- I don't care about these stupid math problems. – Florian whined as he slammed the drawing coal against the desk and jumped off of the chair.
- Flo, sit back. – Erik's strict voice came from the armchair next to the desk and he leaned closer to see if the boy obeyed him or not. Sadly, he did not obey at all.
- I don't want to. – He shook his head and marched towards the study's door, where he was forced to stay.
- Where do you think you are going, Monsieur? – Erik stood up straight, and caught his son's wrist to guide him back to the chair.
- I am going to play the piano. – He explained with determination.
- Not until we finish. – Erik placed the young boy back on the chair and stood behind him with his hand on his hip.
- But I don't want to! – Flo yelled impatiently.
- It hardly matters what you want. You do have to learn to count and that is how you can do it. Your teacher complained that you don't seem to pay attention and don't learn with the others. So you will learn now.
- Why?
- Everyone learns to count, Flo, and you have to also.
- But I don't want to! – He slammed his fists against the desk.
- Well, listen, young man. – Erik started to lose his patience. – I don't care if you want to learn to count or not, you have to. Papa is going to teach you. And you will obey and practice with problems I write for you. Until you finish with today's lesson, we are going to stay here. You are six years old, a big boy now, you have to learn that sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do.
He knew well what Florian felt, by the way. He had fought his wars with his mother in his childhood as well, but not about counting, but writing. He hated to write, learning it was a torture in his childhood, and his mother terrorized him about it. He would spend hours, trying to figure out the alphabet by himself and how to write the letters down, he was forced to sit on that uncomfortable chair, and would receive slaps if he got lost in his thoughts, and wasn't allowed out of the room, not even if he wanted to be excused. Once he wet his pants because of this, and he received a spanking he will never forget… Even worse it was that he wasn't allowed to use his left hand to write as a child. His mother would hit his palm with a stick if she caught him using "devil's hand" for writing. For days, there were aching thin scars on his left palm that burned like Hell and even the smallest touch made them feel even more terrible, yet he could do nothing about it, and kept using that hand, it was his better hand and even though he would get beatings for it, he remained a leftie. All these happenings made an effect on him, and he was sure his handwriting turned out the way it did because of these.
It turned out that Mahtab preferred her left over her right as well, just like him, but Erik let her use it, and did not have anything like his mother in mind to punish Mahtab for being left handed. And Flo… Flo was just super stubborn over mathematics. He did not seem to be able to, or want to figure out how to add numbers to each other, that is why he needed to spend time in the study, practicing. He could be thankful, the little whiny thing, that he did not get parents like Erik's mother, he would often think. He got much help from Erik, he would explain him how to solve the problem, trying to illustrate it by matches or some small objects for him, and he did not even ask too much of a six – year old. Even though Erik was very hardworking and maximalist, he also understood that a small child can't work like an adult. That time, Flo should have only written a page full of mathematical problems but he did not want to even start it.
He sat on the chair with his arms crossed and looked at Erik with a stubborn expression all over his face. Erik wasn't touched by this fact, and his son's behavior started annoying him to no end.
- Florian, if you don't start writing in a minute I will punish you for misbehaving.
- Go on. – He stuck his tongue out on Erik which nearly caused him to lose his patience, but finally he could stop his hand before slapping the child, he just made an irritated wave in the air.
- All right. Go to the corner and turn away to face the wall. Six minutes, I am measuring it. Then you come back and start writing. And you apologize to me for being disrespectful.
- No way. And you let me out.
- I am not, until you finish your lesson. And now go to time out!
Flo jumped off of the chair and obeyed to fill out his time out, but instead of going back to the desk he went to the door again and opened it.
- How dare you? – Erik grabbed him again and lifted him up to his height.
- I am not doing stupid chores! – He hit Erik's shoulder. - I do nothing! You not making me!
- Not? – Erik's eyes widened in disbelief. Flo's will was certainly getting stronger and he knew that he sure inherited some of his stubborn personality. He was usually obedient and a sweet and nice boy, but it seems like he starts learning things from Mahtab.
- Not! And put me down!
Erik did not know what to do at first. He knew that a day without practicing isn't the end of the world, but this fight was not about that fact. If he gives up to the child's will now, he will never learn his responsibilities and he will always try to find a way to slip out of the chores he hated. He was strong but Erik has to be stronger. Yet he still did not want to use his physical force for discipline. A grown up man is sure strong enough to hit a small boy, but how on Earth should he expect any if his children not to solve their problems by beatings if he teaches them it was the right way to do so by spanking and slapping them? And clearly, time outs are not working any longer. They were good when Mahtab was small, and Flo was younger, but by now they lost their effect. They stand in the corner and go on with their behavior just as they did before. But suddenly he had an idea.
- All right, Florian! – He placed him down on the floor and leaned close to him so that they made eye contact. – I let you out of the room. You may go around the house… but you should not touch any musical instrument or sing, or even whistle until you finish your homework. And you are not allowed to listen to me playing.
- And what if I do? – He grinned and stomped his foot against the ground.
- Then you shall suffer the consequences… - The tone of Erik's voice changed. It turned out to be ominous.
He opened the door for Flo and he walked out of the room, heading to the music room, but he was suddenly stopped by Erik's voice thrown right in front of him. He was afraid he would run into it: - I'd rather not do it, if I were you. – Erik was standing under the stairs and Flo finally followed him downstairs.
The evening was kind of peaceful, and other than his punishment was announced in front of the whole family and Erik warned Mahtab not to ask Flo to accompany her by an musical instrument, Flo was starting to get happy that he wasn't even punished. No more time outs and it was like they even forgot about it. But when he started knocking a rhythm with his fork against the table, Erik poked him in the shoulder.
- Are you finished with your lesson, son?
- No.
- Then stop playing drums. – Erik snorted.
- It wasn't an instrument and I wasn't singing!
- Everything is an instrument if you use it for playing music or rhythm, Florian. No outsmarting Papa.
He sighed and continued to eat his dinner in silence, but he unintentionally started to play drums with his fingers against the table.
- Flo, stop it. One more time and you will finish dinner early and go to take a bath.
- It is not righteous! – He yelled back.
- All right, you finish dinner now!
- But I am not even halfway done…
- You put your fork down and go to take a bath. I check on you in half an hour.
He found it a better idea not to argue with Papa any longer as it seemed to cause more misfortunes upon him. He hurried to the bathroom to get ready for bed.
- Erik, why are you doing this to Flo? – Christine asked with concern.
- Because I have to show him dominance.
- He is six years old, for Heaven's sake!
- I know, and I have an impression that he is a bit of spoiled and inherited my temper. He has to learn a lesson.
- Don't you think you are too strict? What if I told you that you weren't allowed to play?
- That is the point, Christine. A punishment should be effective, something that touches your soul and makes you think of what have you done and to reconsider if you are going to do it ever again.
- But…
- Christine, I would really appreciate if you didn't argue with me about this subject, especially not in front of the other children. – He pointed at Mahtab and Noel, who were still eating with them. – We finish dinner and I don't want to hear of this anymore.
Flo sat on his bed, waiting for Erik to appear and wish him good night, and this was the moment he first thought if it was a better idea to actually finish that lesson. Yet he still hoped Papa will forget about it by the next day. When Erik kissed him good night and he lay down, he thought everything will turn out fine.
In the morning, when Erik took him to school, really everything seemed to be fine, up until Flo started whistling a song, but Papa stopped him.
- Remember what I told you. – He warned strictly.
Sadly, Flo had to face the fact that their little fight with Papa wasn't totally forgotten. He sighed and tried to search for a working solution for the situation in his head. He seemed to come up with an idea and he turned to Erik and asked.
- Papa… did you not tell me that if I don't practice every day it is bad?
- I did. – Erik nodded.
- And I didn't practice yesterday…. It is a bad thing.
- It is. And talking back to your father is a way worse thing.
- So…
- So everything stays as it is until you obey and this is the last time I told you this.
Flo saw that he had to finally answer those equations. They were so very hard, even those at school wore him out and made him upset for the whole day. If only there was someone to do them instead of him so Papa thought he finally finished them… oh… wait a minute!
- Mahtab! – Flo approached his sister with the page Erik made for him. – You are so clever. You can count and I cannot. – He handed Mahtab the paper and looked at her with pleading eyes.
- I know Papa wants you to practice.
- Yes but I only want to practice the piano and the violin. Please do them for me… pleeeeeeease.
- I am not sure if that's the right thing. – Mahtab scratched her head, looking at her brother and the paper in turns.
- I can never do that so Papa will deny me to play music FOREVER! – He started crying. – I don't want that, I love music, you know…
- All right, Flo, stop crying. – Mahtab patted his shoulder comfortingly. – I will do them for you. Look. – She started completing the paper and she was done with all ten of them in less than two minutes!
Such a genius his sister was! Now everything is all right! He grabbed the homework excitedly, running to Papa.
- Papa, Papa, look! It is completed! – He jumped in front of Erik with a wide grin.
- Is it? – Erik asked with surprise. – Just in time, I am just done writing today's lesson for you.
- What? – Flo gasped.
- Of course. – Erik nodded. You thought you did not have to solve them today? You only made it worse for you, as you work double today. – He picked the paper out of Flo's hand and took a glimpse at it. He instantly noticed the problem. – I will give you another one for yesterday as well, as you cheated.
- I did not…
- Yes you did! This isn't your writing. You asked your sister to do it for you, but you aren't making a fool of me. Mahtab!
The girl appeared in the room as well, and Erik handed her a blank sheet of paper.
- What is that, Papa?
- You write on this paper "Assisting a cheater is cheating as well" for 50 times.
- I only wanted to help Flo…
- I appreciate your love for your brother, but he has to learn to count by himself. It is not helping if you solve his homework, with that he won't learn.
- I see. – Mahtab nodded and obediently sat down at the desk to write his penalty before she gets a stricter one from Papa as Flo did.
- And you, young man, will solve these two papers today. If you don't, that is fine as well. Then you will spend another day with music and you will receive a third group of problems tomorrow. You will get more and more to solve, so if I were you I would solve them pretty soon.
Flo didn't want to spend another day without music. He wanted to play the violin as soon as possible, he wanted to sing, he wanted to whistle… It was like Erik took his whole personality.
Slowly he climbed up to the desk at the other chair next to Mahtab and was staring blankly at the papers for a time. Then he looked at his hands and the first problem:
3+5=
He looked at his hands again and showed 3 of his fingers on his right hand, and all five of them on his left. He knew he had ten fingers on both of his hands, and he didn't show two fingers, so 10- 2… equals… eight. He wrote the number "8", and moved to the next one. He followed this method and went through all 20 equations and finished them in less than an hour. When he lifted his head up the sun was still shining through the window. It surprised him as usually, when he finished his homework with eyes red from crying, it was already dark.
- Papa, what's the time? – He called out with wonder.
- It is only half past four. – Erik smiled contentedly.
- I am finished. – He carried the papers back to Erik and looked at him with hope.
- Almost every answer is correct. – Erik put Flo on his lap with a smile. – See? If you don't whine about it, but finish it as soon as possible, it won't consume your energy and afternoon. Don't you feel better, son?
- I do. – He admitted. – And now may I play music?
- But of course. – Erik laughed. – You may do whatever you want. If you wish, we could play a duo, or… Mahtab are you done?
- Not yet. – She frowned. – I am at 38.
- It is nearly 40… well, write it 40 times and come with us. – Erik felt he needed to be a bit forgiving with Mahtab, she did mean well after all.
After all three of them arrived to the music room and Flo picked up the violin with such a bliss as maybe never before, Erik felt a hint of sorry for the poor boy, but he still felt it was the right way to act as a father. Maybe the punishment was a bit too strict – but it worked out in the end!