Derek's First Adventure

Derek’s room was still that of a child’s; various posters depicting art from popular video games and TV shows from his recent youth lines the walls, an overfilled laundry basket sat exiled to a far corner as to easier be left forgotten, a hand-me-down desk covered in old scratches, childish scribbled and misplaced marker lines were set by a wall, simply littered with papers, books, DVD cases, video games, and a handful of gum and candy wrappers amongst other articles of trash. A comfortable desk chair, far newer than the desk it accompanied, was lazily pushed forward as to save on room, yet failed to fit into the cavity that it was meant for. To the left of this desk stood a tower of plastic drawers, each filled with memorabilia of childhood. None were truly forgotten; merely cast aside in place of other pastimes. Signs of maturity were also present among childish effects: His work shirt, recently washed and branded with the logo of a local convenience store, was slung over his chair, and hidden beneath a pile of papers as if to be purposefully forgotten were notes of a more official sort; letters from his bank about his transactions, advertisements from a few local colleges, and plenty of spam mail.

His dreams reflected his childish state, for often he recollected nights of impossible flight across cities made of colored flames beneath a sky painted by a reflective crimson sky only to be snuffed out by a jarring early morning alarm. Those fantastical images are quick to deteriorate and fade but are never truly forgotten, and despite his best efforts to return that far off dream during his allotted ten minutes of snooze-time the dream just isn’t the same as it had been.

The harsh, default alarm blaring from his cell phone once again jerked him awake, and unlike yesterday, he didn’t hit snooze for the second time.

It was another Friday, but not just another Friday. It was the day before he and his friend would hang out together; only one more day left! Just like how yesterday there were only two more days left, and on Wednesday there were just three. Remembering this fact was more than enough to kickstart his morning, but still, quite a ways off from actually waking him up a reasonable amount. Some breakfast should help with that whole process.

The moment he opened the door a heavenly scent wafted into his room, and there was no doubt about its origin. That crispy smell of cooked meat with the sharper hint of egg… it was none other than his mother’s cooking, and more specifically, slightly crispy bacon; but never burnt, delicious sausage and carefully cooked eggs, all best served when in between two slices of perfectly buttered toast. Maybe it wasn’t too late to get in on that freshly cooked breakfast action!

Derek rushed down the hallway but made sure to slow down as he reached the kitchen-dining room hybrid. Sure enough, his mom was in the later stages of cooking.

“Morning.” He greeted. The lingering sleepiness in his voice did little in the way of hiding the hopefulness in his tone, and his mother quickly caught on. “Good morning. Want me to cook you some breakfast too?"

“Yes please! Can I help any?”

“Sure! Could you make some toast for me?”

“Yes ma’am!”

“So, do you still have plans to go geocaching with that friend of yours tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

It’s amazing what a bit of good food and simple conversation can do to wake a person up, though it’s probably not quite as effective as coffee. Despite the power that caffeine holds, It wasn’t really something that his household partakes in, and that trait had rubbed off on Derek.  If anything he was more likely to partake in some flavored hot tea with a spoonful or two of sugar mixed in.

And so, just like during every workday morning, Derek got ready for the day ahead.