Summary: A fun collection of short stories from the childhood of Kurt and Markie Wylde. Mostly fluff, but a lot of fun to write. Please enjoy and feel free to review, as always!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Hot Wheels characters or ideas.

Chapter 3: Help with Homework

Markie looked up from doing his homework at the kitchen table as Kurt and someone he didn't recognize entered through the front door. They dropped their backpacks by the door and made their way into the kitchen.

"Hey, Kurt," Markie called, hoping the attention would grant him an introduction to the newcomer.

"Hey," Kurt replied, and sure enough, an introduction followed as he turned to his companion. "Dan, this is my kid brother, Markie. Markie, this is my friend, Dan Dresden."

"Hi, Dan," Markie said with a big smile. "Nice to meet ya."

Dan grinned in return. "Nice to meet you too, Markie. And how exactly did you get that nickname, if you don't mind my asking? Cause I've met a lot of kids named Mark, but I've never heard of any of them being called 'Markie'."

"It's all his fault!" Markie exclaimed immediately, pointing an accusing finger at Kurt.

"Really?" Dan asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I don't think he's ever called me 'Mark' once in his entire life, even though that is my real name."

Kurt merely shrugged. "No, I think I did once, right when I first saw you as a baby. But you were too little, and the name 'Mark' just didn't seem to fit. So, I started calling you 'Markie,' and it stuck, even after you outgrew it."

"Yeah, and now you're gonna call me 'Markie' for the rest of my life!" Markie groaned.

"Probably," Kurt admitted.

Dan laughed. "Well, at least you can tell your friends to call you 'Mark'."

"I've tried," Markie insisted, "but as soon as they hear Kurt call me 'Markie,' they start doing it, too, and I can't get 'em to stop."

"Well, then, I guess you're stuck," Dan told him, grinning.

"Dan, are you a Junior like Kurt?" Markie asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yep. And what grade are you in?"

"Sixth."

"Hmm, so that means you're about, what, eleven or twelve?"

"I'm twelve," Markie replied proudly, "but I'm already sick of school. I wish it was over for good!"

"Apparently my Senioritis is contagious," Kurt spoke up, grinning as he reached over to mess up his brother's hair, but Markie angrily batted his hand away. "He already thinks sixth grade is such a burden."

"Well, I don't mind school too much," Markie further explained. "It's just that I can't stand all the homework."

Kurt snorted. "It'll only get worse, trust me."

"But it's already so hard!" Markie argued loudly. "Like this math stuff. I have no idea what I'm doing." He dropped his pencil on the large math book in frustration.

"What exactly are you working on?" Dan asked, pulling a chair up close to where Markie sat.

"I'm not even really sure, except that it's got something to do with fractions." Markie's eyes brightened at the prospect of assistance, and he eagerly turned the book so Dan could see it better.

"You sure you want to do this, Dresden?" Kurt's voice came from behind them. "It could take a while; he tends to be kinda slow with stuff like this."

"I am not!" Markie replied hotly.

"I'm just kidding," Kurt assured him with a playful punch on the shoulder.

"Okay," Markie sighed, then turned back to Dan. "Kurt's right, though. I don't wanna waste your guys' time."

"It's alright," Dan told him. "We were gonna do some work on your brother's car, but it can wait. We've got all night."

"Thanks a lot," Markie said, relieved. "You sure it's okay?" he asked again, looking at Kurt.

Kurt nodded and sat down on the other side of his brother. "Sure, no problem. Now, let's see what you've got here."

Luckily for the older boys, Markie caught onto the math fairly quickly, and it wasn't long before they could get to work on Kurt's car, changing the oil and replacing the old headlights with neons. Markie rushed through his remaining homework problems and joined them in just a short while.

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Later that evening, after Dan had gone home, Kurt was reading a magazine in the living room when Markie came up to him and abruptly asked, "Kurt, what do you know about girls?"

Kurt slowly lowered his magazine and stared at Markie in wonder. "Why?"

Markie shrugged. "I'm just curious."

"Well, you're asking the wrong person. I've never really had the time or interest for them." He raised the magazine again. "Besides, you're only twelve, and an immature twelve-year-old at that."

"So what?" Markie cried. "Didn't you have any problems like this when you were twelve? Didn't you want to be around some kind of girl?"

Kurt deliberately set down the magazine and pointedly replied, "The only girl I want is one that has a 627 horsepower engine, can do 0-60 in 3.2 seconds, and reaches over 230 miles per hour."

"You're talking about a car!" Markie exclaimed, incredulous.

"A McLaren F1, little bro," Kurt said with a broad grin. "It doesn't get much better than that."

Markie just shook his head. "I still can't believe you."

Kurt shrugged carelessly. "Why not? I'd take a car over a girl any day."

"You're sick!" Markie snapped, face twisted in disgust. He then got up to leave the room, but before he left, he heard Kurt calling after him.

"Talk to Dad about your problem."

"Of course," Markie muttered in frustration, "why didn't I think of that before? Then I wouldn't have had to waste my time with Kurt!" With that, he stomped out of the room.

Meanwhile, Kurt smiled slyly to himself and resumed his reading. "Kids," he sighed.