"TJ! It's time to get ready for bed!" Mrs. Weaselton hollered.

"I am, Mom," TJ called back--he had already gotten into his pajamas, and brushed his head fur.

"Be sure to brush your teeth," his mom called up the stairs, "You know, healthy teeth make a healthy fox!"

TJ sighed. He wondered why his mom was so obsessed with teeth brushing, but wet his toothbrush under the faucet, and squirted a line of toothpaste on the bristles.

Up and down, back and forth, small circles--TJ brushed and brushed and brushed for a full two minutes. He spit, rinsed, and spit again.

"Mom," TJ called back down the stairs, "I'm done. Can I read in bed for awhile?"

TJ's mom came up the stairs, "Sure, honey. But only for fifteen minutes."

"'Kay, Mom," TJ gave his mother a hug as she met him in the bathroom. He grabbed his crutches from their spot leaning against the counter, and walked to the room he shared with his brother.

His mom tucked him into the lower bunk, and TJ grabbed his favorite book--A Brief History of Time--and turned on his reading light. Mrs, Weaselton pulled the door closed softly, leaving TJ to his book in the lower bunk, and Sam, already snoozing, to slumber in the upper bunk.

TJ © me
Art by  LilChu
Toothbrush © Oral-B