Colors // Joshler

// 10. Upon Closer Inspection //

Tyler woke early on Monday morning. He felt very purple for just a moment, purple being the color of fear, but he swallowed it down, and it dulled to lavender.

His mother had given him his uniform last night after dinner, but Tyler had simply tossed it onto his dresser, much more interested in the painting he was working on. With his purchase of red paint, it was finished--a boy from the shins down, standing on the dark gray pavement, with fiery red sneakers. It wasn't the painting, obviously. But it was good enough to keep, so Tyler had put it on the top shelf of his closet with the others. Maybe he would be comforted today, knowing that he was a step closer to achieving his goal.

Getting out of bed, Tyler rummaged through his nightstand and pulled out his planning notebook, a black leather one with an elastic holding it closed. Snatching a pencil from the cup on his nightstand, Tyler flipped to a blank page and quickly sketched out an idea for a self-portrait. He wanted to start it immediately, but since he had school this morning, he would have to wait until later.

After the sketch was complete, Tyler carefully wrapped the elastic around the notebook again, and set it down on the nightstand. He slowly stood and approached his dresser, where the clothes from last night were strewn.

Upon closer inspection, his uniform consisted of a plain white button-up with a collar, a pair of black pants, and a dark blue tie. Tyler thought he remembered his mother mentioning that these were the school colors, but he wasn't sure.

He dressed into the uniform slowly, not used to wearing nicer clothes. Normally, Tyler would wear plain t-shirts and skinny jeans, maybe a hoodie if he got cold. He used to wear graphic t-shirts, dark jeans, flannel, and button-ups--nicer things--and he still did have a few in his possession. But once he realized his love for painting, he stopped wearing them from day to day, in favor of clothes he could get paint on.

Tyler packed his backpack with everything he would need, being sure to put his planning notebook in the very bottom of his bag. He felt uncomfortable bringing it places, as he worried that somebody would find it and flip through it, but being struck with inspiration and not being able to sketch out his idea was absolutely maddening.

After making sure everything in his room was suitable to be left for a while, Tyler exited his bedroom and went downstairs to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Tyler," his mother said as he entered the room. She was brewing a pot of coffee. Tyler's siblings were already eating breakfast.

"Morning," Tyler responded simply, opening the fridge and staring into it. He didn't feel that hungry, really. He often didn't. Still, he figured eating something might calm his nerves, and it would be bad to start his first day on an empty stomach. He eventually found some breakfast bars in the kitchen cabinet by the microwave and took one to eat on the way.

"I'm going to school now," Tyler told his mother, even though it was early.

"You know where it is?" she questioned as she sipped her newly-brewed caffeine.

"Yeah, down four blocks and on the corner."

"Alright, see you later." Seeming not to care too much, Tyler's mother started to read the newspaper.

Tyler hurried out the door before he could let himself say anything in response.