Ok, I have finally found my documents. They were hiding in the back-up file--betcha didn't think THAT!

Anyway, here it is--the fisrt part of Chapter One of my book. I really want to name it High Flight Society (isn't that the coolest name ever?) but there's already a band named that, so it's my working title. If you've got any ideas on names after reading this, let me know.

K, here goes:

Chapter 1: Teddy

“I’ve been waiting too long; yesterday’s late, tomorrow’s already gone.”  

Theodore Westin-Jones turned eighteen in three weeks, and he wasn’t quite sure he was ready for it.

“Teddy,” Livia Jones called from the floor below him, her voice strained, “come down and fix the duster, will you?” Teddy, lying languidly on his bed, his eyes racing along the pages of Great Expectations sighed and sat up. “Coming mum.”

He blinked a couple times to clear his eyes and then got up, attempting to smooth his wrinkled t-shirt. He had spent the previous day at his dad’s house, going to a concert specifically. Unfortunately, however, his mum had called while they were there saying that she had to work that day, last minute, so please bring Teddy over tonight.

The concert had seemed to dim after her call: Teddy and his father, also working the next day, had rushed home after the concert was over to pack his stuff. Teddy, mentally and physically exhausted, had arrived at his mum’s at one-thirty in the morning and had slept in until three in the afternoon.

Livia had come home to a living room peppered with her son’s belongings and her son lying comatose on his bed, still fully clothed. She had decided to let him sleep until dinner at five, but he had woken up at four-twenty, rested and ravenous.

After they had eaten, Livia had begun to clean the house. Teddy, with nothing else to do, went back upstairs and immersed himself in a book. He had remained there until now.

He padded downstairs, brushing his hair out of his face. He was still tired, he didn’t know why but he didn’t mind fixing the cleaner. It was old, and finicky—this was not the first time he had coaxed it back into working—but Livia couldn’t quite afford a new one, so they made do.

“Thanks, dear,” Livia gave her son an affectionate squeeze on the arm, but nothing more. She had read somewhere that teenage boys responded badly to an overload of physical affection, so she had kept her touching to a minimum in the last few years.

“Hey mum,” Teddy frowned disapprovingly at the vacuum cleaner and flicked it on the side, “D’you know where the screwdriver might’ve ended up?” Livia bit her lip. “I’ll check the cleaning closet, just give me a moment.”

She hurried down the hallway, her kitten-heeled shoes clicking faintly on the linoleum.  Teddy, left to his own devices for a second time, began to examine the vacuum. He played with the on/off switch and unscrewed the head, peering into the long tube that connected the head to the body of the cleaner.

“I think it might be blockage.” He yelled down the hall. Livia, returning with the screwdriver, moaned. “Lovely. Is it going to spray everywhere again?”

The last time the vacuum had been blocked up, Teddy had increased the pressure in the bag area and shot the last couple of day’s worth of trash into the living room, clearing the blockage but creating a sizable mess.

“No, I think I’m going to try disconnecting this”—he pointed to the tube—“and pushing the trash out with a broom handle.” Livia still looked dubious and Teddy’s face split into a heart-melting smile. “It’ll be completely projectile-free, I promise.”

Livia returned his smile. “You smile just like your dad, you know?” she reminisced, a slight look of regret etched on her face. Teddy’s smile became rueful and her turned back to the cleaner. “Yah, you’ve told me.”

Livia wrung her hands for a bit, then pulled herself together. “Right. I’ll leave you to that, now. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”

She went back along the hallway, sniffing quietly. Teddy sighed as he started to unscrew the tube from the body of the vacuum, the remnants of his smile turning into a yawn.

Livia Jones, a secretary in a legal office, lived in a small house on the outskirts of Bristol; her husband Michael Westin, a semi-popular screenwriter, lived in Newport. They had been married for sixteen years, divorced for three. They shared the custody of their one and only son, Theodore: it was on a two-week basis, but had the flexibility of Situational Parental Transferal. 

It was a fairly calm atmosphere but Teddy had been, and still was, uncomfortable with the switching around. He loved both his mum and his dad, but wished he could stay in one place and not have to worry about repacking his stuff every time he turned around.

He refused to complain, however, lest it initiated a monumental argument between his parents. Livia and Michael had been on friendly terms as of late, but Livia had been taking several private calls behind the doors of her bedroom and Teddy was tinged with worry.

“Teddy, you want the broom?” Livia leaned over her son’s shoulder, an apron wrapped around her waist. Teddy, taking the final screw out of the tube’s bonding cylinder, grunted a yes. He jerked the tube out of the body and then frowned. “What’s this?”

A thin silver chain was caught between the body and the tube, taut and glittering. Teddy laid the tube on the floor and gently tugged at the chain. It wouldn’t give, probably stuck on something in the vacuum. Livia bent down, staring quizzically at the chain. “I wonder…”

Teddy pulled the chain in the opposite direction, hoping that it would slide of its catch. It did, popping out of the tube with a rasping screech. It revealed itself to be a delicate necklace: a solitary wing studded with tiny diamonds.

“I thought so: it’s Gran Vivian’s necklace!” Livia exclaimed, brushing the dust of the necklace with a finger. Free from their coating of dust, the stones shimmered in bright jewel tones. Teddy gazed at the pendant, fascinated.

“Wonder how it got in here?” Livia continued, letting the necklace coil into a spiral on her palm. Teddy shrugged. “Probably got dropped and then sucked up when you weren’t looking.” He suggested. Livia nodded.

“Right. Well, it’s a lovely necklace, a bit tacky—“ Teddy interrupted her, rising to his feet, “I like it!” Livia looked surprised. “You can have it then. I’ll never wear it and it probably won’t sell well at all.”

She handed the necklace to Teddy, who curled his hand around it and shoved it into his jeans pocket.  “Thanks. I think the cleaner’s good; anything else?”

Livia shook her head. “I don’t think so.” She paused, about to go back to the kitchen, “I’m making cobbler—you want some?” Teddy thought for a moment, the necklace burning a hole in his pocket. “Alright. Call me down when it’s ready.”

He loped across the room and headed back upstairs. He didn’t know why he wanted the necklace so badly; he had never seen it before; but a subtle pleasure filled him as he thought of cleaning the dust off the necklace and watching the diamonds shine.

More to come later.

Ciao

Duchess