Jane Smith was a normal girl. Very normal, in fact. One could say she was the epitome of normalness. At least, that was what Jane thought as she put on her standard school uniform. She was going to a normal school, surrounded by her normal friends, and her test scores were just about average.

Even her name was extremely normal. Wasn't there such an idiom, 'average Jane' or something like that? It would have been much better to have a more exotic name. Maybe Esmeralda, she thought as she started to brush her hair in front of the mirror. Her common shoulder-length brown hair, that is. Why, oh why couldn't she be a redhead?

Jane skipped down the stairs towards the kitchen. Her father was already there, sitting by the table and eating his breakfast.

That was another thing, the breakfast. They would eat every morning the very same thing as just about the rest of the country. Since before she was even born, the Sunshine Company had already monopolized the market with their breakfast meal, Morning Beams, the perfect balance of nutrients for the first meal of the day. Or so the ads claim, at least.

Jane knew that in the distant past, people used to have much more varied menus for breakfast. She heard of 'Milk and Cereal', or 'Toast and Jam'… oh, how much she dreamed of tasting Toast and Jam, just once in her life…

But, there was simply no chance for her parents to allow such a thing. They loved everything normal, and Morning Beams were normal breakfast, period. The strange things that few eccentric people were still eating would never be allowed on their table. Those were probably extremely unhealthy anyway.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, Jane hated being normal. She yearned for something unusual to finally happen in her life. It could be anything, really, as long as it could break the monotone routines of her life. Maybe she should dye her hair, a small rebellious thought passed through her mind.

"Finally, you're up", said her father as she entered the kitchen and sat by the table, "We're out of Morning Beams. Your mother went out to buy some; she'll be back any minute now."

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Jane sighed exaggeratedly. "Ugh, come on. I'm going to be late to school at this rate. Li'l Rose is probably at the door already."

Li'l Rose was 2 years younger than Jane, and lived next door. Every morning, like clockwork, she would arrive at Jane's door at 8:30 on the clock, and wait - for however long it took - until Jane was ready, and they would go to school together. She considered Jane to be her best friend, and would often come to play in the afternoon as well. At first, Jane was quite annoyed by it, but as time went by she learned to enjoy the company of her little friend.

Ahem… Anyway, today Li'l Rose would have to wait a bit longer than usual. Oh, well.

***

Ray was a normal little Sunbeam who lived normal and happy life with his mother and sister, in their little house by the edge of the Sunbeam colony.

At least, that how it used to be, thought Ray as he looked around. He was now packed tightly, along with many other Sunbeams he didn't know, inside a meal pack. He could feel the pack move rhythmically back and forth. Most likely, they were inside someone's shopping bag, on their way to be eaten as breakfast.

If he could, he would scream for help. But he couldn't. Sunbeams didn't have a mouth. Instead, they used mind-reading to communicate with each other.

Ray was just a little bit special in that regard. Rather than just reading the thoughts of others, he could also send his own thoughts out to others. A minor difference, really. That ability was known to manifest in about one in ten thousand Sunbeams, and had little use, other than simply being rude when someone didn't want to listen.

Actually, when he thought about it now, didn't that count as screaming? Ray expanded his senses out, trying to find a target for his ability. Unfortunately the only ones in his range were the other Sunbeams in the meal pack, and they couldn't help him anyway. 

Just then, the moving stopped. They seemed to have arrived at their destination: Breakfast. It was now or never. Ray prepared himself for the moment the pack was opened, ready to scream at the top of his mind.

***

Jane took the freshly bought Morning Beams meal pack and opened it carefully. She glanced at the contents. The beams were small, round and white, quite similar to soybeans. She never figured out why they were called 'beams' rather than 'beans'. Probably some advertisement trick.

Just as Jane raised the plastic spoon filled with Morning Beams towards her mouth, she suddenly felt a brief, sharp headache, followed by a scream that filled her head and vibrated through her mind: "HELP!"