GoodNight

I wiped away a bead of sweat from my forehead as I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and coming closer to my new room. I put down my paintbrush just as my mother walked into my room.

“Joseph what are you doing?” I pointed to the wall and then to the array of different colors of paints and sizes of brushes lying on my bed.

“Just thought I’d add some color and life to my room by painting the walls. My mom spun in a slow circle taking in all that I had worked hard to paint.

“Oh my…you’ve done an amazing job Joseph! Everything looks so realistic.” She smiled as she walked up to the part of the wall where I had painted a mother dolphin swimming happily with her baby dolphin as a school of brightly colored fish swam around them. She turned and gasped as she saw the massive great white shark with its jaws wide open and rows upon rows of wicked teeth mere inches from the headboard of my bed. I laughed as she quickly turned away from it and fixed her gaze on the colorful coral reef I had painted, with little clown fish, sea turtles and long eels.

“Thanks Mom. Did you need something?” She turned to me and pat my shoulder.

“Oh I was just going to tell you that if you wanted to bring some friends over to stay the night your father and I wouldn’t mind.”
“But maybe I would mind?” She laughed and walked over to the door.

“Your father and I will be going out tonight and won’t get back until later on in the night and we promise not to intrude on your sleepover.” I smiled at her and she smiled back before walking out the door.

“Thanks Mom!”
“No problem Honey! Oh if there are girls I’m only allowing 2!” I laughed and lay on my bed. I scanned my ocean blue walls and imagined the fish actually swimming; I imagined I could hear the shadows of the two humpback whales I painted singing to each other and the waves swishing back and forth.

“Joseph!” I jumped and landed on wet paintbrush. I looked up at the laughing mess of red hair standing in my doorway.

“What are you doing here Sandra?” I groaned and stood up, pulling the yellow-coated brush off my backside and throwing a pillow at the smiling girl.
“That is no way to speak to your best friend! Wow your room looks so cool!” Her eyes went wide as she twirled around my room looking at all my hard work. “Its like were actually under water!”

“Hey you wanna sleep over tonight…you know first real night sleeping here.” She smiled and her forest green eyes lit up.

“Of course I’m gonna sleep over! But we need to invite Karla and Simon.” I smiled back at her and started putting all my paints away as she dumped herself into my red beanbag chair in the corner.

“Yeah yeah I was going to invite them over anyway, so don’t tell me what to do you woman!” I ducked just in time as a shoe came flying in my direction and hit the wall right behind me. We both started laughing as my father yelled at us to keep it down.

“Can I have my shoe back?” I stuck my tongue out at her but she threatened me with the other shoe so I gave her back her shoe while she squealed and clicked away at her phone. “Alright well Karla’s coming and so is Simon!”

“You already invited them?”
“Well yeah, you were taking forever to do it so I went ahead and helped you out.” She somehow got a hold of a licorice and was chewing on it as she smiled at me. This girl was gonna be the death of me.