Mondays. I hated Mondays.
Mondays marked the beginning of five days' worth of crap. And, really, I'm not a type of person that likes dealing with crap. Then again, I can't imagine anybody who'd be willing to actually enjoy dealing with crap. Well, anybody except…
"Alfred, time to get up! I made you some hot, fresh pancakes! And they have blueberries, just the way you like 'em!" Matthew hollered from outside my room. I groaned into my pillow and stirred a bit to wake myself up. I figured moving would wake me up a little faster than just lying there. After a few minutes of stirring and groaning, I sat up against my wall and appreciated my room with sleepy eyes. My room had blue walls, with a wide variety of posters. I had my wall of superheroes to my left, and on the right wall were just random posters of cars, photos from good times, and even a Chuck Norris poster. My beige carpet hadn't seen light in days due to my clothes being sprawled all over the flooring. I smiled at my beautiful mess, and then checked the time on the alarm clock.
"…..It's….too early…." I mumbled out of my barely open mouth. I opened and closed my mouth a little to get it used to opening, since I usually wake up with my lips somehow stuck together. The time was 6:32 in the morning, and school started at nine. I could never bring myself to understand how Matt could get up and ready two and a half hours before school, and find it somewhere in his heart to make me breakfast. He's such a morning person that it just wasn't human. I finally set my feet down on my floor, and flinched a bit from the cold. I yanked my covers from my bed with ease and walked out into the hallway, to meet my brother standing happily holding a platter of pancakes. I inhaled the invigorating scent of sweet, fluffy pancakes and the appealing stench of maple syrup.
Matthew handed me the plate with a "Good morning, Sleepyhead" before he marched off to go do whatever he does with his spare time. I had no idea what he did to entertain himself, but at the moment, it didn't matter. All I wanted then were some damn good pancakes. And after I took my first taste, I immediately knew Mattie had delivered. I sluggishly shuffled to the table and slowly ate the first few nibbles of the pancake that was on top of the stack Matt had made me. My speed in eating had increased after minutes of chewing and getting used to being awake. After finishing my small tower of pancakes, I collected the bed covers and dragged myself to the bathroom.
"Al, wait a minute! Your towel!" he called to me, handing me my towel. I smiled.
"Thanks, man," I thanked, and continued my way into the bathroom before locking the door. I was so glad to have such a cool brother like him. I dropped the blankets and shivered as I stripped myself of my wrinkled Adventure Time pajamas. I took a quick glance in the mirror and gave it a nice grin. I'm not one to be too egotistical, but from the looks of things, I was a pretty good-looking guy. I had toned long arms and legs that were covered in slightly-tanned fair skin. My nose was almost like a ski-slope; the tip pointed slightly upward. I had a chiseled jaw to go with my wide, inviting smile. My dirty-blond hair was tossed about, but even then it looked really good. And my eyes, as my mother said, are pure sky blue jewels. I smiled sadly at the thought of her.
I stepped into the shower and let the hot water run for a bit, thinking about my mother. She was an author, and traveled all over the world to write. Matt and I saw her every few months ever since two years ago when Mattie started high school. She figured we'd be okay on our own, and she was right. She paid the bills from afar, sent money in the mail for groceries, shopping, and any other miscellaneous reasons. Just nothing too stupid.
I finally applied the shampoo after zoning out for what felt like a very long time, sighing. Matt and I had a pretty good life. Some of my friends said they'd kill for a life like mine. I guess they were right, I was pretty happy from what I knew. Not everybody can say they had everything right by high school. My good friend Ed told me that he even asked his parents if he could move in with me. I remember us laughing at the idea, even though he was being completely serious. I wasn't a jerk; I just thought he was kidding. I stepped out of the shower, wrapping the towel around me and strolling down the hall to my room. My memory was refreshed about my glorious pig sty of a room. I sniffed a combination of feet, sweat, and Old Spice deodorant.
"Beautiful," I sarcastically marveled while chuckling, dropping my towel onto the floor. I stepped over the clothes to my also chaotic closet, picked out a navy blue graphic tee and some plaid board shorts, and whistled as I put them on. Matt walked in, glowing with his morning joy.
"Al, the phone, I don't know who it is, but they have trouble pronouncing some words…" he quietly said, still smiling. I nodded and mouthed a "Thank you" before holding it to my ear.
"This is Jonesy!" I greeted, grinning to a point where it could probably be heard through the phone.
"Alfred-san!" the all-too-familiar voice greeted, "I have a favor to ask of you."
"Whatever you'd like, Kiku!" I replied, holding the phone with my shoulder, trying to put on some socks
"Would you mind giving my cousin and I rides to and from school? I'm afraid our automobile engine has gone out on us," he timidly asked. I began searching for my shoes, grunting as I crawled around my floor.
"Of course! When would you like for me to come and get ya?" I gladly accepted. Kiku had always been a loyal friend of mine - well, best friend actually - since sixth grade, so I figured of course it's cool to help out my best friend.
"Ten minutes would be great…. But just a warning, Alfred-san… He's very eccentric. He's a touchy-feely kind of person. And he also really likes to ramble… He doesn't shut up."
I chuckled heartily once I found both of my shoes. "Don't worry, Kiku!" I assured him, "I can handle plenty of things."
"Okay then… Arigato, pick us up in ten minutes… kurasai." And with that, he hung up. I shrugged to myself after tying my shoes, and threw the phone onto my bed. I frowned, thinking about the call. Kiku usually doesn't ask for favors, unless he really needs one. And… he doesn't trash-talk unless whatever or, whoever, in this case, is really bad. Shivers went down my spine with that thought running through my head. I checked the clock again.
"Already!" I exclaimed, jumping to my feet and collecting my backpack and baseball gear. It was already 8:20, so I guessed to myself I must have taken a very long shower.
"Mattie, you ready to leave to school?" I asked, standing by the front door, pulling out my keys. Matthew poked his head out from behind a wall. He smiled.
"Of course!" he answered, walking out of the door behind me.
"Did you turn off the T.V.?" I asked, since sometimes he left it on in the morning. He nodded before opening the shotgun door to the car. I sat in the driver's seat, starting the vehicle.
"Why are we leaving so early, Al?" he inquired softly, turning to me as I backed the car out of the driveway. I turned onto the street, and began driving forward.
"I – We have to give Kiku and his cousin rides to school for a while. Kiku said their car's engine broke, or something. So, until that problem is fixed, we'll be their taxi for school," I announced, looking out onto the street, turning onto the freeway. It was the quickest way to Kiku's place.
"Oh, I see. That's nice of you, eh? Having to leave even earlier to go pick up your friends," he stated, smiling to the road ahead. I nodded.
"I'm just a nice guy from a nice house in a nice neighborhood," I started, "with I nice little brother who makes me some pretty damn nice pancakes."
Matt laughed sincerely while I turned onto Joule Road, Kiku's street. His house was a beautiful sight, as well as all the others on the street. They were all mini-mansions with balconies and huge basements, and even offered plenty of yard room for decorations or gardening. Matt and I were huge Christmas freaks, and if we lived on one of these properties, our house would be called "The North Pole" with all of the Christmas stuff we could manage to flash to the public. Of course, if we had a huge yard.
I spotted Kiku and his awkwardly tall Asian cousin standing on their porch, waiting for me. I pulled out in front of their yard, parallel parking tenaciously. Matthew stuck his head out of the window and waved to them. They walked over and quickly sat in the car.
"Goooood morning my beautiful sakura!" I greeted to Kiku, winking to him in the rearview mirror. His pale-but-too-pretty-to-look-sickly-skinned face turned pink. I smiled and moved my eyes to his cousin, who looked sort of like him, but only because he was Asian. I smiled at him courteously.
"Hey, man! Haven't seen you in these parts before!" I exclaimed, turning back to the freeway. From here it was a twenty minute drive to school, since Kiku and I lived on the outskirts of town. The Asian smiled brilliantly.
"I am Im Song Yoo! Nice to meet the Alfred that Kiku has been talking about!" Im Song Yoo explained. I gave Kiku a look from the rearview mirror, and he quickly turned to look out to the road. I could hear Matthew grin.
"Really, he talks about me? Couldn't imagine why not!" I joked, trying to make Kiku feel less awkward. Im laughed with me.
"Me either. Say, can I touch you?" he asked all of a sudden. My face turned blank immediately. I cleared my throat and laughed nervously.
"Sorry, I'm a look-no-touch kind of guy. Don't mean to disappoint – HOLY SHIT!" I was interrupted by furiously groping hands coming from behind me. They searched my entire torso while I was driving, and Matthew tried to swat them away. Really, I'm serious; he's such a good brother.
My driving began swerving and from the reaction, and my foot was flooring the gas pedal, causing Kiku to scream. I was screaming from the complete violation of privacy.
"Around me, there is no look-no-touch! Only look AND touch!" Im Song Yoo bellowed proudly from the backseat, still groping me. Matthew got his binder out from his book bag and attempted to hit Im's hands, but instead, he hit my chest.
"OUCH!" I shouted in pain, still trying to drive. We were about two minutes from the school, and I turned onto Thornburg Street to the best of my ability, but with no luck on my side, I ended up on the left lane. A car was speeding at us and we all screamed like a bunch of little girls. Fortunately, the fear struck Yoo's hands off my body. I switched lanes as fast as possible and luckily barely missed the car. My jaw was still gaping, as well as Matthew's. I slowed down as we were nearing the school. Song Yoo just gulped, and Kiku was hyperventilating.
"…My bad…" Im Song Yoo mumbled with a cheeky smile.
I knew I was only getting a taste of what Kiku was talking about.