10 A proper breakfast

I lived two miles away from college. No direct bus route, so I eventually just walked all the time. Then winter came along and it was dark when I left in the morning, and dark when I got home. I never had time to make meals because I was living with 8 other people in my accommodation and only one kitchen. There was always, always someone in there, making some smelly disaster.



So I ate at college, which had its own canteen. The only problem was the food was rarely any good. Especially breakfast. The bacon was always half raw and floppy, the meat was rubbery and got stuck in my teeth and the rind was pure white and slimy. The sausages were always hard and burnt and the fried eggs had very little yolk but a stupidly massive amount of egg white that was all greasy and slimy as well. I ended up just eating cereal with non-refrigerated milk that was prioritised for the coffee drinkers. I had access to orange juice at least, but it was from concentrate and full of artificial sweeteners.

I began to miss proper breakfasts. After a time the longing became so strong I cared about this far more than my studies. In the mornings I would get up while it was still dark. I would put on my clothes, grab my bag and go straight out the door, walking past the kitchen where someone was cooking chicken and onions for their breakfast. I would walk through the quiet, street-lit suburbs that hadn't woken up yet. I would daydream about graduating and moving to a place with bacon. Some place where properly cooked bacon would grow on trees!

On regular daily commutes you tend to see the same people. After a while you start saying "hi" or "good morning" to them. The only comfort I had these mornings was meeting this one lady, who always came out to her front gate to pick up her milk delivery. She would say "good morning" in the most sultry, sleepy way. Everything was sultry about her; her bedhead of fluffy brown hair; her sleepy, gentle eyes; her plump, bee stung lips; her furry dressing gown, bare legs and fluffy bunny slippers. Seeing her every morning for that brief, sultry greeting was the only thing that kept me going on these morning commutes. That wasn't enough though. I had become so starved for a good breakfast that one morning I responded to her sultry "good morning" with a "good bacon". This made her burst out laughing. Her laugh was so loud and so hearty that it made me stop in my tracks.

"Good bacon?! Have you had any breakfast yet young man?
"Um... no I haven't"
"No?! Where are you going on this cold, dark morning without any breakfast?"
"To the college where I study."
"That's miles away! I'll drive you there hon, but you have to come in for a proper breakfast first!"
"Wow... really?"
"Of course! A young student like you needs good nourishment!" she said, and before I knew it, she grabbed my arm and gently pulled me in to her house. She sat me at the table in the kitchen and pulled some eggs, bacon and sausages out of the fridge.

"You poor thing, you must be famished" she said. "Would you like some juice?" she said, and pulled out a cartoon of 100% pure squeezed orange juice. "Yes please!" I chirped, thrilled at getting the real stuff at last! This delighted her, and she skipped around the kitchen, frying and grilling. She hummed, she sang, she asked about my studies. The orange juice was so good and along with the smell of cooking, roused an appetite in me.

"Here you go, pet" she said and laid out breakfast for me. The sausages were slightly browned and and looked so tasty. The eggs had large, round, deep sunny yolks and the egg whites looked like tiny clouds around them. The bacon was the crispiest, tastiest looking bacon and the generous rind had a dark, well done colour. I took a few bites and nearly cried in happiness. Scratch that, I actually did weep. "Th..thank you so mu...huh...huh...ch" I wailed, my mouth muffled with tasty crispy bacon. "Aww! You're so welcome honey!" she said in delight and hugged my shoulders before giving me a big soft kiss on the cheek.

At college, as I was getting out of her car, she gave me a big soft kiss on the other cheek. "Have a good day now and please come back to me tomorrow morning ok hun?". I thanked her again and went on to start my day. I went inside and walked through the canteen. The other students drank coffee and scraped their plates, chewing raw, rubbery bacon.