to agree. If he fought them, they'd say no and stick to it out of principle.
    "You hardly know this girl or her parents."
    "Her parents are nice." Well, her mom was, anyway. Her dad didn't seem to like him one bit.
    "I'm sure they are. Do you have their phone number? I'd like to talk to them before we decide one way or the other." She looked over at Dad, but Ben could tell she did so grudgingly.
    "Your mother is right."
    Ben did his best not to show relief. No doubt if they talked to Mrs. Thomas, they'd let him go. "Yeah, it's in my phone. I'll bring it down after dinner."
    The rest of the meal went relatively smooth. Ben managed to ignore the few verbal jabs his parents threw at each other. As soon as they were done eating, he retrieved Andi's home phone number, and his mom promised to call soon.
    Once he was back up in his room, his cell rang. Melissa. Crap. He picked up and said hi.
    "Hi, Ben. Take me out this weekend. We'll go to dinner and a movie. Dance Like You Mean It comes out on Friday."
    "I, uh, can't this weekend. I'm going out of town."
    "Where are your parents taking you?"
    "To the mountains. I'm going camping."
    Her disbelief dripped through the phone. "Your parents don't seem like the camping type. You never mentioned anything like that before."
    "I didn't say I was going with my parents."
    "So who are you going with? The new girl?"
    "Goodbye, Melissa. I have homework to do." Wow, had he just said that? He'd never shut her down like that before.
    The brief silence on her end proved she noticed. When she spoke again, malice laced her voice. "Listen, Ben, you need to choose between me and her. And if you choose her, I'll make it my business to show you she's no good for you. I'll get the whole school on my side." With that, she hung up without saying goodbye.
    Great, just what he needed. As if learning he was a Dragon Guard wasn't enough, now he had to worry about the whole school ganging up on him. He sighed and fell back on his bed.

Chapter 7
     
    Ben and Andi sat at a planter near the math building, finishing their lunch. He'd asked if she had raw steak or something, and she replied, as if his question had been serious, that she preferred ham and cheese at school. Then she winked to show she knew he was kidding. He also asked if she spit fire. No, dragons spewed acid. The fire myth came about because the acid was highly flammable. Sometimes dragons lit their breath for a more devastating result.
    As they finished, and he threw both their lunch sacks away, a thought struck him. "How many times have you gone to high school? I mean, you've been about this age awhile, right? At least by human standards."
    She got a far away look in her eyes and said, "I've been going to different schools for almost a hundred years. I start as a freshman, and stay in school until I'm a senior, usually leaving sometime during the year. Then