~~***~~
After they had eaten and Jonah had cleaned the kitchen, Jethro disappeared into his office and Jonah went upstairs to his room. He needed some music to listen to…something to get his mind off of school and—everything. He dug through the boxes in his closet that he hadn’t yet unpacked, but his CDs were in none of them. He went downstairs and knocked on Jet’s office door.
“Come in.”
Jonah stuck his head in. “Hey, Jet. Where are the other boxes—the ones with my CDs and books and stuff?”
“The movers put some things down in the basement. And I wanted to tell you, there’s no reason for you to cram all your stuff in one bedroom. This is a big house—feel free to spread out into another of the bedrooms up there.”
“Okay. Cool. Thanks.”
Jonah went down the hall, crossed through the kitchen and went out the door leading to the basement. He flipped on the light and went down the stairs. He hadn’t been down here yet. Jonah noticed that the room was vast, carpeted like the upstairs, and the walls had been painted a pale blue. He saw half a dozen boxes against the wall nearby, but thought he’d first check out the room. Electrical outlets were spaced evenly apart along the walls near the floor. He saw a bolted door to his left that likely led outside and another at the far end of the room. He strode over to the door on the back wall and discovered a full bathroom. He next went to the door leading outside, unlocked it, and with a little effort, pulled it open. He stepped onto a small cement square surrounded on two sides with high walls and to the left, stairs ascending to ground level. He jogged up the stairs and saw that he was on the back side of the house. He could hear the crickets and an owl, but otherwise it was quiet. He looked up, but the stars were obscured by clouds and trees. He sighed. One day he would live in a place where the stars were always visible. Jonah went back down the stairs and reentered the basement. He dug around in the boxes until he found his CD collection. He lifted the box and started to head back up to his room, but he stopped to take one last look around. It was such a cool room. It was big, sound-proof, with its own bathroom and exit to the outside. It was perfect, but the blue had to go. It was awful—well, there was just too much of it. He had a sudden idea. He set the box of CDs down and raced back up to Jet’s office. He knocked but opened it before Jethro could even answer.
“Jet, could I have the basement instead of another bedroom?”
Jethro thought a moment. “Sure. I don’t see why not. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it. It would be perfect for you.”
“Can I paint it?”
Jethro’s expression turned skeptical. “What color?”
Jonah looked down and shuffled his feet. He looked back up with pleading eyes. “I have an idea. I’d kind of like it to be a surprise. Can you just trust me on this? I promise not to do anything too radical. I think you’ll like it.”
Jethro took in Jonah’s flushed face and excited eyes. The boy hardly ever got excited about anything. “Of course. I’ll leave my credit card on the table for you in the morning. You can go by the hardware store after school and get what you need.”
Jonah’s face split into a rare, wide grin. “Awesome! Thanks Jet!”