Amidst The Dissonance

Saturday II

The afternoon sun-rays continued to peek through the large kitchen window, brightening up the entire room. It created a vast glow that illuminated up Kaede's entire face; her blonde hair, rosy cheeks, and cheerful smile seemed much brighter, much more charming with the addition of the sun rays across her face. The way she murmured quietly to herself, the way she focused intently on the large, red textbook in front of her, and the way her finger traced over the words on the page, something about her expressions looked rather comforting to gaze at. The way she pouted slightly, the way her feet scraped against the kitchen floor, the way she fidgeted slightly in the kitchen chair as her arm brushed along the glass table...Kaede looked absolutely adorable.

At least, that's what her mother thought. Kaede herself wasn't paying attention to the sun's rays that were streaked across her face. She turned her face to the right, picked up a fork, and jammed it into the soft, cooked, and re-heated batter of her pancakes. She ripped a hefty chunk of the pancake away with her utensil and slipped it into her mouth, immediately melting into a mini ecstasy as the cinnamon flavor overtook her mouth. She closed her eyes, smiled, and continued chewing slowly, doing her best to savor every last bite.

"Mmmm...each bite is just...so good~!" Kaede sighed happily, slipping the remaining chunk of the pancake into her mouth. "I can't...I can't focus whenever I'm eating it..."

"Come on now, you know better than to talk with your mouth full..." her mother lightly scolded. She tucked a strand of her blond hair behind her ear and slipped her gold-rimmed glasses back onto her face. "How's the homework going?"

"Mmmm...the homework?" The pianist swallowed the rest of her pancake and rested her fork down. She lifted her head up, glancing around for another stack of pancakes she could devour. After seeing nothing, she lowered her head with a defeated huff. The cinnamon pancakes were gone for good this time. She had eaten the last one. Until she and her mother went shopping again, she would never get to taste the wonders of the cinnamon, nutmeg, and batter ever again.

"Yes, have you managed to finish the homework? You seem to have been struggling for a little bit." her mother lifted a navy blue mug to her lips and took a prolonged sip of the liquid inside.

Kaede flushed slightly, embarrassed. "Ah, I'm sorry! It's just difficult to focus. I really wanna go outside, maybe visit my friends."

Her mother set down the mug and wiped a finger across her upper lip. Judging by the smell, Kaede could tell she was having a third helping of her daily coffee. Poor her. Caffeine addictions were definitely annoying to deal with. Kaede remembered when her mother ran out of coffee on a busy day and was reduced to shaking and spasms at three o' clock in the afternoon. It was a really scary experience for her, especially when the last thing she needed was to lose another adult figure in her life.

"You want to go outside that badly, mm?" her mother asked curiously. She tilted her head to the sideways slightly and gazed at her daughter's fingers rapping against the textbook. Her pencil tip was completely dull, just barely sticking out from the wood itself. "When's the assignment due?"

"Huh? Oh uh..." Kaede looked away, feeling embarrassed again. "Ah, it's...an overdue assignment."

Her mother stopped mid-sip and narrowed her eyes. Kaede giggled nervously, but it sounded more like a nervous cry. She wasn't the most perfect straight A student, but she took pride in her work and her decent grades. She wasn't a huge fan of letting work go past due, as she set reminders for everything and always kept her grades in check. But most importantly, she did not like her own mother finding out about missing assignments. Her mother hated missing assignments more than Kaede did herself, and hearing about them was one way to get yourself to stay inside all day.