Counting Stars

Chapter 25

➹ Chapter 25 ➹

Calvin

            "Welcome to my room," Lou opens the white door, revealing her small but cozy room. The bed is pushed against one wall and on the wall perpendicular to that one, there's a glass window, almost like the one in my room. Two dressers are beside the bed, one with a lamp on top and one with decorations. A circular rug is spreads on the floor. There's a door maybe leading to the bathroom and there's a closet and study table in one side.

            I can tell by how it looks that Lou didn't do much in personalizing her room. It's simple but homey and I think that's how she likes it.

            I head to the bed and look around. I suddenly notice something on one of the walls, facing the bed. A part of the wall is caved in, to allow more room. It's like a little alcove. What stands inside it is a swinging plush chair and it's the only thing in the room personalized by Lou. The chair's navy blue, with silver linings on it. Same goes for the rest of the alcove. When I look closely, I see that it has carved in shapes: stars, the sun and the moon.

            "You know the best part about this?" Lou crosses her arms and leans her back against the door.

            "Surprise me," I smile at her.

            "Lie down," she says. I do what she asks and lie on the bed. It's soft and bouncy and it smells like her.

            She flips the light switch off and the ceiling begins to glow. I notice the bright white glow-in-the-dark stars plastered on the ceiling. There are many of them, so the room appears illuminated like during the night. The stars aren't just on the ceiling, but they're in the walls, too.

            I take a look at the little alcove. It's full of glow in the dark stars, too. The sun and moon are glowing brightly, too. My thoughts suddenly shift towards Clarence.

            If she was mortal, would this be the room she'd have, too?

            "Do you like it?" Lou's already standing in front of me. I turn into a sitting position.

            "It's nice," I say, still staring at the stars. Lou hops into the bed. She moves to the headboard and leans against it, beckoning me to come beside her. I crawl over beside her and we sit side by side, staring that stars.

            After a few moments of silence, Lou speaks, "I just turn off the lights whenever I feel lonely. It's always the stars comforting me. People might come and go but the stars are always there."

            "Don't you just look out the window? I mean, not that I don't like this," I gesture at the stars.

            Lou shakes her head, "In my old home, I don't have a view of the night sky. We lived in a condo so I could only see tall buildings and skyscrapers. They always block my view. So, I decided to get my own stars."

            "When we moved here, I hoped that I can gaze out the window every night. But this room is in the side of the house. I can't see anything but houses and trees. So the first thing I did when I got my room is to put up the stars." She continues.

            "You're creative," I tell her, "I like the stars. No, I love them." I notice how close to we are. Our legs are already brushing against each other.

            I think about Clarence. I haven't told Lou about my demigod brother and his friends or Clarence. I'm afraid that if I tell Lou, she won't take me seriously and I'd scare her off. But I learned from Alex that the truth will come out eventually.