I Awakened; It Was Nothing Special (Part 2)

Later during breakfast, while my Dad was eating his customary spam-rice-and-mayonnaise meal, my Mom was going on about the rude customers she dealt with at work when she said something about Awakeners that made me speak up.

“Speaking of Awakeners,” I said. “I became one myself.”

“That’s nice, dear,” my Mom said dismissively. Then she whipped her head towards me. “Sorry, what was that again?”

“I Awakened,” I said simply.

My Mom’s jaw dropped.

Then there was the sound of a chair scraping against the floor.

My Mom wrapped her arms around me as she shouted, “Oh, Asa! This is wonderful! You’ve Awakened!”

My Dad looked up from his food with a stoic expression on his face. “Why? What happened? Did Asa win an award or something?”

Mom shook her head, still hugging me. “No,” she answered, tears welling up in her eyes. “Asa Awakened, Hon! He Awakened!”

Dad’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

I nodded.

“That’s great, son!” he cried. “What kind of present do you want? Books? A Nintendo Switch? Or a trip to SeaWorld?”

My answer was an ineloquent “Uh… Aren’t those choices… a bit… much?”

And expensive, I silently added.

Dad shook his head. “It’s worth it!” he answered. “After all, not everyone gets to be an Awakener!”

Just because not everyone gets to be an Awakener, doesn’t make it special! is what I wanted to use as a counter. But I didn’t because one: It’s rude and two: My Dad will make a whole speech about how grateful I should be for something so rare happening to me.

I have no desire to either ruin this peaceful morning or waste my time pretending to listen.

I smiled. “Say, Dad. Since you have work, may I go with you?” I asked.

Dad threw me a confused look. “Why?”

“Uh… So I can register at the DAA.”

The DAA (Department of Awakened Affairs) is self-explanatory. It’s a government branch that deals with all sorts of things related to the Awakened.

Understanding dawned on Dad’s face. “Sure, you can ride in my car till we get there. But how are you going to get home? I can’t just leave work.”

“I’ll have Mom call me an Uber” was my answer.