Story 20
Three friends find that a very messy room can be dangerous.
Welcome to My Room!
A loud bang shook the house. Mrs. Bome ran to Todd’s room. Todd’s friend, Mitch Milton, was on the floor rubbing his head. Another friend, Kyle, was sitting in the doorway in his wheelchair. Mrs. Bome asked, “Are you OK? What happened?” She could see that Todd answered, but she couldn’t hear him. The music was too loud.
Mrs. Bome stepped over some things on the floor. She reached Todd’s iPod and pushed pause. Mitch stood up rubbing his head. Again Mrs. Bome asked what had happened. Todd said, “Mitch is just a klutz. Don’t be old-fashioned, Mom. Turn the music back on.” She didn’t.
Mitch said to Todd, “You are such a pig. A person can’t even walk in your room without falling. And, what’s with the extension cord under the clothes? Was that a trap?”
Kyle laughed. “Here’s one time where I’m better off being in a chair. I couldn’t get any farther into this mess. So, I’m safe.”
“Come on guys,” Todd said looking around. “That extension cord lets me plug everything in at one spot. And, my room’s not so bad.”
“Tell that to my head,” Mitch said. Mitch started to walk over to a chair. He stepped on a shirt and fell again. “Holy crap! What’s under there?” He moved the shirt and the other clothes under it. There sat a metal cash box. “Is that the box we used three weeks ago? You haven’t put it away yet?”
“All you have to do is step carefully. Just move your foot around until you touch floor. Then step. I do it all the time. But, I’m not a klutz like you.”
Mrs. Bome said, “They are right—your room is unsafe. I think it is time to clean it up—by Sunday night. Can I have your word?”
Todd rolled his eyes. He cracked some knuckles. Finally, he said, “Sure. It’ll be clean by the end of the weekend.”
Mrs. Bome smiled. She said, “Thanks. In the meantime, try to stay safe.” She left the room.
Kyle said, “You’ve got a lot of work to do, Todd. You better start now. Sunday’s only two days away!”
Mitch picked up a homework poster. He said, “Look what’s under here! Pizza! Is it good?” He picked up the box and opened it. Then he screamed and threw it down. Mrs. Bome came running again. Mitch said, “Sorry, Mrs. Bome, it’s nothing.” She rolled her eyes and left. Mitch looked at Todd and said, “You freak! That pizza is covered with ants. How long has it been there? Take it to the trash! You are lucky you don’t have ants in your clothes! And, don’t forget to thank me. Your mother would have flipped out about that!”
Todd picked up the box and started out of the room. He said, “You’ve got a point about Mom! Thanks!” When Todd came back in the room, he said, “That was nasty! I put it in a garbage bag. I hope all the ants stay in. Lucky that it’s trash day. If the ants get out, they’ll be on the street. That’s better than in the garage. I’m bummed, though. I was planning on eating that pizza today.”
“Oh, yuck!” Kyle said. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“I’m with you!” Mitch said.
Todd started picking up clothes. Kyle saw a pile of cards right by his wheelchair. He reached down and picked them up. He counted 45 cards plus two jokers. “Mitch, I see a ten of clubs right behind you. Can you get it for me? And, there’s a king of spades by your shoe Todd.” As Todd picked up clothes, Mitch found the missing cards.
An hour later, the room was still a mess. But, at least the clothes carpeting was gone. Mitch said, “I need to go home. Are you ready, Kyle?” Kyle drove a van with a wheelchair lift. He had picked Mitch up tonight.
“Yeah, I need to get home. I have some homework to do. And I want to get it out of the way tonight,” Kyle said.
“Me, too!” Todd said. “I think I will take a break from cleaning and do my homework.”
“Funny how cleaning makes homework look so good!” Mitch laughed.
Todd and Mitch carried Kyle downstairs in his chair. The two boys left. Todd went back up and opened his laptop. He was writing a paper on current U.S. Presidents. He found his file and finished it. Then he looked around his room. He wasn’t ready to do more cleaning. He decided to search on the Internet a little.
Soon, some very loud bangs come from Todd’s room. Mrs. Bome ran upstairs again. The bangs got louder. When she walked into Todd’s room, he was smiling. He yelled, “Isn’t it awesome, Mom? I found one of those make-your-own-weather sites. I heard that they were really fun. I made a thunderstorm. Just listen to that!” Mrs. Bome just rolled her eyes. She looked around the clothes-less floor. She was glad to see the clean-up had started. She shook her head and turned to leave the room. Todd added another lightning crack. Mrs. Bome jumped on her way out.
What do you think?
- Mrs. Bome gave Todd two days to clean his room. And, when she found him on the computer instead of cleaning, she did not say anything. Do you think she made good parenting choices?
- Todd agreed to finish cleaning his room by Sunday night. What do you think his mother should say or do if he does not keep this commitment?
What would you do?
- Todd took the ant-filled pizza out to the trash. What, if anything, would you have done differently if you had found that ant-filled pizza in your room?
