"I want this bed!" David rushed in front of Alexis, tossing his backpack down on the bed closest to the door.
"What?" she squawked, wiggling to get her backpack off her bony shoulders. "You always get that bed David!"
"It's my bed!"
She slumped onto the twin bed opposite his, plopping her teddy onto the pillow. "Why do you always get that bed?" she wanted to know.
"Because it's my bed".
"But why, David?"
"Dad says he'll take us swimming if we hurry up and get ready", he said instead, and her face lit up.
"Oh yay, David!" she bounced off the bed, yanking her bathing suit out of her backpack. "Yay!"
He watched her in amusement as she struggled to grab the zipper at the nape of her neck, still amazed at how quickly her mood could change.
"Come here", he demanded, and Alexis stood in front of him. He tugged the zipper down, and she squirmed out of her dress, grinning hugely at him.
"Come on, David! Daddy's gonna take us swimming!"
He pulled his own bathing suit out of his backpack, advancing towards their shared ensuite.
"Don't move my stuff!" he bellowed behind him, closing the door.
Truthfully, he didn't want that bed. He never wanted that bed. If someone broke into their room in the middle of the night, he'd be murdered first. But it was his job to protect Alexis, he had to look after his baby sister, and that meant he had to be murdered first.
"David! Let's go!" she pounded on the door, squealing with excitement. "Daddy! We're ready!"
"Alexis! You need your floaties!" he squawked. He wasn't taking the bed closest to the door and risking getting murdered first for her to drown in the hotel pool. "Alexis!"