Arch

"-And so if you hold your hands like this," Sam said, explained to her thirteen-year old daughter, Emma. "You'll get double the force behind your punch."

"Really?" Emma grinned excitedly.

"Yeah, I can punch through two blocks of wood with this technique," Sam nodded.

"Can I try?" Emma asked excitedly.

"Um…maybe once you practice a little more," Sam said. "Now, you're gonna want to make sure if you're punching anything, you use this flat part of your fist. It's more effective and it keeps you hand from getting hurt and-"

"Hey," Freddie said, walking into the room.

"-And that's how photosynthesis works!" Sam said quickly, putting her fists down.

"Photosynthesis?" Freddie repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Really? Do you even know what photosynthesis is?"

"Something to do with grass," Sam said lamely.

"Actually, that's closer than I would've thought," Freddie chuckled. "But seriously, what were you two-Wait a minute!"

He spotted a pair of Sam's Numchucks sitting on the coffee table. "Were you showing her more of your fighting stuff?"

"Um…" Sam said slowly. "Well-"

"I told you a million times, I don't want my kids getting into fights!" Freddie said.

"Relax, Emma knows she's not supposed use this stuff for trouble," Sam said, rolling her eyes. "It's just something we like to do together."

"Yeah, I love having mom teach me to fight," Emma nodded. "She showed me all these cool moves they use in actual MMA fights!"

"Okay…you're really not helping us here," Sam said.

"Well, if you guys can take a break from your violence, lunch is ready," Freddie said, shaking his head.

"Sweet," Sam said. "Let's eat, Em. Oh, and baby? It's not violence; it's an art."

"Yeah, alright," Freddie scoffed.

The three headed into the kitchen where the rest of the Benson family was already gathered around the table.

"What are we having?" Emma asked as she sat down.

"Ham sandwiches," Freddie said. "And for Ashton, I made her favorite veggie wraps."
"Awesome, thanks daddy," Ashton said.

"God, are you still on this vegetarian kick?" Emma scoffed.

"Yes," Ashton snapped. "And it's not a kick. I'm gonna be a vegetarian forever."

"Mom looks like she's gonna pop a blood vessel," Jason grinned as he helped himself to a sandwich.

"No, no," Sam said quickly. "I-I told you all, I am totally fine with my daughter being a vegetarian. It's…wonderful."

"How come your eye's twitching, mom?" Tyler asked.

"Okay!" Freddie said loudly. "So, everybody, what's going on? Any plans for the rest of the day?"

"I was gonna help Uncle Spencer with one of his sculptures," Jason said. "He needs someone to do some electric stuff."

"Er, okay, but just make sure you're the one handling all that," Sam said. "Spencer and electronics don't mix well."

"What about the rest of you?" Freddie asked.

"I'm just gonna sit in my room and mope," Ashton sighed.

"How come, sweetie?" Sam asked. "What's wrong?"

"She's just bummed because nobody wants to go see this lame musical that's in town," Emma smirked.

"It's not lame!" Ashton defended. "It's a classic! It's about this girl who's about to get married, but she-"

"Lame," Emma interrupted.

"Hey, you know, your mom's pretty into musicals," Freddie said.

"Really?" Ashton said.

"Really?" Emma frowned.

"Oh yeah, I love that kind of stuff, actually," Sam nodded. "I like the singing and the dancing…when I was a little girl I used to want to go on Broadway or something."
"What happened?" Jason asked.

"Eh, I head how long those people have to spend in rehearsals," Sam shrugged. "Still, I love seeing those kinds of shows. I used to go with your dad, but last time I took him to see a musical he fell asleep and embarrassed me."

"Excuse me?" Freddie said. "Have you forgotten about the planetarium, the Pear expo, the apple orchard-"

"Sure, bring up ancient history," Sam said. She turned back to Ashton. "But you know, if you're up for it, Ash, I'll go to the musical with you."

"You will?" Ashton exclaimed.

"Sure," Sam smiled. "When is it?"

"Tonight," Ashton said.

"Well what do you know, I'm free!" Sam said.

"No way, this is so cool!" Ashton beamed. "I can't believe I'm gonna go see my first musical!"

"But mom, I thought we were gonna watch the big fight on tonight!" Emma said.

"Well we can just have your dad record it and we'll watch it some other time," Sam shrugged.

"Yeah, I can do that," Freddie smiled. "You two go have fun tonight."

"I have to go find a dress!" Ashton said, pushing her plate away and jumping to her feet. "And shoes!"

"Man, I can't believe I finally get to see a musical again," Sam said as Ashton ran off.

"You know, I did offer to take you to one a few months ago," Freddie said.

"Yeah, you told me if I went with you to some work party you'd take me to one," Sam scoffed.

"So?"

"So? Mama's not gonna endure three hours of stupid small talk!" Sam said. "No matter what. Especially now that I found out Ashton's into this. Hey! Maybe we can buy season passes for the theatre."

"You mean you're gonna go to more musicals?" Emma said.
"Sure, maybe," Sam said. "It could be fun. Hey, I'm gonna go find my big purse so we can smuggle in snacks."
…..

Later that evening, Emma was sitting in the living room flipping through channels on the T.V. absentmindedly.

Suddenly, the front door opened and Sam and Ashton walked in, laughing happily.

"This was the best night ever, mom," Ashton said as she hung up her coat. "I love the theatre. I've seen clips of plays and musicals and stuff online, but never in person. That was so incredible!"

"Right?" Sam grinned. "I can't believe I haven't taken you to one sooner."
"Hey, mom," Emma said. "Ready to watch that fight? I have it all set up on the DVR and I've got a bag of extra-butter popcorn waiting to be popped."
"Oh, um, Em, it's pretty late," Sam said. "And I'm a little tired from the show. You care if we watch it tomorrow night?"

"But-But it was the match between Iron Claw and Killer Hook!" Emma said.

"Tell you what," Sam said. "First thing tomorrow, we'll watch it," Sam promised.

"Fine," Emma mumbled.

"Alright, well, I'm going to bed," Sam yawned. "You two go to bed soon too. Night."
"Night," the girls echoed.

"So," Emma said as Sam headed upstairs. "How was your lame musical?"

"So great," Ashton beamed. "The cast was perfect, all the songs were better than I've heard on any of my soundtracks, and the acting was unbelievable. We had super good seats, too, so we could see everything! But the best part was that mom knew all these random trivia bits about everything. She told me all about the actors and the original script. We even went out for ice cream after, and on the way home we sang some of the songs together."

"Oh my God…" Emma said. "That sounds so dumb."
"It was really fun," Ashton defended.

"Well, whatever," Emma said, rolling her eyes. "Just keep your theatre talk out of here while mom and I are watching the fight tomorrow morning."

….

"Why am I solving for X again?" Emma moaned as her and Freddie sat at the kitchen table.

"Because you need to," Freddie said. "That's the whole point of the problem."
"But I'm never gonna use this stuff in real life!" Emma pointed out. "No one's ever gonna come up to me while I'm walking down the street and say, 'Hey, you! Solve for X right now.'."

"Aw jeez," Freddie said, massaging his temples. "You're gonna pull this now too? I had to deal with this with your mother when we were in high school. Look, Emma, math has many practical applications, and it's important that you understand them. Now come on, let's keep working on this."

"How goes the homework?" Sam asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Stupid," Emma muttered.

"You'll be happy to know your daughter has officially used your 'I'll never use this in real life' excuse," Freddie said.

"Well, the kid's got a point," Sam shrugged. "I haven't used algebra once in the real world."
"So I don't have to do it?" Emma asked excitedly.

"Oh no, you'll do it," Sam said firmly. She turned to Freddie. "Do we have any coleslaw left?"

"In the fridge," Freddie said.

"Nice," Sam grinned.

"Hey, mom?" Emma said. "If I finish all my homework with daddy, can you show me more moves tonight?"

"I can't tonight, Em," Sam said, opening the refrigerator. "Ashton and I are going to see a play."

"Again?" Emma frowned.

"Yeah, one of my favorites is showing at the theatre," Sam said. "And I think Ash is really gonna love it too."

"But you saw a play two days ago," Emma said. "And the stupid musical the week before that!"

"I know, but see, each show is different," Sam chuckled. She turned to Freddie. "You're gonna be on your own for dinner."
"That's fine," Freddie said. "I can make my special meatballs. Won't that be a treat, Emma?"

"Um…yeah," Emma said slowly.

"Anyway, let's get back to this homework," Freddie said. "You finish this problem and you can take a short break. Now come on, we talked about this. How can you get X on its own?"

"Um…divide each side by three?"

"Yes!" Freddie cheered. "Yes, thank you! See? It took two hours but I think you finally got this stuff down! Alright, go rest for a few minutes and then we can tackle these word problems."
"Word problems?" Emma moaned.

"Come on, word problems are the best!" Freddie grinned. "They really show us how relatable math can be to-"

"Just stop, you're not gonna sell it," Sam smirked.

Emma headed out of the kitchen up to her room, where Ashton was sitting on her bed, reading her history textbook.

"I can't believe you're making mom take you to some stupid play tonight," Emma said, flopping down on her own bed.

"I'm not making her," Ashton said, looking up from her book. "Mom offered."

"Sure."

"I'm serious," Ashton said. "She told me the play's super cool, though. It's about these two arch enemies who-"

"When's this stupid phase gonna be done?" Emma interrupted.

"What phase?" Ashton asked.

"You know, this weird theatre phase you're going through," Emma said.

"It's not a phase, I really like this stuff," Ashton said. "I mean I've always loved listening to the soundtracks from these things, and seeing them live is ten times better! I was thinking I may even join the drama club next year."

"My God…" Emma said.

"What do you care if I'm into musicals and plays and stuff?" Ashton asked.

"Me? Care?" Emma scoffed. "Ha! The only thing I care about is someone seeing you at the theatre and thinking it's me."

"Well then why are you acting like such a baby?"

"I'm not!" Emma snapped, almost a little too offensively.

"Okay, Emma," Freddie said, stepping into the room. "You've had your break. Now let's get back down there and tackle the rest of that homework. Hey! I know! I'll even teach you my factoring song!"

"Ugh," Sam moaned. "This day just keeps getting worse and worse."

…..

That evening Emma was again sitting alone in the living room, watching an old MMA fight on the T.V.

Normally her mother would be right there next to her, cheering on the fighters with her at the top of her lungs, but seeing as she was currently out with Ashton

"Stupid Ashton," Emma mumbled. "Hogging mom and making her see all those dumb plays. Mom's probably getting real tired of it. She'd much rather be here with me doing fun stuff like prank calling Uncle Spencer and seeing who can eat the most pizza…"

Just then the front door opened and Sam and Ashton stepped in.

"That was the best one we've seen yet!" Ashton beamed.

"You really liked it?" Sam smiled. "You know…that was the first play your dad and I went to see when we were dating."
"Really?"

"Uh-huh," Sam smiled. "He took me after I managed to ace this huge presentation I had to give in history. He wasn't that into it himself, but he knew I'd like it."

"That's so sweet!" Ashton smiled.

"Nauseatingly sweet," Emma mumbled from the couch.

"Oh, hey Em," Sam smiled, looking over at her other daughter. "You're still awake?"

"Yeah," Emma nodded. "What took you guys forever to get back? I thought the play ended at ten."

"Mom bought us passes to go backstage after and meet the cast!" Ashton said excitedly. "It was so fantastic! I got my program signed and everything. I'm gonna frame it! And I have so many pictures. Thanks again, mom, that was so much fun!"

"Hey, anytime, kid," Sam grinned, hugging Ashton. "I love going to these things with you."

Emma glanced back at the T.V. screen, where the fight was still going on. Just like you used to love doing stuff with me, Emma thought to herself.

"Hey…mom?" Emma asked suddenly. "When's the next play that you two are going to?"

"Well we were thinking of seeing Annie next week," Sam replied. "We'd have to drive out to the theatre in Olympia, but it'd be worth it."
"Well can I come?"

"Huh?" Ashton frowned. "You want to come? To a play?"

"Yeah," Emma nodded.

"You sure?" Sam asked. "I thought you weren't into that kind of stuff."

"Of course I am!" Emma said quickly. "And I love Annie!"

"What's it about?" Ashton asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's about…people," Emma replied lamely. "And some dude named Annie! So can I come, mom?"

"Okay, sure," Sam smiled. "If you really want to see it."

"Cool, thanks," Emma said, shooting a triumphant grin over to her sister. "I can't wait."

"Here are our seats," Sam said a week later as her and the twins made their way through the theatre.

"Why did I have to wear a dress here?" Emma mumbled as they all took their seats.

"Because it's a fancy theatre!" Ashton snapped. "If you didn't want to wear a dress, you didn't have to come."

"I'm fine with the dress!" Emma retorted.

"Once the lights go off, if you want, just kick your shoes off like I do," Sam told her. "It will make your feet at least a little more comfortable."

"Hey, mom, look what it says in the program," Ashton said. "The actress who's playing Ms. Hannigan is Abigail North!"

"Whoa, are you serious?" Sam said excitedly.

"Who's Abigail North?" Emma frowned.

"Only one of the best actresses in the business," Ashton said, rolling her eyes. "She's preformed on Broadway."

"I can't believe she's gonna be here," Sam said. "That's so cool!"

"Yeah…real cool," Emma mumbled. "So how long are these things? Half-hour?"

"It's a two hour play," Sam said.

"Two hours?" Emma repeated.

"What's wrong?" Ashton asked. "I thought you were so pumped for this."

"I-I am," Emma said quickly. "Two hours…yay. I-I was just worried it was gonna be too short. You know, I wish it was three hours."

Ashton frowned as she shook her head at her sister. "You're really-"

"Shhh, it's getting ready to start," Sam said as the lights began to dim.

"Good, I was eager," Emma said, shooting her sister one last look as the actors began to take stage.

Alright, Emma told herself. Two hours…I can sit through this for two hours. I stay awake in math class, don't I? Sure, that's only one hour, but this play can't be nearly as boring as that.

….

"Emma…Emma, come on," Emma heard her mother's voice say to her. "Emma, wake up."

"Huh?" Emma sputtered, snapping her eyes open. "What-What happened."

"You fell asleep," Ashton said, rolling her eyes.

Emma looked around the theatre, where people were beginning to file outside.

"So is it halftime or something?" Emma yawned.

"Intermission, sweetie," Sam corrected. "And no, the play's over."

"I slept through all of it?" Emma frowned.

"That's right," Ashton smirked. "For someone who was so eager to come you sure didn't seem to interested in it."

"Come on," Sam said before Emma could respond. "We need to start driving back if we want to avoid traffic."

…..

Once the three made it home, Emma and Ashton headed up to their room, exhausted from the long drive back.

"Well," Ashton said as she kicked off her shoes. "You did it. You ruined a perfectly good play."

"I didn't ruin it," Emma snapped. "I fell asleep. Big deal, I was tired."
"You were snoring," Ashton pointed out.

"Whatever," Emma mumbled.

"Why did you even come?" Ashton asked. "You hate that sort of stuff. You should've known you'd be bored out of your mind."

"Fine! You know what? You wanna know why I came?" Emma said fiercely.

"Kinda!"

"Because!" Emma said. "Because I-I'm sick of you hogging mom!"

"Excuse me?" Ashton sputtered. "I hog mom?"

"Yes!" Emma said loudly. "These past few weeks you two have been all buddy-buddy going to all these plays and musicals. And even around the house you talk about them all the time. It's annoying and I'm sick of it!"

"Well how do you think I feel?" Ashton retorted.

"Huh?" Emma frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"You think I don't feel left out when you and mom hang out together?" Ashton snapped. "I mean come on Emma, it's no secret that you and mom have way more common with each other than me and her! You always do things with her like watching MMA fights and going to burger eating contests and playing in the mud after it rains. You're just like mom and I-I'm not. I'm the complete opposite of her. I'm some girly girl, vegetarian, goody two-shoes who she probably would've made fun of when she was younger. But with this theatre stuff, we-we finally had something the two of us both liked that we could do together. Just the two of us. Like-Like you guys do all the time."

Emma looked down at her feet. "I-I didn't know you were that excited to be spending time with mom," she mumbled. "I-I thought you were doing all this just to bug me."

"Nah," Ashton said, giving her twin a small smile. "That was just an added bonus."

"Oh," Emma said. "Well, I-I'm sorry, Ash. Really. I didn't know doing all this with mom meant so much to you. I guess…I guess it is kind of cool that you both have something you can do together."
"Yeah, it is," Ashton nodded.

"Okay, well then I-I promise I won't tag along to anymore of you plays or whatever," Emma said. "I mean, no offense or anything, but I have no clue how you can sit through them. People just bursting into song and dance for no reason? I don't get it."

"It's for effect," Ashton said.

"Well, still, it's weird," Emma said, sitting down on her bed. "Oh…by the way, mom probably wouldn't have made too much fun of you when she was younger. She was best friends with Aunt Carly, remember? And Aunt Carly's girlier than you even, which is saying something."

Ashton laughed. "Thanks, Emma."