The phone rang and Mike grabbed it. "Hi. (pause) Yes? Dad, it's for you."
Tom Baker picked up the phone. "Hi. (pause) What? (pause) Charlie? (pause) He what? (pause) I'll be right there."
He slammed down the phone. "Darn it!"
He got his jacket, and started out the door. "Nora! Watch the kids!"
"Where are you going Dad?" Nora asked, from where she was in the kitchen, making spaghetti for that night's dinner.
"I have to bail Charlie and his friend Jess, you know the one, that quiet pretty one, out of jail. Darn it!"
"What? Why's Charlie in jail?" Nora yelped, but her father was out the door before she could finish.
"Oh yeah," Lorraine said. "Yeah Natya. Ok," she giggled.
There was loud knocking at her door.
"What?" she yelped, falling off her bed. "Oh not you Natya," she turned her head. "Come in!"
Mike stumbled in.
"What do you want Mike?" Lorraine snapped.
Mike looked around. His face distorted in disgust at the pink walls. "I have to interview you for my project."
"What?"
"I'm doing a project about if girls are stupider than boys."
"You mean more stupid," corrected Lorraine. Then what he had said finally hit her. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Let me see that survey," she yelled, grabbing it from him.
"Hey," Mike protested. "Give it back!"
"You rigged the thing!" she yelled. "What is your most embarrassing moment? By the way, 'embarrassing' is spelled with two r's. But who do you think is going to tell you that? When are some instances that the opposite gender has been smarter than you? Which gender do you think is more athletic? Wait, you didn't rig it, but how many people have you interviewed."
"9 dudes," Mike said proudly. "You're the first and ONLY girl Lorraine."
"Eek," Lorraine squealed. "Get out of my room you loser."
"Ha!" Mike giggled. "Just as I suspected. Males are the smarter sex. They actually DID the survey."
"Hey!" Lorraine yelled. "Come back! I'll do the survey! This isn't fair!"
It was too late. Mike had left the room, a smile stretching across his face.
"Jake," Principal Clemens said. He had kept the kids after school for detention. "Ell, Leyna, Noel, Alek. How many times have I told you not to skateboard in the halls?"
"Uh," Alek said, seriously thinking about it. "I think seventeen."
"Mr. Alek," Principal Clemens told him. "That was a rhetorical question."
"Oh," Alek answered. "…What's that?"
The principal rolled his eyes. Sometimes these kids weren't so bright.
"I'm serious," Alek whined. "What is it?"
Leyna leaned forward, threw a look at Alek that plainly said, "Shut up!"
Alek ignored her, and continued to pursue his question. "What is it?"
Ell tried to hit Alek on the arm to get him to shut up, but she missed, and hit Jake instead.
"Oww," Jake muttered. "Ell!"
The principal's eyes narrowed. "In answer to your question Alek, a rhetorical question is one that is to be thought about and not answered."
"Oh," said Alek, scratching his head, making himself look rather stupid. "Ok."
There was silence.
"So," Leyna said, breaking the almost loud quiet. "What's our punishment?"
"I think that whatever I do, will not affect you in the least," the principal went on.
"Yeah," Noel muttered under his breath.
"But you must be punished anyway," the principal said. "I think a suitable punishment would be…"
Like? Review. Please?
FiNnGrl