Consuming Darkness, Arising Light

Chapter 10: Misfortune Pt. 1- An Unknown End To A Friendship

(A/n: Hope you have a safe and Happy Holidays!)

August 16th- Clyde

"Clyde, wake up! It's time for you to get ready for school!"

The loud voice of a woman elicits a groan from her child, who's snuggled underneath his black bedsheets decorated with different sports balls. His pillowcase has the same color and designs. Sluggishly, a head full of brown, disheveled hair peeks out from under the covers, the boy yawning while he sits up into a sitting position. He weakly rubs his weary eyes.

"I wish it was Friday already," his tired mind grumbles.

"Clyyyde!"

"I'm uuuup!" He shouts back in a similar playful tone. He shrugs the blanket clinging to his shoulders off of him and gets out of bed. His mother is like his alarm clock, putting shame to the device that's meant to wake him up every morning for school instead. He scratches his stomach underneath his dark red pajama shirt as he walks to his bathroom, his bare feet padding lightly across his brown carpeted floor. He enters his bathroom, turns on the light, and does his usual routine of using the toilet first, then washing his face afterwards, using a step stool to help him reach the sink. He can't wait until he's tall enough to reach things that surpass his height on his own.

Turning off the light, he walks back into his room, heading towards his dresser. In the darkness, he easily picks out a white T-shirt, blue jeans, and socks, and goes to lay them down on his bed. He returns to his dresser for some clean underwear to change into after he's done eating breakfast, setting it down beside his clothes. He treks out into the hallway with another yawn, going down the stairs towards the dining room, the aroma of his mother's cooking wafting into his nostrils instantaneously. Although he always dreads waking up for school every morning, the breakfast his mother cooks make getting up against his will worth it, providing him a sufficient energy boost to last him throughout the day.

He soon sees both of his parents sitting at the dining table that's covered in a white embroidered tablecloth, his father busy reading the newspaper. On the table are two napkins folded neatly into triangles with three eating utensils on top of each of them, a jar of grape jelly and a bottle of syrup are in the middle, and seven plates. Three of them are empty, and they belong to Clyde and his parents. They also have beverages, his mother and father both have coffee while he was given a small cup of orange juice. The rest of the four plates contain slices of toast, eggs, strips of bacon, and some sausages.

"About time you came down, Mr. Sleepyhead," his mother teases. She has short, dark brown hair and the color of her eyes are akin to amethyst crystals. She's wearing a plain white nightgown and matching colored bedroom slippers. Clyde sticks his tongue out at her in response, sitting next to his father. Even though his frame is hidden behind the newspaper, Clyde knows that he's wearing his work clothes which is a grey suit, and his black dress shoes can be seen under the table. "So, Clyde, how's it going at school?" His mother asks as she reaches for the jar of jelly and sets it down by her plate. She twists the lid off, putting it face up on the table.

Clyde suppresses the urge to roll his eyes at the repeated query. She asks him that every weekday morning. "Mom, you always ask me that," he points out before grabbing two pieces of toast. He puts one of them on his plate, and takes a bite out of the other one. He then grabs two strips of bacon, laying them on top of the toast on his plate in the shape of an 'X'.

"That's because," his mother starts off saying as she grabs a butterknife and raises her toast with her other hand, then digs the blade into the dark-colored jelly. "We're your parents and we have to know how our child is faring in school," she says reasonably as she spreads the jelly onto her toast.