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Kai's POV:
I finished my bath and went back to my room. "Oh, what's this?" Upon going inside, Oz already snoozed on his circular red cat bed.
"So all you do is eat and sleep, huh?" I chortled, vigorously rubbing my hair before hanging my towel on the rack.
As I was about to go down, an unforgettable aroma passed by my nose, so I raced down the wooden stairs.
'It's my favorite!' Mom rarely cooked this dish because of how expensive it was to make.
"Ma! Is that fried rice I smell?" I asked cheerily.
What I saw turned my eyes into that of an owl. It was like a feast! 'Is this the surprise they made?'
"Surprise!" they both said joyously.
"What's the, uh, occasion?" I asked, trying to stop myself from diving straight in and put my arms behind my back.
"Well, young man, come and take a seat first," mom said smilingly.
She gestured to the seat beside her, so I quickly sat on it.
"Ma, can we eat now? Please..." I said as I tried to act cute.
"Don't you want to know why we prepared this much food for breakfast?" mom asked.
I wanted to, but 'food, comes first!' So I giggled "Later!"
"Alright son, we shall eat first," my mom said, exhaling deeply.
As I eagerly glanced at the dishes, the exhausted look of my dad came to view.
"Dad, why do you look like that?" I asked him.
"I'm just tired, my son. Don't worry." he said. His eye bags were more clearly seen, but his smile was full of love.
"Oh, here! This is your favorite, isn't it?" dad asked.
He reached for the fried rice and filled almost half of my plate.
"Thank you, pa!"
"You are most welcome," dad grinned, "my son."
He went to my mom's plate and did the same. As he sat down, he placed the rest on his plate. We began to pick a viand of our choice and talked about everyday life, and how good the food was. We joyously savored our breakfast and exchanged laughs.
'I can't hope for anything more than for things to stay like this.'
Thirty minutes later, and we all finished eating.
"So, how was breakfast?" mom asked.
She stood up.
"It was delightful, mom."
She went beside me and took my plate while smiling, then said "Good."
Mom walked to dad, then asked "And you, dear?" She took dad's plate.
"It was lovely, honey," dad replied.
'Hmm? Did dad just whisper something to mom? Eh, it's probably nothing.' I saw mom cleaning the table, but eating until my stomach exploded made me lazy, so I didn't hell. A few seconds later, and it was clean.
"Ahem. So, Kai, would you like to take a guess as to why I cooked this much today?" she asked.
I was too full to think. Heh. I mean, they would tell me anyways.
"I have no idea, mom," I burped.
"Well..." she paused, and took something out from her dimensional-pocket ring. Hmm? A paper, no, an envelope?
"See for yourself," she added. She slid the envelope towards me.
Seeing as the envelope was on its back, I flipped it. 'Wait... WHAT?!' It had the seal of the Royale Academy of Elements! Let's, uh, open it! 'Oh? It came right off? Whatever, this should be good news!' I held the letter with both of my hands and unfolded it.
'Okay, let's see...'
-Dear Mr. & Mrs. Morgan,
We have reviewed your submission
of your son's entry to our
prestigious Royale Academy.
After validating your son's
performance in his previous school,
we deemed that he is eligible to
partake in the entrance examinations
that will take place on our campus
a month from now. Lastly, charges
will not be applied and his
education will be free as long as
he will give our academy,
favorable results. May the spirit
of the elements be with you.
Sincerely Yours, Professor Edegor-
I was shocked. No, flabbergasted was the right word. I mean, who wouldn't be? The Royale Academy of Elements only accommodated nobles and kids that were filthy rich! Wait... This wasn't a prank, right? Let me double-check.
I couldn't believe it! I glanced at mom and dad, jaw dropped, and read the letter repeatedly.
"This, uh, is it real?" I asked, and looked at mom.
"Yes, it is real, silly," my mom giggled,
"congratulations, son."
I could see her smiling as she looked at me. A twinkle that you would only see from your loving mother. It was when you achieved even the smallest of things, and she would still smile at you. Seeing her look at me like that, I couldn't help but think that all of my effort paid off.
'Huh? Why is my vision getting blurry? No, I shouldn't be crying... After spending countless sleepless nights trying to get the best grades, I finally succeeded. The Royale Academy accepted me so I should be happy. Why...' I was bawling my eyes out, but then a chair creaked.
"Congratulations, my son," my dad said softly. "I'm proud of you."
I felt his warm hand against my back, gently caressing me, and he said "Now stop crying. Look, the letter has been flooded with your tears."
My eyes and nose were dripping, so I dried my eyes and snorted. I looked at mom. "So this was the reason you prepared that much food, ahem," I sniffed. Mom stood up and grabbed a tissue paper.
"Um-hum, actually," she said, "your dad also had something to give you."
'Does it have something to do with dad being tired?' She walked towards me and handed me a tissue paper.
"Here, son, blow your snot on this," she added.
"Thank you, ahem." I said, then blew my nose.
"So dad, you had something to give me?" I asked while rubbing my snout.
"I did have something, my son," my dad said.
He placed something in front of me. I was perplexed with what I saw.
"W-what," I paused.
I held the book upright. It was actually more of a tome since it was very thick. Considering that it looked to had already been used, it was in a very good shape. I felt like having a heart attack with all of these surprises, and it was still early in the morning.
"Dad, how did you get this?" I asked calmly.
"I got it from a friend."
'A friend?! This is a limited-edition and a super expensive tome! This contained almost all of the research done about the elements!' It's what I'd always wanted to read for years. I let it down and swiftly stood up, then went on to hug my dad tightly with closed eyes.
"Oof!" my dad exclaimed.
He embraced me back. I could feel his stubble brush against me as we talked.
"Thank you, dad. Thank you sooo much, really," I said softly.
"I will do everything for you, my son."
We stayed like this for a few minutes before mom clapped her hands.
"Alright, that is enough, father and son," my mom said loudly.
She probably grabbed clothes while we were having a father-son moment since she was wearing new ones. I let go of dad while mom began to wash the dishes.
"Go take a rest for now, son and we will go outside later," she said.
"Okay!"
As excited as I was to read the hardback, I stopped myself and looked at dad. "So I can really have this?" I asked him.
"It's all yours, my son."
After hearing those words, I hurriedly grabbed it and quickly ran up the stairs, eager to wholly devour its contents.
"Meow?" My door made a loud noise, so Oz got spooked.
"Sorry, Oz!" I said enthusiastically. I slammed onto my bed as I held the thick book above my head. "The Wonders of the World El Terra," I uttered, "by Merlin Rockfall."
I sat up and leaned against the wall while crossing my legs. Holding the tome was heavy, so I laid it down on me and started reading. "Meow!" Oz said, then stretched himself.
He walked towards my bed and jumped going towards me. "Look who we have here." I rubbed my hand against his fur while he searched for the right position, but slumped down directly in front of me. With how cute he was, I wasn't able to resist the urge of petting him. I continued reading with absorbed attention a few seconds later. Two hours later and mom called me from downstairs.
"Kai! Go and get ready, we are going out now!" she shouted. It contained tons of complicated information, so even though I was in a trance, the first few pages were difficult to understand, even for me. I gently moved out of the bed since Oz slept soundly. Then I changed into my long pants and went downstairs.
"So, are you ready?" mom asked as she was holding her umbrella.
"Yes! But why are you holding an umbrella?"
"Well, the sun is shining brightly today, son," she said cheerily.
"Let's go?" dad asked.
He opened the wooden door, and mom went out first. I followed, and dad locked the door. After a wonderful breakfast, we went outside.
The sun was at its peak, so I covered the top of my eyes with my arm. I could see the busy street where our house was in. It was filled with noisy vendors and various classes of passers-by. The galloping sounds of horse-drawn vehicles, the smell of street foods, and the laughter of kids playing along the road filled me with excitement.
Indeed, it was one delightful morning.