DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING!
Backstory: Sunshine's dad gets orders to go to Vietnam. He doesn't want to make his son move again, so he calls up the other Titan parents. All the families want to help, but only one household has the money and room for his son...
"Now, I don't want you givin' the Bosleys any trouble," Colonel Bass firmly instructed his son. "They're doin' me a big favor by lookin' after you."
"Dad, I'm not gonna do anything," said Ronnie "Sunshine" Bass, flipping his long dingy-blond bangs out of his deep blue eyes.
He knew Fred Bosley disliked him already, partly because of his "hippie" style of dress and partly because Sunshine had encouraged Fred's son Alan to bond with his black teammates. It wouldn't take a lot to push Fred over the edge. One tiny screwup, and Sunshine would be packing his bags and moving to Vermont to live with his cat-lady Aunt Dorothy.
Colonel Bass clapped his son on the shoulder. "Don't you worry about me, son. I swear on my life, I'm comin' home to you."
It was going to be hard for Sunshine not to worry with his father fighting a war half a world away. At least he had football to keep himself occupied.
There was a knock at the door and Sunshine's teammate, smaller-than-average, dishwater blond Alan Bosley, stuck his head in.
"Ready to go?" asked Alan.
"Yeah," said Sunshine. He wasn't really, but he had to leave.
Colonel Bass helped Sushine load his things into the back of the Bosleys' pickup truck, then father and son briefly embraced. The drive to the Bosley house was silent, save for the corny country music Alan was listening to on the radio.
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Half an hour later, the Bosley guest room was almost unrecognizable. The hideous copper desk lamp had been stuffed in a closet and replaced with Sunshine's orange lava lamp. A black light poster of Jimi Hendrix was taking up an entire corner. The mattress had been removed from the bedframe and lay on the floor. The plain green bedspread currently resided in the closet with the lamp, Sunshine's psychedelic comforter in its place. There was a small, lime-green shag rug on the floor beside the mattress and a purple beanbag chair beneath the window.
"You think your dad will mind?" Sunshine asked, not sure cool Fred would be with this total redecoration.
"Nah," said Alan with a shrug. "He never comes up here anyway."
Alan glanced at the alarm clock; it was almost 7:00.
"Hey, Sunshine, you hungry?" he asked.
"Starving," the taller boy replied.
Alan led the way downstairs to the kitchen. Sunshine leaned against the counter while Alan rummaged through the cabinets.
"Let's see...three-year-old oatmeal...funky-smelling crackers...Man, do we need to go shopping..." He continued muttering to himself until he spotted a box of pasta that seemed relatively fresh. Alan filled a pot with water and set it on the stove to boil.
"I don't really cook, but I make pretty good spaghetti," he said proudly.
Around ten minutes passed before Alan declared the pasta was done.
"Now all we need is the ketchup and the sliced-up hot dogs," he said.
Once the finishing touches were added, Alan split the contents of the pot onto two plates. The two boys sat down at the kitchen table and got to the serious business of enjoying their dinner. Alan finished his first.
"Man, I'm stuffed," Alan declared, leaning back in his chair.
"Yeah, me too," Sunshine lied. He was used to the hearty meals his dad cooked, but he didn't want to be rude. After all, the Bosleys had opened their home to him and Alan had done his best to cook. He figured what he'd eaten would still hold him over until breakfast.
Alan and Sunshine went into the living room to watch football. Sunshine went to bed at 10:30, like he always did when Colonel was home.
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A few hours later...
Sunshine sat in his beanbag chair, looking out the window at the quiet street below. His stomach growled gently, reminding him that one bowl of hot dog spaghetti hadn't been enough dinner. But there was no way he could go poking around in the kitchen for a snack. Sunshine decided that practicing tai chi in the yard for a while would be just the thing to take his mind off his empty stomach.
Sunshine padded out into the hall, down the stairs, out the front door, and into the Bosleys' front yard. He started to do breathing exercises to relax himself, then he moved onto the tai chi exercises. He became so relaxed and lost in his own world he never saw the lights or heard the sirens...
Knock, knock, knock!
Someone had to do that, Alan thought. And just when his dream about that dark-haired cheerleader was getting good. He opened one eye to check the time on his alarm clock. 3:30 in the morning. Who would come calling at this hour?
"Alan! Answer the door!" barked Fred Bosley from behind his closed bedroom door. "I'm not getting up!"
"Yes, Dad," said Alan, grudgingly parting company with his pillow.
He trudged downstairs and opened the front door. He was quite shocked at the sight greeting him on the doorstep: a stern-looking deputy holding a very confused Sunshine by the upper arm.
"Do you know him?" asked the deputy.
"Yes, sir," Alan replied. "What seems to be the problem, Officer?"
"A neighbor called, said this guy was lurkin' around your house doin' some kind of voodoo or witchcraft," the deputy explained.
"Don't worry, Officer, I've got it under control," said Alan. "Sorry you had to be bothered coming out here."
"Just doin' my job," said the deputy, tipping his hat.
He went out to his patrol car. Alan motioned Sunshine inside, then went about closing and locking the front door. Alan ran a hand over his tired eyes.
"Sunshine, I thought you went to bed," he said.
"I did. I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd do some tai chi," Sunshine explained. "It always relaxes me."
"Alan!" Fred bellowed from upstairs. "Were the cops looking for that freaky hippie friend of yours?"
"No, Dad, go back to sleep!" Alan called. He turned to Sunshine. "I think I could use a little of that relaxation stuff myself. Can you teach me?"
"Sure," Sunshine agreed, opening the door and walking out to the yard.
THE END