On the Road Again

Chapter 9

I wake up. But I don't just wake up. I jump up. I spring up. I squeal up. But all in all, I wake up.

I slide my finger across my iPhone screen, deactivating my normally loud and obnoxious alarm. But today, it almost sounds like blue birds chirping their morning song.

Feeling unusually flexible, I begin to stretch. This is definitely not a part of normal morning routine as I genuinely tend to wake up stiff, but today things are different. I touch my toes and bend my body several different ways until I feel as if I could be one of those pretzel-like yoga instructors.

          I run down the hallway, my feet making a glorious thump with every step. I heave myself up onto the railing of my stairs and slide all the way down, jumping off towards to end to avoid the banister.

          My feet and nose work together and find their way to the kitchen. Beautiful smells waft through the air and Cherry is standing in the midst of them with a proud grin stretched across her face.

          "I am trying something new." She states. I can see her hands tucked behind her back and I'm immediately curious. Her hands come round from behind her to reveal a plate stuffed with pancakes. In fact, I don't even think that could be classified as a plate anymore as there is a pancake covering every nook and cranny of ceramic. After closer inspection, I spot that the pancake is infected with tiny red spots. "I chucked some strawberries into the blender and added them into my pancake mix." She says relaxing my suspicions about the pancake infection.

          Cherry slams the plate down onto the kitchen bench and to my surprise it keeps in tact. She shakes up a can of whipped cream before swirling the creamy mixture all over the pancakes. She than prances over to the fridge and flings it open. Her eyes scan every shelf until they reach the bottom and her eyes light up. She snatches a brown bottle from the last shelf and tightly shuts the fridge door. Dancing back over to the kitchen bench, Cherry begins to squish the bottle, sending the chocolate all over the pancakes. She grins cheerily before grabbing a handful of thinly cut strawberries and sprinkling them on top.

          She slides the plate down to the other side of the bench where I swiftly save it from smashing to the ground. She finds a knife and fork and hands them to me.

          "For Queen Indi on her very special day." She announces, blowing her air trumpet. I smile and curtsy in a queenly manner.

I daintily pick up my knife and fork, lifting the pinky on my right hand. I cut myself a bite-sized piece of pancake and scoop some cream, chocolate and thinly cut strawberries onto it. I near the fork to my mouth and bite the piece of pancake off it, making sure not to dirty my mouth. I chew slowly and steadily with my mouth fastened shut. Once I have an empty mouth, I set my knife and fork down on either side of my plate and look Cherry straight in the eyes.

"That was quite divine." I say, keeping up with my queen act. Cherry lifts a brow.

"Divine? I don't get it..." She says noticeably confused. I laugh.

"It means I love it!" I exclaim. Cherry looks instantaneously relieved.

"I thought you didn't like it, you have to use kiddy language around me, remember?" Cherry says with a playful frown. This soon forms into an eruption of laughter. In the end I find myself on the floor and clutching my stomach.

I see Cherry's eyes shift towards the clock and she immediately stands up.

"Okay we've gotta go." She says hurrying into the kitchen and rummaging through a cupboard. I stand up, rather unsteadily as I am still suffering the side effects of a laughter attack.