Breakfast?

My eyes flutter open and I look at the clock. The large red digital numbers read 9:30. "The free breakfast ends at 10!" I think to myself as I briskly hop out of bed and make my way downstairs. The first thing that greets me is the breakfast attendant who gives me an evil glare. She gives me the up-down and snarls “Guten Morgen.” I look down at myself. My mis-matched socks are showing through the flip-flops I slid on and my matching bright pink pajama top and bottoms are a stark contrast to the other patrons that are dressed in their everyday wear.

             I look back up, eager to see what food selection lay before me. I grab a plate and start with the first item on the buffet, bread. At the top there is a basket of what looks to be dinner rolls in a couple different varieties of breads. Next to the dinner rolls are a case that hold flat, dry, crusty looking pieces of large crackers. These too come in brown, black and white colors. Below these are dessert breads. The moist, cakey thick chunks of yellow swirled bread are eye-catching and enticing, but due to my extensive list of allergies I must pass on the sweets.

            I move to the next item on the bar, which is a large metallic bowl that is filled with ice and has various packages stuck haphazardly into the make-shift refrigerator. A couple packages are green and have pictures of fruit on the top, and one is a clear base with a brown pudding like substance that fills the container. The text, if there is any, is written in German-a language I do not speak.       

Five medium size cauldrons are situated next to the bowl. I peer inside and see a goopy, runny-yet-thick, substance. There are chunks of what appear to be fruit pieces in each separate bowl. The signs on these cauldrons are, once again, in German. Next to these cauldrons are three miniature ceramic beehives. Little bees surround the hive and the honey scepter is next to them.

            The little bees point to the three silver platters that are next to them. One platter holds cheeses, the next deviled eggs, and the last assorted cold cuts. The cheese has two different types: the smelly, holey Swiss, and the other has a red, slimy rind that is attached to the outer edge. The eggs I must pass over, as they make my allergy list. Last is the deli style cold cuts presented on a silver platter. Some of the thin meat slices have chunks of other meats inside of it, and the others are red, and pasty in appearance.

            With the meats rounding out the end of the breakfast selection, I set down my plate, head back upstairs, grab a packet of oatmeal that I brought from home and trudge back down to the breakfast bar. Still in my pajamas I grab a bowl, mix my oatmeal and move to the microwave to heat my disappointing breakfast. The looks I get every morning for touching the microwave- now that’s a story within itself.