Alina Wright sighed. She had just gotten home for school and in an hour she would have to go to work. Her little brother, Kody, was dependent on her; it's not like their parents were going to do anything to help support their family. Alina's mother was constantly spending Alina's hard-earned money on drugs or alcohol. Her father would just leave to go clubbing and come back at 2 in the morning with a woman and then he would yell at her mom because he should have the freedom of being with whoever he wanted to be with. It wasn't fair. Why couldn't Alina have a perfect family? Alina shook her head. She was grateful. She had Kody and Brian, her cat, and those were the only two things she needed in this world. If she had to work every day, so what? Just as long as Kody was happy, Alina could keep a smile on her face. As Alina entered her house, she held her breath. She knew what she was going to see when she opened the door. She'd see the livingroom that wasn't a livingroom, and see a couch flipped over, a tv probably on the ground or backwards, and random objects strewn everywhere. That was pretty normal. Alina didn't expect anything different. So Alina opened the door and saw exactly what she pictured, with the accepted Brian, asleep against the over-turned couch. Alina quietly closed the door behind her. She slipped off her shoes and looked around. It was awfully quiet. "Kody?" Alina called out. "Kody are you okay? Where are you?" Alina waited a moment.
"I'm in my room," Kody replied. Alina let out a sigh of relief. If Kody wasn't here...but Alina didn't let herself think about that. She went into Kody's room and opened the door. There was the 10-year-old, sitting on the floor, reading a book. "Sorry I didn't reply right away," He said. "But I'm at the climax. Harry's below Hogwarts with Ron and Professor Lockhart and Lockhart just lost his memories. It's really interesting." Although Kody was 10, he was very smart. In fact, he had an 11th grade reading level.
Alina smiled softly. "I'm going to work in an hour, Kody. I want you to take Brian and go to Marissa's, okay?" She said. Kody made a face. Marissa was Kody's away-sitter. She was pretty, but she was a little strict and she didn't like sweets. Kody said she was a mean bat, but he didn't refuse to go. He knew that he'd rather be there, than at home. So Kody put his bookmark in his Harry Potter book, stood up, and looked up lazily at his big sister.
"She's a mean bat," He stated. But, Kody dragged himself out of his room and into the livingroom. He picked up the cat and looked back at Alina. "Why do you make me leave an hour before you have to leave, Lina?" He asked curiously. To be honest, Alina didn't know why she made Kody leave so early. Maybe it was because she wanted him to be away from their parents as long as possible, but she wasn't sure. She knew it wasn't right to leave Kody unanswered, so she gave him a soft smile.
"Kody," She said. "There are things that I have to do before I leave. It takes me a while to get ready and everything, and you'll be unauthorized while I'm getting ready, so I want you to be somewhere, where I know that you won't get hurt," Alina explained. She decided that that was a good enough answer. It was for Kody. He just shrugged and left the house with Brian. Alina turned around and went into her room. She changed into her work uniform and looked at herself in her mirror. Alina put on some eyeliner, mascara, blush, and lipstick (not alot, mind you), and she smiled. Good enough.
And Alina left for work.
