Radio Silence

By Iyanna SB

Join Lucina Gregoire as she strives to become a singer and everyone around her is ignorant to her and think she can't do it. She then reaches a breaking point in her singing career that changes everything, can she still become the singer she always dreamed of? This book is about becoming who you want to be regardless of outside noises and people who don't believe in you. This book is dedicated to all the dreamers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781664121683

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Copyright © 2020 by Iyanna SB.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 08/03/2020

Xlibris

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CONTENTS

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

PROLOGUE

Two Years Ago

J osephine! C’mon, just give me the ball! I whine as I attempt to grab the ball from my big sister. Josephine is my rock. She’s two years older than me, and I always look up to her. I admire her so much that I started taking dance classes with her. But that stopped after I fell in love with singing.

Come and get it, slow poke, cries Josephine as she takes the ball and runs to the end of the complex. Running down the alley feels like home; it reminds me of the candlelit ballroom that my sister and I would sing at. Touchdown! yells Josephine, emphasizing on the o and u.

I didn’t know we were playing football!

Well, I did! snaps Josephine. She takes her phone and looks at the time. We got to go home, Lucie.

All righty, I whine as I follow my big sister home. My nickname is Lucie, but my full name is Lucina. People associate me with Lucie because it’s the shorter version of Lucina. I live in a mini townhouse with my mom, dad, and Josephine. Everything is perfect. We all cherish, love, and support one another.

As I get home, I head straight to the rooms. It’s what I generally do, mostly because I get to listen to music and try to match pitch. It’s always been a dream of mine to become a singer. I get inspired by listening to singers with beautiful voices such as Adele, Carrie Underwood, or even Ariana Grande or Mariah Carey. Songwriting and producing is my second life. Songwriters like Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, and Mariah Carey inspire me. I also play trumpet because it is often used in the military to notify others. I have been playing trumpet and flute since I was three. That’s where I started to learn my music theory.

Lucie! shouts Mom as she enters in the room. Did you forget? It’s Thursday night!

Right, I’ll be right there, I say in a hurry as I put my phone down and my headphones in my pocket. Thursday nights are when the whole family gets together, and we spend equal quality time as a family. I always admire it, but it gets annoying after a while, especially after I’m listening to music.

As I walk into the living room, I see our six-inch TV on the wall. It is also soothing because it reminds me of when I went skiing a few years back, the cozy fireplace right beside the TV, with warm hot chocolate. Our cabin was wobbly, and some of the woods were broken. But it was still safe to sleep in. The old smell brings back those memories.

Oh my god! cries Josephine as she grabs the remote to watch Netflix. "Remember The Princess and the Frog? That movie was everything."

Oh my god. I haven’t seen that movie in so long, I claim, and I sit beside Josephine and Mom while we watch the movie.

There is this one part in the movie where Tiana and Prince Naveen went to Mama Odie to see how to turn human again. Both wanted what they had before, and Mama Odie basically broke seats into a song. You got to diiiiiiiiiig a little deeper, sings Josephine as best as she possibly can. The best she possibly can is decent for a ten-year-old. We both can sing, but Josephine is much better than me, which I am so jealous of because she rarely even tries when we are in singing class. Josephine puts all her feelings and trust in dance. She is incredibly talented. I as well joined her ballet, contemporary, and tap classes. But I quit a few months ago so I can fully focus on singing because that’s my passion.

All right, let me show you a dance routine I’ve been working on for a while. It’s like half decent, Josephine says, laughing at her own joke. As the song continues to play, Josephine does an aerial and a front walkover. She does that a few times as she jumps in a full split and does more ballet. Her flexibility and her focus when she dances is unreal. I always inspire to be amazing at singing as much she is with dancing. Soon as we all know, we’re all singing and dancing to the song.

It’s about 9:00 p.m. once I head to my room and put on my pajamas for bed. I hear bickering from the room beside me. It started quiet and then started to get louder and louder. I slowly open the door and creep toward the room full of noise. It’s Mom and Dad’s room, which is odd because they rarely fight. At least that’s what I know of. I open the door slowly and listen in. I can’t really hear them clearly because they’re arguing quietly, but at least I know how to read lips. It comes in handy when trying to snoop around.

If I’m reading properly, Mom says, Why are you going to the military? You know Oporotto is a deadly spot for us!

Dad says, We’ll make more money there. Trust me! Olly hooked me up with this job.

Wait, who’s Olly? I never knew any of Dad’s friends before.

I’m not going! I swear if you leave, I—

It’s too late. It’s already decided we’re leaving tomorrow morning, Dad interjects with power in his voice. As I look at Mom, she seems extremely hopeless. Where is Oporotto anyways? We’re moving tomorrow morning to live in the military. This is actually happening. Mom looks flabbergasted.

Sam, you’re not taking our kids to a dangerous place like that. Not over my dead body. I will do anything in my power to stop you.

So what? You’re going to take me to court? You can’t. I have so much dirt on you, you wouldn’t win, and you would never see your kids again. Remember, I hold the powers around here, and I know what’s best for everyone, including this family.

Mom looks like a cat bit her tongue. Dad goes into bed and blows the candle on the stand. Mom is still standing in the same place as she was before. She then starts to charge toward the door. I’m in trouble! I quickly run to the washroom without getting caught. I turn on the light to make it seem as if someone was in there. So it doesn’t look like I was hiding. Mom has luggage in her hands, and she looks like she’s crying. For the first time, I don’t understand what’s happening. Why does she leave like that? Where is she going? She looks in the living room mirror and then starts sobbing a storm. She then whispers to herself, I’m sorry. But I can’t save you this time. Then she wipes her tears, takes a deep breath, and walks out the door. I quickly leave the washroom and watch her outside my windowsill and see her drive away. Is Mom ever coming back? What dirt does Dad have on her that made her leave like that? I shake my head and run to my room. I get my phone and look for Mom’s contact. I have no idea what I’m going to say to her or what she is going to say to me. When I am scrolling, I eventually see Ivan’s name. I press call as I feel the cold tears down my cheeks. He answers on the third ring.

Lucie? Why are you calling?

Do you want to meet at the park near the Catholic school?

Sure. I’d have to sneak out though.

That’s fine. I’ll see you there!

I couldn’t bear to call Mom, and I know that Josephine is sleeping. On top of that, this house has thin walls. Dad could hear me if I talked about what happened here. I quickly sneak out from the window, get to the sidewalk, and then run across the street. The park isn’t too far from us, maybe a few streetlights away.

Lucie! I freeze in terror.

Ivan, I say, and I hug him with all my might. I met Ivan in kindergarten, and he is my best friend up until now. He’s the only real friend I have right now. He means the world to me.

How are you? he says after we get out of our hug.

I’m fine. I just had to leave. Everything was just going by so fast, I fib, but I need to keep him on his toes.

Okay. Are you still singing?

Singing is the only thing that gets me through all the hard times I go through. It may seem cheesy, but I’m serious.

No, it’s fine. He laughs. Ready to swing the swings?

Of course.

When we get to the park, we run to the swings. These swings are completely different from the ones at typical parks. They flip all the way around if you go high enough. I start swinging my feet back and forth as Ivan does the same.

So, Ivan, I need to tell you something. I think I’m leaving to Oporotto. I was listening to my dad and mom’s argument, and then after that, Mom just up and left. I have no idea why or why it even happened. My mom can’t even take Dad to court. He has dirt on him, and I have no idea what that implies, I say.So you’re leaving me? Is that why you wanted to see me?

Yes. I had to tell someone. I’m almost sure that’s what’s happening. Apparently, I’m going to meet someone named Olly.

I can’t live without you, Lucina, he starts.

What do you mean? Um, why are you using my full name too?

Confession. I was hoping you were going to invite me here. But don’t worry. I’m moving too.

Wait, what? I almost say screaming.

I was going to tell you last night, but I don’t know where you were. I even asked your mom, and they said you were out somewhere.

When are you moving?

Soon. When are you leaving?

Tomorrow. Ivan, I can’t live without you, I say as I jump off the swings and land on the freezing cold sand. Ivan jumps off the swing as well, and he lands beside me.

Neither can I, but we’ll figure something out, he says as he pulls me up, and we’re basically right in front of each other. He leans his forehead on mine as we hold each other’s hands. We clench onto each other’s hands as if we’ll never see each other. That’s basically what’s happening right now. I’ve never felt so close and farther away from someone in my life. We lean into each other, and I feel Ivan’s warm lips on mine. My whole body was cold and but when he kisses me, it suddenly makes me warmer. Kissing him feels like coming home after a long time away. It technically was because I haven’t seen him or anyone else from my neighborhood for a while. When our lips detach, I feel a cold tear fall down my cheek.

Please don’t cry, Ivan says as he wipes his warm hands on my cold cheek. I laugh.

"Ivan, my dad would never let me cry in public or in front of other