Eggs & Bacon

Posted on Fri May 10th, 2024 @ 11:27am by Dr. Winston Sinclair & Rebecca McMillen
Edited on on Fri May 10th, 2024 @ 6:16pm

1,649 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Summer's Fading Light
Location: Faculty House
Timeline: Monday 8/15/24 - Morning

During the Summer, the sun rose early and set late, and so did Dr. Winston Sinclair. The elderly man had gotten up as the first streams of sunlight rose over the red rock mountains outside his bedroom window and grabbed his crimson robe and tan slippers. When he was a young man, he started his day with the gym, but now he did so in the kitchen.

The Faculty House was a modern mansion made of metal and glass, and every room seemed to Integrate the staff of the Academy into the dusty red wilderness around them. A yellow haze peaked into the kitchen as he entered the room, turned on the lights, and opened the refrigerator door.

Greeting him in the fridge was a wedge of cheese wrapped up in clear wrap, with a note attached to it. It simply read “Rebecca” and had a picture of a crude angry mouse face on it. Clearly, this wedge was taken.

Hearing Rebecca approach had gotten harder and harder since she had gotten more and more accustomed to the place. When she first arrived she was so afraid, so second-guessing. Back then, she wore slippers everywhere. Now, she was barefoot almost all the time she wasn’t around people. Well, barepaw might have been a better notion. The only thing that gave her away was sometimes the tips of those claws would run against the wooden flooring.

If she WANTED to sneak up on someone, she certainly could. “Morning.” She offered after a squeak of a yawn. “Coffee o’clock yet?” she teased. While she never let her personal life and hobbies interfere with her professional expectations, the term ‘late night’ was written on her features.

“Rebecca, good morning.” Dr. Sinclair said, his booming voice containing hints of a man who had spent his entire life between England and America. His accent was a delightful hybrid which made him sound British to Americans and American to the British. “I think it's coffee o’clock, actually. Though I haven’t made any.”

He pulled out a carton of eggs and a white package and placed them on the island in the center of the triangular room. Closing the refrigerator door behind him, he grabbed a bowl and utensils.

“Would you like some breakfast, or are you exclusive to your morning coffee diet today?”

The mousey blonde squinted to look out the windows at the view around. Too bright, too early, but something something worm, right? Except it was the second mouse that got the cheese. She loved that response, “I could go for some breakfast, yeah. Thanks Doc.” she offered in response, moving to handle the coffee issue. If HE was handling Food, it was her burden to handle the drinks.

Winston adjusted the classes on his face before he started cracking eggs in the bowl confidently and tossing the shells into the trash. He looked up at his mousy friend between eggs and lifted his eyebrow. He had learned not to use his powers to pry into people’s memories long ago, but the temptation was always there.

“You look exhausted. Did you have trouble sleeping last night?”

“Long night.” she offered, “You know, short videos like that are a good way to express myself. After all, no one’s shorter than me.” she joked. She was probably up late on Twitch with her friends. Fans. Followers. Twitch and Tik Tok. Essentially just giving your personal information away at this point. Trade security for entertainment. The founding fathers would be spinning in their graves.

Despite his desire to be respectful, the subtle guilt Rebecca’s was feeling came out of her like smoke, and he found human shake always had its own peculiar smell to him. It wasn’t a pleasant one. He frowned, knowing he had failed to keep his mind to himself.

“Just remember that your students watch those videos too, Shorty. Whatever it is you do on the contraption, that is.” He said with a sigh as he whipped the eggs with a fork.

She gave a nod, “I know, I know. No names, no locations, nothing shameful. Trust me, I’m not doing anything that could hurt me, or this place, or come back to hurt you.” the wisp of shame faded. “I just look cute and answer questions. Sometimes I’m on my rig playing games, sometimes I’m in my little home looking cute. Maybe we can hire a techie to make something so we’re extra secure.” she suggested. “Make sure she’s cute.” she suggested again.

The scene was interrupted by the gurgle of the coffee maker. “Coming up Doc. How do you want it, or should I just let you handle that?”

“Extra cream, extra sugar.” He answered, though his mind was occupied with what she had just said. He had seen into many hearts, and he had the power to change what people wanted, even if it was only temporary, and he still didn’t understand the modern world and its many changes. “When I was your age, if I wanted to see a cute girl, I had to leave my room. What is happening with you kids these days with this ‘Tik Tok’ and ‘Instabook’?”

Having mixed the eggs until they were bubbly, he turned the pan on the stove up. Then he opened the white package and started spreading strips of bacon generously.

“Instagram.” she corrected, “And no one uses that except to take pictures of their food these days.” she continued with a smile. “And going out your door today is a dangerous thing. Most people only really do it if it’s their job, or if staying home is more dangerous.”

“Other than that, it’s something of a safer place. I try to keep bullies out, so that folks feel safe, but people can be just as mean online as they can be in person. Even moreso, maybe, because when you put a screen between people, they turn into super jerks.” she offered a little insight into the world she was a part of. However, and further discussion would momentarily wait until her brain rebooted. Bacon.

“That’s because it’s not natural. People are supposed to feel a connection to each other.” the older man said, shaking his head. As he flipped the delicious-smelling bacon, he smiled at Rebecca. “You have so much to offer the world, my little friend. I’m just not sure it's dancing on people’s phones.”

He didn’t use the influence his powers gave him to make her more inclined to listen seriously to what he was saying. He almost never used that one unless he felt it was necessary. He sniffled and turned back to the refrigerator, pulling out a large bag of grapes.

To her credit, she did tend to at least listen to advice given. Especially from someone she respected. “Well, start small, right?” then she shook her head, “You know, never realized how much that phrase sums up my life.” she chuckled, and started pouring the coffee for the two. She had her own mug, a novelty mug that looked like a big wheel of cheese. “I guess sometimes it’s hard for me to see what more I can do for the cause. For any cause, really.”

“We all start small, Rebecca.” Dr. Sinclair said as he used tongs to place the perfectly cooked bacon on a plate with a paper towel on top. The sun was doing more than peaking over the horizon now, it the lights in the kitchen were becoming increasingly unnecessary. Nevertheless, he lifted the whipped eggs and poured the bowl into the same pan he had used for the bacon. “But, if one is humble enough, one never really feels that one is doing enough. But you do the important work of shepherding our students through their experience here at the Academy. I think that’s very valuable work. Don’t you?”

“Of course. I think it’s very important that the very first thing a student sees when they show up is someone like them. Someone that knows what they’re going through. Someone that, well, that GETS them. Real compassion, and having walked in their shoes. I think that’s very important. It’s why I take the time to meet everyone new.” she supported her decision and position, but she knew she wasn’t under fire, so the defenses weren’t up. There was no venom in her tone.

“Just as important as getting them in the door, and almost as important as getting them to stay.”

“I suppose I don’t understand why you feel you should be doing more for the cause.” he said, moving the eggs around in the man with practiced ease before plotting the eggs up along with the bacon and sliding one of them to Rebecca. “Bon appetit”

It threw her for a curve, the notion that she was doing ‘enough’ at the moment. His words were sincere, and she trusted him not to lead her astray, so maybe she WAS doing enough. Maybe her contribution was enough to the cause, as a whole. She knew the Red Rock would fall about without her diligence.

Okay, that last one was a dream, but it was a good one. She sat, bringing the two coffees over to join breakfast. “Here you go. Coffee, for the cause.” she giggled, humor at the moment, and started in on breakfast.

Winston sat on the stool next the her and started to eat. He accepted the coffee and took a sip with a satisfied grin.

“That’s good. Thank you for making the joe. I always skip it unless someone makes it for me. For some reason, its just never high on my priority list.”

She gave a smirk, “All for the cause.”

OFF

 

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