This is only 1/3 of the chapter because it is unfinished.

AFTER A DRAINING DANCE PRACTICE WITH MOVES FASTER THAN THE SONG ITSELF, LUKE AND MAYA WERE FINALLY TRUDGING HOME. The New York streets were empty with the only sound filling the air being the distant horns honking loudly from aggravated drivers. Luke walked by his sister's side while chatting about the tiring combo they had performed in class. The boy was still in the process of enacting his plan to make his sister feel as if she had a place in the world, but since that conversation with Jessie and Maya days ago, he was drawing a blank. He had tried to bring it up in conversation several times, but whenever he mentioned the words: "When you grow up," she would shut down and find an excuse to wiggle out of the conversation.

The twins were so focused on their rant about their new dance coach that they hadn't even realized a group of three thugs hidden in an alleyway with smoke filling the air from their cigarettes. The group was talking about something useless, most likely their favorite types of beer, but Maya and Luke weren't aware that they were walking even in a close proximity to them.

Their dance practice normally ran late, but they were always heading home before rush hour traffic died, so they always had people around in case anyone tried anything. This day was different, however, as practice had run an hour more than it should have and traffic was gone by now.