Another Serving of Attitude, Anyone?

Too School for Cool

The chef then came, balancing five dishes which looked lavishly delicious. I could have licked my lips but stopped short from further embarrassment. Bradley immediately gathered food on his dish and had asked the chef for some ‘icy cold water’. His words, not mine. He ate with such poise, it was disturbing and frightening at the same time. Then he stared at me as though I was a freak for not joining him to eat. He put his cutlery down and mouthed a ‘what’ at me which came off very rudely.

“Well, I’ve been taught manners, and manners mean waiting for the elderly and eating when everyone is seated at the table.” I was to the point. “Hah, you are really a klutz, aren’t you? Manners? What part of socialite do you not understand?” He raised his eyebrows at me in sarcasm. Three and counting. That was the number of times he had called me klutz in one day.

 “Whatever was all I could mutter and I sat in my chair for another solid 15 minutes, watching him eat and when he finished, watching him leave the table. “Well, I hope you’re not hungry,” he glanced back at me before making an exit. “I don’t mind waiting a few extra minutes because I AM full of etiquette.” I shouted at him before he could leave. He merely laughed before continuing up the staircase. What was that supposed to mean, huh?

After another hour, it was already 9.30 and I got pretty tired. The chef was sleepy and grumpy and Morgana was dozing off. Then she came to me and said, “Aunty Gwen normally talk very long and then have her supper upstair. She rarely come down. But she tell us not to deny guests requests, that why we all here. Chef Kronk very tired, cook all day. He want to return to his family.” Morgana was trying to reason with me and if I had just known all this earlier, I would have not acted like such a fool in front of Bradley.

 I wanted so badly to prove him wrong, that I did indeed have manners but I just ended up starving. I told the chef to clear up and return home because I couldn’t bear to keep his children and wife waiting any longer. It was getting pretty late.

Although he insisted on cooking me something else (the food he served earlier was very cold and as he said ‘not edible’ anymore because it won’t taste nice. He gave it to the dogs. What luxurious food they have, huh? If food weren’t edible because it no longer tasted good, let’s just say a lot more homeless kids would die of starvation.) I lied to him and Morgana when I said I had some snacks in my room which I brought over.

And although Morgana insisted on accompanying me to my room, I told her otherwise. She finally left and I stood alone in the dining room, now with only one light still on and a few candles left burning; which I promised to blow off once I finished eating because they insisted I eat on a proper surface rather than on my exquisite bed.

I just wanted to prove Bradley wrong so I decided to stay there until Aunty Gwen did come down, even if it meant for breakfast the next morning. I just felt a sudden urge to shut him up. I definitely had a food shortage so I decided to meddle in the kitchen. I tried budging the door open but no luck. What, did they actually lock the kitchen up?

To my surprise and disappointment, it was safety locked of course but with an alarm bell and you needed a code to gain access. What would the starving do in the middle of the night, when they craved for a snack? Oh yeah, they probably knew the code. So there I was, hungry and sleepy with no access of food whatsoever.

I decided to off the light and save electricity, now only candles as my sensory guide to sight. I slumped back down on the chair and buried my head in my hands.

“You gotta be kidding me!” I turned behind and saw Bradley on the top staircase leading to the dining room. “You actually waited…well, I don’t know what to say, I mean…...” he shook his head in pure astonishment. All I could do was mumble back a solemn, “Whatever.” I was short on food, what else could I do?