Life Imitates Art

Part 3 - Only Ever In A Drawing!

"Oh! You know I get quite shy when someone sees my work in progress!"

"Lucky you love your big sis then, eh?" She's not wrong. And don't take that out of context either.

"Well it's not like there's anything exciting going on. What did you want?"

"Well I was going to ask you to come and help with tidying the kitchen – your turn to be on the dishes! But instead, I think I want to know more about this girl. She looks awesome!"

"Thanks!" I smile, hoping it shows off my genuine pride and sense of accomplishment.

"The thing is...I googled 'Maximum Moonlight'. Her picture didn't come up. Is it really that obscure?"

I hate lying. F*ck it. How bad can this honestly be?

"Well, I felt shy about telling you earlier. Especially with what happened at school."

"Telling me what? Jokes aside Max, you know I'll always have your back."

"You know when you said it would be cool if I had my own character?" All she does is nod. "This might be her."

"I knew it! You're a terrible liar!" She gives me a hug as we laugh it off. "So this is your own creation?"

"She is indeed."

"So what is her real name then?"

"No more lies. I'm being completely honest here."

"Go for it."

"Her name is Maxine Moonlight. B-but I can explain! It's not like she's supposed to be me or anything!" Strong defence from the off will surely convince her.

"No, I get it. You've created a girl but used yourself as a source of inspiration. I can sort of see that, too. I mean, your school uniform is pretty much the exact same colour. The brown hair is eerily close to yours, and she has both our eyes!"

"Y-yeah. That's all it is. One of those drawing pages I follow suggested the idea on a blog last month. But since then, I've just been consumed by her image."

"I don't blame you! Being a girl can be pretty awesome sometimes. Maybe you can try it someday!"

"Y-yeah right! I think I'll just keep her on my computer and in my book."

"Don't say I didn't offer then! Anyways, you might not like this but I do have a couple of tips for your design."

I can't help but raise my eyebrows and take her intriguing bait. "What are they?"

"OK. Firstly, love the complexion. But painting her nails a brighter blue would be fine. Nails are supposed to be a little brighter, so try blue and silver. Try to add some glitter to it."

"I see what you mean. So an electric blue?"

"Yeah! And the outfit is fab, but girl, you need some earrings! I mean, your girl needs some earrings."

Nice save.

"A necklace wouldn't hurt, but she already has that little blue tie there so not entirely necessary. The makeup colours work really well too – not too loud at all. And the shoes! Oh my god, you would have to tell me where you found those!"

"If I ever see them in real life, I'll let you know. I don't think I've ever drawn anything like jewellery from scratch before. What would you suggest?"

"Rose earrings are a must! And I'll show you exactly what I mean for the nails." Tessa scrolls through her Pinterest page and shows me some bright blue nail art. It includes white, blue and silver, roses, sparks and stars. It's nothing short of perfect for me-axine. She's got me doing it now!

"Wow, thanks, sis. Can you send me that?"

"Of course. Bet you never thought you'd be asking me for nail designs!"

"That much is true. Only in my drawings, though!"

"That's a pity. Your nails would look lovely with some colour on them!"

"I get bullied enough already! Imagine what would happen if my nails were blue!"

"I think they'd still just be jealous! Anyways, let's go sort the kitchen."

I feel a tense clog build in my stomach, so go straight to the bathroom. I don't remember what I ate at lunch, but it mustn't agree with my immune system today for some reason. But why was I honestly considering accepting Tess' offer to paint my nails? I'm a guy! I wipe and flush, hoping that any lingering idea of Max ever wearing nail polish disappears down the sewage system with the rest of the waste. I take a few deep breaths as I wash my hands with bubble-gum-scented hand soap. 'You're a boy', I tell myself. 'You're a man.'

Following a somewhat psychotic pep-talk, I go back to the kitchen.

"You better now?" Tessa asks as she hands me a couple of dirty plates.

"Yeah. Just had to make a pit stop!"

"Or even a...pit plop! Ah? Ah?" Her jokes are the worst. And the best.

"Yes, yes, very good! And yeah, better now."

"Good. The rest of your dishes are over there, as well you know by now."

"My favourite!" I roll my eyes. It could be a whole lot worse than just doing dishes, but it's also such a boring, dull, and colourless chore! Tessa's music playlist is often enough to negate a lot of that banality. She does her best to stay in tune while I can only really join in on the lower pitches. It doesn't matter how much she tries to make me hit what she calls a 'siren note' in an Ariana Grande hit, I won't do it. I physically can't! Not without something in a vice!

"You could probably sing that high with enough effort and practice."

"Why would I ever want to?"

"Well, Maxine would likely be able to!"

"Stop that, you! I'm not her."

"But you could be." I think she's keen on seeing her sister in the flesh too. But it's not going to happen. I would never want that.

"Can we talk about something else? How was your day?"

"Ah, same old minus the whole heating thing! You know what school is like for me these days. I'm just getting ready for the final year after the summer. So I just did work from home instead...for a bit."

"Lucky. I have three more years at the hellhole."

"Yeah, I don't envy that. You know, Maxine would probably get a place at my nice school!"

"Why do you keep bringing it up?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want to see my baby sister! Just once, then I promise I won't make you do it again. No one's going to know. Please?"

"If you really want to...I'll let you do my nails. But you have to wash it off before Mum and Dad get home."

"We have loads of time! Come on!" Tessa practically drags me up to her room. We usually hang out in the living room or in my room. It's almost never the case that I'm allowed in here. She even has a sign with a skull on it on her door that reads 'NO BOYS OR BROTHERS ALLOWED.'

"Ignore the sign today, 'cause you're my sister, Maxine!"

"You don't need to call me that."

"True." She says it in such a way that I know there's a 'but' coming. She gestures for me to sit on her bed while she goes to get the nail polish. "But I want to call you that while I do this!"

"If you must. You have called me far worse before!"

"And you have called me a lot worse too! Don't forget that sis!"

"Sis too?"

"I've always wanted a little sister. So please let me have some fun with this?"

I concede defeat. "OK, go nuts." I should be more stubborn. I really am quite weak.