brothers.

3~ First Breakfast

"I'm good," said Kyle. Him, Jack, and Harry had coffee mugs, Tommy being the exception.

"Green Pop," said Tommy.

"Orangeade," Harry called.

"Diana?"

"I guess... orange juice?" I said, unsure.

Davis served us all our drinks, smiling at me. Once everyone had their meals, the parents sat down and extended their hands. I quickly put down my utensils. Susan and Davis had mentioned their religion to me the other day— they were Christian.

As they began praying, Kyle and Tommy pulled their hands away from me. I joined my hands together instead and respectfully waited. It gave me a bit of nostalgia, reminding me of the prayer my parents taught me. I didn't really remember it, though... it had the words 'yummy' and 'tummy', but that was all I recalled.

"Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful food You've provided for us, and please provide for those that don't have food. Amen."

"Amen." Everyone started eating. I cut a small piece of pancake and chewed. I stopped.

"This is delicious," I blurted out.

Susan smiled humbly. "Thank you, Diana. You're not going to put syrup?"

"Um... can I?"

"Sure." She passed me the maple syrup. I eagerly poured a bit over the thick pancake.

"I don't know if I can eat so much," I said.

"Is it too big? The pancake?"

"No, it's great. I'm just... not used to eating so much."

"I can see that," Tommy remarked.

I looked at him. "What?"

"Nothing."

"I'd eat the whole thing if I were you," said Jack. "You need the nutrition." He gave me a once-over.

"Don't worry if you can't eat it all, okay? We don't want you getting sick," said Susan, oblivious to the passive-aggressive tone in Jack's voice— unless she chose to ignore it.

I kept a steady glare on him as I continued eating. "I'll eat it all. Thank you."

I regretted saying that, but I wasn't giving the brothers the satisfaction. I didn't know why, but their hidden dislike for me was really irritating me. It was as if I would've been less insulted if they called me a 'skeleton' to my face.

Why was this bothering me so much? These boys... they weren't any different from any other foster siblings. I tried to shrug it off and enjoy my breakfast.

"Jack, you never told us where Amelia decided to go to school," said Susan.

"Oh, yeah. She's going to Waterford."

"Aw, she's not going to Greenfield?"

Jack shrugged. "She didn't feel like it was the school for her. She said she'd try to visit on weekends, though."

"Amelia's Jack's girlfriend, Diana," Susan explained. "They're going to college this year."

"You don't have to tell her." Jack glanced at me.

"It's rude if I don't. What's the big deal?"

"It's fine," I said, clearing my throat. Since they were going to rope me into conversation anyway, I found myself forced to engage. "Um, what's your major?"

"Exercise Science," Jack mumbled.

"Is Kyle in college, too?"

"Yeah, I'm a sophomore. Business Management."