Disclaimer: I don't own Fairly Odd Parents.

AN: Constructive criticism welcomed, particularly on characterization. If Losing Streak is on a losing streak, tell me so I can fix it. This fanfic is multi-chaptered so if you got an Alert for this chapter, you should go and read it from the beginning or else it won't make any sense. In addition, I allow reviews from people without accounts.

Chapter 19: Observing a Kid Master

Norm was losing his patience with watching and waiting, and the first year wasn't even over yet. He had learned new stuff about the humans, and doubted that he'd ever learn any more, if humanity continued acting the way it did.

Norm made cave paintings of everything he had learned on the wall of his lamp. He wondered if that would make them lava lamp paintings, instead of cave paintings.

He needed to occupy himself with such thoughts, since if he didn't, he was sure that he would go insane from the boredom.

Another human rubbed his lamp, and Norm groaned. Why couldn't the humans let him get a decent night's sleep? Why would they be awake at night anyway?

Norm funneled out of the lamp, and looked around. His master was a kid that had awoken after his bedtime. He groaned.

"What is it?"

The kid started screaming about the malevolent spirit. Norm groaned. So, the kid was perfectly fine with the dark, scary night, but a harmless genie would get him in hysterics.

Norm wondered why he didn't think of himself as a kid too. The kid was only two years younger than him after all. He supposed that was because no one had ever treated him like a kid; never let him be one.

Well, supposed Norm, once he was free, that wouldn't be a problem, would it? He could treat himself like a kid – in a good way – if he wanted to, once he was free.

Norm dragged his attention back to the kid. He didn't have many kid masters, so he didn't know much about them (despite being one, kinda), but he figured that since kids were younger than adults, they'd know less, and be easier to trick.

"Hi," said Norm in a childish voice. "I'm Norm. What's your name?"

"Nasli," replied the kid.

Norm remembered his previous observations of human kids. They often made friends this way. He wondered if the kid would befriend him. Norm shook that thought out of his head as soon as he thought it. Feeling such feelings would only get him in trouble.

Norm wasn't sure how to trick a kid. What would one want?

He was a kid, so he should know, but he didn't.

The kid glanced at him in a suspicious, yet not cynical way. Norm groaned. Kids did it too.

He noticed that the sun was rising. Norm groaned. The kid's parents would probably wake up soon, and the kid would be in double trouble. That would probably cause him to be in trouble too, since had observed that people didn't like it when their kids were in danger, and according to the warped logic of humanity, he was dangerous. Which meant that no one cared when he was in danger. Maybe his parents would, but he had never met them, never heard of them. Maybe genies had no parents.

Norm decided to mull over that issue later, when he was once again bored to ever-living death in his lamp.

Norm heard some noise in the tent beside him. Oh great. The kid's parents were waking up.

The mother woke up first. She noticed Norm as soon as she left the tent, and Norm said a word that would get a kid in trouble if they said it.

However, Norm knew that he just got in trouble for existing, so swearing certainly wouldn't make anything worse for him.

The kid did a token protest against dismissing him, but eventually agreed to the demand.

GONG!

Norm was sucked back into his lamp.

He groaned. Kids, adults, they all were human, and they all were the same. He couldn't expect any better just because his master was either older or younger than most masters. All humans were equally bad.

Norm wondered if that principle applied to genies. Would all of them be nice and kind? Would they all be malevolent? Or were they're both kinds?

He hoped they'd all be nice to him, but was too cynical to actually believe it.