CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
Lizzie continued her saga over dinner. "Then Mr. Dubin called on Keeley and she didn't know the answer and she said twelve. The whole class laughed." Lizzie cracked up at this.
Cuddy cleared her throat.
"Anyway, Micah totally knew the answer and Keeley was so mad when she got it right." Lizzie actually took a breath and a bite of her food before going on. "Jeremy said I should try out for the band. He's in the band…"
"Of course he is," House grumble behind a forkful of lasagna.
Lizzie looked at him for a moment, then continued. "He's even in his own band, not like a marching band, but a cool band, with his friends. And he asked if I wanted to be in it too. I told him no, I don't sing and I only play piano and they have a keyboardist already and Erik doesn't want to give it up so I said I would just be their manager or something, but he said his dad was their manager, but that that I could be a groupie. I didn't like that much so I punched him in the arm…"
"Lizzie!" Cuddy protested. She was starting to worry about Lizzie's new found violent side.
"It wasn't a hard punch Mom, not like the one I gave Nancy Barnes."
House grinned proudly and Cuddy just went back to eating.
"So, Micah said she would teach me to play guitar if I wanted, and I told her my Daddy plays guitar. Will you teach me to play Daddy?" She smiled at him, but didn't give him enough time to answer. "Then I can join the band, because they could always use a second guitar, but a second keyboard just sounds funny, don't you think?" She paused to take another bit of food. "Well, Jeremy said it could work, but I don't think so. Erik didn't look too thrilled, and Persia was just happy I wasn't going to be singing, 'cause that's her spot and I don't…"
Cuddy cut her off. "Did you do any schoolwork in school today?"
"Oh." Lizzie felt her little bubble burst. "That. Well, yeah, but nothing really cool. We did Venn Diagrams, BORING! Oh, and Mr. Dubin is afraid of me I think."
"Afraid of you?" Cuddy mused.
"He wouldn't call on me after the first time, and I knew all the answers, but he just picked everybody else but me."
"That's not right." Cuddy mused a bit more seriously.
"It's okay. I don't really mind, I just think it's funny."
"Well I do mind. He's not going to side track you."
"No, Mommy, it's okay, really."
"It is not. I'm going to set up a meeting with this Mr. Dubin. No daughter of mine…"
Lizzie was going to protest one last time but House gave her a look that said she'd be wasting her breath.
