by Lucian Bane
No, no, it wasn’t fair to call her that. A girl and a friend for now. He was seventeen and that was certainly old enough to…do everything. She’d wanted to do everything with Ben at that age, so that meant that’s where those two were. Maybe. The possibility meant precautions needed to be taken. Boundaries, as Charlie had put it. And Ben, apparently. Five years ago.
****
Cheryl wasn’t happy when Charlie and Alice arrived fifteen minutes after her parents, the both of them carrying on like oblivious love birds. Cheryl’s guts were in knots at seeing Lo’s face. It was a contradiction to Yan’s pleasant smile. It hit Cheryl in that second that Lo and Cheryl were more alike in this regard than her and Yan. And maybe if Ben were awake, he’d be wearing a look similar to Yan's.
“Come and eat,” Yan called happily, saving Cheryl from figuring out what to say.
“Yes, it’s getting cold,” Cheryl scolded lightly. Finally, Charlie looked at her and she felt instantly bad when his bubbly joy turned into cautious worry. Just like somebody realizing that the people who thought their daughter breakable were right there watching him throw her around recklessly. While laughing.
What was he thinking, though? He mentions needing boundaries then goes off frolicking for hours, God knows where doing God only knew, what with their boundary needing chemicals. And all under their roof with their daughter. Judging by Lo’s strained, cordial countenance, he was not happy about it.
Dammit, she didn’t need this stress.
****
Charlie wanted to crawl in a hole. He’d been so preoccupied with Alice’s antics, he forgot to get his parent game face on. But his mom’s look reminded him in a dreadful heartbeat. And then one look at her dad’s face meant she was right. Alice’s mother was the only one that didn’t seem troubled by them.
After awkward hello’s they sat to eat, and Charlie couldn’t keep his mind off of everything that happened earlier with Alice. From their visit on the rooftop, to the moment they walked in had been non-stop fun in many odd ways. Ways he’d never experienced before with anybody.
He glanced at her a couple of times, catching the smile hinting at the corner of her mouth. Was she thinking about everything?
He made sure to keep his smile inward at recalling the anger part. Mad he had to leave. He wasn’t used to people wearing their feelings out in the open like that, especially those kinds. He couldn’t help but be happy over it and he understood why this made her angrier. But to him, the madder she got, the more it meant she liked him. He couldn’t seem to help finding how far down or deep that feeling went, either. He tried to do it nicely, but every time he discovered how deep, it made him happy, and that made her angrier. That went on all morning. When it came time to learn self-defense, he discovered her anger never translated into her touch. She was very gentle with him. But not with her words. The contradiction gave him a permanent grin that she called a smirk. The more she threatened to wipe it off, the bigger it got.
And then she’d kissed him. Well, his hand. Where she’d accidentally whacked it with the wooden stick. “All better,” she said with her innocent smile.
But Charlie knew it was anything but innocent. She was too open about her feelings to try and hide it. He saw it in her playful eyes. She was testing him. And what a test it was. He remembered instantly about the boundaries, and knew he’d made a big mistake failing to discuss it with his mother. But she was being weird about it and it made Charlie want to figure it out on his own. So, that’s what he’d done, in that second.
“I know things about you like you know about me,” he’d told her.
“What does that mean, Charlie Brown,” she’d mocked.
But even then, he saw the flirty look in her gaze. “It means I see what you’re doing.”
She raised her brows innocently. “And what am I doing?”
She wanted him to say it. He could tell. It was good that he did, it needed to be said and known. “You want me to kiss you and I won’t. But not because I don’t want to, but because it’s not right to.”
She stared at him for a few moments before her smile bloomed on her face. “You are a good boy Charlie Brown.” She patted his chest, roughly. “My father is all wrong about you.”
“What does that mean?” he wondered, feeling instantly sick.
“He thinks boys are allllll the same when it comes to pretty girls. Like me,” she added, making her eyes turn to those half-moons with her big smile that always made him grin. “But you are not like most boys. And this makes me very happy. But not because you won’t kiss me, but because why you won’t kiss me.”
She’d crossed her chest with her arms, swinging her body side to side with a happy smile.
“I’m glad that makes you happy,” he said. “And I don’t…I mean I’m not mad that your dad thinks that. I understand and I’m glad he does.”
“Why?” she asked, her brows shooting up with twinkly eyed curiosity.
“Because he is protecting you.”
“And you want me protected?”
She was so good at cornering him into compliments or admissions he wasn’t aware he was making. “I do,” he said, always going with honesty even as heat crept up his neck. He bit his tongue on wanting to protect all people, not wanting to say anything that might remove the glow he’d brought to her face.
Charlie jumped at the kick his mom gave him under the table and he looked up to see he Mr. Lo looking at him while Alice hid a smile behind her drink. “I’m sorry, I…zoned out,” he said, figuring somebody had said something.
“You have a lot on your mind,” Mr. Lo said. “I was just saying that Alice tells me you are a student of Chinese history.”
“Oh,” he said, tapping his fork on the edge of his plate, wondering how to answer that without disagreeing. “I like learning about different countries.”
“Oh yes,” his mom jumped in with rapid stabbings at her salad. “Once he locks onto something he likes, he doesn’t let go until he’s learned every last drop.”
Charlie poked at his salad now, hoping he was the only one that heard how that sounded.
“Tenacity,” his mom added. “Once, he got punished at school for knowing more than the history teacher about a subject.”
“Really,” Mrs. Yan said, while he prayed she didn’t ask what topic it was. “And what did you teach this teacher?”
Ugh.
“Do you want to tell it?” his mom asked.
Double ugh. If she told it, she’d spin it wrong. She was proud of him, but he wasn’t proud. And with Chinese people being so big about respect of elders, this was the worst story to tell. “I’ll…tell it,” Charlie said. “So, we were discussing Napoleon’s greatest defeats. And the textbook said Waterloo, but I said that I thought it was incorrect and that his greatest defeat was the Battle of Bunnies.”
“Bunnies?” Alice asked, smiling.
“Well, there are several versions of this story, but most agree it occurred in July 1807, after Napoleon signed the… Treaties of Tilsit. The treaty that ended the war between the French Empire and Imperial Russia. And to celebrate, the emperor decided a rabbit hunt was a great idea, so he had Alexandre Berthier, his Chief of Staff arrange it. To summarize, Mr. Berthier collected a whole herd of rabbits. Some think as many as three thousand. But either way, there were tons of rabbits. So, they caged all the bunnies at the edge of some grassy area, and when the fierce hunters advanced, the rabbits were released.”
He eyed them all. “But instead of running away, the rabbits ran toward the mighty men of valor. Thousands of adorable fuzzy bunnies charged the world’s most powerful man. At first it was cute and hilarious, until the bunnies became a wave of hopping fury. The story has it that the rabbits swarmed the emperor’s legs and began climbing him. He ran to his carriage, but even still they came, dividing into two wings, they flooded around the flanks of the party and headed for the imperial coach,” Charlie said, eyes wide at a gasping Mrs. Yan and ninja smiling Alice. “Supposedly t
hey entered the carriage and it wasn’t until the coach rolled out that the bunnies retreated.”
He looked at Mr. Lo, now. “So, the man who dominated Europe was defeated in the battle with bunnies.”
Mr. Lo laughed, seeming genuinely entertained. “I guess the teacher didn’t find this funny part of history a good lesson?”
Charlie shook his head. “He did not. But the class did.”
“He was sent to the office for being disruptive,” his mom said, still angry. “I was called in and I’m sure they were sorry they called me in.”
“Don’t they know in America that a mother is her child’s most fierce protector?” Mrs. Yan wondered.
“Apparently not!” his mom said. “But they learned it that day.” She looked at Charlie now. “He’s still mad at me over it.”
“Why?” Alice wondered, smiling.
“Because I got Mr. Lutheran in trouble, that’s why.”
“You did,” Charlie agreed. “And he didn’t deserve that, that’s all I said.”
“And I disagreed,” his mom argued back, like it had just happened. “I’m still mad, can you tell?” she muttered, setting her fork down. “And Charlie would still cut his grass for free on the weekends.”
Ah geeze. “He did apologize,” Charlie said.
“Because he was forced,” his mom assured. “Reminds me of that Math teacher of yours,” his mom went on, clearly needing to rehash his entire embarrassing life. “Mr. Ward, was it?”
“Mom, please,” Charlie quietly begged.
“What happened?” Alice egged on, earning his brief glare which she returned with a bigger smile.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with teachers these days in the States,” his mom complained to them all, seeming re-offended all over again. “They were discussing economics and posing suppositions on…what was it?” she asked.
“How modern-day history is being directly impacted by Gamers around the world,” Charlie gave up.
“Gamers?” Mr. Lo asked.
“Like video gamers who make millions from just playing games and people watching them on YouTube,” his mother said.
“Millions?” Mr. Lo seemed astonished.
His mom aimed her fork at them, nodding. “I told Ben, the kids are going to rule, mark my words. The unchaperoned electronic generation is growing into a force we’re not prepared to face.”
“Wow, I had no idea,” Mr. Lo said.
“You have your nose in your lab, how would you know,” Mrs. Yan asked, smiling.
He leaned his head forward, peering at Alice. “I do have a daughter that probably knows.”
Alice gave a huge shrug. “I’m only permitted to look at educational things.”
“You’re not missing much,” Charlie assured. “But the trend is alarmingly impressive and concerning to many. Maybe the most unanticipated competition in the market that exists. A whole generation of kids playing their way into billions of dollars.”
“But how?” Mr. Lo asked, seeming baffled.
“Advertisement,” Charlie said. “The more views you have on your YouTube channel, the more money you are paid by those who want to use your channel to advertise.”
His jaw dropped more. “I cannot believe this! They are getting rich from playing games!”
“They are,” his mom nodded. “Would you care for another roll, Yan?”
“Oh, no thank you,” she said.
“How long has this been happening?” Mr. Lo wondered.
“Since YouTube began monetizing user’s channels,” Charlie said.
He appeared baffled. “Astonishing.”
“So how did this get you in trouble, Charlie Brown?” Alice asked, back to smiling at him.
Geeze, was he the only one that could see her open flirting?
“Well, for one, he was laughed at,” his mom answered, shaking her head.
“My mother doesn’t like people laughing at me,” Charlie added.
“You see how he says that?” his mom said to them. “Like I’m silly for not wanting a grown adult laughing at my child for answering a simple question with facts.” She shook her head, leaning back in her chair. “Not on my watch, buddy,” she assured.”
“What did you do?” Mrs. Yan asked, seeming to live through his mom’s parental escapades.
“Well, I went down to the school, of course.”
“Of course,” Charlie said, nodding with wide eyes, unable to keep from smiling at her.
“And I called a meeting with that principal and that teacher. And I let him know that it was not his job to laugh at his students when they present facts he’s ignorant of, but to nurture their development and learning, and that his actions caused a great deal of embarrassment to my son and I would expect an apology be made to him.”
“In front of the whole class,” Charlie elaborated.
“That’s right. In the same place the offense was done, the apology should be given. I’m a firm believer of accountability,” she explained. “If you make a mess in the cafeteria, you don’t clean it in the office, you clean it in the cafeteria where the mess happened.”
“Makes perfect sense,” Mrs. Yan said to Mr. Lo’s nodding.
“But he refused,” Charlie said, ready to get done with the story. “And my mom said if he didn’t, then she would file an official complaint with the school board.”
“And at that time, I had plenty of pull in the system as Welfare Social Worker.”
“I remember reading this,” Mrs. Yan said, smiling bigger. “I would love to hear your stories later.”
“Oh, do I ever have stories from there,” she said, finishing her juice.
“I still don’t get how Charlie Brown got in trouble,” Alice said.
“Charlie Brown got in trouble with me,” his mom said. “Don’t you know this kid had the nerve to pick that rude man as his teacher of the year?” She looked at him, shaking her head and aiming her fork at him. “I’m still mad at you for that.”
“But you love me?”
“A good thing for you,” she muttered while Alice laughed.
“She wanted to ground me,” Charlie whispered.
“And I would have, had your dad not stepped in playing his do unto others card.”
“Do unto others?” Mrs. Yan wondered.
“It’s the backbone of our religious beliefs. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And as I told Ben—respectfully—if that had been me, I would certainly want somebody to correct me, as I would need it.”
“That is a very good principal,” Mr. Lo said, seeming pleased. “So, why did you pick him as your favorite teacher?” he asked Charlie.
Charlie shrugged, playing with the parts of his salad he didn’t plan to eat. “He was a great teacher. He wasn’t always a great person.”
“Well, I’m sorry,” his mom said, eyeing them. “But where I come from, those two go hand in hand. If you’re a mean person, what comes out of your mouth is tainted by that.”
“And Charlie, what do you think of that?” Mr. Lo asked, or tested it seemed.
“Well, I love and respect my mother,” he said. “And value my life,” he added laughing.
“Here we go,” his mom said, standing and taking her plate to the sink. He couldn’t stop his smile and he realized her anger was much like Alice’s. Because she cared.
“I just…you know…dad,” he whispered.
“I heard that,” Cheryl called at the sink with a laugh. “You go ahead and take his side. I’m used to it.”
“You guys fight like this too?” Mr. Lo asked, seeming excited to hear it.
“Oh, all the time,” Charlie assured, making Mr. Lo laugh.
“Those two are forever ganging up against me,” he said, pointing at his wife and Alice. But please, finish telling me what you were saying.”
“Just that Dad always said to be angry was easier than to be kind. And if I wanted to be…truly good, I had to learn how to overcome it and pray for my enemies.”
; “And now that makes me look like the devil,” Cheryl said, returning to the table and picking up dishes while everybody laughed at that.
“Let me help you, Mrs. Cheryl. You are not the devil,” Alice said, leaning to kiss her cheek. “You are my hero.”
“Ah, see?” Mr. Lo, said, laughing and nodding. “The women take up for each other.”
Charlie chuckled when Mrs. Yan smacked him on the shoulder as he rose to help. Charlie did as well, happy to have that over.
“And I agree with your father in this as well,” Mr. Lo informed, helping bring dishes to the sink. “Kindness is far superior than anger. This is why my wife is stronger than me.” He caught Charlie’s confusion and laughed. “I didn’t say I was a nice person, I said I agree that kindness is a superior strength. And my wife surpasses me in that area.”
“My dad exaggerates,” Alice called from the sink. “He is all bark.”
Charlie set plates down on the counter next to Alice and said quietly, “Must be where you get it.”
She snapped a huge smile at him. “Nobody is as nice as you Charlie Brown. You are a Saint, I think?”
He had to laugh at that. “Now that’s funny.”
“He is a saint,” his mother countered. “Never been in trouble in his life. Because he’s too busy taking all the wrongs and suffering quietly. That’s just not me,” Cheryl assured. “I do admire your kindness, son, but you really need to get a handle on the term bully beat down.”
“Bully beat down?” Mrs. Yan asked, laughing while wiping counters.
“It’s straight forward where I’m from. You bully somebody, you get a beat down. That’s how I was raised.”
“I like this,” Mrs. Yan said with wide eyes. “Maybe Mr. Lo needs a bully beat down.”
“Don’t promise things you can’t deliver, Mrs. Wong,” her husband said, kissing her cheek.
Wow, Alice wasn’t kidding about them being in love. He couldn’t help but compare them to his mom and dad. Did they do things like that? He tried to recall. They did love each other. Guess people showed it differently.
Charlie liked Alice’s parent’s way of showing much better.
“You rinse, Charlie Brown,” Alice called to him in her sing-song way.
