Caught In Time

Chapter 5: Breaking the Law

He reached for the milk, the expensive kind, he thought to himself. Horizon. 

It's red carton with yellow mixed in and the cow smiling at him. James smiled back at it.

He cringed at the brand they used at home. The generic one. It was only two ninety-nine for half a gallon. The Horizon brand was five ninety-nine.

James placed the milk on the counter and unscrewed the cap.

He relished in this moment. He watched as the milk poured into the cereal bowl, making a slouching sound as it was dumped.

He almost wanted to cry from excitement it was so good. He had it good, in this moment. Life was great.

Life was great at Nole's. Outside Nole's, it was gut wrenching horror. If only he could disappear too...

James began munching down on the cereal--Frosted Flakes. At least this cereal was somewhat familiar although James was certain that Nole's mother had organic cereal stashed somewhere in the kitchen.

The floors above him creaked as if they were waking up too. Nole was finally up, he thought to himself. That lucky duck got to sleep in.

The stairs that lead down to the living room suddenly were pounded by his footsteps. He looked like he had slept for twenty four hours straight. His hair was a tornado of a mess and his eyes were barely open.

"Man, I am so tired." He walked over to the expresso machine and frowned. 

"No coffee?" He asked promisingly. 

James shook his head, "sorry man, I didn't know exactly how to turn it on or work it."

Nole whined and shrugged his shoulders. "Eh...you know that's okay. It took me a while to figure it out too. My mom likes all this fancy stuff."

James watched as Nole opened the cabinet and reached for the expresso beans. He opened the bag and inhaled their scent.

"Mmm, these smells so good." He poured them into the grinder and plugged the wire in.

He pushed a button and there was a loud noise that made James jump.

Nole winced, "sorry dude. This thing is so loud I hate it. But it's the only way to get the coffee just right. Perfect coffee starts with perfect beans."

For some reason that made James crack up. He snorted first then came the laughter. Big bouts of pounding erupted from his mouth and he cracked a huge smile.

He couldn't stop. Maybe it was from exhaustion or maybe he was having a sugar rush. Either way, Nole glanced over at him suspiciously.

"James, are you okay?" Nole said tentatively now pouring the ground beans into the machine.

"Yeah, man. But whatever you said or however you said it, made me crack up." He emphasized the word "up" 

"Dude, I think you've had too much of that cereal. Frosted Flakes will rot your brain if you let it, at least that's what I always say."

James rubbed his hands over his face and wiped away the tears that had formed in his eyes. 

"Man oh man I haven't laughed that hard in a long time."

Nole chuckled, "And it shows" he said it with such confidence it made James stop spooning the cereal into his mouth.

Nole grinned and James just shook his head, "Nice one, man."

Nole shrugged, "What can I say, I am a man of many words."

The expresso machine made a loud beeping sound as it cranked out the liquid caffeine