WE STILL EXIST

Chapter Twenty-One- Surveys and Sunsets

CODEN JAMES

Coming out of my room down the hall from my sister's, I hear her giggling. I stop by her door and listen. She seems to be trying to quiet her voice and she goes silent.

The slight shuffling indicated she or someone else is moving around in there, it could be Noah. I would think she would be with her dad, he is dying after all. My mom pops her head out of her room and smiles at me.

"Good morning, Co-" I shush her.

Pointing to Maddie's door, "Someone is in there." I whisper to her.

Her brows raise, "I know."

"Don't tell your father." She steps out of her room and walks down the stairs to the main floor. "Are you coming, Coden?"

I follow her down the flight of stairs and into the kitchen. Her bouncy blonde hair bobs up and down while she grabs some coffee out of the cabinet. Did she just say that?

"Not tell, dad?" My question seems to dumbfounded her, "she has a boy in the house... in her room."

She shrugs, "so? You have girls in your room all of the time."

"That is so not true," I've slept with three people my entire life and it was never here. "Mom, she is still in high school." I try to reason with her.

My mom pours the coffee and adds water, "she is going to college this coming fall. Coden, she isn't a little girl anymore."

I hear a bang from upstairs, something hit the floor. My mom gives me a look and says, "do not bother them."

"But-" She puts her hand up, "let them be."

This is not how she should be reacting right now. If dad was here, he would be furious and rip that bedroom door down.

Ignoring the undeniable feeling of grossness, I clean myself up in the bathroom. After a quick shower, I head out to the meeting hall to meet Avery. We are supposed to be surveying the reservoir today, I already know my answers.

But we need to be fair and have a proper survey for everyone's proposals. It isn't gonna happen, that water reservoir is gonna stay the way it is.

Walking down the dirt road toward the center of town, I see Avery popping out from sector C housing. The path leads to all housing sections in a circle, this is the middle.

"Hey!" He looks up at me, "hey."

He hasn't really forgiven me or stringing him up in the woods down by the reservoir. I don't expect him to, plus, he doesn't really remember it too well. He knows we got into a fight and that's it.

I really did a number on him, he thinks we are all good for the most part. We argued about Noah the other day, I saw them walking together, and I was curious if they were still together.

Maddie doesn't tell me anything anymore and I've only spoken to Noah once since that night. It was yesterday, at her house where everyone was meeting with Mr.Blake. She was upset with me and Maddie being there, her feelings are all over the place.

"Are we going to do the survey?" We make it to the meeting hall.

We don't have to, "we probably should at least do a half-ass job for the records."

"I thought you would be in support of this?" He is literally dating the daughter of the man whose proposal we are surveying. "What does Noah have to say about this?"

He tenses up at Noah's name, "she hasn't said anything to me."

"Well, I think it will go pretty smoothly." We enter the meeting hall and I immediately spot my dad talking with some of the other section A members. "It shouldn't take too long."