Lloyd Black (Book 1)

Lloyd looked out his window at the falling snow. The time had come. He was turning fifteen, thus officially considered a man by the peoples of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It was the year 2035. Lloyd was nervous because he was turning fifteen in three hours, but he felt it had already happened. He had been packing for his new house for a week now. He was pretty sure he had everything.
As he stared at the white blanket now forming over Harrisburg, he wondered what it would be like living apart from his mother, father, and his two sisters. He didn't think he would ever be the same again. The past fifteen years had not exactly been the best, but he enjoyed them.
Ariana, his youngest sister, tiptoed into his room and quietly placed herself on the edge of his mattress. "So you're leaving? Can't you stay one more day?" she whispered, tear tracks glittering in the moonlight reflected off the snow.
Lloyd jumped. He had not noticed the ten-year-old brunette sitting watching the snow. "Ariana! You frightened me!" Ariana looked at her feet.
"Sorry..." she mumbled. "I was going to ask if you could stay another day," she added tentatively.
Lloyd felt sorry for her. They had been best friends for the past ten years, and he understood why she didn't want him to leave her. "No, Ariana, I'm afraid I can't," out of the corner of his eye, he saw a single silver tear slide gently down her face. "I will visit on Christmas," he added, swinging his arm around her and squeezing gently.
"Promise?" she whispered, not suppressing the tears that now soaked Lloyd's pajamas.
"Promise," Lloyd said, who was letting tears fall also. He needed to sleep now, and so did she. He had been awake, thinking about his departure, and he was sure she had been, too.