The Lost and Found

Italian Cheese

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: Finn Parker

Friday came, school ended, and then I came home to the fresh aroma of food, lingering in the air, turning my nostrils on.

It smelled like it was baked in France, with cheese from Italy, flour from the fanciest company in the world and syrup, bought from the most delicate, most important bee in the world.

My Mom made pancakes with cheese from the fridge two months ago and some sort of honey syrup she got from a grocery store on her way home.

"Hey, honey, how was school?" Mom asked as she placed a stack of pancakes on my plate.

The classic Mom question when you get home.

"School was school."

And then the classic teen answer when you get home and get asked.

"How was soccer try outs?" she placed the bottle of chocolate syrup in front of me. I took it immediately and soaked my pancakes with chocolate. "Did you make the team?"

"I don't know." I said, my mouth full. "Didn't come out yet."

Mom gave me a disapproving look. "First of all, swallow that, second, cough drops are in this cabinet when you have your throat sore with the amount of syrup you used." she said sternly.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Of course, Grandma."

She gasped. "Oh dear, don't you dare tell me you're pregnant!"

My pancake flew out my mouth and hit the oven square on the window panel. Just right when the alarm went off.

"Score!" I cheered and hopped from my seat. I did my happy dance. "Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah."

Mom rolled her eyes and threw the fallen pancake in the trash. "Finn, get your butt down this instance, your weird dancing isn't going to help the fetus inside your tummy."

"Mom! God, for fuck's sake I am not pregnant." I took a seat and stabbed my pancake with my fork. Damn, it's dead, I killed it, call 911. No, don't arrest me!

"Oh, Finn, for fuck's sake go up to your room and change." Mom shot back as she slid my empty plate off the counter. "You stink like a cow's ass."

"Real classy, Mom, being a good role model there." I teased.

Her eyes narrowed. "Shut up and got up to your room and take a bath. Now."

I raised my hands in surrender as I backed my way to the stairs. "Okay, okay, don't shoot me, I'm innocent."

She rolled her eyes. "My daughter's an idiot." she muttered to herself as she did the dishes.

I skipped to my room and plopped right on my bed. Something cracked underneath and I looked at it to see a pen. Oh well. I prefer pencils anyway.

Gabriel and I weren't officially on the team but we made sure to set an hour or two for a bit of soccer practice on our own on the soccer field when no one's around or in the gym room when the basketball team is playing outdoors. But since some player skidded off the hardwood floor, hit the wall and chipped his two front teeth, they now did their practices outdoors in the freezing air.

I stayed in my room for a couple minutes before taking a hot shower. It was dusk by then, meaning I'd have to make dinner for my Mom and I. We had this things set for us since then. If I make dinner, she does the dishes and cleans the table and vice versa. If I do the laundry, she does the cleaning.

Mom doesn't like Chinese for some reason so I just decided on making some mac and cheese like I always cook and some grilled bread and cheese. She was snoring away upstairs so I figured that I could lay out some FIFA 14 action before making dinner.