[CG]

"Master Blooregard I must disincline to aprehend to your request. Breakfast cereal is, as its name claims, for breakfast and not for lunch consumption!"

Mister Herriman had been arguing this point to Bloo since lunch began at midday when the small friend had brought out the cereal boxes to continue his quest for the golden spoon. Of course Bloo had argued right back about how important it was that he find this golden spoon, that he enter the competition and win the ultimate first prize. The rabbit didn't seem to share his plight, so their arguement had been carrying on for ten minutes straight.

Coco and Eduardo were in their usual seats, both still looking frazzled from their breakfasts. The bird-plant-airplane friend still seemed eerily calm as she was eating her tomato soup and it was distressing those around her. Ringo Rango had even gotten out his raincoat since the bird normally made such a splash when having soup it would go everywhere. Now he looked like he was dressed up with no where to go.

Eduardo wasn't faring too well either. His fur was still looking like he had stuck his hoof into an electrical socket, and he was still glowing a faint purple hue. But he, unlike Coco, wasn't eating. He was content to sit there, staring vacantly ahead, with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Um... E-Ed?" Bloppy Pants was sat to Eduardo's left and was looking very concerned. "A-a-a-a-are you ok?" he stammered nervously.

"Si." came Eduardo's calm reply.

"B-but Ed you're... y-you're kinda glowing..." Bloppy Pants pointed out.

"Yeah man you're givin' us all tans." Jackie Khones added in an annoyed way as he was applying sunscreen.

Eduardo looked long and hard at Jackie for a moment before pointing to him. "You will be hurt, senor Khones." he said suddenly, not a threat, just a normal statement.

"What?" Jackie asked, "What do you mean by that?"

But Eduardo said no more.

Wilt finally burst into the room, while his speed had decreased he still had a severe case of the shakes. The tall friend made his shakey way to his seat and sat, looking like he was sitting on a paint thinning machine.

"Hey there Wilt, you doing okay?" Frankie asked since she was coming around with a tray of drinks to set out on the table.

"N-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-no w-w-w-w-w-w-wor-wor-wor-wor-wories F-f-f-f-f-fran-fran-fran-kieeeeee." Wilt replied shakily, his stammer even worse than Bloppy Pants.

Across from them Ringo Rango had removed his rain coat and set it over the back of his seat and was just about to tuck into his own soup when Wilt picked up his own spoon. Wilt was still shaking and as soon as he dipped his spoon into his soup it began to splatter everywhere. It splashed into Ringo Rango's face and stained his jumper; the Corkney friend sat there in silent shock for a moment before throwing his hands to the heavens and silently screamed in annoyance. He thus threw his chair back, grabbed his rain coat and stormed off to go clean himself up.

Despite Wilt's soup going everywhere but his mouth Eduardo still sat there, calm and serene as before. He wasn't even getting any soup on him, which was weird since he was sat right to Wilt's right.

"Yo Frankie," Jackie called out from across the table, where his size was helping in his avoiding of being splattered by soup, "You got my sandwich?"

"Oh gee Jackie I'm sorry," she said as she navigated around the shaking Wilt to put the drinks down. "We ran out of bread at breakfast and I haven't had a chance to get down to the store yet. I'll go right after lunch okay?"

Jackie Khones stared at Frankie, his one little eye wide as it ever had been before. All the sound in the house seemed to still as this fact bounced around in his brain.

"NO bread?" he asked.

"Nope." Frankie replied.

"No white bread?"

"No."

"Brown bread?"

"No."

"Wholemeal? Wheat germ? Whole grain? Roti? Granary? Rye? Unleavened? Pan? Fruitloaf?" Jackie was almost about to list all 300 types of bread in the world before he stopped, and looked at Eduardo who was looking at him. He pointed to Eduardo, "You knew. How did you know? Tell me, how'd you know Frankie was out of bread and I'd end up hurt because of it?"

Eduardo just blinked slowly while Frankie was giving Jackie the kind of look you gave somebody who was mentally unbalanced. She turned to Eduardo, "Ed, you know what he's talking about?"

The horned friend looked at her, but even Frankie could see there was something off in his eyes. Before she could ask anything else of him, like if he was well, Bloo arrived.

"All right fine we don't need your lunch meals anyway! Ed, c'mon!" he grabbed Eduardo's hoof and attempted to drag him off. This was unsuccessful of course, but Eduardo got to his feet and allowed Bloo to drag him off while Coco had began spoon feeding Wilt who was still shaking crazily.

"C'mon guys, c'mooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn~" Bloo whined from the door, watching Coco and Wilt remain in their seats.

Wilt gave a jittery nod and pulled away from the spoon Coco was holding in her beak and wobbled over after Bloo and Eduardu, leaving Coco at the table.

Frankie frowned. "Man. I should never have gotten that cereal." she muttered to herself.

"I agree." said a voice she had never heard before. Frankie turned her head in surprise, looking for the source of the voice. But there wasn't anybody she didn't notice, only the regulars.

"...huh..." Frankie said quietly, wondering if maybe she was working a little too hard lately.

Coco got up from her seat and walked out after her three friends, leaving the dining rom behind. Meanwhile Jackie Khones was sobbing into his soup, Fluffer Nutter patting his back trying to console him and his lack of sandwich.

Upstairs Bloo was waving Wilt, Eduardo and Coco into their room. He spied up and down the hall, making sure nobody was watching, then shut the door behind them. He found the three looking down at him, Eduardo still oddly glowing, Wilt shaking, and Coco just watching quietly.

"All right since that rabbit refuses to see reason we're going to do it the other way!" Bloo said as he walked past them towards the bunks he shared with Eduardo and, technically, Wilt.

"W-w-w-w-what a-a-a-a-re y-y-y-y-you do-do-do-do-doing?" Wilt asked.

"This."

Bloo lifted a floorboard and set it aside, before pulling out four bowls, and four boxes of the cereal and set them down on the floor. He had spoons too, but sadly no milk. So they were going to be taking this stuff straight, which, was probably a bad idea for all of them.

Coco eyed Bloo with a 'you have GOT to be kidding' look.

"B-b-b-b-bloo I-I-I-I've b-b-b-been th-th-th-think-think-thinking." Wilt said as he got down and sat on the floor, taking his box. "W-w-w-w-hy d-d-d-d-don't y-y-y-y-y-you a-a-a-a-a-ask ev-ev-every-every-o-o-everyone t-t-t-t-t-t-to h-h-h-h-h-help?"

"What are you nuts?" Bloo asked as he opened his box and emptied all but half of it into his bowl, "Then ANYONE could find the golden spoon and it's got to be me! And you guys, being my best friends, will of course give me the spoon if you find it. I'm not doing all this just for me I'm doing it for US."

His three friends exchanged looks, the kind that told you they were having great difficulty believing the person who just finished talking. But still, the three were Bloo's friends and they always came through for him just like how he came through for them (though in his own special way). Wilt shuddered (or maybe vibrated a little harder then normal) before reaching for his spoon.

to be continued