LAZY [SEAMUS FINNIGAN]

00 | PROLOGUE

ZERO || PROLOGUE

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"MAMA! LET THE ant live! Please!"

Please.

The one word that Sophie hated.

"Please is the language of a beggar," Ms. Crawford told her. "You are not a beggar, Sophie. You live under a roof and have enough food. There is no need to beg,"

Ms. Crawford was old and ancient. Her eyes seemed to penetrate everything and everyone around her. Sophie thought she would never get used to the look Ms. Crawford gave her. It made her shiver.

"You are six years old," Ms. Crawford would tell her. "You are young, but hold your head high. Don't let your superiors underestimate you,"

Sophie wanted to be like Ms. Crawford, proud and sharp. But here she was, saying something Ms. Crawford would disapprove of.

"Sophie," said her mother. "This ant will lead more ants into the house. We cannot have pests in here,"

"But-"

"No buts,"

Sophie's mother squashed the ant and deposited it in a nearby trashcan.

Squash.

The ant seemed so weak, to be killed just like that. Her mother didn't even use any magic.

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"SOPHIE, I HAVE something to show you!"

Sophie's eldest and favorite brother Benny came into the room. His actually name was Benvolio, but everyone insisted on calling him Benny. Benny never gave any opinion on his name, anyway.

But as he came into her room, he was holding something tiny and green in his right hand. Sophie jumped off her bed and ran over to see what it was.

"A four-leaf clover,"

Sophie wasn't sure whether it was Benny or her saying the name of the plant. It didn't seem to matter to her right now. She was too mesmerized by it.

"I thought you would like it," said Benny. "It brings you good luck,"

No sooner had he walked out of the door then Teo and Gianni, a couple of Sophie's brothers, bounded into the room. Sophie, surprised at this sudden appearance, dropped the clover.

Her brothers trampled over it.

Squash.

Though lucky, it was delicate, and its pieces were scattered all over the floor. Sophie yelled in despair.

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"DON'T WORRY."

Sophie was cuddled up in Benny's lap, and he was stroking her hair gently.

"Don't worry," he said again.

Sophie couldn't help worrying.

"It's very rare to find," she said, and she couldn't keep the tremble out of her voice.

"Lucky clovers don't have to appear like that," said Benny.

Sophie knitted her brows and looked up at him in confusion.

"They can take any form," he said. "It's just up to you whether you want to find them,"

As Sophie looked up at her brother, she didn't feel squashed. On the contrary, she felt lighter, happier. And determined.

She was going to find that lucky clover, no matter what.

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