Page 48 of The Genius
“Yeah, some of the moms stress me out with the way they pamper their children. They are worse than Kya ever was, and I remember how Archer and I used to laugh at all her talk about inclusion and kindness. These moms take that shit to new extremes.”
“Give me an example.” Shelly sat down on the couch and curled her feet up under her, but I could still see some of her creamy skin, and it made it hard to focus so I looked away.
“Ahh, mostly it’s the way they are involved in everything we do as mentors. They have a lot of issues with the way we Northlanders teach and it’s fucking annoying that I have to defend the way we’ve been doing things for generations. One of the moms demanded her boy be excused from fight training because he could get hurt. I refused but because he’s a Motlander child, he’s protected by certain rules and the female Motlander teachers I work with allowed him to sit out. The next week the mom wanted to expand that to any type of physical exercise because apparently you can trip and fall while running. She also complained that we allow the children to climb in trees and play tag.” I shook my head. “Tell me, Shelly, why the fuck would a woman like that come up here to marry a large strong man? I mean, did she think her husband became that fit by watching others exercise?”
“What does he say about it?”
“Same as me, of course. What dad wouldn’t want his son to be strong and fit?” I shrugged. “That mom is just one example of how backward-thinking Motlander women can be. And then there’s thestop and thinkapplication that the kids have on their wristbands. It’s driving me fucking crazy.”
She chuckled. “I know the lady who invented that. She was one of my professors when I studied to be a psychologist.”
My face scrunched up in a grimace. “I would never hit a woman, but with her I might make an exception. Every time the children say something that the application deems rude or insensitive, a small hologram with an avatar pops up and gives a small lecture on how to stay balanced and create a peaceful environment for all. If I hear the wordinappropriateone more time I will bang my head against the wall.
“Sounds like you’ve got a lot of drama at the school.”
“Sometimes. Not always. I just wish Motlanders would be more open to how we deal with things here in the Northlands.
Shelly smiled at me. “Do you still like teaching?”
“I used to love it and there are still good days, but honestly it’s not as much fun as it used to be. If I didn’t need to pay bills I’d become a writer instead.”
“A writer?”
“Yeah. I would love to write a book one day, but I don’t have the time. That’s why I need to win the million dollars in the tournament.”
Shelly nodded slowly. “Right. And when is the next one?”
“In three weeks.”
“Three weeks,” she repeated before quickly looking away. “That’s soon.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And the bride… what’s her name?”
“Louisa.”
Shelly picked at my t-shirt that she was still wearing. “I don’t like tournaments.”
“Few Motlanders do.”
We were quiet for a few seconds, before Shelly spoke in a low voice. “At least now you know what to do on your wedding night.”
My lips lifted a little. “True, thanks to you.”
Shelly picked up her glass of water again and dried off water drops from the table with her hand. She must have taken my comments about being tidy a bit too seriously. I was just about to tell her to relax when she asked me a question that threw me off a bit.
“I wasn’t your first, was I? There was that time in the Motherlands when we visited the beach. As I recall it, you got a lot of attention from women.
“Are you asking me if I had sex with any of them?”
“It’s none of my business.” Shelly looked down at her right hand rubbing her wet thumb and index finger together. “I just figured that the girl you were kissing with out in the water… well, I don’t know, it looked very passionate, that’s all.”
“I can’t believe you remember that.”
Her tone was dry. “I have a good memory.”
“Right. Well, some of the kids were playing too close and we couldn’t go all the way.”
