head over heels | benny rodriguez

| chapter three |

I woke up bright and early the next morning to start decorating my new room. After all, if I'm gonna be spending the whole summer in this room, it better show off my amazing taste for interior design.

I obviously couldn't do anything too permanent, but grandma said I could do anything as long as it doesn't ruin the paint on the walls!

I made sure to bring my favorite posters, old photos of me and my friends, magazines, a radio, some records (as grandpa has a record player in his office), a few random books, my cassette tape collection, and many other random knick-knacks to make it feel like home.

It ended up taking me 5 hours to unpack my entire wardrobe, organize all my makeup, and place my necessities into place, like bathroom products. What a pain in my ass.

But back on track, when I finally finished around two in the afternoon, I stepped back to admire my work:

The bed was in the corner, to ensure a gorgeous window view of the other houses in the neighborhood (and the sunsets obviously).

I put a huge "The Police" and "Fleetwood Mac" posters in the center as they're my two favorite bands, along with tons of other smaller posters I'd collected over the year - one of my personal favorites being "The Beatles" poster I got from a kid in my science class. There are also tons of photos of my school friends and me back home, just for the memories I guess.

On my bed, there was a red quilted bed set I found in the closet with little embroidered hearts on the pillows, along with my childhood bear plushie to put right in the center.

I had a little vanity with a mirror next to my bed, where I organized my small collection of makeup, as well as a stand to hang some of my necklaces, with a small glass bowl to store my rings and scrunchies.

Lastly, I hung up all my baseball caps to border around my wardrobe too, organizing my clothes in color order.

I'm quite satisfied with the way it turned out, even though I did spend several hours decorating for nobody but myself, as it's not like I plan on hosting people, or having people to host in the first place. But at least now when I'm alone in my room all summer, I'll be comfortable!

Taking a large inhale, I rubbed my eyes from the harsh sun peaking through the blinds, but heard a subtle knock at my door.

"Giselle, are you awake honey?" I heard Grandma's soft voice muffled through the cracks of the door, "I cooked some pancakes a few hours ago, but I didn't want to wake you up, so they're sitting on the counter."

She makes breakfast too? I really am living in luxury,

The door hinges squeak open as I hold my arms out for a grand reveal, "Like the new room?" I asked cheerfully, giving her a few seconds to take it in. She stared at the decorations for a moment before responding.

"Looks lovely, you've got pretty good taste, you know that? Who would have thought my grandbaby would be so cool." She spoke gently as she placed a hand comfortably on my shoulder.

"Thanks, I'm glad you like it. And don't worry, all of it is removable."

"I'm just glad you're cozy." She smiled at me with the most genuine grin before guiding me into the kitchen where she reheated the pancakes.

I devoured them obviously, leaving not a crumb in sight,

"Where's grandpa?" I asked after I had cleaned my plate.

"Oh, he's just out getting some groceries. But we were maybe thinking that you can go walk around the neighborhood, just to check it out. It's not the nicest, but I always see tons of kids your age run past here every day. Your mom doesn't want you in here all summer."