Page 76 of One Wild Ride

THIRTY

Alexander

12 Years Ago, June 15th

Alexa was pretty.

Her violet eyes were wide as they moved over my body. I scratched my arm, suddenly feeling like a wiry stick figure in front of her slight, soft curves.

“Alex,” my mom placed her hand firmly on my shoulder, “why don’t you show Alexa your paintings?”

My mother had her happy mask on. That’s the smile she gave when she wanted to endear herself to others. And, I had begun to learn, she used it to get something from them.

I sighed knowing my mother would ultimately use this pretty girl, and she had no idea.

“Of course.” I glanced at her before my sight glided over to her parents.

Her father was tall, thin, and had thick, light brown hair. The corner of his mouth ticked up and I got the feeling he was impatient for me to leave.

Alexa’s mother looked just like her. Average height, her curves more pronounced with long, dark brown hair. She didn’t smile or look at me. Her focus was on the furniture, the walls, and everything that might have a dollar sign attached to it.

I waved for Alexa to follow me. She nodded, moving just behind me as I made my way down the hallway to my room.

Ever since my dad died in a plane crash the day after Christmas eight years ago, my mother has grown more distant, colder. A plane I was supposed to be on but my mother refused to let me go.

Now I wish I had been on it so I didn’t have to live with her. She never lets me out and I’m not allowed to play with the boys in the building anymore. Occasionally, I got to hang out with Bradley, my cousin, but Alexa was the first kid my age I’d seen in a while.

“Wow, I love your room. Did you paint all these yourself?” Alexa finally spoke as she moved around my room.

“Yeah. I don’t have much else to do, so art keeps me occupied. How about you? What do you love to do?”

She turned and her pale skin bloomed with a pretty pink, but it was her smile I liked the best. I wondered who else she smiled for.

“Don’t tell my parents but I would love to be an actress. My parents are always making me take social lessons but when I have time to myself, I watch TV. I especially love the old comedy shows.”

“I watch some TV, too. Do you watch Get Smart?” I asked since she said she liked old comedies.

“I love that show.”

I grabbed my remote from my desk and pushed a button. A large monitor came down from the ceiling.

“That’s cool,” she said as she watched it descend.

I smirked, feeling proud of my latest tech feature. If I was stuck here in this building, I might as well have fun.

“Wow, it’s Get Smart. What are the odds it would be on?” Alexa took a seat in my desk chair.

“I have a program that can get me any television show I want. Give me the name of some obscure television show and I can find it.” I walked over to show her my remote which looked more like a keyboard to a computer.

“Hmm. Oh, I know, how about Get A Life. It was on in the early 90s.”

Never heard of it but she was the couch potato so I typed it in. Episodes popped up on the screen of some balding guy on a bicycle.

“I can’t believe you found it. This is fun. I have a more modern one. How about Coupling? It’s a British TV show.”

I typed it in and up it came. She kept naming shows, especially British shows.

“I bet you don’t have Spaced.”

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