My mom is selfish.

Today, I am especially concerned about my mom's ego on eating burnt foods. Just dump the burnt foods already! But she has that big ego in her body that she doesn't even want to trash the burnt.

"Love, I appreciate you're cooking for us, but please don't move that often. Reanne's busy."

"Yes, thank you. I won't force myself."

Our everyday morning starts with me and Rei witnessing such a lovey-dovey husband to his wife. I even don't know how many years they have been married but we clearly see my dad's blushing face every time he calls my mom 'Love'. My mom even looks manlier. If it's not that urgent, she won't call my dad 'Love'. None of it matters, actually, because we know that our mom also loves him. If we're not around, I bet my dad's already kissing her on her forehead.

We decide to help our mom cook, as usual.

"Have you ever been called by a hopeless romantic, Dad?" I express my annoyance, joining Rei in helping with my mom's cooking. "You're so old and childish. It's annoying."

"One, two, oh, I lost count..." my dad teases me. "Why? Are you jealous of me? Chill, you're gonna meet someone who looks like your mom."

What a cheap talk. He doesn't even know that I like Kenna. Then the sword fights begin. We have enough spatula for our own to help mom and mostly we use it to swordfight our dad. He's annoying but I totally understand him for loving my mom. At least, I want to beat him once –only in my dream. This dad of ours is way too slippery in his swordfight –not like I know his or my mom's past that contains the reason for his ability.

BUT IT STILL ANNOYS ME!

"REI ALSO LOVES MOM!" I summon an aide.

"Don't drag me to your childish swordplay," Rei calmly refuses. He's in the middle of cooking some eggs.

"Well, if you guys don't love your mom, I'll swordfight you to the afterlife," my dad responded with his spatula hitting softly on our heads.

Rei leaves his spot and joins me to battle our dad. Ah, I guess I'm not good with swords. It will be easier for me to drag his long hair and declare victory that way. Meanwhile, Rei uses a bit of his bright brain to tickle on my dad's side. Well, our brains definitely work differently.

And... we're leaving our mom's cooking by herself.

My mom is selfish. She doesn't ask us to get back to our cooking spot. I tell you, she's not even good at cooking but I heard from Kenna's mother that she learns so hard to cook. Her senses are insane, so she tastes a lot just to suit our meal. My dad and Rei are good at cooking; it would be easier for her to ask them to rejoin. But, she doesn't. I don't know how much ego she has that it's so hard for her to ask our dad and Rei to cook for her.

"GO AWAY FROM THE KITCHEN YOU BOYS!! I CAN'T MOVE WITH YOU GUYS PLAYING AROUND!!"

My selfish mom is a shouty. She speaks her mind so loud and she often yells her ego out. Soon after we hear her yelling, we run out to the dining room, leaving her with her kitchen alone. And when the food's ready, we have some perfectly cooked dishes.

"Thank you for everything, mom..." Rei smiles. "It's delicious."

"You're most welcome, my dear," she replies.

Yes, the food is delicious. I and Dad tend to eat everything my mom made at a fast speed to say that it tastes great. She, on the other hand, eats sluggishly. I take a peek at my selfish mom's plate and she eats more foods than us –but they're burnt.

So, if she's good at tasting, why does she have some burnt foods often? My mom is selfish and we won't know the answer, so I need to ask her friend only to know this.

"She burnt her cooking?" Mrs. Reanne Pummel, Kenna's mother, asks her curiosity. "She cooks pretty slowly, right? It's impossible for her to burn her food."

I nod to reply to her question.

Today, I and Rei decide to have a study group with Keith and Kenna –without me. I don't intend to study. I just want to talk to Mrs. Pummel who's a renowned doctor... and... she's the one treating my mom's disease for years.

"Does your dad flirt with your mom in the kitchen?" Mrs. Pummel asks again. "I mean, when you're around?"

"Well, he kisses her... if that answers your question..." I hesitate.

"No, a mere kiss isn't enough to make her burn her food..." Mrs. Pummel whispers. "Are you sure that she burnt her food?"

"I'm sure, Mrs. Pummel," I almost yell. "This morning, she ate a charcoal-like sunny side egg!"

"What about your egg?" she questions.

"Bright sunny side!" I answer enthusiastically.

"Rei's? Jin's?"

Oh, it sounds so good to hear my dad's name being mentioned so casually. I guess I still feel butthurt for losing the swordfight.

"BRIGHTTT SUNNYYY!!" I speak aloud, waving my arms here and there to express 'sunny'.

"She does this only this morning?"

I shake my head. "No. I always see her burnt her cooking."

"Are you sure that she burns HER cooking?"

I don't answer Mrs. Pummel's question right away. It seems something is amiss from the way she talks. Mrs. Pummel sighs. I guess she understands what's happening but she doesn't directly utter the problem. Moreover, she gives me a bottle of herbal medication.

"Your mom has one sensitive stomach..." Mrs. Pummel explains. "She's a mother now so I totally understand everything she does. Your job is to make sure that she takes this before she eats, okay? Just when she's about to eat some burnt foods."

"Yes, ma'am," I feel confused, but I receive the herb medication. "What's happened to my mom? Is she sick?"

"She's always sick..." Mrs. Pummel smiles. "She's sick and happily alive, that's all that matters."

My head is still filling out with confusion. That's something a mother would understand but not me? What a selfish job a mother is, then. Or... it's just because I fail to understand my mother? I fail to do even one good thing for her?

I vow to always remember the medication Mrs. Pummel asks me to give.

"Oh, one more thing."

I look at Mrs. Pummel's face while she's trying to state her words.

"Your dad was here," she giggles. "He ran out of this medication so he was here."

"THAT LONG HAIR DAD WAS HERE??" I scream.

"He was here," Mrs. Pummel giggles more. "Though he only briefly came, he also asked for medication for a sensitive stomach."

That childish dad of ours... was here before he was working? What's on his crazy mind, actually?!

"Did he realize something about our mom?" I can't hold my question.

"Knowing him for years, yes, I bet he knew and knows something," Mrs. Pummel nods playfully. "Well, as long as you or your dad give the medication to her then she would be fine. Just tell me if she doesn't take it well."

I join the study table after saying 'thank you' to Mrs. Pummel. I keep on thinking about the burnt foods my selfish mom made. If my dad was here, it means I'm too late to notice something about my mom.

"Zero, you look lost," Kenna waves her hand to my face. "Have you talked to my mom?"

I nod, lying my head on the table.

"If you want to sleep, go home," Rei taps my head with his blunt pen. "You scatter my papers away."

"I'm sorry. Let me think for a bit," I sigh.

Thinking isn't my best trait. Maybe I'm dumb because of my father's dumb trait inherited from me. But, I don't think that my dad's dumb. If he's dumb, then he won't be the vice. So, if that's not the case, do I get this dumb trait from my mom? But my mom's not dumb too. I guess my deceased uncle's not that dumb either, based on the stories I heard. Eh, if it's not inherited from my dad's side, then it should be from my mom's side. But whom?

"Rei, who dumb in our family?" I ask Rei.

"You," he answers nonchalantly.

"Except me."

"Keiji Burningshield."

"Except freaking me."

"Zero Burningshield," he answers again, jokingly.

"I told you, except freaking me. You dumb or what?"

"Your dumbness isn't something hereditary, you know..." Rei sighs. "You're just lazy."

"You saying 'except me' means that you accept your dumbness..." Keith tries to let out his concern. "That's... not a good thing to say."

"But I'm dumb..." I drown my face on the table. "I'm not like you or Rei, Keith. I just want to slap my mother so she quits selfish-ing. But it's so hard since I can't understand her thinking."

"You will never understand woman..." Keith explains. "That's what Mr. Vengiel told me."

"Oh? I forgot you hang with Mr. Vengiel often," I show my face to Keith. "He well?"

Mr. Cole Vengiel is one of our parents' friends. He's mighty cool if I can say. WHOOOAA!! like he's super cool with his one eye. Plus, he isn't even silly or childish like my dad. I have a huge respect for his maturity and also, it must be hard for him to be the normal person in the middle of silly friends like my dad.

"He's fine," Keith answers. "Well, he tells me that it's impossible to understand women so we need to show our love and make them feel appreciated."

"Gentlemen, HELLO??" Kenna suddenly yells. "I'm a woman and I'm here. Don't you think you CAN ask me as the only woman here??"

"We're at mom's office so I might as well just ask mom..." Keith responds casually, flipping between pages.

"SO RUDE! SO RUDE!" Kenna hits her brother with books multiple times.

"Kenna, Mrs. Pummel's working. Let's stay low..." Rei tries to warn Kenna. Kenna covers her mouth and sits back neatly.

I could hear Rei, Kenna, and Keith's pen strokes on the paper just by lying my head on the table. It sounds lovely and it makes me sleepy, honestly. I can just sleep but my head's already thinking so hard about my mom and her weird habit. Just what in her right mind that she want to eat burnt foods? She's crazily selfish.

"If you're that concerned, why just leave early and catch Mom on whatever she's doing right now?" Rei gives advice.

"What do you mean?" I lift my head. "You know what she's doing?"

"More or less," Rei smiles. "What do you think that I say 'thank you for everything' to Mom every day?"

"... I think it's just your sugarcoating gratitude..." I feel speechless.

"I do thank her for everything, Zero..." Rei flips his next page. "I know what she's doing."

I leave the room in an instant. I can't believe that selfish mom letting Rei and Dad know about her but not about me. I feel miserable and betrayed. Why didn't she tell me? Why did she tell Dad and Rei? Am I too dumb to notice?

I speed my bike up to my house. One thing in my mind, I need to confront that selfish mom of mine for her sneaky action. If it's dealing with her health, why didn't she tell me? Am I not her son?

I parked my bike in the small garage for the bike my dad built. After I lock and clean it briefly, I enter my humble dwelling.

"I'm home..."

"Oh, welcome home, Zeroson..." my mom's voice echoes from the living room.

I dash to the living room, seeing my mom's having her little snack time with another sunny side egg. My mom's a foodie, but I don't know why she stays skinny. Besides her 'small' body, there's one thing that I notice...

Her egg's not burnt.

"Do you want some eggs?" she offers while munching her food.

"No, I'm not hungry, Mom," I sit beside her on the couch. "Is it good?"

"Taste some!" she brightly feeds me the sunny side on her plate. As I always eat, it tastes wonderful and is not burnt.

Why? Why it doesn't burn? I listen to my mom talking about the anime she watches on that second but my mind's wandering elsewhere. It's not like she's bad at cooking and she can make the same tasty food I ate before.

THEN WHY?

I remember Mrs. Pummel's saying 'Are you sure that she burns HER cooking?'

Now I can surely say that she doesn't burn her cooking. Then, whose burnt cooking that she always eat? One second, ten seconds... I finally realize what Mrs. Pummel mean. The realization hits me hard that I hug my mom, and she's in shock, hugging me back.

My selfish mom, thank you.

From your burnt cooking son, representing me, my brother and my dad,

Keiji Zero Burningshield.