lone star ✧

Chapter 1

Prelude: Lone Star

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It's heartbreaking that I never find many adults. The children run to my arms every day, innocently demanding for stories that can last their lifetime, but when they grow up they throw away everything I give them—the joy, the hope, the dreams. But as the Dream-Giver I never cease to plant more of these seeds—I come up to babies in their cribs and touch my light to their gentle, fluttering eyes, and watch them grow into bright souls in childhood.

Some of these children, like Raymond, never really embrace me a lot as a child. Of course, as part of my job, I still follow him around to make sure he's okay and that he's happy. I know that sometime in the future, he will learn to face me. They always do.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

When I join Raymond one morning on his way to school, he's on the bus, plopping down his schoolbag and sinking into the seat. His eyebrows are all scrunched up like he's suffering just from being awake. It's a pity, really—his parents run the most successful electrical company in the city, pays so much so their only son can have the best education, and yet he completely hates everything about his life.

All these annoying sounds start to surround him. The children's chatter, the beeping of the closing bus door, the honks of neighboring cars. He shuts them all out with his earphones and loud music, and brings his phone close to his face for any kind of distraction. Somehow he seems blurred in my eyes like something is blocking my vision.

"Is anyone sitting here?"

Pulling an earphone off, Raymond breaks himself away from his favorite Instagram photo to see a girl gesturing to the seat next to him. "Huh, what'd you say?"

"Is anyone sitting here?" The girl repeats.

Raymond shakes his head as he pulls his schoolbag off the seat and scoots closer to the window.

"My name's Lucinda, by the way! Look, we have the same uniform! We must go to the same school. What's your name? Do you go to—"

Ah, Lucinda. My favorite child.

Raymond doesn't hear the last part of the question because he stuffs his earphones into his ear rather aggressively and returns to that Instagram photo. He doesn't even notice the girl—Lucinda—stand up until she taps him and he realizes he has to get off.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Class goes miserably. Not for Raymond's grades, though. Like always, he does perfectly in today's math test and sparks another round of jealous glares from high-achieving students.

"Come on, Raymond. Show us your answers," says Ben, the oily-headed kid who's two years younger than everyone but almost equal in intellect.

Raymond obliges, because he's supposed to be friends with him and three other math dudes. They've been friends since middle school, although they don't really know each other that well. After all, the group consists only of boring, unpopular people who do nothing but math and gossip.

But Raymond is a little different from them. True, math really used to be his entire middle school life, but he'd learned to explore and do other things on his own. Last year, he had spent his summer studying chemistry at a summer school, and when he told his friends about it they had given him silent treatment for a day.