Colors // Joshler

// 4. Creative Whims //

Tyler's mother led the official tour of the house of that, although Tyler didn't really want a tour. He likely would be spending most of his time in his room, so saw little reason to view a bunch of places he'd never go. However, Tyler's mother was keen on showing everyone the five bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room, and laundry room.

After the tour had ended, Tyler went back to his room, where the moving company had piled his boxes just inside. He had two medium-sized boxes for clothes, one box for other things, and three boxes for all his painting supplies.

Tyler, of course, started unpacking those boxes first.

The first box labeled supplies was full of his paints and brushes. Tyler carefully took them all out, one by one, and put them on the shelf which the moves had left near his closet. It was the one piece of furniture he'd insisted on bringing from the old house--a well-worn bookcase that Tyler had bought at a yard sale when he was fourteen. The bookcase was plain brown wood, minus the scratches, gouges, and tiny splotches of paint scattered over it. Tyler longingly ran his hand over the bare shelves, thinking of his attic, before beginning to stack and arrange his supplies over the shelves.

Once that was completed, Tyler set to the other boxes. He pulled out his easel, which had been folded neatly. He set it aside, then pulled out the first painting.

Tyler had gone through a lot of paintings over the years. He first discovered he'd had an affinity for painting when he was fourteen, and in the years since then, he'd made quite a few works. Once many of them had been completed, he'd found himself dissatisfied with them, and either started over or completely destroyed it if it was pitiful enough.

Several paintings, though, a little over a dozen, had survived Tyler's creative whims. None of them were the perfect painting, but they'd been good. Not great, but good. Stepping stones to the final project. And so Tyler had saved them, stored them in some boxes in the attic. Sometimes, he would pull them out and look at them if he felt like giving up, to remind himself how close he was to achieving his goal.

He never showed his paintings to anyone, not his parents, his siblings, his teachers, or his one friend back at his old school, Hayley. Tyler kept his paintings to himself, though he promised himself that once the perfect painting was complete, he'd show it to everyone.

Tyler's new room had a closet, and since that seemed like a better place for storage than some boxes, Tyler took the completed paintings and put them on the top shelf. They'd remain undisturbed there until Tyler needed their guidance.

"Tyler, sweetie?" There was a knock at his door, light, and the sound of his mother's voice. Tyler closed the closet. "Yeah?"

At the sound of his voice, Tyler's mother opened the door, though she remained outside of the room itself. "Oh, good, you're unpacking. I wanted to let you know that we're going out for dinner tonight, to celebrate the move. We'll be going to that pizza restaurant your father and I ate at after first touring the house." She eyed Tyler's plain clothes. "Wear something a little nicer, alright?"

"Okay." Tyler opened a box of his clothes, though he had little intention of unpacking them just yet.

Tyler's mother smiled. "Good. Remember, you have the rest of today and tomorrow to unpack." And with that, his mother closed the door, leaving Tyler to his own devices again.