What next?

9- The time breakfast turned into a family reunion

Little did we know that mission was just another step deeper into the tangled mess of our country. 

***

That night, Piper and I ended up watching criminal minds on an entertainment system that did not belong in a cabin. I fell asleep after going through my great hysterics phase, and even though Piper threw a blanket on me, I was cold. Someone decided to leave the glass patio door open while they were warm upstairs, and all the cold wind blew through the screen door onto me. Thank you. Naturally, I was too lazy to get up and shut it, so I was cramped up from sleeping in ball all night. It did not help that I had a nightmare about spiders biting me in the leg and Jason watching like a stalker.

Despite all that, I wanted to sleep until noon. The only thing that woke me up was Cross taking my picture with an extremely bright flash (I think she found the camera in the bedroom she was using,) at some forsaken hour. The sun wasn’t even up yet. This is what I get for not being a morning person and her being one hell of an early bird. Later, I overheard Mere say something about a spray bottle and ice water. The mention of that was enough to get me out of bed… well, couch.

I put on a toque that was in the entry closet, and we all headed down to the concession for breakfast. All the food that was left behind was either none-existent or gone bad. However, there was a single brush left behind which was passed around. Of course, I had the option of chase everyone around to get it or sport my bedhead for the day. Ever seen someone’s hair that is naturally curly and frizzy unbrushed? It’s a disaster. The only joy of the morning: ripping the blankets off Oak’s bed to wake her up. She probably didn’t fall asleep until two in the morning. I feel no sympathy.

And so, we had a healthy breakfast of free sugar. We gathered around one of the vacant tables under the canopy. In only a few hours, everyone who was fifteen or older at our table would be gone. I think when Josh said he’d lower the age limit to fifteen, he though we would all make it past that limit. Apparently he’s an idiot and a wimp. A team made up of Mere, Cross, Oak and Finchy? Okay. Finchy was sitting in one chair with a sugar stick, bouncing her leg. How much more innocent could you get? Oh well. Maybe she’s secretly a badass spy and this whole they got me at Tm’s thing was lie.

“Kim Kardashian: broke the internet and scarred me with her fat ass,” Piper commented before biting into a brownie. As further evidence to my conspiracy theory, Finchy had managed to uncover celebrity magazines and brought them with her to breakfast. It was proof of her investigative skills, I’m sure.

I snickered. “I feel like the Grinch. You know, when he stands outside his cave with the phone book. Hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate,” I mimicked and turned the page. “Loathe entirely,” I finished in a deep voice, stabbing the picture of a girl with half her hair in a ponytail. “Arianna Grande: sluttiest ten-year old in history.”

“Hey!” Finchy protested.

“Duchess Kate: it’s a girl! I do not care about your slobbery reincarnation of Satan,” Piper muttered, glaring at the glossy pages.

“Taylor Swift: five-ten and one hundred and fourteen pounds! Well look who had all of her internal organs out. She might even be as anorexic as you,” I elbowed Oak who was ignoring our modern media-bashing fest. She probably wouldn’t recognize one person out of the magazine.

“I am not anorexic. If anything, you are. Skipping lunch...”

“I do not! You see this?” I said, shoving my swirl ice cream cone in her face. “This is brunch. It’s breakfast and lunch, so there. And unlike some people, I don’t throw up my breakfast.”

“That was once. And I was sick,” Oak defended.

“Speaking of which, I might be sick,” Mere interjected. “I didn’t see the expiry date on that milk until after…” she continued, though my attention was now on Piper.