Alicia Turns Things Around

Rubbing his eyes, Basemmath held his hand out for his assistant. Quickly catching on, the assistant passed him an old, super-powerful magnifying glass.

Basemmath took a good look at the drawing with the magnifying glass. From the top to the bottom, from the mountains to the people, he checked out every little thing, nodding in approval. "The lines are strong and deep," he said, "It's the kind of thing you'd see in Santiger Vidosa's work. There's a kind of never-give-up vibe to it, like the artist won't stop until even the hardest rocks get what he's trying to do."

Setting the magnifying glass aside, Basemmath fixed his sharp gaze on Alicia. "Did you really make this drawing, kid?"

Alicia smiled, "Yep."

With a hint of doubt, Basemmath gave her a good look-over. "You don't look very old, do you?"

Always truthful, Alicia answered, "Twenty-three."