Terry thought for a moment. If he was a girl, surely the expectations would be different, and possibly easier. He changed “son” to “daughter”. His clothes promptly changed, becoming a sundress and sandals. His hair also lengthened until it stretched halfway down his back.
Wait. Why was he – or rather she – trying to make the kid thing work? He – or she – should just go back to being an adult. Surely it would be easier to do well with this app.
“All right, Terri, time to go home,” said one of her new fathers.
“Get that thing away from her, Robin,” snapped her other father. “You need to stop letting her have so much screen time.” Before Terri’s horrified eyes, he yanked the phone out of her hands.
“Landon, you were the one who bought her the phone,” sighed the father apparently named Robin.
“For emergencies,” Landon retorted. “Not for draining her brain!”
“Hmph.” Robin took Terri’s hand. “Come on, sweetie. Tomorrow’s a school day.” Landon followed them out of the building.
“I don’t know why we even let her go to school. We can hire tutors far better than the teachers she has,” Landon said. They headed for an SUV. Robin helped Terri get into the car and buckled, then got into the driver’s seat. Landon got into the passenger’s seat.
“Her private school is phenomenal, you know that,” Robin said, starting the car.
“Is it, though?”
“I don’t trust tutors to give her the education she deserves,” Robin snapped. “They’re not nearly as well-vetted as teachers!”
“We can vet them!” Landon argued.
Terri slouched in her seat. Great. She managed to become the underachieving daughter of a bickering couple. It was just like her first childhood.