The Code Of The Alpha

d you

t say an

p thinking

e in the room behind me, but my

all detailing brush from the palette and leane

canvas, letting the beige acrylic paint cover the ma

lief as I finished the last upward strok

s she leaned forward to get a better look at the ca

that look

dmitted, feeling a sudden wa

ooks real

graphite pencil. An old dusty picture was clipped up at the top of the canvas, se

exhau

the need to stay up all ni

ime and you would be able to finish it gradually inst

rgued, throwing my brush into t

ng my arms out behind me and in front of me, I felt my spine pop in several different places. Lettin

to have that done by their anniv

ting that would soon be a gift. It was a portrait of my parent

ng, youthful smile on her face. He was in a simple black tux as he marched forward

turn off the light tha

?" I asked, rubb

d down at

st th

and I were supposed to be finishing up the last season of the show we'd been

Mady," I sai

mean to get

finish my reading for civil

he thought of a

studying to get her juris doctorate so she could b

live as a professional starving artist, even though I technically never starved since

eaving tomorrow mor

on being over

he turned to

e morning," sh

oor to her bedroom open and close,

given that it was nearly three and

ound nine so that we could still leave on time. I always ended up making us late w

house to go with our dads to a conference. Her fat

d to be leaders that represented Oregon on a committ

traveled to Las Vegas for meetin

May and they were traveling to their fourth meeting so far this year, I was under the impressi

ade an executive decision that we needed a break from school and work, we

y hands. Exhausted, I resigned to the fact that I would just have to wash sheets in the

e by before Mady was opening mt b

nine forty-fi

leave in fif

y, my hair fall

my legs over the side of the bed and stood up. She disappeared down the hallway as I quickly

them into the bag before also taking a handful of underwe

t back into a ponytail and change out of my pajam

I yelled back, pu

I had forgotten to charge it overnight. I threw it into my

hadn't forgotten anything, it occurred to me that

e turning to run

Mady told me as she watched m

right and I pulled my arms back th

a toothbrush

, mo

thpa

aughed as she followed me

told me, locking the

east one of us had turned ou

neighborhood where our parents lived. Mady's mom and dad liv

fore crossing the street whenever I went over to play. I also remembered the times during high s