Page 86 of The Mentor
Kya sighed. “No, not unless you count good manners.”
Solomon spoke up. “I wouldn’t mind being a tree when I die, as long as I get to be the biggest tree in the forest.”
I shook my head at him. “Competitive much?”
“To my grave,” he said and broke into a grin.
Smack, Finn’s hand hit Solomon in the back of his head. “What’s wrong with you, boy? This is a graveyard and you’re laughing.”
Solomon was rubbing the back of his neck and scowling at Finn.
“You can put that scowl away or you can do fifty push-ups right here in front of everyone,” Finn said and looked down his nose at Solomon, who was about half a head smaller than him.
A silent power match took place between the youngster and the doctor, and in provocatively slow motion, Solomon dropped down and did push-ups as if it was nothing.
Kya was sending pleading looks in my direction and side glimpses at the journalist and photographer that were following us around today.
“Anybody else want to join the fun?” I asked the Motlander children in an attempt to soften up the situation, but this time they just shook their heads.
Not surprisingly, the journalist asked about the situation when Kya and I sat down with them for an interview.
Kya was squirming in her seat when I answered the question. “We would never abuse our children, but we believe in strong discipline and have a variety of ways to enforce it,” I said.
“How would you compare the two groups of children? What are their strengths and weaknesses?” the journalist asked, crossed his legs, and rested his hands in his lap.
“Well.” I cleared my throat. “The children from the Motherlands are very good at meditating and massaging each other. Some of them are also strong readers and I’m generally impressed with their math skills.
“But when it comes to physical strength, agility, and survival skills, tsk…” I smacked my tongue against my palate. “The Motlander children are hopelessly behind.”
“Is that true?” the journalist asked Kya.
It was fascinating how she managed to unscrew her jaw and smile politely. “Yes, it’s true that we are academically stronger, and I would be inclined to agree with Mr. Archer that their children are more physically fit than ours.”
“My boys are not academically inferior,” I said sharply. “In fact, I’m pretty sure that if we were to compete for the sake of national pride, my boys would win big.”
“What an excellent idea.” The male journalist smiled widely. “I’m sure our viewers would love to see a competition between our children and the boys from the Northlands.”
My competitive gene was already kicking in. “Oh, you’re on!” I got up from the chair and strutted out of the room. “We’ll meet you outside in ten minutes.”
Kya came running after me. “Are you out of your mind?”
“Not at all; I look forward to showing you people that we aren’t as dumb as you think.”
“But Archer, we have worked so hard to integrate the children asonegroup. This whole trip was supposed to bring them together, and now you want to divide them up and make them competitors?”
“What’s wrong? Are you afraid you’re gonna look stupid out there?”
“This isn’t about me.” Kya’s brown eyes were turning darker every second. “How could you take the bait of that journalist? I thought you were smarter than that, and did you forget that some of the children have family members who are here to spend time with them?”
“They are free to watch.” I didn’t stay to discuss it further because I had a competition to win and a team to prep.
Just like me, the boys were excited about the challenge.
“Oh, we’resogoing to take them down,” Plato declared and raised his hands as if the triumph was already his.
Twenty minutes later, Finn had helped me convince Kya to live a little and not take it all too seriously. An audience of hotel guests had gathered, together with Sheana Rene, who was here to see her two daughters.
Finn and Cindy had been appointed as referees and the first assignment they came up with was a spelling bee.
