The Belongers

Louanne's popular cousin invites her to ring in the new year/decade/century 2100. She's excited—and a little scared. But her first-ever New Year's party is a disappointment, and Louanne is fed up. She's tried so hard all her life to get into the popular cliques and make friends, and nothing works. It seems so easy for other people. What do they have that she doesn't? Charm? Charisma? Self-confidence?

Imagine Louanne's surprise when the answer turns out to be less nebulous and more physical than she'd ever suspected, as she uncovers a conspiracy that turns out to have its roots in a time decades before she was born, the time of the Green Wars....

Excerpt:
The door opened. "Hello," said the man behind it. He looked to be in his late thirties or possibly early forties. He had dark hair with only the faintest hint of wave at the bottom. It was long enough to brush his collar. His striking blue eyes looked past Scott as if expecting to see someone standing behind him.

"Hi. I'm Scott." Scott smiled nervously. He leaned a bit in an effort to get his face into the man's field of vision. The blue eyes flicked across him and stared off past him on the opposite side. "Yes. I'm expecting you." The man took one large step towards the wall, pulling the door with him. "I'm André. Please come in." Scott wandered in, and André shut the door behind him. Scott saw a living room with a large TV, a thick dark rug and a small table stacked with science magazines. The walls were covered with bookshelves. "Nice place you have here," said Scott.

"Thank you," said André. Scott turned to look at him. André was gazing at a spot above Scott's left eyebrow. Scott found himself flicking his hand over that area, wondering if he had something in his hair. André's eyes moved to stare at the same point to the side of Scott that he had been gazing at when he first opened the door. "Come see my nanobots," he said, and turned and walked up a staircase that lay behind the front door.