Starco vs Parenthood Introduction - These chapters can be read separately but they are all connected. It's always the same Star & Marco, same kids, same world.
This is set about 20 years after Cleaved. So the kids are 13 and 10. Got to keep those kids motivated!
Favs, reviews, and constructive feedback are all really helpful. Thanks! (Every fav means another angel earns their wings.)
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Chapter 17 - Boss Fight
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After dinner the Ninja Princess holds his school books while standing outside of his sister's room.
* Knock-knock-knock, knock-knock-knock, knock-knock-knock, knock-knock-knock *
"Dude! Go away!"
"Hey sis...ah...sorry, I-I just need help with math."
"And?"
"And I'll take care of your laundry for you this week."
"You going to do it right this time and fold everything into thirds?"
"Thirds. Got it."
"Also, don't touch my underwear. You always turn them all into little balls."
"Sorry."
"Meet me at the dining room table in ten. Why do you sound so sad?"
"I hate math."
"I want to hear the excitement in your voice. What do you say?"
"Arrgh...THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME SIS!"
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Twenty minutes later the Ninja Princess finally shows up in the dining room
"I hate math."
"I'm sure it hates you too. Just show me what you're stuck on."
"We started using Xs and Ys and I just don't get it. I don't want to get it. It's sooooo boring."
"Dude! This is easy stuff. You can totally do this."
"Meh!"
"You just don't want to do it."
"Why would a ninja princess need to know math anyway?"
"Dude, lots of reasons. Maybe contact poisons are expensive and you want to make sure you buy only as much as you're going to need for your ninja jobs."
"Hmph. I'm not that kinda ninja. I'm a good ninja."
"Fine. Maybe you need to know it if you decide you want to go to 'Ninja High School' or 'Ninja College'."
"I read a book about ninja schools and they don't even have math teachers."
"Well...what about...ah...what about for the final boss fight? You'll want to know it for that right?"
"Final boss fight?"
"Yeah, every high school and college graduation ends with a final boss fight for all the students. During that fight you have to use everything you learned in school to defeat the final boss."
"I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THAT!"
"Yup, there's ah...there's a trapped floor and you need math to calculate what parts are safe to step on. I think it is history that helps know what moves the boss is going to use next. And language class to figure out the coded messages that tell you the bosses weakness."
"That sounds kinda awesome. Sooooo...what happens if you lose?"
"From what I heard if you ALMOST win the final boss you just have to repeat senior year but if you do REAL BAD you might have to go back and start over again with kindergarten."
"WOW! Wait, how do you even know about this? I never heard anything about this before."
"You start learning all about this stuff once you get to high school. I skipped middle school last Monday to do this step-up event for ninth grade. While there I learned all about it."
"Hey! Mom said she speaks at graduations sometimes. Could mom be my final boss fight?"
"Oh, maybe. Do you think you could take mom?"
"No...she's pretty wicked with a sword."
"Do you think you can learn to do math better than mom?"
"Ah...maybe."
"Dude, if you are motivated to study you can totally learn to do math better then mom. Then in the 'Graduation Arena' you can calculate the safe tiles to step on and trick her to step on the danger tiles. Total ninja move."
"Wow...yeah maybe I can do that to defeat her! Okay, I think I'm ready to start my math homework. Just explain this whole X and Y thing to me again. We learned about it in class today but I kinda forgot it all."
"Hmm...maybe I'll teach you."
"Please-please-please!"
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An hour later.
"MOM! I TOTALLY CALCULATED SURFACE AREA! YOUR GOING DOWN!"
"That's nice dear. Just remember to brush your teeth before bed."
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Been awhile since I posted one of these shorter stories and I admit, it is not as good as some of the others. However, I had a few reasons for going with it this week:
1 - I've been volunteering at the local COVID-19 vaccine clinic so I haven't had as much free time the last few weekends.
2 - I'm neck deep into the next story and it is going to be a long one that jumps all over the place.
The next story should make up for this one. As for this boss fight trick, I tried it with my own kids but so far it hasn't helped. - Olin
MoonyJinx - Thank you for the nice words! It warms my heart knowing that someone is enjoying what I'm writing. - Olin