The Stone family residence wasn't too much out of the ordinary.
In actuality, it was a small quaint living space...
One much like many other buildings in the suburbs...
Gordon: You know, when I was your age...
Every teenage boy knows this...
8:15 am.
That long, long conversation fathers have about their lives.
Their childhoods...
Their livelihoods...
What it was like for them to grow up...
Every teenage boy has had to hear these stories once or twice.
Gordon: ... I was quarterback, full back, heck, I'd even been goalie a few times.
Now, to what one may assume to be false, the man by the name of Gordon Stone was not lying...
And who would think he was...
The man was big enough that he could claim to be a boxer and no one would turn and say...
"Nope."
And as for the boy by the name of Kenneth Stone, well...
He just gently nodded...
He'd heard this speech about a hundred times is what he'd say.
After all, this was his father...
And he was just doing what all fathers do do...
Tell long winded stories that do get repetitive.
Well, to his credit, his stories were not always repetitive.
In fact, a wise man once said, that the purpose behind the repetition of a father's tales lies not in his pride, but in his desire to ensure that the son has indeed learned a lesson.
Because, after all, why repeat a parable, if one has not learned the lesson?
Wise words...
And of that, one could say that Kenneth Stone was annoyed...
However, he wasn't...
Or rather, the emotion he was experiencing at the moment...
Simply wasn't annoyance...
It was odd...
Ken: Uh, huh...
It was then...
That his mother, Frida, finally came on the scene...
Two massive omelets in tow, each on a plate, set up with tomatoes, onions, the works really...
Each made with several eggs...
Each, breakfast enough for a king.
Frida: Here you go, dears...
She gently placed them on the table...
First to her husband.
Frida: Here you go.
And on placing it...
Her husband took a big sniff, and...
Gordon: Mmmmh! Mmmmh! Mmmmh! I just know my day is gonna be swell!
Frida: Oh, you!
She smiled at him, and he smiled at her...
A breakfast that somehow made a Monday likeable...
And she thereafter took the same breakfast to her own son, Kenneth Stone.
Frida: Here you go, Kenny.
Ken: Thanks, mom.
The omelets were about the same size...
Albeit the fact that his fathers was about one or two eggs bigger.
And of that, her husband was already fork and knife ready...
But of it, not eating.
It was a simple rule in the Stone household...
They eat as a family.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
That was just the way they were.
She then walked off to the kitchen once more...
This time to get her own omelet from the fryer.
It was about the same size as that of her son's...
Maybe an egg smaller or so.
8:16 am.
And with that, the Stone family breakfast session could finally begin.
And of that, the main topic...
That day...
It was a special day alright...
One the very likes of which...
Gordon: ... and then I tackled Khalil just like that. One straight shot and bam!
The man by the name of Gordon Stone had a loud booming voice...
If it was ever directed in anger, well...
Just by the sound of him when chilling...
You could tell that it would probably intimidate anybody who'd heard it.
But luckily for the human hearts to frail to take such violence, this man was far too far from anger most of the time to ever do something like that.
The family had sat down...
All three of them...
And were now eating breakfast...
Each member with a fork and a spoon...
Not with the eloquence of a regal man or woman, one could say...
But with enough precision and tidiness that one could immediately imagine that they were at the very least people of a decent upbringing.
But nothing too formal.
Kenneth Stone could have easily taught himself all the arts of fine dining...
But why bother?
Even still, he had his breakfast...
And now, for his family...
Gordon: ... 'matter of fact, I won us the state championships in my year.
Yep.
Gordon Stone.
Truly someone special...
Ken: Hmmm...
Now, to be clear, Kenneth Stone was not exactly annoyed by all this...
And even still...
Frida: Now, dear...
And to that effect, she was speaking to her husband...
Frida: ... Kenny may not be all that strong or fast, but he's a genius. Maybe it would be best to let him work on his genius thing, y'know?
Gordon: I know, I know... it's just... I don't want my son focusing down too much on just one thing. You gotta diversify, Ken. You're already a genius. If you wanna make the most of life, you gotta take...
And of this, he grabbed a small shaker of salt and one of pepper...
Adding one...
Gordon: ... some salt...
And then the other...
Gordon: ... and some pepper.
The analogy being hardly lost on any of them.
Gordon: Understand, son?
Ken: (sighs) Understood.
This was their morning session...
Basically...
His father and mother were adamant about this.
Every morning...
A home breakfast...
Home cooked and home eaten...
As a family.
That was just them.
And as things were, Kenneth Stone was many things...
But annoyed by them was one of the furthest things from it.
8:18 am.
Even still, he ate his breakfast...
Not saying much...
Not for fear...
But simply, that was just Kenneth Stone.
Gordon: In any case, try something sporty this year, son. Y'never know? You might actually like it.
Frida: Mmmm hmmm. And don't worry, Kenny. It's not too big of a deal.
That was their relationship as husband and wife.
That was just them.
And with their son?
That also...
... was just them.
What Ken needed to get to school at this point was simple.
Getting dressed...
Getting some breakfast...
And finally...
A way to school.
That method was fully sorted out by his mother and father.
That being, that his dad would drive him to school on the way out.
It was a simple process...
A generic one... even...
As for the breakfast, it was good.
Say what one would about the woman by the name of Frida Stone, but...
She knew how to "rustle up some grub" for her husband and son...
In fact, there was a reason as to why they all had different omelets...
Yep.
She had soon become well acquainted with both their tastes...
Gordon preferred his spicier than Ken's...
That was one difference...
And as for her, she was more Ken's type in terms of spiciness.
8:19 am.
The rest of this breakfast followed a simple thing...
Just some simple thises and thats about what was about to happen.
Normal household things...
Frida: Oh, by the way dear, could you pick up some groceries on the way home?
Gordon: Sure thing! Send me a list and consider it done!
Frida: Oh, thanks dear.
Gordon: No, no. Thank you, dear.
The kinds of conversations that would make Kenneth Stone regurgitate what he had just eaten.
Those also came into play.
And in just a moment or so...
8:20 am.
At around this time, largely...
The whole Stone family was mostly or completely done with breakfast.
And every day, ...
Gordon: Mmmh! Mmmh! Mmmh! Man, that was good! My compliments to the chef!
Frida: Oh, dear, please...
His mother would smile and blush...
Ah, love between parents...
Enough to make a hungry son vomit what little he had left in him
But still, the boy by the name of Kenneth Stone was a warrior at heart.
This would not set him off.
Instead, he would remain silent...
And wait to be dismissed from the table.
That was the family rule.
Frida Stone would get up and take their plates one after the other.
Her husband's first...
And of it, Gordon could not help but stop her to give her one more "Thank you, baby" before she made her way to her son to take his plate as well.
Frida: You want anything more, Kenny?
Kenny: No, I'm fine.
And that he was.
Stuffed.
Stuffed like a Christmas turkey.
8:21 am.
Gordon: Ok then.
It was then that his father got up, standing straight, and prepared to take his own shower.
Gordon: I'll go take a shower, son. Alright?
Ken: Ok.
And with that, Kenneth himself stood up as his mother took the dishes to the kitchen to wash them.
As for Gordon Stone, well...
Gordon: Make sure you're ready by the time I'm done. Ok, son?
Ken: Ok.
And that was that.
The truth of the matter was simple.
It was a decently long way from Hypercity High to their own home.
However, the thing was this...
They moved by car...
And also, decently long was just never all that far away.
In fact, even though his parents took him to school at a decidedly early point in time in the morning...
That being, that Ken would rarely find himself even close to late for class...
That his own family was actually pretty lax about it.
After all, getting to school was about a five to ten or fifteen minute thing.
And because of that, they were virtually never late.
But also, because of that, the man by the name of Gordon Stone rarely bothered to force his son to get out of the house early.
Another reason, in fact, the main reason for their strange morning routine was Frida Stone.
She and she alone decided that her son getting to school and going for his first lesson just after eating breakfast was a problem.
And so, then came the morning routine.
Get up.
Ken showers first.
They all eat breakfast.
Gordon showers next.
And then finally and finally, Gordon takes Ken to school.
That is their morning routine.
And of it...
8:21 am.
While Ken could afford to take a seat and watch some T.V...
His father would prepare for whatever meeting he had that day...
As his mother would wash the dishes and prepare for the rest of her day.
That was just their relationship as a family.
And also, because Gordon Stone took about 10 or so minutes to get ready...
On average...
Ken would have until 8:31 to 8:33 am to get ready to immediately leave.
And that much he was.
He had his books ready...
His school bag at hand...
And of the stuff he needed for that day.
He was ready too.
Ken: (thinking: Sigh...)
It was gonna be an interesting day...
And thereof, he turned on his house T.V...
To watch...
The Cake.
