A Baker's Summer

Chapter III

I groaned as I got the toast out of the toaster and took it outside. Dad had woken me, Nora, and Bud, up at 7:00 this morning which would be fine if it wasn't the middle of summer. I just wanted to get a few more hours of sleep but apparently, that wasn't happening. Dad banged a tiny triangle as I put the toast on the plates.

"Rise and shine! Come on! Up and at adom!" Everyone came outside still in their pajamas barely up as they walked outside. "It is breakfast at the Baker's day one."

"Is there a particular reason you had to wake us up at the crack of dawn?" Jessica asked, rubbing her eyes.

"And why can't we eat breakfast inside?" Sarah complained, voicing what everyone was thinking.

"Why does there have to be a reason to spend some time together?" mom asked for passing out plates.

"And we have a fun day planned today," dad said.

"If that were the case, you'd let us sleep," I told him.

"Just because you're a teenager doesn't mean you have to sleep in," dad says.

"Tell that to Lorraine," Nora says.

"The kids are right honey. It's vacation. They're all exhausted from yesterday," mom agrees.

"Not you too."

Just then, Charlie's car pulled up with Lorraine and Charlie inside it.

I waved at my twin excitedly as Lorraine got out of the car.

"Why is this place so little? And why does it still stink?" she asks.

"That's called fresh air honey. It's helpful," dad tells her.

"Do you see what we're dealing with?" I whispered to Charlie as Sarah and Lorraine started to fight.

"I wondered why everyone looked so miserable," he said quietly, hugging me.

"You have no idea," I told him as we went up to start eating our breakfast.

"Alright you two. That's enough," dad told our sisters. "You guys couldn't have come at a better time. I was just about to tell your siblings about the family activities we have planned."

"Family activities?" Henry and Jake asked.

"Yeah. You know, putting up the tire swing, fishing for Big Daddy, diving off the diving board, and a Baker tradion, appleschemer."

"Oh. I was planning on going waterboarding with Elliot," Jake said.

"Anne and I are playing volleyball and swimming," I tell him.

"And Kenneth invited me to play video games," Mark told the group.

"We were actually thinking of using the Murtaugh's internet hookups to study for the Academic Decathalon," Kim said.

"Precisely. We have to make sure we win this year," Jessica continued.

"Come on guys! You have all vacation to hang out with them. Can't we just spend some time together just us?" dad asks.

"Well that's great cause we have summer to do your stuff too," Henry says.

"What about you Sarah? Want to get the Football out?"

"I was actually planning on going waterboarding with Jake...,.....and Elliot." She smiles slightly at his name. Luckily, dad doesn't notice but I sure did.

"Alright. We'll do lake stuff another day," dad said.

Mom gets the scones out and starts tossing them to us.