#1 SPECTACLE (YA contemporary)

Dear Agents,

Doug Stelley plays a Questling level 48 elf, can find calculus derivatives in his sleep, and is infatuated with Deanna Hanemann, the hottest girl at Crestview High. When he misreads her signals, Doug asks Deanna to the prom – and gets shot down. His best friend Cameron thinks he’s crazy, but Doug refuses to believe he isn’t good enough for her. Unexpected help comes when Doug meets swagged-out Kalani James, a famous rapper with a knack for writing hit songs and ignoring texts from underwear models. When Doug gets him to the hospital after a head injury, Kalani tries to thank him with money, but Doug has a different request. He wants Kalani to teach him how to get girls.

Kalani reluctantly agrees, and with a superstar rapper tweaking his every move, Doug launches his steady rise up the high school hierarchy towards Deanna. But leaving the nerd life won’t be easy. Cameron thinks he’s a sellout, and his classmates act more like fans than real friends. On top of that, a cute underclassman catches Doug’s eye, and she happens to play a level 59 wizard.

But when Kalani loses his manager, it looks like game over for both his music career and Doug’s plan. Doug soon figures out a way to help his famous friend, but doing so will send his new reputation back to level one.

SPECTACLE is a contemporary YA novel complete at 61,000 words. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Chase Baldwin

 “Remember, the Questling character exhibition is this weekend.” Cameron was talking, but I wasn’t listening. I had one headphone in as I scanned the halls. I knew she’d be coming this way soon; we had first hour calculus together. “We have to be sharp because those shadow dwarf pansies win it every year and it pisses me off.”

The door at the end of the hallway opened and she appeared. Deanna Hanemann – blond, tight clothes, dancer’s legs; she’d make the hottest elven princess ever.

 “Later man.” I had to get to class before her to stake out my spot. When the girl in question was a dime then you had to be strategic. Every guy knew that.

 I plugged in my other headphone. “The Spectacle” by Kalani James blared in my head, the latest rap song about how great it was to have tons of girlfriends – something I’d never know about. But it was catchy and it boosted my confidence, and I needed every bit I could get.

 My self-esteem could easily be represented on a standard graph with an x and y-axis. On any given day, it could be plotted around negative one thousand, give or take a few. Today, however, I felt somewhere in the positive numbers because I was equipped with the perfect thing to say to Deanna.

 I was the first person to make it into the classroom, as usual. Being tardy messed up a perfect attendance record, and I’d come too far to blow it now.

 Deanna was usually the last person to make it in. My guess was there was just a ton of people she had to talk to every morning.

 I heard her before I saw her. Deanna Hanemann appeared in the doorway, smiling at one of her friends down the hall as she finished her conversation. She walked toward her usual desk. The one right in front of mine.

 I quickly averted my eyes. She sat down, her back to me like a slender wall. Her blonde hair spilled down past her shoulders and I caught a whiff of whatever girly shampoo she used.

 I’d liked her since freshman year. Now that we were seniors, my chance to do anything about it was running out.

 Prom was the last big school event.

 Problem was, I’d never even been on a date.

 “Hey.”

 She half-turned her head toward me. “Oh, hey Doug.” She flashed a polite smile.

 “Have a good weekend?”

 “Um, yeah, it was good, I guess. Pretty normal.”

 I’d hoped to hold out a little longer, but it seemed like now was the time to pull out the big guns.

 “I heard Steven Henbury was being weird at Nathan’s party.”

 She turned to face me entirely, swinging her crossed legs around as far as the desk chair would allow. I had struck gold.