The Perplexity Of Normal

Sam

    I let out a breath of relief, collapsing back against the door. My eyes squeezed shut as I heard Adam's car accelerate down the road.

   I think I have PTSD. No wait, it's social anxiety.

   "Oh, Sam!" The sound of window blinds flipping shut. "You've got you a looker! That boy is snazzy!"

   My eyes flew open. "Mom!"

  She rounded the corner into the entry way, "and the way he tucked your hair behind your ear." She pretended to fall against the door frame, clutching her heart and fluttering her lashes.

   My face was on fire. "How did you even see that!? We were, like, twenty feet away!"

   She opened her eyes and tapped her temple. "Mother always knows...."

   "Yeah, well, you're middle aged and married." I pushed off the door, ducking past her to the stairs. Then I backtracked and gave her a reluctant hug.

   No matter how much she annoys me, I still love her to death.

"I'll be in my room. Painting." I brushed the hair from her cheek and gave her a peck. "Love you."

"Ugh. It seems like you're always painting." She shooed me away. "Love you too."

   I clomped up the soft carpet stairs and ducked into my room, shutting the door after me. My room was a scattered mess before me, and I remembered my previous vow.

"Cleaning." I muttered. My teeth chewed my lip as I scanned the disaster. "Right."

I started with my rumpled bed. I stripped the sheets and threw them in the washer. While they were were tumbling, I grabbed all the loose half-finished drawings and filed them into my DONE, STARTED, and PROSPECT folders.

Next, I set to work on my easels. I left the one I had been painting on alone, but I took the canvases off the others and stacked them squarely in the corner. The easels tucked into my closet behind my clothes.

After grabbing a glass of water, I swept and vacuumed my floor. I lit a candle on my desk and called it good after that. The bare mattress squished as I flopped into it, face first.

"Hon-. Oh!" My mother pushed my door open, without knocking as always. She grinned and broke into song. "It's a whole new world!"

I shook my head against the rough fabric of the mattress. "You're crazy." It sounded muffled around the stuffing, but I was laughing.

"Only you say that, so maybe it's you." She poked me in the ribs.

"Hey!" I flipped over, guarding my stomach. "You need something?"

"I was just coming to tell you dinner's done."

"Oh. Thank you. I'll be down in a second."

"Mmk." She gave me a kiss, then exited the room. I watched her go.

I love my mom. Even if she's the same as every other one.

******

   I was just adding the last bit of the first layer of background colors when my phone dinged. I blinked tiredly and switched the screen on.

   3:42!?

   "Oh no. Oh no, no, no! That can't be right." I muttered as I stumbled off my stool and to the window.

   The blinds crackled as I switched them open. It was pitch black out there.

   "Well, shoot." I rubbed my hands across my face. My stomach dropped at the thought of tomorrows math exam. "Crap."