For a Boy

Chapter 12

When night fell and I was finally in bed, wearing my fuzzy pajama shorts and Dwayne's Crockett High hockey sweater, I found it hard to sleep. I was staring at the ceiling, counting and recounting the small dots in it. The sound of Julie, Darla, and Connie lightly snoring wasn't even making me drift off. "What the hell is wrong with me?" I whispered to myself.

I pulled the covers off of my body and stood up, slipping on my cow slippers and stepping into the hallway. Which way are the boy's rooms? I thought to myself as I looked down both ways of the hall. I heard the sound of muffled giggling and music down the hallway and followed it. One of the doors was cracked open and I peeked in, seeing Luis, Goldberg, and Ken kneeling next to someone's bed. I pushed it open, poking my head in. "What are you three-" I turned my head and saw shaving cream on Dwayne's face and pillow. I had to slap both hands over my mouth to keep myself quiet.

"Evelyn, be quiet, you're gonna wake him up." Goldberg hissed at me, suppressing his laughter.

"This boy sleeps like a damn rock. The only thing that could wake him up from a dead sleep is my screamin' my head off." I stepped in and knelt behind the head of Dwayne's bed.

"What are you doing?" Luis asked. I held a finger to my lips and started to lightly rake my nails along the sleeping boy's scalp.

"This always gets him to sleep when he stays at my house," I whispered to them. "Get some more shavin' cream."

"You'd do this to your own boyfriend?" Ken asked as Goldberg added more shaving cream to Dwayne's palm. 

"Eh, gotta have fun with him somehow. Plus, I was lookin' for him anyway. Can't sleep." I shrugged. I looked at Luis and quietly snorted. "You might wanna talk that off before Dwayne sees you wearin' it, Speed Gonzalez."

"Why?"

"Well, for one thing, that's his favorite hat. His Mom gave it to him for his twelfth birthday." I switched hands and continued to lightly scratch the boy's head.

"And for two?"

"We have this universal law. It's an unspoken thing. Everyone down south knows it. You never take a cowboys hat, especially when he's wearin' it." I said vaguely.

"Why not?" Luis asked. I snickered.

"Wear the hat, ride the cowboy." I bit my lip to silence my snickers as his eyes widened, taking the hat off. I took it from him and put it on. "Yeah, learn from your mistake and don't make it again. Plus, I'm the only one who can get away with it without anything happening." We stopped talking as Dwayne's face was soon covered in shaving cream. I took my hands away from his head and started laughing into them to keep quiet. This boy sleeps so heavily!

Goldberg shook the boy's arm as the other two boys and I about lost it. Dwayne woke up, confused. He sputter, making shaving cream go flying and he screamed, making me and the boys crack up. He got up and started to chase the boys around the room, not seeing me cracking up on the floor.

"Hey, don't leave your girlfriend out of it. She helped." Luis cried, running from the tall brunette. Dwayne paused for a second. He scoffed.

"Ok, I know I seem stupid, but I'm not dumb enough to believe you when you say that Evelyn is in here. 'Cause there ain't no way-"

"Hey, baby." I snickered from behind his bed. He turned his body and looked at me but I started laughing more because of the shaving cream on his face.

"Evelyn, what the hell?" He huffed. I fanned my burning face, calming down from all of the laughing.

"I'm sorry, sweetpea. I couldn't sleep and I came to find you and I saw them doin' this and I just-" I took a deep breath, trying to calm down more. "-I couldn't help myself." Dwayne started walking toward me, his hands stretched toward me. "Dwayne, no. Please. I'll do anything. Don't you dare!" The other boys started laughing at me. I took Dwayne's hat off of my head and held it out in front of me, making the boy stop. The others started snickering.