𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟎𝟖𝟑

"𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚒𝚐 𝚂𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗"
ɴᴏᴀʜ
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘴' 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵
𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕠𝕠𝕟

Okay, I can do this.  I can do it.  Just one thing at a time.  It's totally cool.

I groan as I look at my room.  It's really not that messy.

I stare at the laundry on the floor, the nightstand flooded with all kinds of objects, all my shoes out of the closet and sprawled everywhere, the unmade bed, the CDs all over my dresser, the random books and homework covering my desk.

Okay, so maybe it's a lot.  Maybe I can start with the laundry.  I walk to the closet and open the door, finding that to be a mess too.  Wow, this isn't going well.

I need to make this fun somehow.  Let's create a scenario — that's what Jess always tells me she does.  I can pretend to be a middle-aged woman in a rom-com who is trying to get her life together because she just got this new prestigious job.

I walk over to my stereo and put in a Kings of Leon CD.  It's the closest I have to a rom-com aesthetic.  I start by grabbing my laundry basket and picking up all my dirty clothes.  I put the basket to the side and hang up all the shirts I know are clean.  I put my pants away as well and close my closet door.

One thing already done!

I move on to my desk.  A lot of the homework is old, but I keep it in one of the drawers for finals.  I'm not too nervous for finals, I've always been a decent test-taker.  Nonetheless, you never know, I can always use the extra studying.  I move all the papers away and stack my books next to my desk lamp.  I organize all the little things Emily got me like a cup for my pencils and pens, a candle, a mini calendar, and a plant.

I push in the chair to my desk and move over to the bed.  I take off all the things I left on it like my headphones, a book, an empty mug, and my bookbag.  I don't know how, but I sleep with all of this in my bed.  Maybe I do have a problem.

Once all that is moved, I make the bed, being sure to sit Wallace on in front of all my pillows.  I put the book from my bed on my nightstand and place all the water glasses on the floor.  Emily's gonna kill me when I bring all these dishes downstairs.

I get the nightstand organized and put everything where it's supposed to be.  I clean up the CDs on my dresser and stack them neatly in one of my desk drawers.  Next, I put away all my shoes in the shoe rack Emily got me.  Lastly, I grab my spray bottle and water all the plants in my room.

That may have taken half an hour, but at least it's done.

I pick up all the glasses and mugs sat on the floor and take them downstairs.  As I walk past the living room, I see Emily in the study on her computer.

ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ

"I was wondering where all our glasses went!" Emily exclaims.

"Sorry!" Noah shouts back with a small giggle. The teen puts all the dishes in the washer and walks toward the study, "Whatcha working on?"

"Some files," Emily says.

"Oh, fun," Noah replies sarcastically and leans against the doorframe.

"What have you been up to?" The mother asks.

"Cleaning my room."

"Oh, wow, really?" Emily asks as she looks up from her work with a smile.

"Yup!" Noah beams, "I was bored and it was driving me crazy."