Sketch One (2 points)

 Sketch One

It is December 2030, and pretty chilly despite Georgia being a southern state. I tug the blanket around my shoulders. I am trying to complete a poster design for a commission I had taken on a week ago. The poster is for a band called Draconian, who had contacted me after they had seen a piece I created when I was at Ringling College of Art and Design as part of my senior thesis. Thanks to drawing digitally I could work remotely from anywhere, anywhere being mostly in the garage that had been turned into a sun room, or in the yard which often had deer crossing through it.

Something flashes in my view and I look up to see an Amazon Prime vehicle pull up. Those are the Christmas gifts I had ordered for family members who were all coming up to visit me and my longtime friend and roommate Preston. I had ordered gifts for everyone who could make the trip to the new home because I felt like rewarding anyone for the journey, seeing as how most of my mom, twin, and baby brother and sister still lived in Florida. Preston's parents also planned to show up. Everyone would be here in two weeks.

I continued to work as a man hauled the boxes up to the main doorway. I hear the doorbell ring, but I ignore it as I am intently working on inking some fur on the deer's face. When the man is gone, and the vehicle pulls away, I go to retrieve the packages. Just as I open the door to collect them, my friend pulls up into the driveway. I wave, and look down at the 4 large boxes and two smaller ones all stack neatly together. 

"That's a lot of packages," says Preston, exiting his car. "But check this out," he says as he hauls a big long box out of the car. "Bet you can't guess what I got you."

I hate his guessing games, but I like to indulge him because he is my best friend, and he gets me the best gifts. Plus, I really hope he got me the gothic style 'dummy' I had talked about earlier this year so I could finally get into ventriloquism, something I'd dreamt about since I was a child.

"A Sussie Talks A Lot?"

He laughs, and I laugh. "Nope," he says. "Guess again."

"Let's get all these packages in and start putting up the Christmas lights." Preston was always generous in his gifts for me, but I like to pretend I don't know what he got me. I also wanted to get the Christmas lights up so we could admire them when night falls. 

I really hope it's the 'dummy' I wanted! I open the door so Preston can take the package inside, and I start hauling the boxes inside. 

"I'm gonna get a fire going. It's getting pretty chilly," Preston says. He sets the box gently next to the Christmas tree. 

I laugh. Preston always boasts about having found this place because of the fireplace. I prefer the central heating, but I appreciate the fireplace as well. 

"Can you chop the wood, I'm a little tired from work today. Had a bunch of kids and I had to make them run 2 miles today." Preston had moved up in military rank. But he still ended up performing a lot still. 

"Sure," I said. I liked the physical exercise. Joy filled me as I pulled on a jacket and went to get the axe in the backyard shed. The home was alive with seasonal spirit, and I was glad to share it with my best friend. The commission could wait until tomorrow, I would be able to finish it on time for the deadline. 

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