"Quack, quack, quack!" Jemmy floated the toy in her bath, watching as it bobbed in amongst the foamy bubbles. "Quack, quack!" The nanny droid hovered anxiously by the bathtub, trying to dry the squirming child on a huge fluffy bath towel with very little success. Human children could be so difficult sometimes. How she'd got the boy dried and into his little gown she really couldn't say. It hadn't been easy. "Come along, Mistress Jemmiah." The droid cooed soothingly. "It's time to put the toy away and have a nice long rest." "Not tired." The girl said obstinately, wiggling her loose tooth with her tongue. "You're not?" Why did the nanny droid think that bode ill for her this evening. "I want to play." The girl wriggled out of the towel and hovered by the bath. When her nanny pulled the plug and the water started to flow away, Jemmy began to feel sad. She liked baths and hated when the plug was pulled. It meant that bath time was over and boring sleep time was here. She watched the yellow toy sink down as the water level began to fall. "Quack, quack, quack…" "Your duck's going down the plug!" a voice broke in from behind her. Jemmy turned round and saw her elder brother standing by the door, wearing only his pajama bottoms. "Is not!" Jemmy screamed, making a lunge for the precious toy. "Is so!" Todd stuck his tongue out. "Snawl!" Jemmy wailed as she tried to climb back in the bath. The nanny droid hovered not far behind, arms raised, trying to get to the girl before she slipped and damaged herself. Grabbing hold gently but firmly of the tiny waist the droid began to pull her, kicking and screaming out of the bath. "I will have to dry you off again, Mistress Jemmiah!" she scolded. "I want Snawl!" Jemmy kicked at the droid. The droid deposited the child on the mat where she stood dripping wet, large footprints imbedded in the pile. Reaching out to the remaining soapsuds, the nanny droid picked up the toy, dried it lovingly on the towel and gave it to the pouting girl. "There you are, Mistress. Please let me dry you off before you catch a chill." The droid almost pleaded. Jemmy let herself be subjected to the indignities of being rubbed down, her hair beginning to form girlish ringlets at the side of her head. Todd hovered nearby, giggling. "You look like a dog!" he laughed. "Do not!" "Do too! You look like a dogdogdogdogdog! Woof woof!" The boy teased. "Master! Mistress! Please!" The droid implored, standing between the two of them. "No arguing!" The two children squared up to each other, ignoring their nanny's warnings… ************ Five minutes later there was a small thundering of tiny feet from the along the corridor. "Mama! See!" Jemmy pointed at her mouth. "My toof's gone!" Thena stared up from the book she was reading and couldn't help but give a shudder at the small amount of blood that trickled from her daughter's bared gums. It was really a good thing that her brother Kelik had called off his often talked of - and now seemingly mythical - planned visit to the Gleshan household. She knew he didn't exactly approve of her marriage to Joel but it had long been a fact: something he should have come to terms with ages ago. Just because he'd had to knuckle down and marry the local sickly-sweet society belle didn't mean she had to put up with an arranged marriage. She and Kelik had never exactly seen eye to eye. And she had the horrible feeling that history was repeating itself with her own children. Todd reminded her very much of her stubborn, emotional brother. And Jemmiah was definitely her own child… "How did you do that sweetheart?" Thena asked, frowning. "Todd and me were fighting." Jemmy said solemnly. "But it's okay coz I won!" "How many times do I have to tell you not to fight?" Thena sighed in exasperation. "It's not nice. It's not ladylike. What will people think if they see you looking like that?" "It was all wobbly." Jemmiah said slowly. "Todd made me eat the soap. So I hit him with Snawl and then he cried and then he hit ME with Snawl and my toof came out, see?" she held the little baby tooth out to her mother for closer inspection. "If you can't behave I will take that duck of yours and lock it away." Thena warned, watching the girl's face fall. "But Snawl's mine." Jemmy pouted. "That doesn't matter." Thena replied crisply. "What if someone had come visiting and seen you in that state? They'd think I was an awful mother." "I think you're nice!" Jemmy protested, twisting her hair. "Why thank you sweetheart." "As long as I can keep Snawl." "You can keep him," Thena conceded, "but he sits on the bathroom shelf. Don't go carrying him around and DON'T go hitting people with him." "Okay." Jemmy nodded a little too readily for her mother's liking. "And the same goes for Sammy Sea Horse and Ollie Octopus." Thena warned, knowing exactly what her little girl had in mind. "Now, let's see about this tooth. It's Todd's birthday tomorrow and we're going to have lots of fun and games and things to eat. You can't come to the party looking like that, can you?" "Can Snawl come too?" Jemmy asked. "No! Snordle can't come to the party. He's a plasti-duck and he lives in the bath. Now show me your mouth again." Thena regarded her scowling three-year-old daughter as she reluctantly opened her mouth again. There didn't seem like there was an awful lot of damage, and as Jemmiah had said the tooth had long been threatening to fall out. Todd's little tantrum must have been enough to send it flying. "It's a good thing this is just a baby tooth." Thena examined the little hole in the gum at the bottom front where the tooth had once been. "Another one will grow in there soon. I can see it just poking under the skin." "How?" Jemmy frowned. "Why does that happen?" "Well, because when you get older you get another set of teeth. Stronger ones for when you get bigger. So you get a second chance. Once that's gone I'm afraid that's it. No more teeth. Just a gap, like this one." "So, if I don't like my teeth I'll get more?" Jemmy asked. "This time round, yes." "And if I don't like Todd will I get another brother?" Thena shot her daughter a warning look. "That's enough. Imagine speaking about him that way!" "But I don't like him!" Jemmy cast her eyes down. "He scribbled on your holo pic." "What?!?" "With a crayon." "Did he?!" Thena tightened her lips. "I'll see about that. In the meantime we'll get that cleaned up in the fresher room and then we'll put that tooth under the pillow. You might get a visit from the tooth sprite who may leave some money under your pillow." "Money?" Jemmy pricked her ears up. "Nothing too much," Thena warned, "it's just a lucky custom we have." "How many teeth have I got?" Jemmy wondered. "Don't get any ideas about pulling the rest out." Thena again followed her daughter's train of thoughts admirably. "Do you want to enjoy this party tomorrow or not? Because if you do you won't be able to eat any cakes." "But I want to buy a Nerf toy." Jemmy grumbled. "Then you will have to save up for it. Slowly!" Thena picked her daughter up and carried her, still protesting back towards the bathroom. There was a brief pause as she stood and stared past the door. "Gods!" Thena yelled. "What have you both done to that poor nanny droid?" ******** "Todd?" Nothing. "You asleep?" No answer. Jemmy waited what seemed like hours, listening to the sounds of her brother sleeping on the other side of the room. She had to wait until she knew he was asleep for sure. The lights were out and downstairs her mother was watching a holo on the vid screen. It was important not to make a sound. It would make mama mad. If mama got mad she wouldn't be allowed to Todd's party tomorrow. She slid herself out of the covers and made the small jump down to the ground from her bed, and then slowly - very, very slowly - inched her way across the floor until she reached the sleeping form of her brother… ***** Thena flicked off the vid screen and stared at the emptiness that replaced the moving images. Her life felt like that sometimes. Empty. The children were there and she thanked the gods for them, but she missed her husband. He was always called away doing this job or that rescue mission. Always somewhere on the edge of nothing where she couldn't speak to him or contact him. Todd had been very quiet the last time he had come home to see them and frankly she wondered if Jemmiah recognized him at all… Be safe, Joel.// begged Thena to herself. //Be safe and come home to us. I need you here. She decided it was time she spent more time with her children rather than palming them off on nanny droids and baby sitters that the children invariably didn't like. The incident today in the fresher room had only served the point: it wasn't droids the kids needed but their own mother. Well, it was nice to be needed by somebody… A short scream followed swiftly by one continuous one shocked Thena rigid for a moment, coming as it did from her children's bedroom. A thousand and one horrible scenarios crossed her mind as she pulled herself out of her chair and ran up the stairs with a speed she hadn't known she'd possessed…Gods, what could be the matter? The door was flung open, the lights were on in an instant, and Thena found herself staring down at the screaming and contorted face of her beloved little boy. In the opposite bed was her girl, eyes closed and holding the sheets up to her chest. "What is it sweetheart." Thena soothed, placing a hand upon Todd's wavy hair. "Tell me what's wrong?" It took a marathon round of screaming and wailing and hiccuping before Todd managed to say a single thing, and when the words finally came they rushed out in a gallop. "JEMMYWASHERESHERTIEDTOPULLMYTEETHOUT!" the boy bawled, rubbing his eyes. Thena looked across at the innocent figure trying to feign sleep. "Jemmiah!" she growled. Jemmy looked up nervously. "First thing in the morning you are getting moved to a room of your own!" Thena hissed. "Now I don't want to hear any more talk about Snordle, Nerf toys or teeth this evening and I DON'T want you any where near your brother, is that understood?" "Yes mama." The voice said, muffled under the blankets. "Good!" Thena glared at the girl. She gave the room a last look round, kissed Todd on the head and then put out the lights closing the door firmly behind her." "Good!" echoed the snivelling Todd. Jemmiah turned over onto her side, happy with the thought of her own room. "Good!" she grinned. |
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| The Wisdom of Teeth By Jemmiah |
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