I set aside the documents I was ordered to update as the familiar scent of garlic graced my nose. Recalling today was a Friday, I hopped from my desk and made a dash for my bedroom door. Just seconds ahead of me was my rival from birth, my brother Dylon. His eyes taunted me as we raced down the stairway in efforts to reach the kitchen first. "I'm getting the first piece this time!" Dylon teased, a smirk lurched across his face as he managed to tap the kitchen table only seconds before me. "Ha! Mom, I made it first!" Dylon proclaimed as if he'd been trying for his whole life. I smile devilishly and ruffle his black hair, causing his wavey hair to stick up and tangle more than it usually does. "Yeah, yeah. We'll see about next time" I jest as we grab our plates and take our seats at the table.

Before us lied the best edible circle to ever grace this planet. Golden-brown crust, glazed with a smooth coating of garlic and butter, layered with just the right amount of robust tomato sauce, smothered in mozzarella cheese and topped with pieces of pineapple and mushroom bits and slices. The perfect pizza, at least to us. The rule is, first to touch the dining room table gets to pick the first piece. Of Course, he chose the one clustered with an even amount of toppings. The cheese stretched as he removed the slice, almost making me drool.

The kitchen is small but big enough for three people. The walls are lined with a white, wooden paneling that only reaches about halfway up and is paired with a rosy pink in the other half. Our mom has an affinity for flowers and tries to use them in all of her decorating, including dozens of vases plump full of an assortment of flowers such as roses, lilies and tulips.

The wooden floor screeched as mom's chair scooted towards the table. "I swear, you guys have been fighting to be first-ever since birth," she joked, grabbing a slice of pineapple, mushroom pizza. Dylon and I looked at each other for a moment then laughed. He continued to shovel pizza in his mouth like some kind of Jasperian animal. I giggle at the thought. We may fight, but it's all in good fun. It's easier now, but when we were younger you could barely tell us apart. Our only tell was the placement of our small supernova-shaped birthmarks. Dylon's is on his left wrist, while mine is on my right wrist. We were a mischievous bunch, but I like to think I'm more mature.

"So Dakota, how's work been?" Mother asked. I finish swallowing the chunk in my mouth and take a drink of water to help wash it down. "A lot of nothing, that's what. I'm a wall guard yet I always get stuck doing the paperwork" I complain. I've been a guard for the city wall for more than a year now, you'd think my efforts would've paid off by now. "At least you're not outside the walls, you never know when a Bog will swoop in, ready for its next meal" Dylon teased. As if I'm not ready to fight off a few Bogs'. I give a long sigh, knowing after dinner I'll have to get back to the fore-mentioned documentation. They're right however, it would suck to go down to one of those cysty blobs.

We finish gorging ourselves with pizza and begin to clean up the mess. I take the plates and wash them, while mom and Dylon clean up the dining room and wipe the counters. It's our usual after-dinner routine. "Y'know, I heard that Clive was needing some help at the shop tomorrow. You have the day off tomorrow, why not swing by?" Dylon suggests, nudging my arm with a smirk. "You know he'd like that~" he continued. Clive is the owner of the gun shop that our father would take us to on his off days. He's about the same age as my brother and I, but he knows so much more about the trade. He only brought it up because we both know about Clive's little crush on me. I don't really feel the same, but he's a cool guy. I learn a lot about guns every time I help out. It's like being paid to learn about guns, it's pretty fun.

I nudge him back, causing him to cackle uncontrollably. He can be rather annoying when he's teasing, but I don't let it get to me. "Just because Clive has a crush on me, doesn't make me a target for your awful taunting" I tested back. We both giggled and continued with the rest of our chores. I finally finished washing the days worth of piled dishes then headed back upstairs to my room. Mom and Dylon were both finished with their chores and had already begun watching their show in the living room. "Thanks for dinner mom, I'll be in my room finishing some paperwork if you need me" I said as I passed them, heading up the carpeted steps. They both waved at me slowly, too captivated by the tv to spare me a glance from what they were watching.

I opened my room and was blasted with the scent of pumpkin spice from the wax burner I have hooked up in the corner of my room. It's not a bad smell, but it really hits you after smelling a greasy pizza for an hour. I have the smallest room in the house since I'm only really home when I'm sleeping or doing overtime paperwork. Since it's so small, it's much easier to have a loft bed, and I do. I've never really been good at decorating so my walls are just a jumbled mess of the things I like.

As I step into the room, my foot is instantly met with something wet that seeps into my sock. The feeling sends a shiver of disgust up my spine as the, now wet, sock sticks to my foot. I take it off immediately. After scanning the room, it only takes me a second to find the cause of this ghastly disaster. Pio, the small robot I scraped together had spilled the glass of water I had sitting on my desk. Imagine a ball of metal that has tiny arms and can levitate. That's Pio. He's not very bright, and I don't know the programming to fix him. However, he is a bit of comedic relief when work has me down, so I keep him around.

I use a towel to soak up the water in the carpet, then throw it in the clothes hamper in my closet. "Time to get back to work" I sigh, sitting at my desk and picking up the documents where I left off.