Thomas and Amani Summer Reading Club Mystery

Chapter Six -- Back To The Library

Black jaws with a row of razor sharp fangs panted hot, meaty breath in his face. Saliva dribbled onto his nose and slithered down to his lips. It growl and lowered its teeth to Thomas' face. It's jaw snapped shut and Thomas woke with a start. Sweat soaked his bed. He had been dreaming, haunted by Mrs. Lykopis transformation. The smell of bacon and eggs greeted Thomas' nose. Oh yeah, breakfast!

He hopped out of bed and bounded down the stairs to the kitchen. Mom was scrambling eggs in the electric frying pan while bacon simmered in the cast iron pan on the stove.

"Thomas, take these plates into the dining room," mom said and she pointed to the four plates stacked with napkins and silverware. He grabbed the plates and headed into the dining room with them. Dad and Jessica must still be sleeping. They were not waiting for breakfast. Thomas laid out the four place settings. He always forgot which side the knife went on. He shrugged his shoulders and set the forks on the right and knives on the left. If it was wrong, mom could fix it.

When he wondered back into the kitchen, dad was there, giving mom a peck on the cheek. Thomas grimaced.

"You can take the milk and orange juice and set them on the table too," mom said.

Thomas swung the fridge door open and grabbed the orange juice and the jug of milk. He bum bumped the door shut and was half way across the kitchen when dad cleared his throat.

"We have decided the consequences to your actions, Thomas," dad said.

Thomas gulped, then sung around to meet his parents' hard stares.

"You're grounded," dad began.

Please don't let it be for the whole summer! Thomas silently pleaded. He kept his face as placid as possible.

"For two weeks with extra chores," mom finished.

He was sure the relief register in his eyes as shock but he didn't say a word. He turned on his heel and marched into the dining room and put the drinks on the table.

"He took that way too well," he heard his dad say.

"I wonder what he and Amani were really up," mom replied. "I'll give Mrs. Banani a call and see if she knows anything."

Breakfast passed in silent munching. Jessica wasn't even talking to him and that was unusual for her. After everyone finished eating it was now Thomas' chore to clean off the table, rinse the dishes, and put them in the dishwasher. He was to take the garbage out and help dad with yard work. He hated dealing with dishes. Everyone's plate looked like a rainbow of vomit when they were finished...especially bacon and eggs. There was a mixture of ketchup and mustard, sometimes fruit drippings and syrup or jam. He did his best to look the other direction as he forked the leftover food into the trash. A quick peek, a bit of gag reflex, lots of breathing and swallowing, and he set it on a stack in the sink. Once he scraped the plates, he turned on the water and rinsed each dish off. He checked the forks and knives for bits of leftover crumbs or worst of all peanut butter. If anything was stuck to the dishes when they came out of the dishwasher, Thomas would have to re-wash all the dishes by hand. He learnt that the hard way another time when he was grounded. He was trying to hurry so he could sneak his video game out of the closet and play it. He shoved the dishes into the machine and turned it on. The heat dry cycle had cooked the food right in. He spent hours scrubbing it clean.

The dishes were load. Thomas pop a pod into the soap dispenser and shut the door. He turned the knob to wash. When he heard the water spurting into the bottom of the machine, he tied the garbage shut and hauled it out.

Dad was digging dandelions in the back yard. The yellow carpet of flowers was dotted with pods of fluff. Some of the flowers were starting to go to seed. He knew that dad hated weed killer. Thomas walked through the back gate, lifted the lid of the garbage bin and tossed in the bag.