The Masked Singer

Chapter One

Chapter One

The blank document appears on my computer screen, the blinking line demanding to be moved. I press my toe against the carpeted ground and swivel the chair back and forth.

'I, Riley Brenton, have done many interesting things in life.' As soon as those words appear, I hold the backspace button until they're gone.

Let's be completely honest, I, Riley Brenton, have done nothing interesting in the whole seventeen years I've been alive.

Never traveled anywhere worth talking about, never kissed a boy, or some heroic gesture worth writing about. What's the point in writing the assignment?

I bang my head on the keyboard and the computer spazzes out as random letters races across the screen.

"Are you still working on that assignment?"

Lucy crosses her arms and leans on the doorframe.

"Yeah, cause I have no idea what to write."

"Just make something up." She shrugs.

"I can't just make something up."

"Then embellish some details about something."

"Luc, I'm not like you, I'm not interesting."

"You're heaps interesting."

"Totally." I sigh.

I rest my elbow on the desk and slide my fingers through my blonde hair. The stupid blinking line makes me groan.

She snatches the notebook from the desk and flips it open.

"Give that back."

I reach for the notebook, but she bounces back and grins.

"Is this your diary? I bet there's something in here that can help."

"Lucy, please." I pout.

"Someone needs to help you," she mutters.

I flop against the chair and groan.

She flips through the pages until she settles on one. Her brows knit together as her eyes dart across the page.

"And I count the days passing by," she murmurs.

My heart hammers as I leap off the chair.

"Damn it, Lucy, just give me the notebook."

She snaps the book shut and passes it back.

"Those lyrics are beautiful. I wish you'd play them for me."

I hug the notebook to my chest and stare at the ground.

"It's not you, Lucy. I can't sing in front of anyone."

"I'm not anyone, though. I'm your bestest friend in the whole entire world."

"Which is why I can never sing for you. I don't want you to be the one that tells me I have a terrible voice. Then I'd need the ground to really open up and swallow me whole."

"Riley." She sighs. "If you learn anything from this assignment, it's that you should take a risk once in awhile. You complain about being boring and wanting to be someone else, but you don't change anything about your life. Wishing for something won't make it happen."

"Lucy." I gasp.

"As your best friend, I felt I needed to say something."

I drop into my chair and shove the notebook into one of the drawers.