Serendipity & the Sequel

Breakfast of Champions

The sound of your alarm the next morning pulled you from a drowsy dream.

You sat up and rubbed your eyes, not yet ready to open them to the harsh sunlight. Your heart was still racing from the nightmare you just had.

You had dreamt that you, your husband, and your best friend were currently in a fight, and now you were staying with your mother. Not to mention your husband's son slept in the guest room next door.

But then when you opened your eyes, your heart sunk to the realization that it was indeed not a dream.

Groaning, you reached for your phone. Why had you set an alarm again?

Oh that's right. It was tournament day.

Tournament day.

You had set the alarm earlier in the week, completely forgetting about it. This was the whole reason you set it so early in the first place, because you knew you would forget. But it also made the excruciatingly long time seem to pass, almost as if setting the alarm so early, would make tournament day arrive sooner. But looking at it now, however, made some feelings arise that were not so much excitement rather than pure adrenaline and fear.

Without thinking, you leapt to your feet and threw on the clothes you had worn to your mother's the day before, and sprinted into the living room.

Where you saw your mother and Robby already cooking breakfast in the kitchen.

It was weird seeing them together now that Robby's true identity was exposed. You had to give your mother a brief rundown on the whole "Patrick" situation, and luckily she was understanding. You were surprised at how well she took it, but considering the state of the record shop, you knew her worries were elsewhere.

You snuck past the couches and headed for the kitchen slowly, almost as if the moment was too fragile to interrupt. They hadn't even seen you over the counter.

Instead they just laughed together as they flipped eggs and pressed fresh bread into the toaster.

"Good morning, doll!" Your mother said with a smile when she finally noticed your presence, "sleep alright?"

"Slept fine..." you responded with an air of grogginess and confusion.

Your mother gave you another look, this one more personal and sentimental, and pressed her lips together in a tight grin. "Robby and I were just cooking up some breakfast."

"That's so sweet..." you were still too consumed with taking it all in to notice the tiny details, such as the variety of jams spread out on the counter for the toast, "I wasn't expecting all of this."

"Well you should've," Robby said with a grin, "you have a big day ahead of you." He spoke as though his wisdom were oozing out of his pores. This couldn't possibly be the same boy who was fragile and broken in the presence of his master last night?

Well, former master.

"I do?" You inquired.

Robby suddenly stopped mixing the scrambled eggs in the pan with his spatula and looked at you in utter shock. "Don't tell me you forgot about the tournament."

You blinked rapidly in amazement. His face read no recognition of pain or any sign of hurt from the night before. His attitude was transformed completely, as if he were brand new.

"I didn't forget..." you spoke slowly, "I just wasn't aware that you still wanted to compete."

His shoulders relaxed then, and you noticed the slight tension he was holding in his neck. The shyness of his demeanor returned, and you realized that his hard shell was all just an act.