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That is what Nate was seeing as he stared at the math problems for his homework. Letters and numbers strung together in a nonsensical fashion as he tried to concentrate despite the continuous tapping of the rain striking the roof, walls and windows.
“We need to take a break,” Nate getting up; “everything is looking like nonsense to me.”
“Sooner you get this done,” William looking at his son; “the sooner you can enjoy the evening.”
“What evening,” Nate rolling his eyes; “it’s raining outside. I can’t mow lawns in this weather. Jean is busy at home studying; and even if she was free, there is a were-alert on and we can’t spend outside having furry fun.”
“Don’t forget,” Eric chiming in; “you can’t shift for a few more days after that attack on Monday.”
“How would you like to be in that same boat,” Nate getting frustrated; “a few well placed pops to your already broken nose should help that.”
“Don’t even think about it,” William uttering a low growl; “now sit back down and finish your homework.”
Nate watches his father head back into the kitchen; picking up on the smells of a pork tenderloin almost ready to eat, making the exhausted werewolf hungry as he looks back on the remainder of his homework. Math and some history. For math it was the same problems that Jeff Wilson had prepared for Eric and the rest of the class. His history was just a few chapters on the civil rights movement. Looking at Eric’s sheet; Nate tried to copy his brother’s answers, only to be stymied as he put the sheet in his text book just as he finishes.
“How come this comes easy to you,” Nate looking frustrated; “why are you so good that this shit.”
“I don’t know,” Eric answering; “maybe it’s because I have an eidetic memory.”
“Well let me look at your answers,” Nate grumbling; “because I just can’t figure these out anymore.”
“How can you learn if you don’t do the work yourself,” Eric shaking his head; “use the techniques I have shown you.”
“I’d rather have you do this for me instead,” Nate grumbling.
“If the tusk brigade couldn’t intimidate me into doing their homework,” Eric getting close to Nate; looking non to amused. “Then what makes you think, you have a shot;” Eric adding.
“It would have been a whole lot easier if these questions came from the text book,” Nate grumbling; knowing Eric was right. After becoming a were-panther; his younger brother has gotten stronger and faster in the short time he was become one. While not as stronger as most other large predatory based were’s, Nate knew his brother could knock him down real quick if he wanted too. Figuring that Eric picked up a thing or two when seeing Spencer fight or from the many books his younger brother read; Nate assumed that Eric would use his brains to disable a person quickly, be they a normal or a fellow were.
“The answers in the back of the text book,” Eric responding; “are incorrect.”
“And how the hell do you know,” Nate responds; getting more hungry as he can smell the pork tenderloin being pulled out of the oven.
“Because if you just copy the answers,” Eric answering; “then how are you supposed to learn? Whether or not the printing of the incorrect answers was done on purpose or an accident,” Eric putting away his homework; “any teacher that takes their job seriously will use that as a resource to determine which students of theirs are actually putting in the effort and those that don’t care.”
“And what about those that actually try,” Nate grumbling; “yet still can’t get it right?”
Eric was silent for the moment, unable to think of an answer. Shrugging his shoulders; Nate just looks and his face twists into a scowl.
“You going to help me or not,” Nate breaking the awkward silence.
“PEMDAS,” Eric responding; “remember that procedure and the order of operations and you’ll spend less time raging over those problems and more time solving them.”
“Your no help,” Nate tossing his pencil back on to the table.
“This is no different than last year,” Eric chiding; “Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition and Subtraction. Left to right,” Eric getting up; “you were raging over this last year and the year before when we were still going to school back in Minnesota.”
Yet this year,” Nate grumbling; “you are in the same grade as me. You are going to graduate the same year as me and you are two years younger than me. Hell you are going to be taking some college courses in a few weeks from what I heard.”
“That doesn’t change things,” Eric responding; “you have the tools to complete your math problems, you just need to use them.”
“Bah,” Nate huffing in frustration; “you know at times, you act like that emotionally stunted physicist on that show with all those other nerds on it.”
“Which one,” Eric chuckling; “doesn’t matter though. Not one of them is rutting with two girls at the same time."
Eric left the table before Nate could come back with a response. Heading upstairs to his room, Eric knew Nate was going to spend a few more frustrating hours on his homework, before either giving up and putting some random numbers on the problems or actually managing to complete the tasks. Meanwhile, Eric sat in front of his computer; booting it up, Eric stopped and stared into the computer monitor as it warmed up. Looking at his hand; Eric could have sworn he felt the white fur of his were-panther fursona coming out. But seeing only pink flesh; Eric could only think why he felt he was in his fusona. With a broken nose, curtosey of his now ex-math teacher; Eric had to refrain from shifting, at least for the evening, to allow it to heal. One of the many gifts thanks to becoming a were-panther.
Not realizing that both Frieda and Spencer are together, and that the feeling of him being in his fursona was thanks to them both shifting into theirs; Eric open up his internet browser and starts looking at his social media page, killing time between now and supper.
*******
Back in the kitchen, William was busy finishing up supper. Even though he and Eric had a late lunch; were’s did tend to have large appetites as shifting into and out of their fusonas did consume lots of energy. Having a heightened libido and being easily aroused also contributed to the need to eat more often. Yet William sighed as he pulled the pork tenderloin out of the oven. Hearing the entire conversation between his two sons; not because he was a were-fox and his hearing was far more acute than a normal. William heard the conversation as Eric and Nate made no attempt to lower their voices. William was even certain that Martha, who was upstairs finishing up her work, heard what the two boys said.
“Nate put your homework away for the moment and help set the table,” William speaking up; “perhaps a little food in you will help you get you past your mental block.”
“Great,” Nate could be heard in the dining room; “you heard it all.”
“It was difficult not to,” William noticing Nate entering the kitchen; “you weren’t exactly speaking quietly. And just because your brother is in some of your classes,” William looking at his son as he is getting the plates and cutlery; “doesn’t mean you can copy his work. And you are not going to, you hear me?”
“Yes I hear you,” Nate sounding exasperated; grabbing a soda from the fridge despite supper being almost ready. Juggling all the items despite having to use one hand to grip the cane he was walking with.
“I better let Martha know that supper is almost ready,” William putting the tenderloin back in the oven to keep warm.