The Cookie Duel of Undercurrent House
Breakfast at Undercurrent House was rarely peaceful.
Not because of alarms.
Not because of alien invasions.
Not because the swamp occasionally whispered warnings from another dimension.
No.
Because of the cookie duel.
Dale T. Doll sat across from Barry with the cold, focused expression of a warrior preparing for battle.
Barry returned the stare.
No words were spoken.
No words were needed.
Bettie walked into the kitchen carrying a plate of cookies and stopped.
She looked at Dale.
She looked at Barry.
She looked at the coffee cups positioned like weapons.
“Why,” she asked slowly, “can’t we have a normal breakfast?”
The room went quiet.
Dale looked at her.
Barry looked at her.
Even the swamp outside seemed to wait.
Bettie sighed.
“As if normal has anything to do with this family.”
Dale leaned forward.
“I’m ready when you are.”
Barry picked up his cookie.
“One condition.”
Dale narrowed his eyes.
“What?”
“You do the dishes.”
A long silence followed.
Dale looked personally betrayed by the universe.
“That was not part of the original rules.”
Barry shrugged.
“House rules evolve.”
Verity, standing nearby, quietly scanned the situation.
“Observation: neither participant has defined the original rules.”
“Exactly,” Dale said. “Which means Barry is attempting a hostile amendment.”
“It's a cookie duel,” Barry replied.
“It is a matter of honor.”
Bettie smiled.
“Oh, this is going to end badly.”
The battle began.
Cookies descended into coffee.
One dip.
Two dips.
Three.
Dale’s expression remained intense.
Barry’s expression remained unreadable.
The entire kitchen watched.
Even Solin paused.
The fourth dip was too much.
Dale’s cookie surrendered.
It broke free from his fingers and disappeared beneath the coffee.
A moment of silence.
Dale stared into the cup.
Then:
“Not again!”
Barry took a slow sip of coffee.
“Maybe you should battle Solin.”
Dale looked horrified.
“Solin is a Stage-4 resonance child.”
“Exactly.”
“He would destroy me.”
Barry nodded.
“Your cookie would never fall.”
Dale pointed accusingly.
“That is not comforting.”
Bettie picked up another cookie.
“You two know normal families eat breakfast, right?”
Barry and Dale looked at her.
“No,” they said together.
Bettie shook her head, smiling.
“Of course not.”
And somewhere deep in the bayou, something ancient stirred.
Not because of an alien threat.
Not because of a cosmic anomaly.
Because Dale T. Doll had once again lost the Cookie Duel.
Comments
Post a Comment