Too Equal For My Taste
Chapter 35: Chillin' for the Rest of the Year
That was how the competition, at least for that year ended. For the rest of the years and beyond, they decided to make games every other weekend. The Bakers and Murtaugh's became well known throughout the state as families frequently competing.
Mike was usually a boy who despite having a good natured attitude and a 'cool' way of doing things; never had a best friend. That quickly changed. Kenneth soon and quickly became Mike's best friend. With Mark out of the picture, they started laughing about almost everything, and became the most laughable of all the family on both sides. Now, Ken started to act like how anybody's first impression of him would be. He was likable. Ken really had changed this time.
Mark had his own friends. Out of all the Bakers, Mark went through the most changes, so by Easter, he was a whole other boy. However, he often went to Ken and Mike for approval of how he looked. Ken would often look at him from top to bottom, and comment such as, "Socks are ok, but the shirt has gotta go."
Mark would nod, and then leave back inside to change. Mike found it annoying when Mark came, but he learned to live with it, because it was only for two seconds a day. It was just that Mark usually came in the middle of a conversation.
Calvin and Daniel did their own thing, and Calvin no longer dealt with younger kids unless he had to. Anne had also left to Tennessee to see Charlie. Henry and Becky started hanging out more, but also had their own circle of friends. There were even rumors that Henry and a certain someone was an item, and it was not Becky.
Kim and Jessica considered Lisa and Robin as their rivals in class to grab the position of teacher's pet. Very often, the competition was intense, and neither side dominated for long.
Sarah and Elliot had their own problems. At first, they found it difficult to get back together the way they were before. However, as always, love won out in the end. During the Christmas Celebration dinner, they made up, and slowly, but surely, they mended their relationship. By Valentines, they were as close as before and by Easter, much closer. It didn't seem like the two would ever break apart again, because they were very close.
As most couples, Sarah and Elliot did fight sometimes, but they always found a way around it.
Jake also had his own friends. Coolidge slowly left the group, and went his own way, and Jessica followed soon after. While at school with Jake, Elliot preferred it that way. He didn't like Coolidge much, and talking with Jessica was still difficult, and he expected it would always be that way. But what did he care? He started hanging out with Jake and Connor again when he noticed how good he was during the fight with Ken.
Nigel and Kyle stayed the same. They increased their habits of causing trouble, so it was very often Tom and Jimmy having to ally together to stop the two from causing mischief. Of course, Mike and Ken were always happy to help in their own way.
Whether anyone liked it or not, Mike and Ken did end up in Military school as Jimmy and Tom promised. The two boys hoped they would forget all about it, or let them off since it was so long before. Ken and Mike did protest, but more threats kept their mouths shut. They had no choice.
School ended in mid-June for three months off. Military school was not so bad for them. Ken had to work himself dead with the military training he received. It was as if the instructors there expected him to be wasted in the army. Mike too was stupidly worked, but he found the exercises fun, much to Ken's ridicule.
"I can't believe you like it here!" Ken laughed.
"Well at least I look at the bright side of things," Mike said back.
The half soon passed, and at the end of July, they left back home. With all punishments successfully carried out, Mike and especially Ken were contained and their knack for trouble kept away for some time. Hopefully, they would never be released again, but that was none but a fools hope.
Jimmy and Tom remained friends. That was how the relationship, between kids and parents, survived for a long, long time.