Show and Tell
SHOW AND TELL (25 PTS)
THEME: MY FAVORITE THING
For this assignment, you will bring something from home that you would call your "favorite thing". This may be a toy, a book, a food… anything! Let your imagination run wild!
Presentations will be scheduled for the last 20 minutes of class on your assigned date. Please make arrangements accordingly.
NOTE TO PARENTS: If you are bringing materials in for your student, please check them in at the front office. All live animals must be approved beforehand and checked at the front office.
Trunks stared at the note which was occupying one of the only cleared spaces on his desk. The rest of its surface was covered in papers, books, crushed water bottles, bolts, screws, and bits of various robot kits. He tapped a pencil on the desk top, deep in thought. This wasn't a hard assignment, of course, but what was his favorite thing?
He looked around the room. The bedroom was littered with pieces of tech, inventions his mother had made for him, and things he had put together himself. He wasn't the same mechanical genius that his mother was, but he could put together a simple system. He had made an alarm clock that buzzed pretty loud and a cool toy laser gun, but neither of those were really his favorite things. In all honesty, he had been too spoiled to have much of a favorite anything. He spun around in his chair a few times, brainstorming. He nearly fell out of the chair when he heard a voice.
"Is your homework finished?" his father said from the doorframe. Trunks stopped spinning at once. "You are falling behind on your training."
"I am stuck on an assignment, Dad," Trunks said with disappointment. "Mom said I can't go camping with Goten and his family if I don't get it done."
Vegeta crossed the room to Trunks's desk. His nose upturned at the mess of the room, but he refrained from commenting. Not a moment after Vegeta entered, his blue shadow followed. Bulla was only six months old but was a very accomplished crawler, thanks to her Saiyan DNA. Any time Vegeta was in the house, Bulla followed right behind.
Vegeta picked up the assignment from his son's desk. As he read, Bulla cooed, looking up at her older brother. Instinctually, Trunks reached out and picked her up. Whenever Vegeta wasn't inside the house, she followed Trunks. Seeing both of her favorite men in one room was always a joy for her. She reached out and pressed her hand against his face, babbling. He kissed her forehead and she giggled.
"Sounds like you just need to talk to your class about something. Is this the last of your schoolwork?" Vegeta asked shortly.
Trunks nodded. "I don't know what to talk about."
"You have so much garbage in here that you insist on keeping. Just pick something," Vegeta responded, handing the piece of paper back to his son. "You are coddling her too much."
Trunks ignored his father as he played with his sister. He touched her nose and made a beep sound. She found this hilarious and laughed as he repeated it over and over. Vegeta rolled his eyes.
"Bring your sister for your assignment. You and your mother seem to favor spoiling her," Vegeta said sarcastically. Although Trunks knew that his father was easily the world's biggest hypocrite for his last statement, the idea of bringing Bulla for show and tell was spot on.
"Thanks, Dad! That's perfect!" Trunks said excitedly. "Mom can bring her into my class and she can meet all of my friends!"
Vegeta massaged his temple in annoyance. "Fine. Put on your gi. It's time to get to training."
Trunks eyed the clock in anticipation. His mother would be coming in with his baby sister for the last fifteen minutes of class. The more he thought about it, the slower the clock seemed to move. His other classmates were doing their presentations and he really didn't care because he was waiting for his turn. It looked like everyone else had thrown their assignment together last minute, not that he hadn't been guilty of the same thing. The girl that was up at the moment was talking about her favorite outfit and why it was her favorite thing. He had overheard her at recess; her mother bought it for her yesterday. Trunks jolted back to reality when the class clapped, signaling the end of the outfit presentation.
"Thank you very much for sharing, Marqua," Mrs. Battleman said, clapping. "I believe we have just one more presentation today. I see Miss Louisa at the door. She should have our guest with her."
Trunks straightened up in his seat. Miss Louisa, one of the office secretaries, came into the classroom with his mother and Bulla. He stood from his seat and went to the front of the classroom, joining his mom and sister.
"Trunks, take it away," Mrs. Battleman said, handing the metaphorical mic over to Trunks.
Bulma carefully handed Bulla over to Trunks and took the seat that Mrs. Battleman had pulled up for her. As soon as Bulla was in her brother's arms, she cooed happily.
"This is my baby sister, Bulla," Trunks said, shifting the younger Briefs child in his arms. The other students in the class chatted excitedly about the cute, chubby baby. "She is six months and one week old. She likes to follow me and my dad around the house all the time. Sometimes I like to read books to her and take her for walks with my mom."
"Does she talk?" one of the boys in the front row interjected.
Trunks shook his head. "She babbles a lot. She doesn't say anything yet. It takes a while for babies to learn to talk."
"Can she walk?" a girl a few rows back asked.
"She can crawl pretty fast. She keeps up with my dad most of the time. My mom usually carries her but my dad says she will be stronger if she has to keep up with us," Trunks said in a matter of fact manner. Bulla babbled, her hand wrapped around one of his pinky fingers. He could feel his mother shaking her head without even looking at her.
"So, Trunks," his teacher prompted. "Why is your sister your favorite thing in the world? Why did you pick your sister for show and tell instead of one of your toys or something else that you have?"
Trunks mused for a moment before responding, "I didn't think I wanted a sister. I had my mom and my dad and we were really starting to get closer as a family. When my dad told me that my mom was going to have a baby, I was happy, but at the same time I was a little bit sad. I didn't think that we would be able to do the things we had been able to do if there was a baby around."
He shifted his sister in his arms before continuing, "After I found out I was going to be a brother, nothing changed too much. My mom and I still worked in her lab together and my dad was still helping with my martial arts. My grandma and grandpa even took me with them on one of their weekend trips. When my sister was born, everything just got even better. I have never been a brother before. I get to help her learn and do all sorts of cool stuff with her. I get to show her things for the very first time. Yesterday she tried ice cream for the first time. I think she thought it was too cold."
Trunks looked down at his baby sister and she gave him a large smile. He ruffled the soft blue hair on top of her hair lovingly. "Yeah. Being a brother is pretty cool. She thinks I am pretty awesome no matter what I do."
After Trunks's school let out, the three of them headed towards their favorite nearby diner. Vegeta met up with them, just as he told Bulma he would. They got a booth in the corner which was their favorite for people watching. After they had placed their order and received their drinks, Bulma directed conversation to their school visit.
"Your son did a wonderful job with his presentation," Bulma said to her husband. "It was very sweet to hear him say such nice things about his sister."
Vegeta nodded slightly, his attention more focused on his coffee. He drained the cup and set it down heavily on the edge of the table. A waitress came by an instant later and refilled it. Trunks was playing idly with his straw wrapper and Bulla was sleeping silently in her carseat on the booth next to him.
Bulma continued to Trunks this time, "I was very proud of you, Trunks. It made me very happy to know how much you love your family, especially your sister. I know she loves you very much too."
Trunks looked at his sleeping sister. She was so tiny still, but she was getting bigger every day. He was very excited for her to walk and talk. Hopefully their mother would let her train when she was strong enough. He had asked his father when she would be able to begin training and he had given the vague answer of "whenever she is ready". His mother had told him that his father had begun training him when he was three years old.
"Dad," Trunks addressed suddenly. "How old was I when you taught me to fly?"
Vegeta remained stirring his coffee idly. Trunks wasn't sure if he was going to respond, but he then gave Bulma a look. She squinted, perhaps straining to remember. "I think you were about two or so. Your father was getting pretty antsy about you learning. He dropped you, if I recall correctly."
"Best way to learn," Vegeta remarked simply. "Saiyans aren't usually coddled like you two have been. Two is late for learning to control your ki."
"Seemed to work alright for him," Bulma remarked a little coolly. "Super Saiyan at eight years old. I think that is pretty good, Vegeta."
Vegeta mumbled something under his breath in his native language. With what Trunks had learned, he was pretty sure his mother would wash his mouth out with soap if he repeated it in the common tongue.
After enjoying their burgers and fries (and a giant sundae to share), the little family returned home. Bulma had convinced Vegeta to ride in the car with them, insisting that she needed a hand with the baby. Trunks sprinted inside the house to get ready for his camping trip with the Son family. Bulma unlatched the car seat and passed the bulky contraption housing their daughter to Vegeta. Thankfully, he held in his complaints as they walked towards the main Capsule building.
"You know what I realized the other day?" Bulma mused, not waiting for a response. "Bulla is the same age now that Trunks was when the androids arrived."
"I suppose you're right," Vegeta responded, instinctively looking down at Bulla, who was chewing on a set of plastic keys.
"I know you remembered how old he was when you taught him to fly," Bulma asserted. "It wouldn't kill you to pretend to care even a little."
Vegeta scoffed, almost looking offended. "He will be fine."
"And so will you," Bulma responded. She stopped short as they crossed into the lobby, giving him a quick peck on the lips. She leaned down to take Bulla out of her seat rather than dragging the thing all the way up the stairs. One of the security guards stepped out of the shadows to put the seat somewhere out of the way. The sun was nearly down by the time Goku arrived to pick up Trunks for camping. Perpetually late, Bulma hoped they would be able to collectively be able to erect a tent in the dark. Because Gohan would be there, they had somewhat of a chance of figuring it out.
Vegeta took a few hours to train between returning home and bedtime. He had agreed to watch Bulla while Bulma did some paperwork, as their firey demi-Saiyan daughter was a little too much work for her parents anymore. She had asked for a half hour to get things done, so she was surprised when she realized nearly an hour had passed without Vegeta bothering her about taking so long. The rest of the work would have to wait until tomorrow. It was time to lay Bulla down for bed and to relieve her husband of his torture. As she reached the living quarters, she was surprised to see that Vegeta and Bulla were no longer in the living room. Puzzled, she walked down the hall to see the door to the nursery partially ajar. She tiptoed quietly, trying not to be noticed.
"Sheqk na'aj kha, nihaada rhengha," she heard her husband say quietly. "Dtu negha orotok. Ushkahchta."
A moment later, Vegeta stepped out of the nursery, closing the door quietly behind him. Bulma smirked, setting her arms akimbo.
"I never thought I would see the day, Vegeta," she said softly. "You put our daughter to bed without being forced to. Miracles do happen."
"Hush yourself, Woman," he said, annoyed. "She fell asleep, I put her to bed. What would you expect?"
"I expected you to come in and hand her to me and tell me that I needed to take care of my child," she teased. Vegeta rolled his eyes, walking past her and heading back for more training. Bulma called out to his retreating form. "What did you say to her anyway?"
"Can't hear you," he lied, already halfway down the stairs. She smiled.
Although she had planned to leave her work till morning, Bulma found herself back in her office. After a few hours work, she grabbed the baby monitor and clicked off the light, heading towards bed. Vegeta had already come back inside for the night and was fast asleep when she entered their room. She slipped into her nightgown and into the warm embrace of the bed. A quick glance at her phone found a text from her son.
"Camping was a mess. Staying at Gohan's house. Love u," the message read. She laughed to herself, imagining a thousand scenarios that may have gone wrong. She responded with a quick "OK.", though she knew he had probably been asleep for several hours at this point. Ensuring that she had an alarm set just in case her daughter let her sleep in, she burrowed into the covers and up against her husband. Still sleeping, he pulled her into his arms, lightly kissing her hair in sleep.
She drifted off to sleep, precious thoughts of her family playing in her mind. Her family was her very favorite thing.