The Fortune Master

Prologue

Silence poured over the house. It was sunrise, and the beautiful golden orb shined through the thin curtains of the bedroom, casting a glow that couldn't be cast at any other time of day.

The bedroom wasn't nearly as beautiful, though it should've been. The large, king-sized bed housed velvety smooth maroon-colored blankets, though they were tossed around and wrinkled as though the bed had never been made. A few chocolate bar wrappers and potato chip crumbs littered the otherwise shiny floor, and the single carpet in the room was covered in so much dust it looked like a mountain of gray fuzz. There was a desk with makeup supplies carelessly thrown on it, a few caps open on some of the lipstick and the nail clipper open and ready for use. Grainy dust covered everything except the windows, which were oddly spotless.

This is exactly how it was when tired, 24-year-old Connie Stewart stepped in, looked around, and groaned.

Connie's family wasn't the easiest to be a part of—at least, not when you were Connie. She was the only one in her five-person family with a job—she alone had to cover the entire family's expenses. Her two younger siblings were twelve-year-old twins, which meant Connie also had to pay school expenses, and twice as much as she had bargained for.

Mary Stewart, Connie's 51-year-old mom, was not the working type of woman. She was kind of a jack of all trades, master of none. She was great at the casino, except when she wasn't. She was great at taking care of the family, except when she wasn't. She was great at art, except when she wasn't.

David Stewart, her 54-year-old dad, wasn't a working man either. He was the kind to eat all day, go to the bar, watch TV, then call it a day well-spent and sleep on the sofa Connie worked hard to clean.

Jacob was the typical kind of seventh-grade boy. He liked basketball and sometimes field hockey, but what set him apart was that he was still sometimes shy and acted quite younger than twelve sometimes—most likely because of the environment he'd grown up in. He was sarcastic and humorous and anything but sensitive, but he did try to be understand when Connie couldn't afford something he wanted.

Lucy was very different from her family. She was kind and quiet, never wanted anything except the absolute necessities, and extremely intelligent. The most expensive thing Connie had to pay for in Lucy's case were for her prescription glasses, which she gladly handed the eye doctor the money for that.

Connie wished her family could be somewhat like Lucy as she cleaned up the mess in her parents' bedroom. David had probably fallen asleep on the sofa again, and Mary had most likely stayed out all night at the casino with more of Connie's money.

She could've moved out if she wanted to, but her family wouldn't survive, and she could never put that kind of burden on the twins.

"Connie?" It was a soft and quiet voice, but not Lucy's. It came from outside the door to their parents' bedroom.

"Jacob, come inside," said Connie. "It's a mess here, but it always is. Come on, you don't have to be careful not to step on anything!"

Jacob slipped through the door, his blond hair messy and disheveled. Connie ruffled it. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep. I heard noises."

"Want to tell me about them?" she offered. Jacob nodded.

He told her about a few of the sounds he'd heard and she couldn't deny that a few of them weren't her. "That's weird... Hey, after I get home tonight, we should go ghost hunting," said Connie.

"Yeah!"

"So, do you want to go back to sleep, now?" Connie asked him. "It's really early, you might sleep during school."

"That's a bonus," said Jacob. "And anyway, I've tried. That's why I came here." Jacob leaned on Connie's side. "Con?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you always the one who pays the bills and cleans up the messes and cooks the meals?" he asks. "I mean, isn't that what parents do? I don't really know, but all of my friends' parents have jobs like you, but they're a lot older than you. Sometimes thirty, but mostly forty and fifty."

Connie sighed. She didn't want to tell him about how his parents were, who they used to be, and why. He was still kind of young. He and Lucy had just turned twelve five and a half weeks ago. "Well, Mom and Dad have their reasons. Besides, I've been taking care of you since I was twelve!" She laughed and ruffled his hair even more. "There's no way I can stop."

"So you're like my mom?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah," she said in a bit of revelation. "I guess so. Come on, I'll make some good breakfast and we'll leave a lure out for the ghosts!" She imitated a ghost sound. "We'll be ninjas and they'll never see us coming."

Connie and Jacob ran down the stairs in typical ninja style. She'd have to take care of her parents' bedroom later, but at least Jacob was having a good time.

This was how it was ever since she turned sixteen. But, although she didn't know it, things very soon would change.