And He's the "Smart One"

So this morning I am about to get in the shower, I tell Brandon to go eat something.  It was almost 11 so I thought he should eat before he got all involved with his games.  He says he's going to have some oatmeal.  No problem, he has made oatmeal before, you boil water in the microwave, no big deal.  I get in the shower. 

When I get out of the shower I spray the shower spray and at first I just smell that, then I smell something that is sort of sickening sweet.  I don't think a lot about it because I have a cold and stuff has smelled weird to me the past few days.  I figured it was just the spray, soap, my lotions, whatever, all mixed up.  I finished getting dressed, drying my hair, etc.  When I go into the hall, there is Brandon sitting at the bottom of the stairs, head in hands.  So I ask "what's wrong?"

"I thought that we boiled water on the stove and I melted a plastic cup."  I have a ceramic stove top in case you don't know that.  So, because I don't want to freak out right then and there, my response to this is "go sort your laundry".  Which he does without argument, so I know it's gonna be bad. 

For some reason, Brandon took a large, four cup, plastic measuring cup (you only need 1/2 cup of water for oatmeal) put it on top of the stove and turned it on, no doubt on high.  I don't think I need to tell anyone how that turned out.  I just look at it and think 'oh my god'.  The fumes are absolutely toxic so I open a window and turn on the vent, yeah, it's all of 25 degrees outside.  I tell Rob what happened so he leaves work to come home and try to clean it up.  

When I am sure I am beyond the point where I will scream I ask Aly what happened.  Her story went like this:  I was sleeping, Sheila texted me that I left my charger there and I was just getting ready to go write you a note that I was going to get it and Brandon came running up the steps saying 'I need you to help me'.  I could smell something gross.  He said he put a plastic cup on the stove and I thought he meant like, just a little cup, but no, I didn't think he was so stupid as to try to cook something on the stove in a plastic cup.  And he left it sitting there while he came and got me.  I mean, at least take it off the stove.  And he's supposed to be the smart one.  

I thanked her for moving it off the stove completely instead of setting it somewhere else on the stove where the melted part would just fuse to another part of the stove.  She even set it on a paper towel first so that it didn't get anything on the counter.  She does have some common sense.  

Rob spent about an hour and a half and it mostly came off, however, there is still some that is like below the surface so now we are going to have to look into either replacing the top or the whole stove.  Fun.  Because I feel like buying a new stove.  In case you are curious as to what it looks like when you melt a plastic measuring cup onto a ceramic stove top, I took some pictures.