Alone In the World

Chapter 2: A Happy Morning

"Ben," someone said urgently. "Ben, wake up." All of a sudden, I smelled Mom's apple cinnamon perfume. I opened my eyes and blinked at her. "Mom?" I mumbled. Mom's reddish brown hair was straightened down her neck.

She wore her favorite blue business dress, small makeup, and matching high heels. Her green eyes blinked at me. "Ben," Mom repeated. "Wake up, your father and I are going to are taking a plane trip to South America."

"Another case?" I guessed. Mom nodded then kissed my cheek. "I'll make you two your favorite breakfast." I lifted myself out of bed then looked at Mom. "Where's Dad?" I asked. "In the bathroom," she sighed, completely annoyed. "Taking his sweet time, honestly I think Seth and your father are the same." We both laughed until the alarm clock buzzed.

After I shut it off the alarm, Mom left my bedroom. Sighing, I rolled out of bed and stretched out my arms and legs. My room was tidy and neat as usual: Marvel and old film posters and hung on my wall. A thick, blue carpet rested beside my bed. Two huge bookshelves were filled with my favorite novels: Mystery and History.

Straight across from my bed was a small desk with a laptop sitting on the table. Since the sun was out, I made my bed and hurried downstairs to the bathroom to brush my teeth. As soon as I spat out a glob of minty spit in the sink, I soaked my face in water and dried it with a towel.

Next, I headed to my closet and picked out my favorite green striped t-shirt, khakis, and my black sneakers. A loud knock came on the door as Seth appeared on my doorway, looking annoyed. "What's up?" I asked. He wiped his red bangs away from his brown eyes and stared at me. His hair was disheveled, dark circles appeared from his eyes, and he wore green plaid pajamas.

"Can I sleep in your room?" he whined. "Mom is driving me nuts about waking up at seven in the morning." "You know what Mom says about heavy sleeping," I reminded, taking off my Spider-Man t-shirt. "Heavy sleeping is for bears." Seth mimicked. "That woman makes absolutely no sense." I buttoned up my green shirt and zipped up my khaki pants.

"That is true, you know." I insisted. "Bears, squirrels, and furry animals do hibernate in the-" Seth walked over to my room and fell on my bed. "Ben," he interrupted, looking at me. "You're my older brother, not Klaus Baudelaire." I quickly laced my shoes and poked Seth out of my bed.

"Seth," I moaned. "Get up, I just made this bed." Seth let out a low snore. In retaliation, I jumped on the bed and tickled him in the armpits. He let out a loud laugh, then tried to tickle me back. "Get off of my bed," I seethed. "Never!" Seth sneered. "It's comfy!" As we fought, I saw Dad in his detective suit and carried a thick, brown leather suitcase. As it was his cue, Dad dropped his suitcase, rushed into my bedroom, and joined in the fight.

He found our tickle weakspots and exploit them. Dad tickled Seth in the armpits with his right hand while he tickled my stomach with his left. We were so full of laughter that we couldn't even breathe. "Dad, stop it!" we begged laughing. "Stop, we can't breathe!"

As soon as the fight was over, Dad kissed us on the forehead and made Seth get dressed. As he picked up his suitcase, he flashed his bright green eyes at us then marched downstairs. Moaning, Seth hopped out of bed and ran downstairs to the bathroom. As soon as I combed my brown hair, I took one last look at my room before going into the living room.

My parents were the best that two brothers could ever have. Everyday was the same: Mom wakes me and Seth up, makes breakfast and waits for Dad to get ready to go to work. But because of their awesome job in the NYPD, Mom believed that waking Dad up will get to the station a bit faster.

Mom was born in London while Dad was born in New York. They first met in a Harvard journalism course, fell in love, and got married. After I was born, we spent our days in London, but moved to New York to start a better life. Back then, Seth wasn't even born yet.

As soon as Seth showed up in his casual red t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, we both hurried to the dining table where Mom left two big plates of pancakes bathed in golden honey, scrambled eggs, and strips of bacon. Besides each plate was a fork, knife, and a cup of orange juice.

As we consumed our meal, Mom and Dad lingered in the dining room with sheets of paper in their hands. "Haven't you guys paid the bills, yet?" I asked in confusion. Mom gave me a patronizing look then ruffled my hair. "Worry about getting an education, Benny." Mom chuckled. "So you can go to college and find a wife."

"Marian," Dad sighed in a British accent, fixing his tie. "Don't embarrass him, I am sure that Ben is already going to become an exceptional student, especially Seth." Seth smiled in triumphant then swallowed his eggs. "When you have time," I began. "Can you buy me another Sherlock Holmes novel?"

Mom and Dad gave me a long stare. "How on earth have you finished The Study in Scarlett?" Mom asked. "I didn't have to read the book," I shrugged. "I already know who the killer was." "Who?" Seth asked. "Elementary, My Dear Watson." I quoted. Mom and Dad laughed while Seth rolled his eyes.

"You are going to become a great detective one day," Dad beamed, ruffling my hair. Mom glanced at the clock and gasped. "Time for us to go to work," she said. "Ben watch over your brother, make sure he does his online classes." "I'm sitting right next to you, Mom." Seth reminded.

Mom kissed him on the forehead and headed out to the house. Dad playfully tickles us then followed Mom out of the door. "We love you," he said with a smile. "We love you too," we said back. He gave us a long lasting grin before closing the door behind him. I saw Mom and Dad boarded themselves on the red Chevy car and left the driveway.

Liam Neeson as Aaron Justine

Seventeen-year old Ben as Robbie Kay

Younger Cole Porter as Riele Downs

Kate Hudson as Cole's Mother

Younger Ben as Valin Shinyei