Sugarcane Chronicles Volume I: One and Lonely (ryden)

Spaghetti For Dinner

As I closed the front door, I heard my mom call from the kitchen, "Hi, honey! How was your day?"

I walked into the kitchen. "I had a great day. I made some friends," I said opening the refrigerator to find something to drink.

"Hey Mom, can I have this beer?" I asked holding up a beer bottle.

"No, Brendon," she said with a light chuckle.

"Awh, you're no fun," I said before replacing the beer with a water.

"So did you have a good time with your new friends?" she asked. I sat on the counter next to the sink.

"I had a great time," I said, opening my bottle of water, thinking of kissing Ryan.

"Well I'd love to meet them someday," she said. "Now get off the counter; I need to cook there."

I jumped off the counter.

"You need any help with dinner?" I asked.

"No, I'm good. Thank you for the offer, though," she smiled at me before I walked into the living room. I sat down on the couch, sipping my water and thinking about Ryan. I kissed him. I. Kissed. Ryan. This day had just been so unbelievable. I put the cap on my water and put it on the coffee table before lying down and closing my eyes for a pre-dinner nap. I slipped into faint Ryan dreams before being awoken abruptly by Mom.

"Honey, your father's home and dinner's ready," she said, shaking me lightly. "We would enjoy it if you decide to join us."

"Okay," I said groggily, sitting up. "Be right there."

"Alright, honey," she said. "I'll get you a plate." She kissed my forehead before walking into the kitchen.

I sat on the edge of the couch, rubbing my face sleepily. Did I fall asleep? How? Suddenly all of today's events came flooding back to me.

I.

Kissed.

Ryan.

I shook it off and stood up. It must've been a dream; what else could it be? People turning into animals? Really Brendon? But it couldn't have been a dream; I kissed Ryan!

I walked into the kitchen to get some spaghetti and sat down at the dinner table with my parents.

"So," Dad said as I sat down with my plate. "How was your day, Brendon?"

"Great. A little confusing, but great," I said, twirling the spaghetti on my fork.

"How was it confusing, honey?" Mom asked, looking at me.

"Algebra sucks," I said before eating some spaghetti. "But I made some new friends."

"Well that's great!" Dad said, a little too enthusiastically. "We'd love to meet them some day."

"And I bet their parents are lovely," Mom said before taking a sip of her water.

"Actually," I said after swallowing. "They don't have parents. Two of my new friends are like their guardians."

"How many new friends are there?" Dad asked.

"Five," I said, eating more pasta.

"Wow," Mom said. "Are they all related?"

"No," I said.

"Oh," Mom said awkwardly. "That's nice."

We were all really quiet for a while before Mom spoke up and nearly scared the spaghetti out of me and Dad.

"I've got a great idea!" Mom exclaimed. We looked at her to let her know that we were listening. "Let's invite them over for Thanksgiving."

I stood up before grabbing my plate my plate and saying, "That's a great idea, Mom. I'll ask them tomorrow. May I take your plates?"

"Thank you," they said as I took their plates to the kitchen.

"Hey, Mom," I yelled from the kitchen. "Do I do the dishes tonight?"

"Brendon, we have a dishwasher," she said, walking into the kitchen.

"Oh right," I said, placing the three plates in my hands in the sink. "I'll just go do my homework."

"Alright, honey," Mom said before hugging me. I smiled as I walked up the stairs to my room. After doing my extremely boring homework, I said goodnight to my parents and went to bed.

That night, I dreamt about Ryan.