"Very good!" exclaimed Professor Venomous as Fink played back a choppy version of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on the piano. "You managed to hit the right notes. Now to work on your tempo. Do you have any questions?"

Fink was quiet for a bit. An intense stare of hers was fixated on nothing in particular. "Yeah, I have a question. It has nuthin' ta do with the piano."

Professor Venomous was intrigued rather than annoyed. "We are almost finished with practice. Can your question wait a bit?"

Fink hesitated. "Uh, I might forget it. Can I ask it now?"

A warm smile spread across Venomous' lips. Considering how young she was, he knew couldn't be too strict with Fink when it came to these sorts of matters. He was just happy that she was able to confide in him. "Go ahead with your question, Fink."

Fink sighed before putting forth her inquiry. She had the gut feeling that it was related to a heavy subject. "Well, the other night, I couldn't sleep. I was having bad dreams. I was gonna see if you could help me fall back ta sleep, but I heard funny noises comin' from your room."

Professor Venomous struggled to keep his composure. His eye twitched as he forced a smile. "Fink, tell me what you mean by funny noises."

"Uh, ya know. It sounded like moanin'. Like Box-boss making strange sounds," she continued.

A sweatdrop slid down Venomous' forehead. He swallowed dryly as Fink told her story.

Fink was animated in telling her response. Her pink eyes grew big as she rapidly flailed her arms. "And that's not all. I opened your door, but you didn't see or hear. And I saw somethin' really weird."

"Go on," Professor Venomous quietly mumbled. Venomous mentally scolded himself for the door being unlocked and pondered exactly what she saw as his and Boxman's sex life was diverse. Fink didn't seem to notice Venomous' obvious distress.

"You were both naked and you were suckin' on Box-brain's weenie!" loudly exclaimed Fink. Her eyes were as big as saucers and her tongue was out in disgust as her head was hunched into her shoulders. Fink was trembling to the point where she had nearly fallen off of the piano bench.

Professor Venomous blushed and clanged against some of the piano keys by accident. He looked around to see if anyone else in Boxmore had overheard Fink's outburst. "Not so loud, Fink" he hissed through gritted teeth.

Fink modified her volume, "Yeah, sorry. But why'd you do that? That's gross!"

Professor Venomous continued to sweat. He deeply inhaled. Venomous needed to clear to his anxiety-ridden mind. He did this before speaking again to Fink. "Adults sometime do some things that seem strange to children."

"I'll say," Fink said with audible revulsion.

Venomous ignored Fink's quip and proceeded. "What I was doing was highly pleasurable to Boxman and was the source of the sounds you heard. Also, I'm afraid that won't be the last time this will happen."

Fink's face was screwed up with a combination of confusion and repugnance. Her eyes were locked on those of Venomous as she remained momentarily stunned.

Professor Venomous softened his tone. "It was irresponsible of us to leave the door unlocked while we doing that. The next time we engage and other similar activities, we'll make certain to lock the door."

"Other activities?" the minion squeaked. "Do ya make weird noises during those, too?"

Professor Venomous placed his hand on Fink's shoulder, looked Fink in the eye, and silently nodded.

"Oh," was all Fink could muster in return.

"You know I love you, Fink. Do you want a hug?" Professor Venomous asked.

Fink sat still for a moment. "Yeah." Her gut was tied in multiple knots. Fink felt as if Professor Venomous was betraying her by planning to do such repulsive activities in the future.

As Venomous reached around to embrace Fink, he commented, "You know you're growing up. You're going to be an intelligent, insightful, and eager young lady."

"Yeah," Fink said mumbled in return, trying to grasp the gravity of the situation as she looked at the floor. "Wait, what?" she said realizing that Professor Venomous complemented her. "I'm goin' ta be all of those things?" The sense of dread and aversion lifted from her stomach, and her eyes sparkled.

Venomous smiled and slowly nodded. "I've been needing a lab assistant, and I think you're ready. Would you like to help me?"

"Ooh, ooh! Sure! Will I get to blow things up? Dissolve stuff in acid?" Fink exclaimed with her fists clenched and a devious smirk.

Professor Venomous chuckled and rubbed his chin. "Hmm, we'll be doing something much safer.—Anyway, let's return to our lesson at hand."

"Aw, man," murmured Fink as she plinked at some keys in mild annoyance.