The Rather Grand House of John

"Hey, what are you doing tonight?"

I didn't even have to think before I said, "Nothing."

"Do you want to come to my house?"

I stopped. Was he kidding? God, how could he be so casual about me coming over to his house? I mean, I had already met his dad, but coming over to his house was still a bit of a big deal for me, because I was worried about what his family thought of me and everything. I thought a little longer this time, but I realized I did want to go to his house and see where he lived, so I said yes.

My mom agreed, and drove me over there. He came outside and talked to my mom a bit, and then he led me up to his front door and into his house. The first thing I noticed was all of the pictures and different little things hanging on the walls. There were these two pictures of children with dark, gloomy eyes and old-fashioned clothing in his kitchen, and many owl and elephant pictures and figurines, which he said had come from his late grandmother. He showed me a his dad's room, which had a dresser with a huge stack of DVDs on top that, when piled as they were, rather resembled a wall. I breifly got to meet his grandfather, who seemed like a very kind man. He brought me outside and showed me his dog, Zoey. She was a blue dog. We brought her inside and played with her.

"She likes you, " he said. "She doesn't usually like women. Like my mom. When she picks me up, Zoey always barks at her and stuff, 'cause she doesn't like her that much."

"Really?" I said. "She seems like a really sweet dog to me..." She was a chow, and my mom said that chows were really violent sometimes, but right then I couldn't imagine the dog barking at anyone. She was very gentle.

He showed me a room that nobody slept in. It was just a storage-type room, I suppose, but it was one of my favorite parts of his house. The room was filled with things that he and his dad had made, like indian headdresses and carvings, which sounds rather strange, but I thought it was fascinating. There was also jewlery. He showed me four or five glass cases full of gems and silver and tons of pretty little things. He showed me a bear his dad had made out of jade, and rings and pendants made out of various stones. He had already given me an aquamarine ring, which is my birthstone, and a necklace made out of jade, both of which I happened to be wearing.

We went to his room and watched music videos. Lots of music videos. I especially liked his room, because it was decorated with drawings The Other John had done during lunch and posters and whatnot. There were a few other interesting things about his room that I liked, such as his floor, which was covered in yellowish shag carpeting, and his ceiling fan, which was missing an arm. I was just about to teach him how to waltz before my mom came to pick me up.

He came outside and talked to my mom a bit, and then he hugged me and I left. He promised me that he would call me the next day, which he did. We had a conversation in which he asked me:

"Do you... what did you think of my house? I mean, did you think it was crappy or anything?"

I laughed. "No, John," I told him, smiling.

"I thought it was fantastic."