Prologue - My Neighbor, the Cop & the Streamer

There are few idyllic places in the country such as Port Seaview.

The bustling port city has everything any person might want from a place to live in:

A beautiful view of the sea, a rich community, a perfect blend of modernity as well as a connection to nature, warm weather in the Summer, cool in the Winter and mild in between. As most big cities, they do have the occasional problem and “black spot” in their record, but the city continues to thrive despite these setbacks.

Port Seaview is where our story takes place. Where two unlikely worlds will collide, aid each other and, if the gods are good, connect with one another.

It always starts, as usual, when the alarm clocks start buzzing…

Monday August 15th

7:13 AM in the Aoi Residence

The loud buzzing of the alarm clock made Skylar Aoi groan with discomfort. She was up all night working on her sidegig and by the time she finished it was already past 2:00 AM. Now she was paying the price of her negligence with the constant and rhythmic sound of the alarm clock telling her to: “GET UP… GET UP… GET UP!”

Opening her blue eyes slowly, she tried to adapt to the brightness of the sunlight passing slightly through the curtains of her room. Finally realizing that she couldn’t escape the reality of the situation, she grumbled to herself and sat up. A quick slap on her alarm clock made it fall silent at last as Skylar stretched her arms and yawned loudly. Her eyes scanned her room and remembered she needed to clean it up, eventually. Her high school uniform had been dropped unceremoniously onto her desk chair, there were other pieces of clothing all over the floor which also reminded her that she was going to have to do laundry, eventually.

Still feeling sleepy, she thought she could sleep five more minutes. She looked at the clock for a moment… she was about to doze off when she realized the time!

“7:15 AM!? Crap, crap crap!!!” the girl kicked off her covers, stood up faster than a soldier at attention and rushed to the bathroom! She knew she wouldn’t have a problem of bumping into anyone or the shower being busy. Skylar did live in the apartment her parents had bought when they moved to Port Seaview, but due to their work they both had to travel quite a bit, so Skylar was practically living alone for the majority of the year.

While she was taking a shower in a hurry, her thoughts wandered to what she was supposed to have done for school that day. Did she do her homework? Wasn’t she expected to turn in a paper for her history class? And what was it that her homeroom teacher had said about participating in a fundraiser for the city’s Police Department?

As her head steamed about all the things she had neglected to pay attention to, she got a notification on her smartphone that she immediately checked! Her latest vlog has reached over one thousand views since she posted it! This brought a triumphant smile on Skylar. Her Streaming career had reached another milestone. She wanted to reach the “One Million Views” challenge to firmly set herself as a professional Streamer and Influencer!

After she hopped out of the shower, she went back to her room and hurriedly began to dry, brush and do her hair. She enjoyed working on making her auburn hair look classy and trendy, not to mention the blue highlights she added to her hairdo to accentuate her favorite color as well as her online presence and brand. After her hair was done, she did her makeup with the precision of a master sculptor with light blue shade and eyeliner. She always kept her manicured nails in pristine condition and had them painted blue. Even as she applied her cosmetics and hastily put her uniform on, she always made sure to have other blue decorations on herself to show the world her love for fashion and the color blue.

After all, in the world of Social Media, she was known as “Blue Sky”, a rising star among young streamers and influencers.

7:50 AM

Skylar hasn’t yet finished with her preparations! After she made sure she was perfectly groomed and ready to dazzle the world, she rushed like a mad person out of the apartment saying a very rushed: “I’m heading out!” out of habit.

8:27 AM

At Robert Brewster High School, Skylar was looking rather gloomy standing outside the classroom after she arrived late, again, as punishment. By the time the class switched their subjects, Skylar was allowed to enter again, received another scolding by the teacher and asked her to try to do better with her attendance.

“I apologize, Professor. I promise I’ll try to do better.” Skylar bowed in an act of contrition and apology. But deep down, she knew she was going to do this again… she had a different goal in mind, and if she could just pass through high school to appease her parents, then that’s what she’d do.

Before the next class began, Skylar enjoyed talking to her friends about the latest fashion trend she saw on social media last night. Her circle of friends were just like her: bubbly, fashion savvy, somewhat of a klutz when it came to school work and popular amongst the student body. Many of them knew of Skylar’s streaming persona and often asked her about her latest vlogs regarding fashion trends, how to do makeup in stylish ways, giving advice on how to make one’s outfit shine during the warmer days of the year and how to show one’s true “glitter” during the cold months. On occasion, she’d even tried doing some live-streaming in other parts of the city to show the best spots to enjoy a latte or the clothing shops that had the best quality at reasonable prices! For the teenagers like her, she was their guiding starlet and friendly neighborhood Blue Sky!

“Hey, Sky!” Lola, one of Skylar’s best friends approached her, pushing her blonde & pink hair away from her face. “Did you manage to finish last night’s vlog like you said you would?”

“Sure did! Although I did finish pretty late last night… this is why I came in late again.” Skylar smiled sheepishly, but her friends knew she’d never change.

“You don’t have to worry so much about it though, right?” Val, another of Sky’s friends who had black hair with red highlights, sat by her desk next to Sky’s with a smirk. “With your parents always on business trips no one at home is scolding you or riding your back saying: ‘You gotta do better in your studies, young lady!’”

Many of Sky’s friends nodded in agreement towards Val’s comment. Most of them wished their parents weren’t always so strict with them. At first, Sky smiled at their comments and laughed in agreement. But, deep down, she wished her parents would pay a bit more attention to her…

12:00 PM

After Sky had to deal with the crushing defeat of failing her math quiz, forgetting to hand in her History paper and yet another scolding from her teachers, she could finally have lunch with her friends.

But for her, this isn’t just to fill her belly with food and unwind after a grueling first half of her day. This was also her time to brainstorm with her friends on what to talk about during her next vlog! It was a bit intimidating for onlookers while they watched five girls, all with trendy hairstyles, dozens of decorations, and highly accessorized smartphones with false jewels and gems talk amongst each other like they were plotting a bank heist like in those action movies! Anyone who tried to approach them to try and be friendly would be met with some pretty aggressive vibes which told them to keep their distance - You don’t interrupt a genius at work, especially when it’s 5 geniuses of the Social Media world working together for a single goal.

Sky takes a lot of notes in her smartphone regarding the ideas her friends and she are discussing: topics to discuss, the kinds of clothes she’d have to wear and how to do her hair & makeup, whether to make it a live-stream for some spontaneous content or her carefully planned but time consuming record & edit process she usually goes for. Given how often she gets into trouble for neglecting going to bed on time and not waking up at the right time, she’s torn between practicality against her perfectionist needs - she doesn’t just want to make videos and post them online, she wants to make EXCELLENT videos and post them online after careful preparation. She wanted to beat the “One Million Views” challenge before she graduated high school and turned 18… which would happen this school year.

3:28 PM

Sky took the tram to reach her building and was finally back home.

“I’m home…” She said with a bit of a gloomy tone. As usual, the apartment was dead silent, exactly the way she left it when she left that morning.

Before she entered the living room, she took off her shoes and left them by the entrance - this was something her father had taught her as part of her Japanese heritage. Once she reached the living room, she dropped her schoolbag on one of the sofas and went to the kitchen to take out her favorite soda and some leftover pizza she had the other night, thankfully it was still good… she hoped.

When she returned to her room, she changed clothes and set her uniform neatly over her bed while she put on a comfortable white t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Letting her hair loose and removing most of her accessories from her person, she sat down by her computer and turned it on. Of all the objects in the apartment, this was perhaps her most valued belonging.

She had ordered this computer from that online delivery mega company specifically for streaming purposes. This rig had cost her a pretty penny, but with her streams becoming a trend and earning her some recognition, she was able to recover her investment from the occasional ad agency and sponsorship. She earned her own money, which allowed her to spend whatever she liked on whatever she wanted. Something her parents were often baffled by, but couldn’t rightly stop her given their constant absence. As long as she was careful with her spending and not putting herself or her dignity in danger, she could do as she wanted.

For a moment, Sky felt that annoying pit in her stomach that reminded her that she still had a mountain of homework to do, a paper to send (late by the way), an exam to study for and laundry to do.

On the other hand… she had come up with a great bit of content when she talked to her friends for her next vlog and she was aching to put it into action.

Whether Sky had the proverbial “chat with my lil’ devil and lil’ angel”, it was clear that she had her priorities set. She fired up her computer, did a few sound checks and began to rehearse what would be another episode of “Blue Sky in Port Seaview”.

Sky jotted down her notes on what she was going to talk about, what outfit she would use, how she’d fix her looks and the tone of the next episode. Anyone that could observe her work would probably reach the same conclusion: If Sky spent the same time she did on her streaming preparations into her school work, she’d be an honor student and graduate as valedictorian. Alas, she chose a different focus for her passion.

8:47 PM

Sky has already spent several hours arranging how her next big episode will look like, what she’ll do and all the details regarding it. She even spent an hour doing a livestream where she chatted with her fans while discussing the day’s events in the life of a high school student. Her cheerful personality and welcoming demeanor made it easy for her to connect with her viewers who showered her with compliments, confided in their own youthful struggles and appreciated when Sky cheered them on no matter their goals, their hobbies, social standing or other differences they might have between each other.

“We all live under the same blue sky! So let’s all try to be nice to each other and enjoy our lives to the fullest! See you next time, buddies! Love and kisses from your gal, Blue Sky! Buh-bye!”

Sky had ended that live stream feeling a bit tired soon afterwards. She hadn’t slept too well last night after recording after hours. Maybe she could just have a night snack, shower up and go to bed early. She could do her laundry and other stuff later… she needed her beauty sleep.

*BUZZ BUZZ!... BUZZ BUZZ!*

Sky’s smartphone began to shudder and its screen lit up. A message from mom:

“Sora-chan, it’s Mom. Sorry we didn’t message you sooner. Your father and I have been very busy with the latest deal. Seems we’ll be staying in Japan for a little while longer than expected. I’m sorry to burden you like this sweety. We’ll call you later tomorrow night to check up on you.

How’s school going? You know your father is very concerned about your studies and wants you to do your best in class. He was class president for three years running, did you know that? Just letting you know that if he could do it, maybe you could do something like that as well!

Also, I’ve been hearing you’re still doing your ‘streaming’ hobby a lot. It’s nice that you’ve a hobby, but try to find one that’s more appropriate for a young lady like yourself.

Anyway! Be sure to eat well, don’t forget to do your chores and let me know if you need some money or something. Your father has allowed me to use his credit card, so maybe I could use it to buy you that purse you wanted for your birthday! We’ll keep it a secret from him.

Take care and be good, Sora-chan.

Love from mom and dad.”

Sky looked at the message with mixed feelings. She let out a deep sigh and sent back a laconic “I love you too”. Every time she received a message from her parents she was reminded of how lonely their apartment was. At times it was hard for her to deal with all these things in her life without the support of her parents.

“No no… I can’t be brought down by this. I have to remain positive! Sure it sucks! But I’m a strong and independent woman! I won’t be brought down by this.” Sky had to dig deep into her own optimism to regain her smile again. She was used to this, and even if it was unpleasant, she had gone through this for a long time now and had grown up very resilient to these absences.

That’s what she wanted to believe anyway…

*BUZZ BUZZ!... BUZZ BUZZ!*

Huh!? Another message? No. It was a reminder in Sky’s phone to pick up the mail for bills and such. With another heavy sigh, Sky put on a sweatshirt, put on slippers before walking out of her apartment and went to her mailbox.

There were a couple of bills, some junk mail, a coupon for a discount for ice cream (this one she kept in her pocket for later!), and the usual newsletter that nobody read. Stretching her arms as she walked towards her apartment she passed the door of her neighbor and suddenly realized that in the four years she’d been living in this apartment with her parents, she’d never once crossed paths with her neighbors. Was it a family like hers? Was it an old couple? Or… was it some kind of weirdo with a shady job who works nights and sleeps in the day only to return home looking for easy people to scam!?

The more she thought about it the more she began to panic and walked faster towards her apartment door. When she reached the knob, she checked her pockets and realized something: they weren’t there! She must’ve left her keys inside!

“Crap, crap, crap! I gotta call the landlord! I need to get back inside! I don’t know if that neighbor will appear and kidnap me!!!” She frantically took out her smartphone and called the landlord.

*HARRUMPH* “Yes, hello?” The voice of the landlord sounded like he was having dinner or something.

“Mr. Gonzalez! This is Skylar Aoi, in apartment 19. I’m sorry to bother you, sir, but I kinda locked myself out of my apartment by mistake…” The shame and humiliation Sky was feeling made her blush profusely.

“Ahh… yeah, yeah. Miss Aoi. Sure… umm… hang on… errrm… I’ll see if I can drop by as soon as possible, but my car broke down this morning so I’ll have to take a cab there so it’ll take me a while to get there. Just sit tight and I’ll be there in a while.” *CLICK!* The call was disconnected leaving Sky silent.

Sky was left dumbfounded at this turn of events. She was going to be locked out of her own home for a while, which could be minutes if not hours, and she wasn’t exactly having any happy thoughts about who or what might suddenly appear down the hallway.

Surprisingly enough, Sky’s fear and shame turned into childish anger as she began to fume up!

“You gotta be kidding me! It’s not bad enough you overcharge us! Now you can’t make it fast!? What the hell kind of landlord does that!? Shouldn’t you have a guy at the ready to answer the call in the building or something!? ARRGGH!! I was SO looking forward to uploading another ‘behind the scenes’ video tonight, but NOOOOoooooOOOOOoooo! I have to wait here for Mr. My-Car-Broke-Down-and-Can’t-Help-A-Lady-’Cause-You-Didn’t-Date-My-Son for WHO KNOWS HOW LONG! GGRRRRR!”

While Sky was having her meltdown, she failed to notice that someone was approaching her from behind…

Monday August 15th

4:54 AM in Officer Roads’ apartment

John Roads suddenly opened up his eyes and took a deep breath. As usual, he beat the alarm clock for a few minutes. Checking the time on his clock, he sat up, rubbed his neck for a moment and rolled his shoulders to shake off any fatigue or sleepiness left in him. He had to get ready for his daily routine, and he would do so with the exact same diligence he always did.

The second the clock turned to 5:00 AM, he turned off the alarm before it even finished its last buzz. Almost like clockwork, he stood up from his bed, stretched his arms and legs with intention and rhythm, then he went down on the floor to do twenty pushups in quick succession, stood up again and began to do some stretching exercises to get the blood flowing and his heart pumping. He quickly discarded his sleeping clothes and grabbed the carefully prepared sweatpants and hoodie he had set the night before, took his beaten up running sneakers and stepped out of his bedroom.

As usual, his apartment was quiet and without disturbances. Only the lights of the street seemed to create some “disturbance” in his living room as the flashing lights of cars and streetlights still found their way through the blinds. John made his way to his refrigerator, took out some bottled water and took a few sips from it to properly hydrate.

While he drank, he took a quick look at the mail he had collected. He made sure he had paid his rent, his utility bills and sent a small donation for the Red Cross as always. He’d dropped them off in the mailbox on his way to work. But first, he had something to do. He looked for his keys by the coffee table near his TV and bumped into his old guitar. He’d practiced a little the previous night after his shift ended but he’d forgotten to put it in the closet again - he must’ve been quite tired in order to forget something like that.

5:30 AM

After he found his keys, he stepped out of the apartment and went downstairs to the street. It wasn’t as hot this morning as before, so he knew he’d be able to enjoy this run a bit more than last time. John did a few more stretches and, after he felt prepared, he began to jog around the block.

“Keep the pace. Control your breathing. Nice and easy. Eyes on the road. Stay alert.” John’s thoughts were a constant repetition of these words. He was completely in his own world whenever he was working out.

Following his usual route, John’s eyes darted from place to place, door to door in order to maintain vigilance. After all, he was a Police Officer of the Port Seaview Police Department, and he had sworn to Protect and to Serve. An oath he took very seriously - some of his coworkers said he might take it TOO seriously.

Maybe he was too serious in his work, but that was because his mentor, Detective O’Malley, took his own job seriously as well. Detective O’Malley had straightened him up when he was a young punk. Saw his potential and encouraged him to do better. He felt indebted to his mentor and wanted to make him proud.

6:30 AM

By the time John returned to his apartment, morning light had already begun to shine through flooding his once-dark apartment with golden light. He saw the plaque on the wall which acknowledged him as a Police Officer with a picture of himself in his uniform. Below that was a picture of Detective O’Malley and him sharing a drink at the local bar when John turned 21 years of age. Proud moments in John’s life which he cherished.

After taking a quick shower, shaving any signs of a stubble and making sure he was as clean as he could, he went to his storage room where he kept most of his clothes and other belongings in boxes for easy access. He had left his usual grey suit hanging from the wall, took it down and headed to his bedroom to get dressed.

As usual, his suit was a bit too large for him. Maybe the store owner that sold him the suit had scammed him or John’s instructions hadn’t been too clear, but this was how Detective O’Malley dressed up while on the job, so he thought it would be a good starting point… not that it helped his fashion sense, which was negligible at best.

7:00 AM

His usual stop before arriving to the precinct was on the way - Mrs. Bobbin’s Coffee Shop. The moment he arrived at the front door, the owner, Mrs. Bobbin would greet him with her usual good humor.

“Good morning, Johnny! I gotta love the way you’re always on time, baby!” The smile Mrs. Bobbin had on her face made the officer smile and laugh.

“Good morning, Mrs. Bobbin. I’ll have the usual, if you don’t mind, please.” The owner waved John to follow her inside the shop. The scent of many blended coffees and freshly baked goods filled the small shop. Mrs. Bobbin’s son, Willy, was busy making sure the tables were turned, the chairs were in place and the newspapers were ready to be used for the early risers.

“‘Mornin’ Officer Roads.” Willy greeted John with a worried expression.

“Good morning, Willy. How are you feeling? Anything you want to tell me?” John was trying his best to be tactful and supportive. Willy had been an addict and had gone clean, but he always got nervous around cops.

“I-I’m doin’ alright, Johnny. Just… taking it one day at a time.” Willy managed to smile and nod. John smiled back and nodded, letting the conversation end there.

“Alright, Johnny!” Mrs. Bobbin returned from the back of the shop and brought a freshly made chocolate filled donut and a mug-to-go full of coffee for John. “Here’s your usual coffee, lotsa milk, lotsa sugar and a chocolate filled donut. I added a lil’ extra special love in that donut, just for you baby! Hehehehehe!” Mrs. Bobbin’s laughter made John smile.

“You’re too much for me, Mrs. Bobbin.” John paid for his coffee and donut, took his little paper bag for his pastry and left the shop with a smirk on his lips.

7:30 AM

John’s precinct was as busy as usual, even this early in the morning. Many officers were coming in for their morning shifts while others were finishing up the much dreaded “graveyard shift”. As usual, John went inside and was greeted by his fellow police officers.

“Morning, Johnny.” Officer Pete Montoya approached him while John was walking towards the locker room. “Did you see last night’s match between the Peregrines and the Bulldogs?” Pete was talking about the local Soccer team, the Port Seaview Falcons versus their rival team.

“Sure did. I tell you, we need to strengthen the offense next season. With the gaffer’s tendency for high defense, he’s neglecting the attack. Midfield is killing it scoring goals, but that’s not their main job, you know?” John continued to banter with Pete as the reached the locker room where the morning shift teams were already getting ready for the morning briefing.

“Yo, Roady! Are you still wearing that big ol’ suit? Man, you should go to my cousin’s tailor shop. They’ll hook you up with something that ain’t from the 70’s man.” Officer Nick Banks joked out loud which was met with other officers laughing as well.

John always took these jokes and comments with stoic good humor. Back in his teenage years, he would’ve reacted aggressively towards such comments. Too many “youthful indiscretions” to last him several therapy sessions.

Johnny had a complete transformation the moment he put on his Patrolman uniform. He adjusted his shirt, made sure his pants were in perfect alignment, his shoes were properly buffed out, his badge was clean as it displayed his last name: ROADS. Then he put on his belt and holstered pistol, put on his hat and stepped out of the locker room. When people saw him step outside, they no longer saw ‘Johnny’ or ‘Roady’. They saw Officer John Roads of the Port Seaview Police Department. A man in perfect physical shape, a serious look in his eyes and the embodiment of the law in the streets.

8:00 AM

The morning briefing always had a certain buzz to it. Much like a football team’s meeting room, everyone was expectant to what the Lieutenant was going to assign to them. For most of the patrolmen like John, it was just walking their beats and continuing to serve the community as expected.

“Roads,” Lieutenant Cole called out to John. “You’re going to have to cover Okada’s beat today. She had to take maternity leave, so we’re gonna need you to help out in that area. Understood?”

“Yes, Sir!” John answered loud and clear.

“Easy there, Johnny. No need to be so intense, alright?” Pete whispered to John who looked at him like he had said something strange.

“I’m not sure what you mean by that, Pete. I’m just doing my job.” John answered while Pete sighed softly and rolled his eyes.

Lt. Cole closed his files and called out loudly: “Alright, people! That’ll be all. Dismissed!”

John went on to perform his duties as was expected of him, maybe even better than usual. He went on to cover Officer Okada’s area, which was notoriously tough to walk due to many young people making a lot of noise and some petty shoplifting going on. While walking the beat, he was able to stop a couple of teenagers from stealing some small items from a shop and make them apologize for their wrongdoings to the shopkeeper. Then he gave them a stern warning that if he ever saw them acting in this way again he would be forced to arrest them, and that meant having to go to juvie hall in the worst case scenarios.

“Take it from me, boys. You don’t want to go down that road.” John spoke from his own previous experiences, which seemed to resonate with the boys who usually left the scene with a hard learned lesson.

Everywhere he went, John was looked upon as an enforcer of the law. His presence alone gave any potential wrong doers a reason not to try: John was tall, he was in perfect shape, his stoic expression showed he was a no-nonsense type of cop and, despite being 25 years of age, he looked like a tough man who knew the streets well.

For John, this was his daily routine, and he enjoyed it. Some people had complained at the monotony of what they did, how some of them had grown tired of walking around and tried to solve petty crimes or handle young hoodlums. For him, it was the job he had chosen and he had learned to find fulfillment in it.

6:45 PM

As soon as John had finished his shift, filled out his reports and changed out of his uniform, he’d head out to the nearby library where he was going to do a little bit of studying.

Upon arrival, he went to his usual corner, far away from the other visitors and took out his notepad where he kept all of his daily musings and police work documented in order to study them. He took out a couple of books about police procedures, solved cases and evidence searching, and began to reference his own findings with previously recorded cases and their outcomes. John had tried during his few moments of downtime to create crime scene scenarios where he’d have to find evidence, investigate, speak to eyewitnesses and interrogate suspects.

He wanted to become a Detective, just like his mentor. John knew the next Detective test would be in a couple of months and he wanted to be ready for it. Then he’d get to work with Detective O’Malley and learn the real ropes of detective work.

8:58 PM

After a long day on the beat and taking a few hours to study in the library, John finally returned to his apartment. While he was walking from the library back home, he was thinking of the advice Detective O’Malley had given him about being a detective:

“Being a Detective is 80% intuition and 20% data. Do yourself a favor, Johnny. Trust the data as much as your gut. Turn those into a 50% split, and you got yourself a winning formula.” Memories of his time talking with his mentor always made John smile.

When he was climbing up the stairs to reach his apartment, he suddenly heard someone talking in a very loud and very angry voice.

“You gotta be kidding me! It’s not bad enough you overcharge us! Now you can’t make it fast!?”

John couldn't help but notice that it was the voice of a girl… probably a teenager by the way she was ranting and venting her frustration. Wasn’t that the neighbor’s daughter? He’d bumped into the mother and father occasionally whenever they were leaving early in the mornings to grab a cab towards the airport. Was she in trouble?

“ARRGGH!! I was SO looking forward to uploading another ‘behind the scenes’ video tonight, but NOOOOoooooOOOOOoooo! I have to wait here for Mr. My-Car-Broke-Down-and-Can’t-Help-A-Lady-’Cause-You-Didn’t-Date-My-Son for WHO KNOWS HOW LONG! GGRRRRR!”

Suddenly John didn’t feel too comfortable trying to approach the young lady while she was having a meltdown. Truth be told, he wasn’t too keen on dealing with such things even when he was of that age.

But she was a citizen in need of aid. He couldn’t just ignore someone in need of help just because it might be uncomfortable. John looked at his badge and saw beneath the shield the words “To Serve and to Protect”. He had to do something.

With a slow step and trying his best not to look intimidating, John approached the young lady who was still grumbling to herself about her grievances. When he reached a fair distance from her, he cleared his throat to get her attention.

“Excuse me, miss. Are you in need of assistance?”

The look of panic in the girl’s eyes when she turned around to look up to him made him realize he might’ve stepped on a landmine…

9:04 PM

Sky was still fuming and throwing a tantrum to realize that someone was standing behind her. She suddenly felt the presence of another right behind her and a large shadow falling over her. Remembering her previous thoughts about “the weirdo” who might live next door, she felt afraid that perhaps THIS was it!

“Excuse me, miss. Are you in need of assistance?”

The sound of a deep voice told her that it was a man! Crap, crap, crap, crap! Sky had no other choice but to turn around to look at the person behind her. When she did, she realized she was looking at the chest of a man wearing an oversized suit like the ones used by “corporate slaves” who know nothing of life and just want to “have fun”! She then had to raise her head to look this man in the eyes. He was too tall! All she could see was the shadow this large man cast over her!

This man’s hair was a mess of shaggy black hair! His eyes were light brown but were cold and serious! He wasn’t smiling or anything. He was just looking down at her! She could see confusion in his face… What was he going to do!?

“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!” Sky’s high pitched scream could be heard from the street outside.

Not the start you were hoping for, eh?