Enigmatic: Sapphire City Supers

Chapter 1: Maybe I Should Start with a Bang

I leaned back from my desk and surveyed the laptop screen before me. Not bad for a first draft, I thought, stretching out my cramped limbs which sighed in relief. I'd been sitting there for god knows how long, agonising over these few opening paragraphs.

The beginning of the book is the hardest to write, after all. My eyes narrowed as I read the page once more, the typical jitters of a new novel coursing through me as they always did, no matter how many times I repeated this process. The inner voice whined anxiously, does this get anyone's attention? Do I need more action? Maybe this time I should start with a bang...

I swatted the thoughts away like an irritating fly; somewhat embarrassingly, I did this with my hand, like there was actually a real fly buzzing around my head. Fortunately, my writing craft was more often than not performed solo, and there was nobody to judge me for this. Standing up, I stretched again, and let out a long, slow breath, quieting the voice more effectively.

Now that I was more aware of my surroundings, I saw that sunshine was streaming in through the windows. The clock on the wall, the ticking of which I'd long learnt to tune out while I wrote, told me it was two in the afternoon. My work was done for now, and what I really wanted was tea.

Glancing across the room, I spotted the electric kettle nestled in the corner. I watched it for a moment before its lever clicked down and the water began to bubble merrily.

Footsteps pounding up the stairs to the apartment startled me, but I relaxed into a grin when I saw my brother Sebastien burst through the door like a bolt of pure energy.

"Hey Seb," I greeted, ruffling his platinum blonde hair. "Tea? I've just put the kettle on."

His eyes flicked between the kettle and fridge, considering it. "Is there no chocolate milk?"

I rolled my eyes; this was habitual around Seb. "How old are you again?"

"Only 30 and, as always, it's still older than you, squirt." He stuck his tongue out at me.

"Only 11 months, and he'll never let me forget it," I huffed childishly to an invisible audience.

"Whatever, Kenny Rogers. Just remember, big brother is always the boss." He turned away and walked over to the fridge to peer inside, when a pillow from the couch flew into the back of his head, causing his head to smack into the top of the fridge.

"Owwww, Kenna, what the hell?" He complained, rubbing the offended spot furiously while glaring at me.

I gave him my most innocent look from where I still stood by my writing desk.

"You and your evil mind," Seb grumbled, taking the kettle off of the boil and making the tea.

"Oh please, like that hurt you, Man of Steel," I shot back, half sarcastic and half affectionate, ruffling his hair again.

He smacked my hand away, dark brown eyes narrowing in mock outrage. Being so close in age, Seb and I were often mistaken for twins, but we looked dissimilar enough to convince people otherwise. While we were both naturally blonde, Seb's was a shockingly pale and bright shade which contrasted strongly with his dark eyes, and mine was darker and currently mixed in heavily with a pale lavender colour that my agent and close friend, Grace, had convinced me would be 'super sexy'. My eyes, interestingly, were entirely opposite Seb's: a light grey that I'd inherited from our mother.

"Well..." Seb trailed off, breaking into an impish grin. "Maybe it didn't hurt."

"I'd think that if anything, you should be embarrassed that I got you. An athlete like you? With your speed, your skills? Guess we know whose reflexes are best in this family." I couldn't help but continue to tease him, like any sibling worth their salt would.