• The alarm had rung about five times before its own vibrations made it fall off the side table onto the brown carpet below. The teenager-shaped lump of blankets on top of the bed didn’t seem to be phased by the ringing one bit. It was Monday, it was always hard to wake up on the first day of the school week, but staying up until 3 A.M. the night before probably didn’t help either. A hand emerged from the pile, followed by an arm patting its way along the top of the table. After it decided that there was no clock to be found, a loud groan echoed from beneath the sheets. It sounded like a cross between a dying toad and a rusty muffler. The beast had finally awoken, but only physically, his mind was still asleep. He reached down from over the side of the bed and pushed the snooze button, not even bothering to pick it up.

    Elliot sat up, letting the covers fall from his head. His hair was in about ten different directions and a splotch of droll gleamed on his cheek. Wiping his face, he let out a yawn. His foot was asleep, but he didn’t realize it until he stepped out of the bed and his leg gave out beneath him. Now he just stood there in that awkward position you get in before you make yourself walk on after effects of pins and needles.“Great, I can just tell that today is going to be spectacular.”

    With his eyes half-closed, he turned on the blinding luminescence that was the ceiling light to find the towel he needs for his usual morning shower, which varied in duration depending on how tired he was. He stepped out of his room into the hall and walked towards the bathroom. Elliot had to keep his hand on the wall to steady him as he made the journey. Along the way, he could smell the aromas of supermarket generic brand sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits; they actually weren’t half bad in his opinion. He would be all over those as soon as he was out of the shower. Unfortunately, as he was reaching for the doorknob to the room, his little brother, Lucas, ran into the bathroom holding his hands over his butt. Elliot knocked on the door to inquire about the status of his Eleven year-old sibling. “Hey Lucas, are you feeling ok. I got to get in there.” A prepubescent voice was heard from beyond the door.

    “Go away! I’m shooting asteroids in here! I ate one of Mom’s biscuits, it made my tummy hurt."

    One thing that could be said about their mother was the fact that was forgetful. In this case, forgetful enough to check the expiration date on the box. Knowing her, those biscuits were a month old. She had a tendency to ‘stock up’ on goods that she plans on eating, but never gets around to it. Elliot sighed, and left his brother to his peace, and now he was afraid to eat breakfast. Downstairs, he sat at the table which had an enticing plate of breakfast sandwiches in the middle. If you didn’t know any better, you would think she made them herself instead of just nuking them. He was content with a glass of orange juice.

    His father came into the kitchen adjusting the tie into his collar. He looked like the CEO of some giant corporation, but he was actually just a door to door male cosmetics salesmen. He sat down at the table across from Elliot, grabbed the nearest ‘business’ magazine, and a biscuit. Before he could say anything to his father, half the sandwich was already in his mouth.

    “So Elliot, anything happening in school today?
    “No. It’s just a regular day. Although I think some lady is coming into our health class to talk about abstinence or something.”
    “I wished they’d taught us that when I was in high school.”

    His father hadn’t even put down the magazine, likely wasn’t paying too much into the conversation. Suddenly he lowered the magazine down onto the table. His face held a very confused look on it. The kind of look you make when you feel your stomach collapse into your intestines. He slowly stood up from the table. “Excuse me one moment.” He made a break for the bathroom. Lucas was coming down the stairs the same moment and was a few inches away from being ran over. The faint sound of a door being slammed was heard, followed by “The hell!? The toilet is overflowing!” Lucas suddenly remembered something and yelled up the stair case. “Oh yea Dad, I used all the toilet paper.”

    Elliot let his head fall onto the table in defeat. He was practically a walking zombie, and now since its Armageddon in the bathroom he wouldn’t likely get his shower. He looked at the clock; school was going to start in about twenty minutes. “I reiterate…spectacular.”