Chapter 13- Mornings…
"Stop snoring!" Farley yelled at his brothers in the top bunk. It was five a.m. "And stay away form me, you have germs," he said running out of bed. "Mommy! James and Kyle have germs! I need my vitamins," he said, running into the kitchen where Haley was making breakfast. She laughed.
"Just because your brothers snore doesn't mean they have germs, it just means they take after daddy," she said laughing.
"I need antibacterial spray to clean our room, and vitamins, I need my vitamins and," he started breathing harder, "I… need… my… inhaler…" he said, grabbing onto the counter, and Haley immediately rushed for it. Some days his asthma was worse than others.
"Here honey, slow down," she said handing it to him, and getting him his vitamins and antibacterial spray, "And if they turn around and start spraying this in your eyes again… don't come crying to me."
"Okay," he said, taking his vitamins and grabbing the anti-bacterial spray.
"Don't wake them up either. Please. How about you get dressed, then de-germ your room."
"Okay," Farley said, hanging his head and heading back upstairs, leaving the anti-bacterial spray in the kitchen.
He started going through his perfectly neat drawers. The only ones in the room that didn't have clothes hanging out of them, and all of the clothes folded in them. He took out his school uniform. It was neatly folded and all together. He took it, his comb for his hair and his shoes to the bathroom. At least he could spend as much time as he liked to get dressed and look nice without anyone complaining he was in their way or taking to long.
He combed his orange hair, a part on the side. He patted it down with some water, then combed it again. He wiped his glasses on his shirt, making sure they were clean to put on, and brushed his teeth. He had his own special toothpaste, because the one that everyone else uses, apparently, is not good for his gums. He gurgled mouthwash, the alcohol-free kind, because it was better.
He waltzed downstairs for breakfast. "Mommy, what's for breakfast?" he asked walking into the kitchen.
"You get waffles, with strawberries and blueberries, and orange juice, and a glass of soymilk, and your pills, with water. Unless, you want some cereal from the box… or buttered toast?"
"No, no, waffles are good. Can I have an apple in my lunch… or a banana, and apple juice? Yeah, a banana and apple juice. And cheese on wheat sandwich. And carrot sticks, can I have carrot sticks too?"
"Buddy, you can have whatever you want if you make it," Haley said laughing. She wouldn't say that to any of her other sons, or Nathan because their lunches would be filled with candy, sugar, chocolate, junk food, and soda, in large quantities, that would make normal people throw-up if they ate it all, but sadly, not them.
"Okay," he said, sitting on his chair grabbing his fork. Haley was finishing making peanut butter sandwiches for everyone else. James, Kyle, Nick, Nate, Nathan, herself. Farley loved his waffles, without any syrup or butter on them.
He was halfway done breakfast when they came downstairs. "Good Morning," they yelled at the top of their lungs, sitting down next to Farley, reaching for the cereal and the bowls and spoons.
"Far-man, milk dude, pass the moo-juice," James said, elbowing Farley. Farley reached for the white milk at the end of the table, "Nah man, the dirty moo-juice, that's the best juice, the stuff from the brown cow."
"Actually-" Farley started, handing them the chocolate milk.
"Actually, we don't care," Kyle responded pouring the chocolate milk on his cereal, Cocoa Puffs, chocolate on chocolate.
"You're going to get sick," Farley warned, looking pitifully on them.
"Did you hear that Kyle, Far-man says were gonna get sick from chocolate," James said, taking a spoonful of Kyle's cereal and eating it.
"Really, oh well, then we get to miss school," Kyle said, eating James's cereal.
"And oh what fun we shall have at home," James continued, taking a bite of his own cereal.
"Hey, guys, do you want potato chips in your lunches or pretzels?" Haley asked, looking at James and Kyle, as Farley cleaned up his breakfast.
James and Kyle looked at each other, "Both!" then started eating their breakfasts like they were dogs, face first in their bowls.
Farley started on his lunch, first wiping down the counter with his anti-bacterial spray and a paper towel, never a sponge, looking at his older brothers in disgust. They were very animal like, and he was afraid they might start sniffing each others butts or scratching their armpits and hanging from the furniture, or worse, spreading their germs to him. He got his slice of bread, whole wheat, nothing better, and his cheese, 100 dairy-free cheese. He didn't like dairy very much, it didn't really agree with him. He took two slices of cheese, any more and the sandwich would be more of a cheesewich, any less and it would be a breadwich. Neither of those were good options. He looked up from his sandwich to his brothers, they were trading bowls of cereal, while milk and pieces of cereal clung to their faces from eating like animals.
He slipped his sandwich into a plastic bag to put in his sterilized lunchbox… not many kids in school can say that their lunchbox is that clean. He started on his carrot sticks, he washed off the carrots, carefully, and moved them to the cutting board. He peeled them, and cut them into fourths, making each one as close to the same size as the rest as possible. He liked his carrots, they sort of matched his hair.
Farley felt something bump into his leg, and looked down, and saw James with his face in his bowl, chasing it around the kitchen floor, literally, like a dog, then Kyle bumped into the other side of him and they traded bowls and continued. Haley saw them though, and that was never a good thing.
"James! Kyle! Get off of the floor, it's dirty, and eat like people," she said as they lifted their heads from the bowls, their faces covered with a couple pieces of cereal and chocolate milk, "Go upstairs and wash your faces and get dressed for school."
"But mommy, we're not done," James started.
"We've still got cereal in our bowls," Kyle finished.
"Too bad, your breakfast is done," she said, taking away their bowls, "Go get dressed for school."
They reluctantly got up, and evolved from dogs to monkeys, as they scratched their armpits and pretended to pick bugs from each other's hair as they went up the steps.
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"James! Kyle! You underwear goes on the inside of your pants," Haley said as they came down the stairs, "And you each get ONE left shoe and ONE right shoe, not TWO right shoes or TWO left shoes, and I told you to wash your faces, go back upstairs and get ready right."
They looked at each other, "We look fine mommy," James said.
"And maybe we're not wearing underwear… maybe its overwear," Kyle finished.
"Go back upstairs and fix yourselves… NOW!" That made them run, and they did, as fast as they could back up the steps, as Nick and Nate finally came down to breakfast, already dressed, thank goodness, "I told you to be down here fifteen minutes ago, you lost your chance of cereal, you get pop tarts, and you'd better hurry up, JAMES, KYLE, WE'RE LEAVING IN FIVE MINUTES, HURRY UP," Haley called up the steps. How she loved mornings.
