Sydney Fairburne

Sydney always woke up with the sun. There were two windows in his and William’s bedroom, and both of them streamed the light right onto his face. His father had suggested that he simply just change the direction that he lays on the bed, and while he had considered it for some time, he ultimately decided that he liked getting up early.

His father was always awake early, and his brothers slept in, which meant that the morning was a time for just the two of them. Garreth would stand at the counter, making breakfast and a cup of coffee, while Sydney just sat at the kitchen table and chatted away. He really enjoyed it.

“Anything new happening at school?,” Garreth asked, leaning against the counter with his mug in his hand. It was a slow morning; William and Matt slept in for hours on Saturdays, which meant that Garreth was free to pull up a chair and focus on his conversation with Sydney.

“Teacher meeting day is coming up,” Sydney informed his father, whose eyes widened with realization.

“Right! I will definitely be there this year,” Garreth promised. He’d missed the last two years of teacher conferences, with Matthew being really young last year, and Matt’s mom being around all the time the year before. Sydney hoped that he was serious this time.

“It’s on Thursday.”

“So, how will that work with me meeting both yours and William’s teachers?,” Garreth asked. Sydney pondered for a moment.

“You have time to go to both, I think.”

“Okay.” Garreth placed a hand on Sydney’s shoulder for a moment before standing up.

“I should start getting breakfast ready, I think. What would you like?,” he asked Sydney.

“Oatmeal.” Sydney was a big fan of oatmeal. It was such a neutral food, which allowed him to do anything with it. Whatever he felt like having could be accomplished with oatmeal.

Garreth opened the pantry and looked through it. He took some things out and placed them onto the table beside him, none of which were the requested oatmeal. Finally, he turned to Sydney with a hand on his forehead.

“I forgot to go shopping yesterday. I think we’re all out, buddy.” Sydney shrugged.

“It’s okay. I’ll eat something else.” He was the easiest going of his brothers.

“If only that would be Matthew’s answer.” He sighed inwardly, shaking his head a little bit. There had been several Fridays where he was unable to go out shopping, and the next morning was always a nightmare; Matthew was a picky eater, and Matthew was a nightmare.

“Dad?” Garreth and Sydney both turned to the stairs where Matthew was hobbling down, clutching the railing as he took one step at a time. “I’m hungry.” The two year old was hardly ever awake at this time. It seemed like he was just awake now to make things difficult for Garreth. He turned to his oldest son.

“Sydney, would you go wake William, please?”

The sun, not yet visible in its entirety, was casting a warm glow through the breaks in the leaves as Sydney walked with his two brothers and father along the dirt path leading to town.

For some reason, Garreth had chosen to move in on the outskirts of town when he came to Prhyam, which gave them a further walk to get anywhere. However, it was also the reason that they had the large property that he and William took advantage of, so it definitely balanced out.

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William was still rubbing his eyes, hardly even awake and walking like a zombie with their younger brother’s hand in his. Sydney stayed by Garreth’s side, wordlessly.

When they emerged from the trees, they were greeted by a half awake town. Few people were outside, doing various different things to prepare for the morning: sweeping their sidewalks, flipping their signs to open, or setting up outdoor stands. Many of them greeted the group as they walked past; they raised their hands and waved to return the gesture.

Garreth was directing his children towards a certain part of town, to a certain shop, though they pretty much knew where they were going as soon as they turned onto Alpine Street. It was only about a thirty second walk before they reached a shop with a thick row of flowers along the front wall, and a slanted open sign hanging in the window.

Garreth pushed the door open, ringing the bell above it as the four of them streamed in. He was immediately greeted by a small woman, around his age, smiling at him from behind the front desk. She stood up from her round stool as they walked over.

Melinda Georges was the wife of the shop’s owner, and she was the one that kept it running. She helped out Garreth a lot when Sydney and William were younger, and she and her oldest daughter had become close friends of the family.

The smell of the shop seemed to wake up Sydney’s brothers. Breakfast. There were shelves along all the walls that were lined with many baked goods, from cupcakes to loaves. Sydney had to grab Matthew’s hand and drag him back to their father as he tried to grab a cookie off of one of the shelves.

“Good morning, Garreth,” Melinda greeted, before turning towards the boys. “And you as well.” Matthew smiled widely at her. He’d always seemed to like her.

“Morning, Mrs. Georges.”

“What brings you here this early?,” she asked, eyeing Matthew subtly as he reached again for the shelves. Garreth pulled the boy back to his side.

“Dad forgot to get us food,” Matthew interjected. Melinda glanced towards Garreth, who shook his head lightheartedly.

“I forgot to get exactly what Matthew insists is the only at-home breakfast food,” he corrected. Melinda laughed.

“I see. Well, what can I get for you that’s suitable enough for breakfast?,” she asked, lowering herself to Matthew’s level. William and Sydney patiently waited, letting their pickier brother choose first.

“I want that muffin.” He jabbed his finger against the glass of the display, pointing at a particular blueberry muffin. He quickly added a, “please,” feeling his father’s manner-enforcing stare burn into his back.

Melinda grabbed a napkin and, reaching into the display, used it to pick up the specific muffin that Matthew had asked for, with some direction, and put it into a paper bag. She turned to the twins after to take their orders, bagging them up just the same.

“Thank you, Mrs. Georges.” She handed the bags over the counter, and the boys all grabbed them.

“Would you like anything?,” she asked, turned to Garreth. He shook his head.

“I’ll eat back home, but thank you.”

“Alright, have a nice day!” They returned the farewell and exited the store. The brothers were already unwrapping their food, and they tossed the bags into the nearest street garbage bin.

“William!” The bell above the door rang again as it was flung open. The voice that called was much higher than Melinda’s. William turned to see a girl his age, running towards them. Her hair was a very light dirty blonde, tied up in low pigtails by red ribbons far too long for their purpose that streamed behind her as she ran. She was wearing a pink sweater dress with black tights underneath — an outfit that she wore almost every time Sydney had see her these past several months.

“Cassie!” Considering Melinda was around so often when they were younger, her daughter had become a close friend of the family. Specifically William, though. He just always seemed to be able to connect to people easier than Sydney was, however, they were still friendly with each other.

The two hugged when Cassie reached them, as if they hadn’t just seen each other yesterday at school.

“Would you like to join us back home, Cassandra?” She glanced up at her friend’s father.

“Can I?,” she asked, bouncing up onto the balls of her feet.

“Of course!” He looked down at the girl fondly as she smiled her appreciation.

“I have to ask my mum, I’ll be back!” She immediately turned and raced off back to the shoppe. The bell jingled, and Sydney watched through the window as she rushed up towards her mom, continuing her subtle bouncing.

After about thirty seconds of conversation, Cassie came back out of the shoppe. Her cheerful demeanor told the group that her mother had allowed her to come, which wasn’t really too much of a surprise; she spent many of her weekends over at their house.

The group of five went back down the path the four had originally come up, William and Cassie a little ways ahead laughing with each other. Sydney, Matthew, and Garreth stayed a little behind, walking with each other.

When they got to the house, William and Cassie ran out into the yard, laughing still. Sydney followed along with his younger brother and father, lingering a little behind them as they went up to the veranda.

“Why don’t you go join them?” Sydney paused for a moment, considering his father’s suggestion. He decided there was no reason not to, and hopped down the steps to race towards his twin and his friend.

As he was leaving, he heard Matthew’s upset mumble. “I want to go.”

“I know, buddy,” Garreth replied. Sydney glanced back for a moment before guiltily continuing.