Night and Day

Chapter 2

After saying her morning goodbyes to her younger sister as she rode off on the bus to school, Lexi took a deep breath and went inside the Chevalier mansion giving nods to the Night Creeper guards outside the mansion. She was always scared for younger sister, Luna, whenever Lexi saw her boarding the school bus. To some extent, school was more dangerous than the streets. She remembered back to the days when she was at school. Daily, she was interrogated by everyone on who’s side she was but she always changed her mind depending on the owner of the question. 

The only reason why it was the Creepers and not the Trotters was that her dad used to be in that gang when he was young but he left because he too, like her, hated the unreasoned discrimination within the town. He left when he fell in love with a girl from the city, who moved to Lucksnoire, when he was 19. Since the first day he saw her, he fell in love and promised that he would never hurt anyone ever again. For this he left but stayed in connection with the leader back then, Axl’s father. It was Axl’s father who encouraged the drinks after Lexi’s mother died, for simple self-interest: money.

Money was something that Lexi never ran out of now as she was the fiancée of Creeper’s successor. 

She yawned and climbed under the warm sheets carefully, hoping she didn’t disturb Axl, who was fast asleep. She stroked his hair and kissed his cheek but couldn’t help thinking about day before when she met the strange Trotter. She laid her head next to Axl’s and closed her eyes letting sleep overwhelm her.

Lexi was woken up by bottles smashing and shouting outside the mansion. She looked to her left and saw that the bed was empty. Of course, Axl was out there fighting back the Trotters. Lexi looked at the clock. It was only 6 in the evening and the sun still had another hour and a half before deciding to set. Typical. Someone must have stepped out of the threshold and pissed off a gang member. A very bad move. Lexi wasn’t scared if the mansion was going to be taken because it was always so heavily guarded that it had never been touched by the Trotters. But she was scared about the whereabouts of Luna.

She walked down the hallway, passing the numerous rooms, and into Luna’s bedroom. She opened the door and saw her ten year old sister sitting on the floor reading a tatty old copy of “The Famous Five”. It’s cover had fallen off and its binder with numerous creases from the many times Luna had read the book. Lexi sighed in relief and sat next Luna beside her bed. Whenever Luna was scared or nervous, she would take comfort in her favourite book and enter a world of innocence and peace full of fresh adventures. Lexi was once like that but with her necasssity of growing up quickly, she regretted her early leave from childhood and promised she would never let Luna do anything that she had done.

“Is it over yet?” Luna retreived her mind from her book and focused her emerald eyes on Lexi’s. Lexi listened out for the clear signs of it finishing and heard silence, then a door opening and closing. She nodded and so Luna continued her book in silence. 

"How was school today? Did you get interrogated?" Lexi was obviously concerned for her younger sister.

"It was okay." Luna's mind was obviously lost within the book.

Lexi sighed and started to read some of the words off her book. These characters were free to do what they wanted. Would she ever be free like George or Anna from Five? She sighed.

Lexi kissed Luna’s forehead and rose, “I’m leaving the house at seven, okay? Remember to finish today’s homework and not leave it for tomorrow. Promise you will not disturb anyone or step out of the house?”

“I promise,” mumbled Luna. She was engrossed in her book.

Lexi went downstairs and into the kitchen for a refreshment. In the whole of the mansion, it was only Lexi, Luna, Axl and some servants that were sworn under the Creepers’ order, who lived in the mansion. Axl’s brother, Marcus, rarely came home to his pregnant wife who also lived with in the mansion but she was never really seen since she found out that she was pregnant. She locked herself away in the nursery only coming out for her necessities.