Out of the Ordinary

Chapter 5: A Place to Stay

We walked home together; I felt Dainu's joy behind me. When I reached my house, I told Dainu to wait outside, and went into the house. Mom was cooking dinner. I told her that I would be back in a few minutes, and that I had something to do real quick. She granted permission, and I quickly burst out the door. I thought about putting Dainu in Kyle's house. I believed he can be trusted and, besides, we're friends. I don't think he will freak out if he sees a green-skinned human-looking alien in his house. As long he doesn't know about it, right?

As I got to his front door, I signaled Dainu to hide in the bush, just in case. He didn't asked why, or commented, he just did as he was told. I knocked on the door twice, and Kyle answered. He was wearing blue pajamas with a plaid robe. He looked like he woke up from a nap.

"What?!" he yelled, as if his ears were blocked with cotton. He rubbed his sandy eyes, and looked at me clearly. "Oh, hey, I remember you. You're my friendly neighbor, Haley."

"Kaley," I corrected nicely.

"Right," he said. "So what's up? What can I do for you?"

"Well, I have this project to do for school," I lied, "and since you're an artist, I was wondering if I can borrow some of your art supplies."

He didn't give me any suspicious looks or asked why. All he said was, "Sure, no problem. Come in and make yourself comfortable."

When Kyle excused himself to the bathroom, I signaled Dainu to come out. I told him to go around the house and stay in the backyard. I also told him to stay low and quiet so none of the other neighbors can see him.

When I stepped into Kyle's house, I noticed that it was full of interesting works of art. His house was kind of junky too. There were clothes and socks on the couch, empty cans of pop on a coffee table, sketch paper in one messy pile, and shoes everywhere instead of in one neat pile. He wasn't much of a neat person, but he was a heck of an artist. There were many paintings and drawings of landscapes and abstracts. They were so beautiful. The colors were so bright and full that it looked like something from a dreamland. The landscape paintings looked beautifully detailed. His paintings somehow made me feel so relaxed and mesmerized.

He came back and noticed me looking at his works of art.

"You like them?" Kyle asked.

"Yes," I said.

"Thanks," he said proudly. "These are my best works of art."

"You should sell them. You can make lots of money off of them."

"I would, but I don't want to give away my beautiful masterpiece. I don't want to part from it. Once you make something, it's hard to give them away. You become so attached as if they're a part of you. You know what I mean?"

I nodded.

"So, what supplies can I get for ya?" Kyle asked.

"Um..." I should have thought about the types of supplies I needed. "Some paint?" I guessed.

"What kind of paint? Oil, acrylic, or watercolor?"

"Acrylic?" I guessed again. Then I reassured myself. "Yeah, acrylic. That's what I need. Some blues, whites, and pinks. And some medium paintbrushes, and a painting knife."

"Sure, will do," he said, and left to his room to get the supplies.

I let out a sigh of relief. Whoever said lying was easy?

I started hearing footsteps and other noises from another room. Other than Kyle and me, there was no one else. I got up, and peeked through the door that led to the kitchen. There I saw Dainu in Kyle's fridge, eating up his food. I cannot believe this!