Duncanville: A Duncanville Halloween

Jack, dressed as a Jack in the Box, opened the door to their house decorated in Halloween decorations. He was with his five-year-old adopted daughter, Jing, who was dressed as Mulan.

"One Mulan has just entered the household!" He announced. Annie walked in. Jing ran up to her.

"MOMMY!" The child cried. Annie smiled and picked her up.

"And how is my sweet warrior today?" She asked.

"I'm doing great, Mommy!"

"That's wonderful news. Are you ready to go out trick-or-treating?"

"I was born ready five years ago, Mommy!"

"Are you sure you want to go trick-or-treating, sweetheart?" Jack asked Jing as Annie placed her on the floor. "You won't be scared?" Jing looked at him.

"That was the 3 and 4 year-old me, Daddy. I'm five. I'm a big girl now. I can handle it. Don't you know who I'm dressed as? Mulan, okay! Mulan! If she can save all of China, she can do anything! So just like her, I'll be loyal, brave and true!"

"Well, okay, if you say so. But if you want to stay home and watch your mother hand out candy and go next year….or next year…or whenever you think that you are ready." Jing glared at her father.

"I'm ready now! Didn't you hear me?!"

"Yes, yes, I hear you, it's just that…" He looked at his youngest daughter's glaring eyes.

"I want my free candy, Daddy, but I just don't want leftovers, I want to earn them on my own!" Jack sighed.

"Very well." He looked at his wife. "Annie?" Annie smiled and nodded.

"I think our little warrior is ready." She said. Jing cheered.

"Yay!" She hugged her mom's pant legs, then her dad's. "Thank you, Daddy. Thank you, Mommy. I'm going to play with my toys now." She ran off. Annie then saw her two eldest children.

"Oh hey, Kimberly. Hey, Duncan. Are you done with your homework?"

"No." Duncan said. "It's all so hard. Whoever got the idea to give children homework on Halloween should be arrested."

"I agree." Kimberly agreed with her older brother. She was dressed as a witch. "Although no homework every day would be better."

"Sorry, kids." Jack said. "Maybe it's because the teachers think that you two are getting too old for trick-or-treating that they give you loads of homework, especially Duncan."

"I'm still young enough to trick-or-treat, Dad." Kimberly said to her dad..

"And age is just a number." Duncan put in. "Besides there are other things that interest us older kids, like going to super, awesome parties! Don't the teachers know that? They were young like us, weren't they?"

"Sorry, kids." Annie said to them. "Go finish your homework if you two want to do anything Halloween related." The kids sighed and went off to finish their work.

"Kids!" Jack cried out an hour later. "It's Halloween time!"

"Duncan, Kimberly!" Annie shouted out as well. "Are you two done with your home….AHHHHH!" Annie tripped over a black toy horse.

"MOMMY!" Jing screamed as Annie fell down hitting her head on the banister.

"Annie?" Jack asked. "Are you okay?" He saw the horrible sight of his wife lying on the floor, unmoving. He gasped, running over to her side. "Annie!"

"What happened?" Duncan asked, coming into the room. Kimberly was with him. She gasped as she saw her unconscious mother.

"Oh no, Mom!" She cried.

"I'm sorry, Mommy!" Jing apologized. "I was just playing with Mulan's horse. I don't mean to make you trip. Mommy? Mommy, please, wake up!" She began to cry, "It's all my fault!" Jack looked at his young upset daughter.

"Don't cry, Jing." He said. "It was just an accident."

"Yeah, but if I didn't leave Mulan's horse in the middle of the floor, Mommy wouldn't have tripped over it."

"She's right, Dad." Kimberly said to him. "It's all Jing's fault. She may be the first five- year- old murderer." Jing cried harder. Jack glared at Kimberly.

"Kimberly!" He scolded. "Not helping!"

"Mom's going to be alright, right?" Duncan asked.

"I think so." Jack said. "I just have to get her to a hospital. She'll be back to her old self in no time."

"You're taking her to a hospital right now?" Kimbery questioned.

"I have to." Jack told her. "She's not waking up."

"Will the hospital even be open?" Duncan asked. Kimbery looked at him.

"Of course it'll be open." She said to him. "Don't be stupid. It's always open for people like Mom to go to."

"Even Thanksgiving and Christmas?" But nobody answered him.

"But, Daddy, what about Halloween?" Jing asked him. Jack looked at her.

"Oh, yeah, Halloween." He thought about this, then came up with an idea and looked at the older kids. "One of you guys will have to hand out candy to the kids and one of you will have to take Jing." Both Duncan and Kimbery were surprised.

"WHAT?!" They both questioned at the same time.

"But, Dad," Duncan began his complaint. "I have a Halloween party to go to."

"This is news to me." Jack said, surprised. "You never told me that."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I never told Mom either."

"That doesn't."

"And I was going to go trick-or-treating with my friends." Kimberly put in. "I'm getting a little old to do this. This may be my last year."

"Sorry." Jack told his children. "With your mother now hurt, things changed. I'm afraid neither of you are doing your plans." The older kids protested again.

"No fair!" Kimberly protested. "This is Jing's fault. She should be punished by not going and staying home. She's five. She has lots of time left for trick-or-treating. You need to think of the kid that doesn't have a lot of time left. Can't we leave the candy basket outside for the kids to grab on their own?"

"Yeah." Duncan added. "And you need to think of your other kid wanting to go to a party with his friends." Jing pulled on her dad's pant leg. Her dad looked at her.

"Daddy," She began. "I want to go trick-or-treating. Can I go? Pretty please?" Jack smiled down at his daughter.

"Of course you can, sweetheart." He answered. Jing cheered as Jack looked at his other kids. "Please don't make this any harder on me, kids. I know this puts a damper on your plans and I'm sorry. It can't be helped. And you know your mother likes seeing the kids in their costumes, so you tell her when she gets home." Duncan and Kimbery began to protest again. Jack narrowed his eyes at them as he picked up Annie and put her over his shoulders.

"Kids, you have to help out while your mom is in the hospital. Kimbery, you are staying here to hand out candy. Duncan, you are going to go out with Jing and I don't want to here any more complaints. And don't you guys blame Jing for this." Annie groaned. "I'm taking you to the hospital now, Annie. Hang on! Oh, this will be weird doing this in my costume, but anything for my wife." He then left with Annie.

"Bye, Daddy!" Jing bid farewell to them as they left. "Bye, Mommy! Hope you get better and get out of the hospital soon!" Jack opened the door and it closed behind them. Both Duncan and Kimbery sighed. Jing looked at her older brother.

"Ready to go, Duncan?" She asked. "The sooner we go, the more candy I can collect."

"Well, my Halloween is officially ruined." Kimbery said. "I'm going to go call my friends and tell them the tragic news that has befallen me, that I can't go trick-or-treating with them. Oh, and Mom being in the hospital is tragic too."

"And I guess I better call my friends." Duncan put in as well. "Because not going to that awesome party is tragic too." He looked at his sister. "…so you're not the only one with problems." Kimberly was now mad.

"Watch it!" Duncan was confused again.

"Watch what?" He asked. Again, nobody answered.

"Well, hurry up and call them!" Jing ordered her brother. "There're candies with my name on it." Duncan was confused.

"Really? They have your name on them? But how can that be? We don't know where we're going and the adults handing out candy won't know us." Jing just glared at her brother, "Uh, I'm just going to call my friends…unless you want to go to the party with me." Jing still glared at him and folded her arms across her small chest. "Alright, alright, I get it. I'm just going to call them now." Jing smiled as her brother walked off. Kimbery went by the candy basket.

Duncan was on the phone with Yangzi, telling him that he couldn't be at the Halloween party.

"Aw, that's a bummer, man." Yangzi complimented on the other line. "You are really going to miss out."

"Yeah, I know." Duncan responded. "I really want to be there, but once again, my family has ruined everything."

"Well, cheer up, Duncan. You'll be really helping out your family. Your mom's health is most important here."

"Yeah, you're right I guess. Still, why did she have to go and injure herself tonight of all nights?"

"I can't answer that, Duncan. The way I see it, things happen because they happen. You're just going to have to live with it." Duncan sighed.

"I guess."

"I have to get ready for the party tonight. Good luck with your sisters tonight and hope your mom has a quick recovery."

"Yeah, thanks."

"Mia is going to miss you."

"Yeah, I kno…wait, Mia?"

"I'll tell her that you won't make it. She'll understand. Bye!"

"Wait, Yangzi, don't hang up. I…" But it was too late. The end of the line went dead. "Hello? Yangzi? Are you still there and just being quiet for some reason? Yangzi!" When his friend didn't answer, Duncan hung up. The teen looked at the invitation that was on his bed.

"I'm sorry, Mia." He said to himself with a sigh. "You'll just to wait for me for the next party." A thought occurred to him. Will there be another one? He was sure there will, but what if not? What if this was the last party of his high school existence and there won't be another one? He was thinking this when Jing came bursting in.

"Big Brother!" She called. "Time for candy!"

"Ugh!" Duncan said. "Didn't you read the 'do not disturb' sign on my door?"

"Sorry, I'm just too excited! Plus, I'm five so I can't read. It seems like Mommy, Daddy and Kimbery can't read either, for they all burst into your room all of the time too." Duncan realized that she was right. "Now, come on. The candy won't be collected and eaten by themselves." Duncan sighed once again.

"Okay, coming!" He followed the excited five-year-old out of the room and they went downstairs.

Once downstairs, they were both shocked as they saw Kimberly heading towards the door, the basket filled with candy in her hands.

"What are you doing?" Her brother wanted to know. "And where are you taking the candy basket?"

"Don't tell Mom and Dad this." Kimberly began. "But I'm going to go trick-or-treating with my friends."

"But Dad told you not to." Jing then gasped as she realized something.

"But you're going to do it anyways, aren't you?" She asked. "You are going to get in soooo much trouble!"

"And you're not going to tell, right, Jing?"

"We both know that I'm telling, but I might keep it a secret from them if you do something for me."

"Oh and what's that?" Jing thought about this.

"You have to take me anywhere I want in the future." Jing stated. "Even if it's 'too childish'." Kimberly groaned.

"I don't know what it is, but I know I already hate it. Can't it be nothing at all and you just keep me sneaking out of the house a secret?"

"Nope!" Kimbery groaned again.

"Fine; deal!" Jiing cheered.

"Yay; I love torturing my siblings emotionally!" Kimbery looked back at Duncan.

"You better not tell Mom and Dad either, Duncan.

"Oh, I won't, but you're going to have to do something for me too. You're doing something for Jing. It's only fair if you do something for me too."

"What?"

"You have to do all of my homework and chores for the rest of the year."

"That's two things, and I can't do your homework for you. You're in high school and I'm in middle school. Your homework is more complex then mine."

"Come on, you know I'll fail anyways. Plus, I don't know what complex means. You do. You'll do better than me."

"You got that right at least." Kimbery then smiled mischievously. Duncan was confused.

"What are you smiling like that for?"

"Oh, nothing. But it's just that doing your homework for the whole year might be asking too much. Mom and Dad might find out. How about for the rest of the month?"

"Deal! And chores too for the rest of the month too."

"You got it!" Clueless as always. Kimberly thought to herself. Duncan doesn't know that the end of the month is tonight. I got around this really easy.

Silly, brother! Jing also thought to herself. Even I know how months work!

"See you then!" Kimbery said. "Remember, you promised! Don't tell Mom and Dad."

"I never said that I promised, but whatever!" The two kids watched as the middle child left.

It's not fair! Duncan thought to himself. Why do I have to give up on what I want to do and not Kimberly? He sighed and looked at his younger sister.

"Okay Jing." He said to her. "Let's get you a bucketload of candy."

"Yay!" The five-year-old cheered, grinning from ear to ear. "This is going to be a great brother-sister bonding experience!" She then was confused. "Where is your costume?"

"I'm wearing mine. I'm going as the awesomeness person I know, me."

"Sure, if you want to take the fun out of Halloween, but whatever, I'm getting the candy."

"That's right. It's about you tonight, not me, now, let's get going," And with that, an excited Jing ran out of the door, followed by her older brother.

They passed by Yangzi's house when Duncan stopped. Loud music was coming from inside. The teenager looked at it sadly. Sure looks like a great party. Jing saw that her brother wasn't coming and looked at him.

"What's wrong, Duncan?" She asked. "Are you coming?" She then noticed that they were by Yangzi's house. "Hey, isn't this one of your friend's house?"

"Yeah." Duncan answered, somberly. This got the five-year-old thinking.

"Wonder if he has any candy."

"If he does, he's probably not giving them away. You see, he's having a party and…" Duncan then had a thought. Hey, if Kimbery can disobey Mom and Dad and have fun with her friends. Then why can't I? Plus, I'm sure Yangzi can give Jing candy if I ask him to. This way Jing will have done her trick-or-treating and I would have done my party and all of us will be happy. It's a win-win situation! Sweet, I sure am smart when I feel like it. He then smiled at his sister. "You're probably right, Jing, I bet Yangzi has loads of candy."

"But didn't you say that he was having a party and weren't you bummed out about not going to one?" She then realized something. "Wait, you're not using me in order to get into this party, are you?"

"What?! No, don't be ridiculous! Why would I do such an irresponsible thing like that?" Jing shrugged,

"Because you are a teenaged boy and you are at that rebellious stage as Daddy says, whatever that is!"

"Yeah, I don't know what Dad means either."

"But, whatever! As long as I get my candy, I'll be happy!"

"Good."

"Then, let's go; more candy awaits!" And with that, Jing ran towards Yangzi's house. Duncan, once again followed behind.

Once at the door, Duncan picked up his sister, so she could ring the doorbell. They waited, but no one came to the door. Duncan had to place Jing on the ground for she was getting heavy.

"I guess the music's too loud for anyone to come to the door." Jing observed out loud.

"What?" Duncan asked.

"I SAID THE MUSIC'S TOO LOUD FOR ANYONE TO COME TO THE DOOR!"

"OH, YEAH! GUESS YOU'RE RIGHT! I GUESS THAT MAKES SENSE SINCE NO ONE'S COMING TO THE DOOR WHEN THE PARTY'S GOING ON!"

"YOU THINK WE SHOULD LEAVE?"

"I THOUGHT YOU WANTED CANDY!"

"I CAN GET CANDY SOMEWHERE ELSE THEN!"

"LET'S WAIT ONE MORE MINUTE!" This time, Jing sighed.

"OH, ALRIGHT! IT'S NOT LIKE THE CANDY ISN'T GOING ANYWHERE AND YOU CAN ONLY trick-or-treat ONCE A YEAR!" One minute went by. "Alright, let's leave!"

"Yay; finally! That was the longest minute of my life, then again, I don't know when a minute is really up." They were about to leave when Yangzi answered the door. He was surprised to see Duncan. He was also dressed as a rock star.

"Duncan?" Yangzi asked. "What are you doing here? I thought you couldn't come because you had to take Jing trick-or-treating."

"He is." Jing said to him. She raised up her candy basket. "Trick-or-treat!" Yangzi hesitated.

"I…uhhh…" Jing frowned.

"Don't tell me you don't have any candy."

"No, we do. It's just that I wasn't expecting any trick-or-treaters tonight."

"But it's Halloween. Halloween is known for trick-or-treaters. How did you go through life without knowing that?"

"No, I did. It's just that I'm having a party and…" Jing looked like she might cry.

"So, there's no candy?"

"No, no, there's candy. I just got to get you one." Jing beamed.

"Can we come in?" Duncan asked.

"Uhh, sure, I guess." Yangzi let Duncan and his little sister into the house. Once inside, Duncan looked all around. There were teenagers from left to right, They were all dancing to the music and underage drinking. Some were even smoking and some were vaping.

"Hey!" Jing chimed in, pointing to someone having wine. "Mommy and Daddy have those fancy drinks. They said that I am too young to have them. You guys can?"

"Uh…" Yangzi hesitated. He didn't know what to tell her. He didn't want to lie to a kid.

"Sure they are." Duncan spoke, coming to his friend's rescue. "And so is Yangzi and me."

"Can I?" Duncan was about to say something when Yangzi said something instead.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Aw, but you guys can do it. It's not fair."

"So, I'm going to get that candy now, or do you want to come with me and see what you want." Jing was excited about this. Jing nodded and cheered.

"Yay! It's not everyday that I'm in one of Duncan's friend's houses before, in fact, never." And so the little girl went after Yangzi. Duncan then saw Mia. He grinned and went over to her.

"Hey, Mia." He greeted her. The genderfluid teen turned to him and was surprised. She was dressed as a Monarch Butterfly.

"Duncan?" She asked. "What are you doing here? Yangzi said that you couldn't come and that you were…"

"Yeah, but we stopped here. Jing is with Yangzi picking out the candy that she wants."

"Cool. Say, do your parents know that you are here?"

"Who cares if his parents are here or not?" Wolf, dressed as a werewolf, who saw and approached them, said."The main thing is that he's here, right? So, there you go."

"They know I'm with my sister."

"Cool. Well, glad you could make it to this party."

"I'm glad I made it too."

"Duncan, my man!" A teen said, dressed as a soda, going over to them with a wine glass filled with wine. "You made it! Want to drink? The champagne is over there." He pointed to where the wine and beer bottles were on a nearby table.

"Yeah!" He said proudly. "I think I will." He looked at Mia as the teenager left. "You want to get some with me?"

"No." She answered. "I really shouldn't or my parents will freak out. I think you shouldn't either."

"Okay, I'll stay here then."

"But you can do what you want."

"Cool. I'm getting a bottle then." Duncan walked to the alcohol table then. Mia sighed to herself.

"I'll probably regret that."

"Mulan is my favorite Disney princess and movie." A teenager, who was dressed as a soccer player, said about Jing's costume. "The animated one. The remake is trash." Jing was confused.

"There was an animated one?" She wanted to know. The teenager nodded.

"Way back in 1998. There was a wise- cracking dragon that stole the whole movie. That movie was more 'fun' compared to the live action one. You should see it. My older sister got me into the animated one."

"Wow; 1998! That's really ancient."

"Not as old as you may think. My sister, who is four years older than me, was born in that year."

"Well, you are both old then, but that's okay! Nothing wrong with being old, right? You can't help it, just like I can't help being young." The teenager sighed, trying not to argue with a five-year-old.

"Right." Just then, there were sirens from outside. Some teenagers groaned and cursed.

"What's that sound?" Jing wanted to know in a panic. "Is that the police? Are we going to get arrested? I don't want to be arrested. I'm too young and cute!" She ran over to her older brother and clinged onto him. He looked down at her. She had tears in her eyes, and looked like she might cry at any second. "Make them stop, Duncan! Please, tell them nothing is wrong. I didn't do anything. I'm still in Preschool. Please, Duncan, you have to do something!" Duncan smiled.

"Don't cry, Jing. You are right. We did nothing wrong."

"Then why are the police coming?"

"Yeah, Yangzi, why are the police coming?" Duncan asked him, looking his way, "Having a party with your parents out of the house and us having beer before 21 isn't a crime, is it?" Before Yangzi could answer, another teenager, dressed as a CIA agent, spoke up.

"Maybe it's because they're arresting your little sister for being here instead of her country back home." Everyone gasped, and looked at him. A teenager, dressed as Elvis Presley, turned off the music and watched with the others.

"Devon; I can't believe you would say such an awful thing!" Yangzi said to him. "She's just a little girl. She can't help where she was born just like millions of others. I'm going to answer the door now because this talk is not my business" He went off.

"Not cool, Dev!" Bex, dressed as Ash Ketchem, pointed out. "Not cool at all."

"What's happening?" Jing questioned, more confused than ever now.

"Yangzi's right." Mia chimed in. "Just because she was born somewhere else, does not give you an excuse to viciously attack her with your hateful words. Honestly, this hatred against a certain group of people needs to stop. It's just plain wrong!"

"You can't stop hatred from happening." Devon pointed out to Mia. "There's just too much of it. Hatred's been around since the dawn of time and it's not going away anytime soon. It never is. You just have to accept it whether you like it or not."

"Duncan, I don't know what's going on and I don't like it." Jing said to him.

"There, there." Duncan reassured her. "I don't know what's happening either. Devon is just being a really mean jerk. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"What was that?!" Devon said, now mad at Duncan. "I do too know what I'm talking about! Open your eyes and ears. It's all over the news."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I do know that I don't like that you are talking about my sister like that."

"It's the truth. Your parents may have adopted her, but in my opinion and from what I've heard, they adopted the wrong child." Duncan had enough. Without thinking, he punched him in the face.

"Don't you DARE say that about my sister!" Duncan yelled at him. "You don't know anything! You don't know where she was born, frankly, I don't either. But, I love my sister with all of my heart no matter where she came from and what she looks like. Honestly, why does that even matter? The fact that you love someone, isn't that truly enough?" Jing couldn't believe what she just heard. Devon just looked at Duncan as the police, who Yangzi just opened the door for, came and aided him to his feet. One of the officers looked at everyone in the room. They quickly put away their alcoholic drinks and cigarettes or vape pens.

"Party's over, everyone!" He ordered them. "Go home!" There were curses and swear words again.

"Duncan, did you really mean what you said back there?" Jing asked as they waited with Bex, Wolf, Yangzi and Mia on the front stoop outside, waiting to be picked up by their dad. Duncan looked at her.

"Of course." He just told her. "Why wouldn't I? You're my little sister. I'm the oldest. I got to look out for you…because that's what Mom and Dad says."

"Awe, Duncan, you're the bestest big brother in the whole wide world!" Duncan smiled.

"I know I am. I'm pretty great, right?" Jing beamed and the two hugged.

"Yeah, you are." Mia, Bex and Yangzi smiled at this sight.

"Whatever." Wolf just said.

"Say, who called the police?" Bex wanted to know. "And why?"

"That would be me." Bradly, dressed as a dinosaur, stated, riding up on his tricycle. The teens and Jing looked at the preschooler. "I called them because I felt like you guys shouldn't have been doing what you were doing at that party. You're welcome." Before they could respond, he was off.

"Wow!" Bex observed, shocked. "That kid does not know how to have fun and let loose."

"That's Bradley for you." Jing put in.

Jack then drove up in his car. He did not look happy.

"Come on you two!" He shouted. "Get in the car!"

"Coming, Daddy!" An excited Jing said as she ran to the car.

"Well, looks like I have to go." Duncan stated as he stood up. He and his friends bid farewell and Duncan walked to the car.

"Are you going to open the car door for us, Dad?" Duncan asked.

"You can open it yourself, Duncan." Jack answered. Duncan sighed and tried to open the door, but couldn't.

"It's locked, Dad." Jack was about to say something when he realized that his son was right. He was going to unlock it, but he guessed he was so mad that he forgot.

"Oops, sorry!" He apologized and unlocked the door. "There, you two can come in now." Duncan opened the door and he and Jing stepped inside. Duncan shut the door behind him. The kids buckled themselves in and Jack drove off.

"How's Mommy, Daddy?" Jing wanted to know.

"She's good, honey." Jack told her. "She's going to come home tomorrow."

"Yay!" Jing cheered. "I'm glad."

"I'm glad too, honey." He then talked to his son. "Duncan, your Mom and I are both mad at you. Your mom went to the hospital and while there, we get a call from the police? I was planning on staying longer, but I had to go and pick you two up. How could you, Duncan? You were supposed to take Jing trick-or-treating, not go to this party that we forbade you in the first place."

"I did take out Jing trick-or-treating." Duncan said to him. "You should be mad at Kimberly. She disobeyed you and Mom too. She went trick-or-treating with her friends instead of handing out candy." Jack was surprised.

"She did what?!"

"She was talking about it before we left, Daddy." Jing told him. "We were supposed to keep it a secret from you, but apparently we didn't because, now you know. Am I in trouble, Daddy?"

"No." Jack assured her. "You were a good little warrior." Jing smiled and cheered.

"Yay; I'm not in trouble!" Duncan groaned.

"This is so not fair!"

At home, Jack and his children went inside of the house. Jack was about to yell at his middle child, but was surprised that she was home. So were Jing and Duncan. She noticed them.

"Oh hey, Duncan, Jing and Dad!" She greeted them. "How's Mom?"

"She's good." Jack answered. "I'm just surprised to see you here is all."

"Why? You and Mom ordered me to stay here and hand out candy to the kids instead of going out with my friends and so that is what I did."

"But you told us that you were going to disobey Mommy and Daddy." Jing said. "You wer going to go anyway, hoping they will never find out."

"What?" Kimbery faked a laugh. "I would never! Kids, they say the darnest things, huh, Dad?"

"Is this true, honey?" Jack asked his daughter. Kimberly sighed.

"Yes, I was going to go out with my friends, but in the end, I decided not to. You had to take Mom to the hospital. I thought that you had enough on your plate and I didn't want you to feel more stressed when somehow you found out that your daughter disobeyed you and Mom."

"Well, I appreciate that. And because of that, you are not in trouble. Wish I could say the same about your brother."

"What?! But I thought…" She sighed, "Yeah, I'm not surprised." Jack looked at Duncan.

"Duncan, your mother and I will discuss your punishment tomorrow after she settles in after coming home from the hospital. In the meantime, you can go to your room."

"What would I do there?" Duncan asked. "I'm not the least bit tired."

"Duncan!" Jack snapped at him, pointing to his room. "NOW!" Duncan groaned as he walked up to his room.

As soon as Duncan came home from school the next day, he saw his mom in clutches, dad and Jing. He smiled.

"Hi, Mom. Glad that you are home from the hospital."

"Duncan," His mom began. "For disobeying Dad and I, you are grounded for two weeks. No TV, no friends, no electronics. Just home and school." Duncan sighed. He was already disappointed that he realized today was the start of a new month and this just made his day worse.

"Fine!" His mom then smiled. "Why are you so happy? It brings you joy that your kid got in trouble? Gee, thanks, Mom."

"No, Duncan." Annie told him. "Jing told me how you stood up for her last night."

"Oh." Duncan said.

"Son, that took guts." Jack stated. "And we are so proud of you for that. However, you could have done it better than just violently punching him. That was not okay. You are still punished, now, go, do your homework."

"Thanks, again!" Jing said. Duncan smiled, than remembered his punishment.

"Fine, whatever." Duncan said and did just that. Jack noticed his wife frowning after Jing retreated to the other room.

"Annie, what's wrong?" Annie sighed and looked at him.

"I'm glad that Duncan stood up for Jing like that." She stated. "But I wish he didn't have to. I wish all of this hate would just go away."

"I know, Annie." Jack said. "I do too, but unfortunately, we can't. We have to take it one step at a time. Our kids might get in trouble sometimes, especially Duncan, but at least he knows that all of this hate is not okay, And if he knows that, he's not all bad, is he?" Annie smiled.

"I guess not, not at all. Wish the rest of the world was like that."

"Again, I wish that too, But luckily, with all of the hate in the world, there's much more love in the world, much, much more."