'The jump leaves Marvin bug-eyed, more so as his buddy explodes into the boundless blue. Jude takes the board through a full rotation, but something doesn't play out as it should. He just seems to hang there for a second too long, almost turning out of time with the rest of the world . . .'
"How'd you do that?" asks the big guy, snapping off the beat box. "With wings, or some kind of string?"
Jude's going through puberty, but some developments have startled him. As his growing pains start to pack a real punch, he begins to reconsider: was his dad telling the truth when he claimed to be a superhero?
Until now, he's always figured those tales of battling corrupt forces after dark were down to one drink too many - especially when the guy stumbled in each morning with whisky souring his breath. Then he took off completely - some hero.
Yet now Jude's not so sure. Are these changes standard issue stuff, or a sign of special powers?
'Bite' books are witty, accessible and original stories for teenagers, written especially by bright, new authors. The books cover subject matter on teenage experiences such as first love, awkward adolescence, and angry isolation.