A Surprise

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What an innocent time it was indeed! Kai Morgan had a wonderful yet frightening dream. It was about him getting his cherry popped.

He had no idea what to do, so they hadn't done anything yet. As gentlemanly as he was, he asked his partner, "S-so, ahem. What now?" he chuckled. She, who laid down on the bed, simply giggled and embraced him.

Her lips moved, but he heard nothing. He was baffled. All the while he thought that he was just too excited, so he asked, "Did you say something?"

The same thing happened, but then he heard a "Meow!" from his partner. It began to creep him out, so he slowly backed away from her while his arms were shaking.

"Meow!" she shrieked and wrapped her legs around his hamstrings. He felt like he was jumpscared, so he tried to escape her clutch to no avail. Panting, he yelled, "Let me go!" and pushed her arms away unsuccessfully.

As panicked as he was, she didn't care. She just yelled "Meow!" like a cat whose paws had been stepped on, and bit his left arm like a playful feline. It didn't hurt him, rather it shocked him, and he blacked out.

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Light from the translucent window gradually seeped into his eyes, all the while he felt a stinging sensation on where he was bit from his dream.

He swiftly moved his right hand and lightly slapped his itching arm, only for him to hit something else, so he uttered, "Oz?"

It worried him although it wasn't serious. While turning to his left, he slowly opened his rheum-filled eyes, but had a difficult time opening them.

"I'm sorry, baby," he said weakly while removing his eye boogers.

He patted Oz' head and caressed it from head to neck. As he yawned, he pulled himself up to sit and looked to his left, he was groggy. A cat with white fur and patches of orange came into his view, and a heart-shaped patch was noticeable on its right foreleg.

As he stretched his arms up high, he went to rub his flat tummy and stood up. Oz thought that it was feeding time, so it pitter-pattered toward its cat bowl beside the study table, and repeated, "Meow!"

While fixing his large white bed, he chortled, "Wait for a moment Oz." As he finished, he took a canned food from on top of his cabinet, then sat beside Oz.

It was an easy-open can, but its lid wouldn't budge, so he exerted more strength until it flew right off.

The cries of Oz vanished when it saw a chunk of mashed meat contained in jelly on its bowl, and he threw the can in the bin beside him. He took his clothes and a towel, which hung on the rack beside his cabinet.

He went to the bathroom by walking along the wooden floor of the narrow hallway. Upon resting his clothes and hands on the dry sink, he saw a note that was stuck on the mirror wall. He wondered what it said, so he took it off.

-Quickly get dressed, Kai.

We have a surprise for you!

Love, Mom-

As confused as he was, he shortly thought about what it might be, but nothing came. After undressing himself, he slid the curtain of the shower room and went inside. The light bulb was dim, and he was afraid of the dark, so he didn't close the curtain.

He envied the rich since they were the only ones who had access to a shower, while a pail and a dipper were all they had. Shocking his body in a cold bath was a no-go, so he dipped his hands in the water-filled bucket.

"Oh, it's warm," he said and thought about his mom. With this surprise, he could go straight into washing his body without worry. There's only one slight problem. He always shattered glassware since he always treated his baths like a concert.

Below Kai Morgan stood Mrs. Alyssa Morgan in the kitchen. She was cooking an unusual breakfast for her family inside their compact house. Fortunately, they had ventilation, so no hellfire happened yet.

A fast clomping sound on wooden stairs echoed while she tossed the fried rice over high heat, so she said, "Kai? Go sit down for now. I am almost finished." Well, she thought it was his son Kai.

"Yssa," said a man behind her in guilt.

'Is that Arthur? Huh, I thought you died earlier,' she thought. She was mad that her husband didn't follow through their agreement. But, she knew that he was genuinely sorry just through his voice alone because they'd been together for twenty years.

She was busy, so she swiftly said, "Hep hep, not now, Mister. Go and set up the dining table, then we'll talk."

'Tsk, you have it easy, don't you, Arthur?' she thought. She cooked all of the six dishes, including the fried rice, alone, so she smelled sour, smoky, and upset. Usually, she only cooked cheap meals like porridge, but it was a special day for them.

"Honey, place these dishes on the dining table once you are done," she said nonchalantly and turned off the heat.

"Just a second honey, I'm almost done," he said, then dropped a spoon.

'Seriously, Mister? You woke up late, so at least do your job right,' she thought. As tired as she was, she still wanted to perfect the fried rice since it was her son's favorite. So, she grabbed the finishing touch from the upper cabinet.

After opening the cap of the soy sauce, she poured a considerable amount in the pan. She had always let her ancestors tell her when to stop adding, so she didn't measure it. As she was about to continue cooking, she felt a handkerchief gently travel across her forehead.

"Here, let me help you," he said. "I can see that you're drenched in sweat."

She was flustered, so she blurted "Thank you. Ahem," in a crackled loud voice. She didn't know what to feel since she wanted to be mad. Arthur Morgan had always been an early bird, but he soon became a morning sloth.

Thinking that her husband had been working hard, she paid it no heed. But, they agreed to cook together for this special day, yet he slept like a rock. Despite that, she still loved him deeply.

'You are too charming, Mister,' she thought.

"Yssa," he said softly. "Honey, I apologize. I know I wasn't able to wake up with you. You're mad at me, right?" he asked.

She was eager to answer him right there and then, but she needed to quickly finish cooking, so she asked, "Are you done setting up the dining table?"

"I've finished it," he said.

"Good, now go and sit there. I will be done soon."

"But..."

"No buts!" she said in high tone.

"Fine," he sighed in defeat.

"Great! Now let me finish."

A chair creaked while she turned on the heat, until the soy sauce was glazed all over the fried rice. She grabbed a large white plate and poured the cooked rice on it.

Its smoke bursted out in large quantities.. A slight pungent smell that came from the garlic, and the smoky aroma from the meat swirled around their house. As upset as she was, she almost forgot about it when she sniffed its intoxicating fragrance.

Upon remembering, she stood still and sighed. Then said, "Come help me place these dishes on the table, then we'll talk."

He quickly stood up and began to grab two dishes, while she grabbed one dish. It was quick.

'I should take off my shirt for now,' she thought.

She hung her damp shirt on the top rail of their dining wooden chair and noticed that Arthur was staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Can we talk now? Please," he pleaded.

"After I make my coffee," she said. 'Alright, I need to dry myself first,' she thought.

She took two pieces of tissue paper and wiped her body. Then she prepared her coffee while humming her favorite melody.

With how tired she was, she required her morning drink. After preparing her coffee, she didn't want her hair to be annoying while drinking it, so she took a hair tie from her dimensional-pocket ring.

She got it from her husband as their engagement ring. It could only store a small amount, with how minuscule the diamond embedded in it was.

After tying her hair into a messy bun, she grabbed her drink. Then she sat down on a chair and set her mug down on the dining table.

"So? What did you want to talk about?" she asked while taking a sip of her coffee.

"Well, I have actually been working overtime," he said.

She brought her drink down while holding it, and asked, "I did notice, but why would you work overtime?"

"Our son said he wanted to enter the Royale Academy of Elements two months ago, right?"

She could see him holding something under the table. "And? We had an agreement to cook together, did we not?" she iterated.

"I know that, but I got exhausted yesterday and got knocked out cold. Look, can't you see my face?" he chuckled.

His face looked pale, but he still tried to look as ugly as possible, she had to admit.

"Well, you still look handsome to me, dear," she tittered.

'What spell are you using on me, Mister? I am supposed to be frustrated, and yet, I am smiling. Hah, ridiculous," she thought.

She took another sip of her drink.

"Anyways, I... apologize, Alyssa," he said sincerely.

"Just tell me the reason you have been working overtime," she said and rested her mug down.

"I've bought Kai a book," he said.

"Hmm, what book?"

She got her eye-opener next to her mouth, but she wanted more than a sip.

"This," he said, his voice was like a proud kid showing off his work. Then he slammed a book on the table.

'Let me see,' she thought and took a peek while drinking.

'WHAT?!' she exclaimed in her mind and choked on her coffee. After coughing and rubbing her neck, she asked, "Ahem. How did you get this book!?"