A bedroom could tell a lot about a person.
Everything from the posters they taped to the walls to the music they danced to when no one was around told a silent narrative, and I had only just glimpsed bits of Asa's story last night when I sat down beside him to play the guitar.
He had posters of faraway places like Ireland and Egypt, taped to the walls with sticky notes pinned to them with things like, "The best cafe in the world!" Or, "The best croissants ever!" And most of the books on his shelves looked to be about either baking or nature, something that I definitely wasn't expecting. Asa was fifteen, almost sixteen, but he read the kind of books that an old man would read. It was bizarre, but then again, so was Asa.
I keep snooping around a little more and check out the stuff on his dresser, scoffing a little when I open up a little wooden box and find a bunch of old-looking jewelry like big silver rings with stones on them and even some wedding bands with diamonds embedded in the metal. Among them were several chains, like mine, with price tags still on them. "Asa, man..." I whisper as I pick up a chain with blue gems embedded in it, "What have you been up to, you weird little dude?"
"Alright! I'm done!" Asa announces abruptly, and I quickly snap the box closed and push it away.
"I'm ready!" He romps over to me and I whirl around on my crutches, pressing my back against his dresser, all while dipping my hand into my pocket to hide the chain that I'd plucked from his hoard of jewelry. The tag had the name of the business where he'd gotten it, and I was curious to know if he'd stolen it or actually bought it himself for someone.
"Great! I guess we should head downstairs, huh?" I reply, trying to sound enthusiastic about having breakfast with all his siblings and his hippie parents, even though there was a chance that they would eat me alive and slather my body in maple syrup and butter. "Are you sure it's okay if I have breakfast with you guys?" I question as an afterthought, "Your mom seemed okay with it, but parents are good at lying and I literally slept in your bed last night. Wait...what the hell are you wearing?"
We both look down at the same time and Asa touches the old sweater he's wearing that goes down to his thighs and was the exact same color as a striped chipmunk. It looked like something my grandpa would have worn in the seventies and maybe rolled around in the dirt outside. Underneath that, he had green pants and a pair of black mud-splattered boots on.
"What is this?" I ask him, and I touch the sweater near his chest, feeling the rough polyester under my fingers, "It looks like it's about to grow teeth and start harvesting acorns, dude."
"It's my new sweater. Do you like it?" He asks me hopefully, and his eyes widen a little, "I bought it from Oleanders in town. It's a second-hand store that sells all kinds of cool junk and clothes and stuff. Maybe one day we can go together. If you want, I mean."
I think about telling him the truth, that he looked like a weird little goblin boy who wandered the woods and stuck twigs behind his ears. But then I realized that this was his way of impressing me, just like he'd done with his hair when he asked me to take him for a haircut. And okay, the sweater was pretty cute on him in a weird way. He'd even gone as far as to wear green striped socks that came up to his knees.
"Yeah," I tell him finally, and we both walk for the door, "We should do that. I'm pretty good at picking out outfits."
"Really?" Asa follows me out of the room eagerly, "You're so cool, Micha."
We go downstairs together after that, and I find myself talking to him about clothes and school, and I even mention maybe trying out for something other than football, and both of us meeting up for lunch. It was insane how normal he actually made me feel. This kid, who had wings and wore old man clothes, and flew around in the woods as an owl.
Then we get downstairs and the noise hits me.
I hear the sound of spoons and dishes rattling and kids laughing. Mrs. Moon's voice followed by her husband's filters out as she scolds one of her children, then I hear a little girl--Amelia, complaining about how burnt her toast was.
Was I seriously about to do this?
Asa puts a hand on my shoulder, smiles at me, then pulls me into the dining room before I can chicken out and run through the front door.
All at once, I'm standing in the doorway like a total dork staring at the Moon family having this amazing-looking breakfast. Pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon, piping hot and fresh as several greedy hands reach to pile it onto their plates. There were so many kids, including a baby in a booster seat and an owl sitting on a perch with feathers in his eyes like an emo boy, that I wondered how the Moons handled it all without going nuts.
"Mom?" Asa announces, one hand holding onto my sleeve, "Dad?"
His parents look over, his father smiling at the sight of me, a forkful of hashbrowns in one hand.
"This is Micha. You met him when he was in the hospital, remember?" Asa tells them happily, "He's from the house up the hill. We're kind of best friends, and we're going to be going to the same school."
"Really? Well, hopefully, you can show him the ropes, Micha," Asa's dad replies enthusiastically, "Come sit down and have breakfast with us. If you're anything like Asa, your stomach's a bottomless pit."
"Dad!" Asa hisses, his cheeks turning bright pink, "Don't embarrass me!"
"Hi, Micha!" Amelia sings when Asa leads me over to sit down beside her. This time she was in a pink dinosaur jacket with a dinosaur hood pulled up around her ears, which was fucking adorable, honestly. "Asa told me not to tell you this, but he's been watching your house while you've been gone!"
"Amelia!" Asa gasps in horror, "We pinky promised not to tell!"
The door slams open before I can react, and a gust of wind explodes into the kitchen. "Mother? Oh mother, darling!" A voice drawls dramatically, glitter in the air along with the sound of angels singing in the background, "It's me, Rocky! Your prodigal son has arrived!"
"Rocky!" Mrs. Moon cries, "My baby's finally back from college!"
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