Why I Want to Win

Summary: Jerry gives Alex, Justin and Max one last wizard homework assignment – write an essay on why they want to win the competition.

A/N: I've had a bad case of writer's block lately, so when I thought of this story concept I used it as a way to work through it. Due to the nature of this story, the chapters are extremely short for me, less than a thousand words for each one. This is more of an experiment for me, something new both format and concept-wise compared to fanfiction stories I usually write.

Speaking of, I already wrote the whole story in advance. Shocking, right? So you don't have to worry about this one being abandoned. Enjoy!

The Assignment

A stack of three papers in his hand, Jerry happily stood at the podium in the lair, waiting for his kids to arrive. For the first time in years, he could act as their teacher again. Ever since the lessons stopped, none of them had ever approached him for help, not even to ask him for a spell. And he was sort of happy he no longer to fix the daily magical chaos his children seemed to cause. But he did miss the magic, the connection to his former self.

"Dad, what's this about?" Alex whined as she stomped into the lair, Justin and Max right behind her. "Harper says she won't make me a 'moving out' cake until I'm finished packing."

"Well, I just care if Harper packs," Max said while he took a seat. "Since Justin's getting your room, I'm turning the basement into a play area for my hamster."

The others turned to stare at him with raised eyebrows. "You have a hamster?" Justin exclaimed.

"Of course. My starfish was lonely."

Ignoring that, Jerry insisted, "No one's getting the basement. We're restoring it to what it was – a wasted space for useless junk we're all too lazy to throw out."

"Agreed. Since Harper moved in, our stuff's been accumulating around the house," Justin said, glancing at his father. "I noticed a radio and newspapers in the bathroom."

Alex shook her head. "No, that's for when he locks himself in there for hours so he can listen to the Mets games in peace. Don't you know anything about this household?"

"Never mind that, let's start the lesson, okay?" Jerry insisted, holding up the stack of papers. At their surprised looks, he added, "Yes, lesson. I know it's been a while, but a pre-competition requirement is that you all complete one last assignment. An essay."

His siblings groaned as expected, but Justin only shrugged. "That's it, really? Seems kind of anti-climactic for a big final assignment."

Passing out the papers, Jerry explained, "Well, it's not really big, and it doesn't even count for much..." He paused when Alex stood up to leave. "Alex sit down." She did. "You all have to do it, I was just assuring you that it won't affect your current standings in the competition. It's meant to help you reflect on past experiences, and get you to think about the future."

"How would writing about some important wizard in history do that?" Max wondered.

"He means it's a personal essay," Justin answered, then glanced at his father. "Right?"

Jerry nodded. "Right. You title it 'Why I Want to Win,' and write exactly that. Keep in mind that this isn't a chance for you to make a case for yourself, and you don't have to impress anybody. Be honest. If you've had any doubts, this is where you should explore them."

Growing nervous, Justin asked, "But who's reading them? Someone has to...is it Professor Crumbs?"

"No, and here's the fun part," Jerry answered. "No one reads them."

"What? I'm not writing a whole essay if no one's going to read it," Alex protested.

"When this assignment was first created," Jerry explained, "the Council knew that it was important for young wizards to sit back and think about the competition. But they also knew wizards-in-training concerned about competition standings wouldn't be totally honest. That's why they developed the special paper I just handed out to you, which judges when you have sufficiently completed the task, and magically sends a 'pass or fail' grade to Crumbs."

"That's great, but there's only one sheet of paper here," Justin argued. "You can't expect me to write my whole life on one sheet of paper."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Such a dork."

"It's an essay, not a diary. You only get one piece of paper," Jerry told him.

Max frowned. "I don't get it. What do you mean, 'Why I Want to Win'? Magic is cool. Of course we all want to win."

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up for me," Alex agreed.

"Well, think about it," Jerry insisted. "You have a week."