VIC'S VIEWPOINTS (Private)

Victim #9 - Ebony

Victor shook his head at the girl he held in his arms. "Try it again, Kristy," he said, his voice keen with encouragement. "Remember, the lead steps forward with the left foot, the follow mirrors by stepping back with the right."

The pink-haired girl threw him a dirty look, her sapphire eyes gleaming with disdain. "Maybe I should lead, Vic. Stepping backward and remembering all the stupid head movements is work."

"Why don't we take a break, love?"

Victor had moved the coffee table and rolled up the colorful area rug to produce a makeshift dance floor in the living room. The lithe girl plopped down on the sofa and sighed as Victor sat beside her. Kristy raised an eyebrow.

"Who said you could sit beside me after torturing me for the last half an hour?"

Victor grinned. "Who said they wanted to learn the bloody Argentine tango? I offered the waltz." Kristy snorted as she shifted positions, leaning back on the teen who continued to scold. "Remember, tango is a dance one does with a wife or girlfriend. People joke and say Argentine tango is done with a mistress, so it has a lot more flair and passion."

She purred against him, causing him to laugh at her antics.

Victor decided he would offer the little genie a shoulder rub when the sound of raised voices penetrated the quiet room. He sighed. Jason and Rosetta, the Dueling Duo, were living up to their namesake. Kristy sat up and gazed at him.

"Guess you need to handle that, eh?"

"I guess I'd better. Want to come?" Victor asked, a hopeful expression on his face.

Kristy hopped off the sofa, her sapphire eyes twinkling with mirth. The pink lips parted as she gave him a sultry look and said, "Nope!"

And disappeared.

Muttering to himself about traitors, Victor walked to the sliding doors and stood on the deck, watching his siblings argue.

Little Rosetta crossed her arms as she yelled at her brother. "No, shankapotomus, I'm Ebony. You can be the classified."

Jason scoffed at his little sister. "Eat rocks. Ebony is a guy, and I'm the only guy in this game. You might be shaped like one, but..."

The nine-year-old screamed in anger and charged at her brother, only to be caught mid-run by Victor. He held the struggling child and asked, "What's going on?"

Jason shrugged. "We were reading the story you're supposed to review and decided to act out a scene, but we both want to be Ebony."

Rosetta started to shout, but Victor tapped her lips. "Poppet, I'll settle it. I'll go upstairs, read and do the review, then I'll tell you who is worthy of being this Ebony."

Both children eyed each other with contempt but agreed to the suggestion.

After heading upstairs to his bedroom, the children amused themselves with a video game while Victor read the story and took notes. Next, he pulled out his digital recorder and began to record.

"Welcome to Vic Viewpoints, where some unlucky soul has signed up to listen to my endless blathering. Today we have quite the treat. So, let's give it a go as I think you'll find this book to be absolutely smashing. As usual, I'll give views on seven key elements I believe are essential to a story. The book is called Ebony, written by the talented @Glorydays14. So, shout out to my mates, Jasper and Noah. I miss you both. Now, let's dive into the book."

"First, we start with ORIGINALITY. We look to see how original the story idea is or is it more cliché. We look for ideas that give a fresh new approach. I admit I couldn't get what I was looking for with three chapters and had to go extra as the first passages are rather short. Yes, I know we say three chapters, but if we need to truly understand where it's going, we go extra. So, do I personally think the story has an independent and creative flair? I most certainly do. The system of being classified or unclassified is quite unique, but I genuinely wanted to see where you were taking it."