*Hey guys! Welcome to the very first chapter of Lucid, the fantasy/steampunk/horror novel that I've had in the back of my head for a while now . . . I LOVE feedback, so if there's anything that stands out to you, both bad or good, please, don't be a stranger and let me know! :D Thanks a lot, and I hope you enjoy the read.
-Taylor Hertz
Chapter One
I was seated next to my mother at the back of a cab, going down the busy and cluttered streets of New York City. We were headed over to a Pizzeria at the bay, a place my mother promised to take me after her day of being the manager of a large cooperation. Her long, black hair fell down on a sharp black suit, covering her torso and a fine purple dress shirt that lay beneath. She tried her best to act sympathetic and despondent for me, but that glint of excitement in her pale blue eyes gave away her true feelings of the whole situation.
I looked out the window, scrutinizing the overcast sky that hung over the buildings, towering us from high above. I didn’t bring up any conversation with my mom; I was too angry with her. Talking would just result in the long-expected outburst she’s been waiting for me to have. I just ignored her, acted like she wasn’t next to me while she obsessed with her phone.
As I stared out at the bleak and dull individuals of the city, I was instantly reminded of a school of fish; always together, walking about in unison. Many were in suits just like my mother, indicating that they were probably coming home from a long day at work. I rarely saw children amongst the crowds of people, but that’s probably because they were hidden by the towering adults that scurried around. It was utterly chaotic, this city.
School wasn’t much better. It wasn’t overpopulated like the city itself, but the children in it were rather immature. For example, one of the larger kids – D-shot, I think he called himself – tried to annoy me by taking his gang of friends and sitting around me during lunch.
“Hey, why you alone?” I remember him saying. “You got no friends, bud?”
He would then slap me on the back and say sarcastically, “Don’t worry; we’ll hang out with ya.”
I spent the rest of that day avoiding D-shot and his friends. But that’s kind of difficult when most of them have the same classes with you.
My mom was now off the phone. I could feel her eyes gazing at me, although I was still looking out the window at the rainy afternoon.
“You okay?” she asked sympathetically.
I turned my head and nodded absently, not even bothering to make eye contact. We both had a pretty good life back in Nevada; there was no reason why we couldn’t have stayed there. My mom tried her best to rationalize the moving, but I had yet to find a reasonable explanation as to why we had to leave our old lives behind.
Here’s the thing: the minute my mom found something better than what she already had, she’d drop everything to go after it. Even when it dealt with the collapse of our relationship. Just like the new job she got; she claimed that it would be better for both of us. I have to admit, our new penthouse suite was rather nice, but it wasn’t enough to quench my home sickness. I needed to go home, no matter what.
“Listen,” my mom spoke up through my thoughts, “the family that lives on the floor below ours has invited us for dinner tomorrow night. They said that they have a boy your age. What do you say to that?”
I shot a glance at her before looking back out the window. “I say, that’s a wonderful idea,” I muttered angrily.
I heard my mom sigh behind me, shuffling about on her seat. She unzipped her purse. “I still have to pay you back for unpacking last night.”
