Jesse James and the Dragon's Egg

A Dragon Comes Home, and an Evil Awakes

"I can't freaking believe you cooked the little thing!" Lamar barked at Brad.

"Dude, you better back up off me!" the much smaller boy barked back, shoving Lamar hard in the chest.

John, Lamar, and Brad had spent the night at Jesse's. Brad was up early, as was his custom, complaining about being hungry, as was also his custom. The still sleeping others counseled him to go forage for himself. So he did.

"Alright," he had said, "but if I can't find anything to eat, I am going to scramble that egg."

Some moments after the hungry young man left Lamar, who had been staring at the ceiling since Brad walked out, spoke.

"You don't suppose he'd actually cook the thing, do you?"

John sat bolt upright in the bed, his eyes still filled with sleep as he stared at the empty bed sheets on the floor. He looked over at Lamar.

"Crap."

~

Brad and Lamar were already chest to belly, yelling and shoving when a bleary-eyed Jesse came around the corner.

"I didn't freakin break it!" Brad yelled at Lamar. "It was already broken when I got up!"

"What's up?" Jesse asked.

"Brad cooked the freakin egg!"

"No, I freaking did not!"

"Then where did the pan full of eggs come from, you moron? I suppose they just made themselves?"

"I don't know man, but I didn't flick-rickin do it and you better back up off me!"

"Or what?" Before Lamar could take another breath, Brad was into him. Driving his shoulder with all of his weight into Lamar's middle, he knocked the big boy off-balance. Lamar had to take a double step back to keep himself from falling. He cursed twice, seized Brad by the collar and swung hard at his face. In the blink of an eye, Brad had both forearms raised to his face. He pushed himself into the crook of Lamar's swinging arm, effectively intercepting the boy's punch. Seeing the escalation, Jesse dove between his two friends, trying to separate them as threats and fists flew all around him.

"Guys! Hold on! It's Jesse's mom!" John was standing in front of the refrigerator. He was picking at the eggs and dispassionately watching the unfolding drama when he suddenly snatched a sheet of paper from the door of the fridge. "She made the eggs!"

"What?"

"There's a note." The lanky boy held up a sheet of paper. "See? It says she made eggs, sausage and pancakes." John's eyes drifted from the page. "Where're the pancakes?"

"Jesus! Did she use the egg?" Lamar eased his grip on Brad's shirt.

"What?" John had abandoned the note altogether in his search for pancakes. "Oh, no. I don't think so. There's an empty carton in the trash."

"Don't suppose you could have mentioned that earlier?" Brad was yanking the rest of his shirt from Lamar's hand.

"It's okay!" John called out after having stuck his entire head into the oven. "I found the pancakes!"

"Man, I told you I didn't do it!" Brad finally pushed completely away from Lamar.

"Sorry about that." The big boy replied sheepishly.

"Whatever."

"So, what happened to the egg?"

"It hatched." Jesse rose from behind the big island, holding up a thick shard of green and gold shell.