Chapter 37: A Morning Talk

At 7 AM, Mrs. Faulkner gently shook Jake and Alex awake. “Alright, boys, time to get up,” she said softly. As they stirred, she handed them their morning diapers and helped them get changed.

Once they were both set, she placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Alex, go on down and start breakfast. I need to talk to Jake for a minute.”

Alex looked between them but didn’t question it. “Okay, Mom,” he said, heading downstairs.

Jake sat up straighter, looking at his mom curiously. “What’s up?”

Mrs. Faulkner gave him a firm but gentle look. “Miss Harper told me about your attitude yesterday—rolling your eyes and talking back. Now, I know you’re not a bad kid, Jake, but that kind of behavior won’t fly. She’s here to help, and you need to show her respect. Understand?”

Jake sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah, I know… I didn’t mean to be rude, it just—just kinda happens.”

His mom nodded. “I get it, but you need to work on it. If Miss Harper tells me it continues, there will be consequences. Do I make myself clear?”

Jake swallowed and nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

Her expression softened, and she ruffled his hair. “Good. Now, let’s go eat before your breakfast gets cold.”

Jake let out a small smile and followed her downstairs, ready to start the day.

As soon as their mom stepped outside to grab the morning paper, Alex leaned over to Jake and whispered, “So… what did she want to talk about?”

Jake sighed, poking at his scrambled eggs with his fork. “Miss Harper told her I’ve been rolling my eyes and having an attitude.”

Alex smirked. “Well… you do kinda do that a lot.”

Jake shot him a look but didn’t deny it. “Yeah, yeah. Mom said I need to show more respect, or there’ll be consequences.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”

Jake shrugged. “I don’t know, but I don’t really wanna find out.”

Alex nodded. “Yeah, probably best not to push it. Miss Harper may be cool, but I don’t think she’s messing around.”

Their conversation cut short as their mom walked back in, flipping through the newspaper. “Alright, boys, eat up. Mrs. Caldwell will be here soon, and I don’t want any sluggishness today.”

Both boys quickly focused on their breakfast, knowing that another long school day was ahead. Mrs. Caldwell comes in 45 minutes later and starts setting up the days lessons. Mrs. Caldwell smiled as she handed back their math assignments. “Great work, boys. Both of you got A’s.”

Jake and Alex exchanged a proud glance before placing their graded papers aside.

Mrs. Caldwell then held out her hand. “Now, let’s see last night’s homework.”

The boys handed over their division worksheets and essays. She quickly flipped through them, nodding in approval. “Good. I’ll grade these later. Now, just a reminder—your volcano projects are due in five days, so if you haven’t started, don’t wait too long.”

Jake and Alex both nodded. They had planned to start theirs soon but were hoping to push it off just a little longer.

“Alright,” Mrs. Caldwell said, setting her materials down. “Let’s begin today’s lessons.”

She walked to the whiteboard and wrote down the subjects for the day:

1. History: Ancient Egypt

2. Science: Chemical Reactions

3. Math: Long Division

4. Reading & Writing: Creative Writing Exercise

The boys groaned slightly at the long division, but Mrs. Caldwell simply smiled. “Don’t worry—it won’t be as bad as you think. Now, let’s dive into Ancient Egypt. Open your history books to chapter seven.”

With that, the school day was officially underway.

Jake and Alex exchanged excited looks at the mention of creating their own comic strip. Finally, a homework assignment that sounded fun!

Mrs. Caldwell smiled at their enthusiasm. “You can make it about anything you want—just make sure to include pictures, color, and full sentences for dialogue or narration. Be as creative as you like.”

The boys nodded eagerly as she gathered her materials. “Alright, that concludes today’s lessons. You’re free for the rest of the day, but don’t forget to work on your comic before tomorrow.” As soon as Mrs. Caldwell left, their mom entered the room. “So, how was school today?”

Alex grinned. “It was awesome! We learned about the pyramids, saw an experiment with foam shooting everywhere, and we get to make a comic for homework!”

Jake added, “Math was a little rough, but I think I’m getting better.”

Their mom smiled. “That’s what I like to hear. Now, since you had a good day, you can have a little free time before dinner—but don’t put off your comic until the last minute.”

“Got it, Mom,” they said in unison before running off to brainstorm ideas.

They couldn’t wait to start their comic strip!

They both decided they wanted to do a supernatural comic strip involving miss harper and her dad.

Jake and Alex sat down in their room, sketchpads in front of them, brainstorming ideas for their supernatural-themed comic strip.

“What if Miss Harper and her dad were hunters, kind of like Sam and Dean?” Alex suggested.

Jake nodded excitedly. “Yeah! Maybe they hunt ghosts or some kind of creature, and we can make it like a mini-episode.”

Alex grabbed a pencil and started sketching out Miss Harper with her dad beside an old Impala, just like she said she had. “What kind of monster should they fight?”

Jake thought for a moment. “What about a wendigo? That was in one of the early episodes, and they’re creepy.”

Alex grinned. “Perfect.”

They divided up the work—Alex focused on drawing, while Jake worked on the dialogue and story details. They came up with a plot where Miss Harper and her dad were tracking a wendigo in an abandoned forest, using rock salt and fire to defeat it.

As they sketched and colored, their mom called from downstairs. “Boys, dinner in ten minutes! Wrap up what you're doing!”

“Almost done!” Jake called back, adding in a final speech bubble where Miss Harper delivered the finishing blow to the wendigo.

Alex held up their nearly finished comic. “This is actually really cool.”

Jake grinned. “Yeah, Miss Harper is gonna love this.”

They high-fived each other and headed downstairs, eager to share their work after dinner.

The boys went down for dinner and ate... afterward, they asked their mom if they could video chat miss harper they wanted to show her the comic. she said, sure, and logged into her laptop and video called Miss harper. After a few moments, she answered... and said hey mrs. Faulkner, what's up... mrs. faulkner then said the boys wanted to show you their homework, it apparently involves you... the boys come on the screen and say "hi." Miss harper says, "Hi boys." What did you want to show me... they show her the comic they drew of her and her dad... a tear ran down her cheek.

Miss Harper wiped the tear from her cheek and smiled warmly at the boys. “You have no idea how much this means to me,” she said. “My dad would have loved this.”

Jake and Alex grinned, happy that she liked it.

“We wanted to make something cool,” Alex said. “And you told us you and your dad rebuilt the Impala, so we thought, why not make you both hunters?”

Miss Harper chuckled. “I love it. You guys really nailed the details.”

Mrs. Faulkner smiled. “I’ll ask Mrs. Caldwell, if she can make a copy for you.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Faulkner,” Miss Harper said. “And thank you, boys. This was really sweet.”

Jake smirked. “So, does this mean extra brownie points next time you babysit?”

Miss Harper laughed. “Nice try, kiddo.”

They all shared a laugh before saying their goodbyes. As the call ended, the boys felt a sense of pride. They had done something special, and it had clearly meant a lot to Miss Harper.

“Alright, boys,” their mom said. “Go get ready for bed. You’ve got another big school day tomorrow.”

The boys groaned but did as they were told, still feeling good about their project as they got ready for the night.

Mrs. Faulkner changes the boys into their diapers for the night and puts them to bed. Remember boys tommorow is Friday. I want your volcanos frame done before you even think of having that ride with Miss harper in her Impala because otherwise you can't go. Is that a deal?

Both boys nodded sleepily as their mom tucked them in.

“Yes, Mom, deal,” Alex mumbled, already half-asleep.

Jake sighed but agreed. “Fine… we’ll get it done first thing.”

Mrs. Faulkner smiled and kissed them each on the forehead. “Good. Sleep well, boys. Sweet dreams.”

She turned off the light and quietly shut the door behind her. As they drifted off to sleep, their excitement for tomorrow filled their minds—both for finishing their volcano project and for the long-awaited ride in Miss Harper’s Impala.

Both boys nodded sleepily as their mom tucked them in.

“Yes, Mom, deal,” Alex mumbled, already half-asleep.

Jake sighed but agreed. “Fine… we’ll get it done first thing.”

Mrs. Faulkner smiled and kissed them each on the forehead. “Good. Sleep well, boys. Sweet dreams.”

She turned off the light and quietly shut the door behind her. As they drifted off to sleep, their excitement for tomorrow filled their minds—both for finishing their volcano project and for the long-awaited ride in Miss Harper’s Impala.