Here's the first chapter of the book I'm working on now. Feel free to leave comments and critiques!
Brief Plot Summary: An as of now unnamed main character is hired to ghostwrite the biography of Theia and Selene, two immortal women who have lived through centuries of scandal and mystery. She is shocked to learn exactly how much of history never makes it into the textbooks.
Enjoy!
Chapter 1
It was a
fine, sunny day, other than the ash raining down from the sky. One of the
houses in my neighborhood had caught fire in the middle of the night and burned
to the ground. It was a miracle that it hadn’t spread. Despite the recent
tragedy people almost seemed to be in a good mood. Maybe it was the natural
sense of community that always magically sprung up after something bad
happened. It would probably be gone by the end of the day. I at least was
appreciating the change of mood. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, people were
almost smiling, and I was about to quit my job for the second time. You see,
last time I had quit I didn’t have another job I was quitting for. I had just
quit. It hadn’t been a smart thing to do, but there came a time in every
woman’s life where she needs to stand firm, and proudly utter the words “I
quit! In two weeks”
And those words had been long
overdo.
Luckily,
the gamble had paid off. I had a new job and every thing was going to be
alright.
I lifted my
chin confidently as I walked into the building, immediately locking eyes with
my old boss. He frowned. I smiled. Well, it was actually more of a grimace. It
was hard to smile while looking at him.
“What do
you want?” he asked not bothering to stand up from his chair. “If you are
coming to ask for your old job back I will have to say no. Well, maybe if you
beg.”
I made a
disgusted face at the thought then quickly changed my expression to a smile.
“No I actually just happened to be in the neighborhood so I decided to stop
by.”
He stood
up. “Alright you’re wasting more of my time than you did when you actually
worked for me and I didn’t think that was even possible.”
I tried not
to let myself rise to his bate. I had come here for a reason. I was not going
to let myself be conned into a fight. “Then I won’t take up too much of your
time.” I said calmly. “I quit.”
He blinked.
“Um I think you may have fallen and hit your head.” He said sarcastically. “You
already quit once. Remember? Two weeks ago. Your last day of work was just
three days ago.”
“I know
that.” I said, my voice matching his in sarcasm. “But I wanted to let you know.
I have a new job. I didn’t want you to worry.”
“You
couldn’t have found a new job in that amount off time.” He snarled. “Where are
you working? What joke of a printing company would hire you?”
“No.” I
said casually. I wanted this next part to hit home. “I am writing a biography.
And I am going to assume that my clients are famous enough that I will get
plenty of clients afterwards.”
“Whom could
you possibly be writing for?” he said trying to sound disgusted, but genuinely
curious, not to mention a little worried.
I smiled.
“Oh two people you may have heard their names. Theia and Selene.”
His smile
melted off his face. “What?”
I smiled
and started to leave. “So you do not have to worry about me. I am doing quite
well in the world. So I will not be coming back to waste any more of your
time.”
And with
that, I left. He didn’t even try to follow me or stop me. I waved goodbye to a
couple of the people I’d actually enjoyed working with and left.
As I exited
the building no one noticed me. No one ever noticed me. And why should they?
Being unnoticeable is part of my job description. Telling other people’s
stories but making it seem like they did it themselves. I’m the phantom holding
the pen. The voice from behind the curtains as the performer lip sinks on
stage. I was invisible in my writing and that kind of thing seemed to translate
to real life as well.
I’d meant
to go straight home after quitting, but I passed by the library on the way
there, and I knew resisting its inexplicable draw was a lost cause. I gave up
and went in. After all, now that I actually had work to do, I’d be spending a
lot more of my time there. I went into the library and found my customary spot.
It was hidden away deep inside the library, so regular people rarely stumbled
across me while I was working. Then I opened my new notebook I’d bought and
stared at a blank page.
The problem about Theia and Selene
was that their story wasn’t as straightforward as you’d think. Conflicting
stories and their various disguises and personas over the ages muddied the waters.
Even more concerning was the large chunks of history they had dropped out of
entirely.
I dropped my head into my hands.
There was so much. So much to discover, to learn. Suddenly I was confronted
with just how difficult it would be to tell the story of two immortal people
who’d already been alive for centuries.
“Surprise
seeing you here.”
I jerk up
my headway to fast and my glasses almost fell off my face. Standing in front of
me was a pretty woman. She had a stack of books in her arms and a knowing smirk
on her face.
I blinked
“Oh, hi.”
“Oh hi?”
she parroted my words back at me. “I don’t hear from you in months and that’s
all I get? Oh hi?”
“It’s only
been two weeks!” I protested, but I still bent my head guiltily. Gina was the
only person who could make me feel guilty about anything. I hadn’t seen my
parents in several years and I didn’t have a single qualm about that.
“Well it
felt like months!” she shot back as she leaned onto the table. “Do you have any
idea how dull it is here with only me and the oldies?” she jerked her finger
over her shoulder to draw my attention to a group of old men talking in hushed
voices over a thick tome. My attention quickly snapped back to her as she
started speaking again. “And now you waltz back in here like nothing happened?”
I blinked
again. It was amazing how good she was at transmitting the idea of yelling
without ever raising her voice above a whisper.
“I’m
sorry.” I said a little resentfully. “I’ve been busy.”
“With
what?” Gina laughed. “You quit your job two weeks ago.”
Apparently
news spread fast, even in libraries. I hadn’t wanted her to know that. I ducked
my head. “I just couldn’t take it anymore,” I began.
“I know.”
She said smirking. “I’m surprised you put up with that idiotic pig for as long
as you did.” She leaned in toward me with a conspiratorial grin on her face.
“What did he say when you said you were working for Theia and Selene now?”
I stared at
her. Me quitting was knowledge I had expected to spread, but I had literally
only gotten confirmation of this yesterday. How did she already know? “How did
you know that?” I asked.
She waved
her hand airily. “I have my ways.” She said. “I knew you’d have to come here at
some point. That’s why I was looking here. You’re going to need a researcher.
And while you have every right to choose someone else, I would be very
displeased if you did.”
I grinned
at her precociousness. “Well, it’d be a bit stupid of me to pick anyone but the
best wouldn’t it?” I said.
She
returned my smile. “Yes it would, especially since I’m the only reason you
finished your last book. And since I predicted that you wouldn’t be that stupid
I took the liberty of writing up this for you.” She slapped a few pages onto
the table between us. I looked them over to see a list of every major move
Theia and Selene had taken over the last ten centuries. I stared at it.
“You did all
this in a day?” I said shocked.
“No, I did
all this in just under two hours.” She said quickly. “It would have been done
sooner except I had to help some old lady find a book. I swear she practically
lives in this library but she still can’t find anything on her own.”
“Perhaps
she enjoys your company.” I commented.
She flashed
me a devilish smile. “Who wouldn’t? Lucky for you, you’re going to get to enjoy
it quite a lot now.”
And with a
swish of her hair and a flurry of pages she was gone. I was left alone with my
books staring at the shelf she’d disappeared behind. I stared like an idiot
until I firmly told myself to get back to work.
