And Here’s Lenny…
Lenny was bent over his desk examining a small round stone with yellow streaks running through its white shiny exterior. Before the young god was a small notebook with several lines of quickly scribbled notes.
“Slightly higher grade than I expected on the astrophysics quiz,” he said, checking off the next item in the notebook before turning to the back page, where he wrote the number two under a column called ‘Luck.’
Looking at the next nearly illegible note, he said, “Ah, now this is a big one. I’m giving five points here for Joshua forgetting to give us our homework assignments.” Five points were added to the Luck column. Chewing the end of his pencil, he mused, “There seem to be a few other irregularities lately. Some are good, like this one, but some aren’t. Maybe I should add more columns, one for Disrupted Routines (positive) and one for Disrupted Routines (negative).” A minute later, he wrote a note reminding himself to re-consider the question in two days.
Turning back to his list, he said, “Not sure about this one. Sandy wanted to compare notes before tomorrow’s microbiology test.” Shrugging, he added two points to a column called ‘Uncertain Effects.’
“I’m going to have to ask the guys at the Off-World Technology Club about that. They spend a lot of time talking about female effects. Maybe this is—”
A knock at the door interrupted his thought, but started another: What do they want now?
Getting up from his desk, he walked into a small great room, past the universe gallery with dozens of viewing windows hanging from the walls, just as the door opened.
“Dad, I wish you wouldn’t just barge in here,” complained Lenny.
“Your mother and I haven’t seen you for three days,” his father said as his mother followed him into the room. “We don’t like it when you shut yourself off like this.”
“What have you been working on, dear?” asked his mother. “Do you have some new universe to show us?”
“Well, I’ve been working on my collection,” said Lenny.
His father shook his head. “Why do you waste your time on this kind of nonsense? We’ve bought the best equipment and hired the best tutors so you can become a great builder. Lately, you’re doing everything except working on new universes.”
“I do that every day in school, and, frankly, Dad, I’m bored. I don’t feel like doing more of it when I get home,” said Lenny.
“I talked with one of your teachers. She said you’re not paying attention in class,” said his mother.
“Mom, look at that,” said Lenny pointing to the universe gallery and the walls full of viewing windows. “I’m at least three years ahead of anyone in my class.”
By the time Lenny started school, he’d already built eight universes, all of which hung in his gallery. How many more had he added since? Dozens, at least.
His father bristled. “I’m not going to apologize for giving you advantages, Lenny. You’re smart — really smart. And we have high expectations for you.”
“Just because you and mom are builders, doesn’t mean I have to be. I’m not even sure I want to do it. There are lots of other things that interest me.”
Lenny felt a twinge of guilt when he saw the hurt in his parent’s eyes. Why do I say things like that? I know they mean well.
Unable to avoid his mother’s eyes, Lenny sighed. “I’m sorry, Mom. I’ll try to do better.”