Playing with Food

“Alphabet cereal? You gotta be kidding!”

“Sorry, that’s all there is. Leftover from when your cousins were here.”

“Great! That’s just great. Leftover, stale, kids’ cereal. Mom, couldn’t you just make me some…Mom? Drat! Now she’s gone and I’m stuck with this crap.”

“Excuse me. I’d rather you didn’t speak to me that way. I am a kid’s cereal, you know.”

“Talking alphabets? Wow, am I ever lucky!”

“Sarcasm isn’t polite either.”

“So who says I have to be polite? Nobody here but you and me.”

“I say so. Now, eat up.”

“I’d rather play with my food.”

“What do you want to play? Anagrams?”

“What’s that?”

“You try to make words out of the letters that are floating. Can you read?”

“What the heck do you think I am, a toddler?”

“Most of the kids who eat me are toddlers learning their letters. “

“Can’t you see I’m older than that?”

“See? Ha-ha. I don’t have any I’s, at least not any that are floating. Get it? I’s?”

“You’re pretty corny.”

“Nope, I’m full of oats.”

“How do I play your game?”

“Make as many words as you can.”

“What’s the record?”

“Twenty-one.”

“I can do that easy. S-E-A, S-E-A-T, E-A-T. E-A-T-S, T-E-A, T-E-A-S, T-A-B, B-A-T, B-A-T-E, B-A-T-S, B-E-A-T, B-E-A-T-S, B-A-T-E-S, B-E-A-S-T, E-A-S-T....”

“All done? Is that all you can get?”

“Nah, I can get more.”

“Well, then do it. Show me.”

“Not now. Later.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ha! Gotcha! 'To be continued.' You’re a cereal!”

250 words