Notes: Thanks to Mari and Sammy for the squeal-inducing feedback! Special thanks to Mari for brainstorming the idea :-)
Readers and REAL McRollers - Thank you for your amazing support! It is always appreciated.
Hope you enjoy!
Homework Time! (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
"I have homework!" From most kids, those words would be said with a groan, but Angie used the same tone that she'd normally use to announce, "I have cookies!"
"You do?" Catherine asked, smiling at the newly minted kindergartener's enthusiasm as she pulled back from their hug.
"Yes! It's in a folder! One side says, 'To Do,' and one side says, 'Done'!" she explained. "I'll show you!" She moved to pull her backpack off her back so she could get out the folder but Catherine stopped her with a gentle hand and an amused chuckle.
"You can show me at home, big girl." She turned to DJ and opened her arms for a hug. "And how was your day, sweetheart?"
"Great!" DJ replied. "We had art today and Ms. Richter said we're doing collage self-portraits!"
"That sounds really neat," Catherine said.
"Yeah! We get to look through magazines and stuff to cut out pictures to use. It's gonna be awesome. She said they'll be done in time for Open House and we'll hang them in the hallway so you can see them."
Catherine kissed the top of his head. "I can't wait." She motioned them toward the Highlander. "Let's get going."
Once they are all buckled into the backseat, Catherine gets back into the driver's seat and pulls out of the pick-up line.
"I'm going to do my homework at the table like DJ does," Angie said.
"Not at your desk in your room?" Catherine asked with a little smile in the rearview mirror. "DJ sometimes does his homework in his room."
Angie thought for a moment, but shook her head. "At the table," she repeated.
"Okay, I can help you when we get home," Catherine told her.
In the backseat, DJ and Angie exchanged a look.
"Umm …" DJ started.
"I asked DJ if he can help me," Angie said.
"Oh!" Catherine said, then smiled, unsurprised. "Okay. But you have practice this afternoon, DJ, remember?"
"Oh yeah," he said, and looked conflicted. He glanced over at his sister, biting his lip.
Catherine, seeing his expression in a glance in the mirror, smiled. "I'm sure there will be time for you to help Angie after dinner." Both kids sighed in relief and grinned at each other. "As long as you think you'll have time to finish your own homework."
"I think I will," he said.
"What's your homework, DJ?" Angie asked.
"I have a math review packet, a Scholastic News article I have to read and answer questions on, and my reading minutes."
Angie's eyes widened. "Whoa, that's a lot," she said, then smiled. "But you're real good at school, you can do it."
He smiled at her. "Thanks."
"So," Catherine summarized, "we'll head home for a snack, drop DJ off at practice, then Angie and I can go to Food Land, and after dinner it'll be homework time."
"Homework Time!" Angie squealed. "Hurry up at practice, DJ, then we'll have extra minutes for homework!"
DJ grinned back at her. "Okay!"
After dinner, as planned, Angie and DJ set themselves up at the dining room table to do their homework. DJ had a small stack of folders for his different subjects while Angie sat proudly with her single red folder.
"This is the 'To Do' side," she said, opening the folder and showing him where the words were printed in large black letters. She pulled out the worksheet. "When it's all done, I put it on this side." She pointed to the other side of the folder where the word "Done" was printed.
Catherine and Steve were ostensibly cleaning up after dinner, but neither could resist surreptitiously watching Homework Time from the entryway.
"This is my homework," Angie said, placing the worksheet on the table in front of them reverently.
"Okay, let's read the instructions," DJ said, leaning over. He placed his finger under the words as he read for her benefit. " 'Color all the circles green. Color all the triangles blue. Color all the squares …' " He looked at her as he pointed to the last word.
She peered at it and smiled. "Red!"
"Yeah!" he replied, holding up a hand for a high five.
Catherine and Steve exchanged a silent smile at the interaction.
"So you need a red, green, and blue crayon," DJ said.
"Or colored pencil," Angie interjected. "Mr. S said we could use colored pencils if we wanted."
He smiled. "Which do you want to use?"
She tapped her chin thoughtfully, and her eyes drifted over to the #2 pencils by DJ's pile of schoolwork. "Colored pencils," she replied. She pulled the box out of her backpack. "Red, green, blue," she listed as she took out the correct colors.
"Okay, which ones are the circles?" DJ asked.
Angie easily pointed to the three different sized circles on the worksheet.
"Right! Now you color them green."
Angie frowned at the paper. "I think the circles should be red, like pizza. And then the triangles can be green like trees and the squares can be blue like … like a swimming pool!"
DJ smiled. "That's good thinking, but when you have homework like this, you have to follow the directions."
"Ohh," she said seriously, and Catherine and Steve both smiled at how she trusted his words implicitly. "Okay." She picked up the green colored pencil. "I'm going to do my best coloring because it's my homework."
DJ nodded. "Good idea." He watched as she colored, careful not to go outside the lines. She then colored the triangles blue and the squares red, stating that, "Triangles have three sides and squares have four sides."
"You're good at shapes, Angie," DJ said, and Angie beamed at the praise as Catherine and Steve smiled behind them. DJ looked at the bottom half of the worksheet. "The second part says, 'Find an example of a circle, a triangle, and a square in your home. Have a grown-up write them below.' "
Angie looked stricken. " 'A grown-up'?" she repeated. "But I want you to keep helping me, DJ."
"I think it's okay if I help you. I think they just want someone who can write the examples down and I can do that. But we can ask Mommy and Daddy to be sure."
"I think it's totally okay, too, honey," Catherine said, and both kids turned to look at them.
Angie smiled happily and hopped off her chair. "Yay! Come on, DJ! Let's go look!" She took off past her parents into the living room and headed for the stairs.
DJ moved to follow, smiling up at Steve and Catherine. "It's like a shape hunt," he said.
Catherine smiled. "It is." She bent to kiss his head. "Thank you for helping your sister, sweet boy. She's loving every second."
DJ beamed. "I like it, too," he said.
"You know I used to help your Aunt Mary with her homework at that same table," Steve said.
DJ's eyes widened. "Really?" he asked.
"Really."
DJ stood up straighter at the thought of being like his father.
"DJ! Come on!" Angie called from upstairs. "I found a circle!"
"Okay!" he called back. With another smile for his parents, he hurried for the stairs, paper and pencil in hand.
Steve and Catherine watched him go, then Catherine turned to look back in the dining room.
"Same table, too," she observed.
He nodded, sliding an arm around her waist. "Same chairs, even. Mary used to sit where Angie was and I sat there," he said, nodding to the chair DJ had vacated.
Catherine smiled, leaning against him. "I love that thought. Two generations of McGarretts doing homework there."
"Yeah," he said, smiling softly. He gave a little chuckle. "Mary was definitely not as happy about school and homework as Angie."
"No one is as happy about school and homework as Angie," Catherine quipped and he laughed.
"You're probably right about that."
"I'm going to send your sister the picture I took of DJ and Angie. It'll probably spark the same memory for her."
"Ah, she was young," Steve said with a little shrug. "She probably won't remember."
"I bet she will," Catherine replied seriously, looking up at him. "Just like I bet Angie will remember evenings like this with DJ."
He smiled, leaning his cheek against the top of her head. "I hope so."
She tightened her arm around him. "I know so."
"Well, I'll take your word for it," he said with a little grin, looking at her. "You are the smartest person in this family."
She chuckled. "Not according to Angie, apparently."
He laughed, knowing she wasn't serious. "I know you were looking forward to helping Angie with her homework," he said.
"Oh, I'm more than happy to watch tonight," she said honestly. "There'll be plenty of Homework Times in both of our futures."
"You're definitely right about that."
They heard footsteps run back across the landing, slowing to come down the stairs, and turned in that direction.
"We got them all!" Angie said excitedly. She reached the bottom and ran toward them. "My clock is a circle, the hangers are triangles, and the windows are squares!"
"Nice job, baby girl," Catherine said, hugging her.
"Angie found lots more but the instructions just say 'an example' and that means one," DJ said.
"That sounds right to me, then," Steve said, squeezing his shoulder.
"Now I can put my homework on the Done side of my folder!" Angie said, hurrying over to the table to do just that. She carefully slid the paper in so it wouldn't get bent.
"Oh wait!" DJ said, joining her. "We forgot the most important part."
Angie gasped. "What?"
"You have to write your name on the top or your teacher won't know it's yours."
"Oh!" Angie exclaimed. "I can write my name very very good."
"I know you can," her brother said. "Here, you can use one of my pencils."
Angie's eyes widened and she smiled broadly as he handed her one of his freshly sharpened #2s. She took her time and wrote the letters of her name at the top where her brother indicated.
"Now it's done," he said and Angie closed her folder with a proud smile.
"Good job, honey," Catherine said, kissing the top of Angie's head. "You're a very lucky girl to have such a great big brother to help with your homework, huh?"
Angie beamed, nodding, and leaned over to hug him. "Thank you for helping me, DJ! You always help me."
He smiled back. "And I always will." He glanced up at Steve. " 'Cause that's what big brothers do."
Hope you enjoyed!
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