"Wake up, Master Tom! Your breakfast's reeeeaaaady!!!!" bellowed Mary, one of his house maids, from the kitchen.
"Ngghhhh... " Tom mumbled into his fluffed up pillows and continued sleeping, sprawled wide across on his king-sized bed.
"Where on Earth is Tom?" his father's question floated up the stairs and Tom sprinted up from bed straight into the bath to get dressed.
Tom presented himself at the table in a white short sleeved shirt, his father's favourite, and crisp brown trousers.
"Morning Dad!" Tom greeted his dad cheerfully for he was glad to spend time with him before he took off again for another business trip.
"Mornin' son... wow you look nice in this shirt! Come here, let's have a man hug shall we?" Mr Radnog replied in equally high spirits as he looked up from his morning papers of The Strict Times. At full height, Tim Radnog was half a head shorter than Tom, who was already 1.7m at 16years old.
"Oh god Dad, please don't talk like that!" groaned Tom as he obliged.
"Some coffee, tea or juice for you, Master Tom?" Mary offered with a tray of steaming pots on her right hand, as she wiped her brow with her left.
"Just orange juice plea-" Tom's reply was cut off by the loud obnoxious blare of the mansion's doorbell.
"Ah that must be Sir Aloysius!" uttered Mary as she hurried toward the door.
"Oh dear... Aloysius as in Uncle Aloysius?" Tom groaned silently in his mind.
Tom never really fancied Aloysius Radnog, his father's younger brother. The unmarried man was always in a sully mood and snapped at everyone around him, even at Tim. Whenever Tom tried to make conversation, it was usually painfully awkward or abruptly cut off by his uncle's sarcastic replies.
His recollection of memories, however little they were, was broken by his dad's cheerful voice approaching the kitchen, conversing with his uncle: "How are things lately, Aloysius?"
"Couldn't been better." Aloysius replied in his usual gravelly monotone, while throwing a side glance to Tom before dragging out the chair for a seat at the table.
"Sir Aloysius, would you like some-" Mary was cut off mid sentence as Aloysius reached out to her tray and served his own coffee.
"And where's the milk and sugar?" Aloysius asked while looking directly at Tom, who flustered to get some from Mary's serving tray, which was just set down opposite Aloysius.
Tom studied his uncle surreptitiously, as he talked solemnly with his father. Aloysius Radnog seemed more gaunt than before, with some white hairs flanking his long face. His usual grim expression also looked more set with the appearance of a deep frown line in the middle of his forehead.
His uncle was tall and slim, and he looked about 1.9m to Tom.
Tom wondered if his uncle had lost weight as well, as he observed his black jacket hanging loosely off him.
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