Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
Kevin Vantas woke up with a start as his alarm clock blared from across the room. He groaned and rubbed his reddish-pink eyes blearily, attempting to roll over and sink back underneath the cozy covers.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Aw hell. The albino boy groaned as he sat up, reluctantly pushing back the soft blankets and flinching as the cold air rushed in and assaulted his pale skin.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Sighing, Kevin stood up and stretched, yawning and rubbing the back of one hand across his face. He stumbled across his room and hit the switch on the offending clock. Blinking, he took a moment to adjust himself to being awake, and then turned to the window and pulled up the shade, throwing open the sash and breathing deeply the fresh morning air. The sun shone brightly, and on the balcony across the alleyway he could see a few pigeons pecking around for crumbs. It was a great day for the first day of Middle School.
As Kevin walked barefoot to the kitchen of the small apartment to help himself to some cereal, he noticed that he actually felt rather refreshed. And he was up at 6:15 A.M! Maybe Karl's idea wasn't so bad after all, he admitted to himself. Putting the alarm clock across the room to force himself to get up had been his older brother's idea. Originally, he had scoffed at the idea, but eventually agreed to it if only to get the 15-year-old to shut up. Now, he realized that it may have actually worked. As he entered the kitchen, the two previous occupants looked up.
"Good morning Kevin." said his adoptive sister from the counter, already pouring Captain Crunch into a bowl. "You're up earlier than usual."
"Yeah, well, we all are, Kanaya. You usually don't get up until 7 at least" he grumbled, grabbing a bowl from the cabinet.
"I see that you haven't become less grumpy then. Not all things change." the dark-skinned girl said with a hint of laughter, pouring milk carefully into the ceramic bowl and adding a spoon. "Either way, are you excited for our first day of school?" she inquired as she carried the breakfast to the table. Kevin placed his bowl on the counter and began to fix his cereal.
"Yeah, I guess." He paused, as if about to say something else, but didn't. Kanaya, as always, picked up on this, but didn't press further. The other occupant of the kitchen chose this moment to speak up from across the table.
"I don't know why you two continue to choose to eat that stuff. It's incredibly unhealthy for you. In fact, half of the ingredients in the cereal you are eating aren't even real food. It's all just sugar and preservatives. You are essentially pumping your young bodies full of chemicals and stunting your growth and hormone development. I have opted for a healthy bowl of non-sweetened oatmeal with a glass of orange juice with pulp. It's so much healthier, and will give you an energized start to the day. Besides, you need a healthy breakfast with all the horrible stuff they serve at the school lunch. Unless of course, you pack your lunch. That's always a good option. In fact, maybe you could let me pack you one. I'll add a nice ham sandwich for your protein, but not with American Cheese of course. That's even worse than the so-called 'breakfast' you are eating! In fact-"
"Oh, stop it Karl. They're anxious enough about their first day of Middle School without you ranting at them for an hour." Kanaya's sister, Paris, entered the kitchen with a soft grace, effectively shutting the other boy up, if only temporarily. She opened the fridge and grabbed an orange, peeling it while leaning against the counter.
"Kevin, why don't we go get ready for school. I'm done with my breakfast, and it looks like you are as well" said Kanaya, standing up to place her bowl in the sink. Kevin nodded and followed suit, and the two 12-year-olds scurried off to their respective rooms. Paris laughed softly as Karl sulked at the table, finishing his oatmeal.
"You didn't even let me tell them about how the packaging is ruining the environment." he said softly as he glowered at the table. "Do you know how important that is, Paris?"
"Karl, I've heard your spiel about a hundred times, as have they. Besides-" the tall girl threw her orange peel in the trash can and began to exit the kitchen, pausing to ruffle Karl's hair. "Not everyone is as conscientious as you."