1.7 Working Hard

Mitchell's Pov

Push! Harder, faster. I wanted to be in great shape for the upcoming test at work. I needed to be at my best! I couldn't fail once again. It was my second try and if i didn't pass this time i would be out of the game. I ran as fast and safe as i could.

My thoughts went to my family. They meant the world to me. It was because of them, and hard work, that i had been able to reach this far in my career. But i knew i could do better. I could always go further and further until i was at the top!

I should really start jogging again. I hadn't done that for years. I had forgotten how nice it was with a jog in the morning air. I'll start tomorrow, I thought to myself. I needed to push myself in order to achieve what i wanted. Full control and bodily stability. I had never lost all the weight that i wanted, even though i had come far. I knew i was secretly lazy, but i didn't want my wife to know that. If i could i would lay down on the couch watching television all day long. But i knew there were more to life than that. I wanted to achieve something while i still lived. I wanted my life to mean something. My birthday was nearing and i was about to become an elderly gentleman. Well, i hoped people saw me as a gentleman. My wife sure tells me i'm gentle to her. I laughed silently at my joke. It was rather bad. Basically my humor was horrible. Nobody gets it when i start firing jokes, so i've learned to stay quiet when i feel one coming.

When i had been on the treadmill for a couple of hours non-stop, i slowed down more and more until i stopped completely. I dried off the sweat from my body with a towel i had brought with me. While walking to the dressing room to shower, i said hello to various people who, like myself, were regulars at the gym. I quickly showered, got dressed and went home. 

At home Nic was doing homework in the kitchen. He really strove towards being the perfect student, making all his extra homework as well. He was getting top grades for a reason. He wanted nothing less than perfection. 

While being extremely proud of him, i was getting a bit worried that he might be giving up a social life to go for a career instead. I wanted the best for him and i knew that if he didn't have a social life, he would end up alone and elderly without someone who cares for him. And that scared me more than anything else. Except maybe total destruction of the world, but that's another issue.

Veronica's Pov

I let my fingers caress the piano keys as i sat in the bar late at night. 

"Do you need anything?" the bartender asked me.

"No thanks, i'm good," i answered. I guess i wasn't the best customer. I usually didn't order anything. I just took advantage of their piano.

I still wasn't good enough to get a promotion. Everything else was good except for my piano skills. I was the best in town to play guitar. When ever i was at the park playing for tips, everyone would come watch, demanding specific songs for me to perform. I cut teeth as i made another mistake. I was too much a perfectionist to just continue. I had to start all over. This happened every time i made a mistake, which still was pretty often. I had yet to finish an entire song.

For some reason the older i got, the harder it was for me to learn new skills. It was difficult for me to learn to play the piano. More difficult than when i had learned to play guitar.

"Sounds good," the bartender called out to me over the music. 

"Thanks!" I called back. "Though i'm still glad no one is around at the moment. I'm too insecure about my skills to be heard by anyone else than you."

"You flatter me," he said giving me a sarcastic smile.

All three of my children sat around at the dining table doing their homework. They were always so good at helping each other out.

"No it's 34 not 24," Kaylin said.
"Oh right," Phoebe said. "Then what's 15 + 30?"
"45. Did you really not know that?" Nicolas said, quite rudely.
"You know i'm no good with large numbers, Nic." Phoebe said, sticking out her tongue at him.
"Those aren't large numbers. I'm going to be in High School soon and you won't believe the numbers we're going to be calculating there."
"Oh no. I hope i will never go to High School!"
"Of course you will go, silly. Don't worry, we'll be much better at math at that point. It's years away. We've got plenty of time to practice," Kaylin said reassuringly. "I for one can't wait to get to High School. It's going to be awesome!"
I smiled to myself at i listened to their conversation. My children were growing up so fast. Too fast, in fact, i thought, as it would not only be his birthday but also mine and Mitchell's. We were growing into elderhood and nothing could stop it. I sighed. I hadn't exactly reached my goals yet. But there were still time. This just meant i couldn't retire just yet.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Mitchell! Happy birthday to you!" We sang as Mitch blew out his candles.

"Make a wish Dad!" Nic said. Nicolas hadn't wanted us to sing happy birthday to him when he blew out his candles. He didn't want a party either as he didn't really have friends at school. Somehow this didn't seem to bother him. He said he was too busy with homework and skill building to care about friends. I didn't know how to feel about this. He was just so ambitious. Maybe even a tad too ambitious. It wasn't healthy not to have friends besides his family. I hoped this would change once he started High School.
After Mitch it was my turn to blow out the candles.

It was a happy day that day as i had just gotten another promotion due to my skills with the piano.
The girls hadn't seemed very interested in celebrating us. They had just stayed in their rooms playing together.

It was strange how, now that i was an elder, i didn't have the strength i had had when i was younger. I got tired more easily and i started disliking large crowds. It made it somewhat difficult for me to perform on stage, but i still liked the adoration the audience had for me, though.

I would often take Phoebe with me down to the bar when i needed to practice on their piano. There she would play on her little violin. She was getting pretty good at it too. I was so proud of her.

Nicolas' Pov

I worked hard on my homework every day, but it just wasn't good enough. 

I wanted to be the best! The best in school, the best at my work as a Retail Employee and the best at home. I had taken a job since money was tight. It was to help out Mom and Dad with the bills so they didn't have to work so hard every day, though they did anyway.

I had Math, English and Literature, Chemistry and Biology homework. Essays to write, though since i didn't have a computer, books were piled up at my desk in school. I worked twice as hard as anyone in class and it payed off. Just six months after my first day at High School, i had earned my first A! Mom and Dad said they were proud of me. They even bought me a new bed to show it. I was so thankful for everything they gave me. It just made me want to work even harder. What do i do for fun? I read books. Books on literature, about history and chemistry so i can be better in school. The other kids mocked me for being a nerd, for being a straight A student. They thought it was funny to write my name on the bathroom walls with "Nerd" and "Ugly" and "Loser" next to it. Nobody wanted to be my friend because they feared they would be bullied as well. I was an outcast. An alien to the others. Nobody understood me. Not that they even tried. They just saw me as weak and pathetic. But honestly i didn't really care. I had my books and my work. That was all i cared about.

I had always lived in poverty. We didn't have a television or a couch, our beds were cheap, you could literally feel the springs through the mattress, our bathroom was old. Mom had said that it was the same she had bought when she first arrived in town many years ago. Our kitchen was definitely nothing to write home about. The refrigerator was cheap and it didn't cool properly. The stove, well actually everything in our house was cheap. So, this is why i worked so hard in school. I wanted to be able to have a great job when i got to adulthood. I wanted a nice salary so i could have nice things. I wouldn't say i was materialistic, but when you have lived like this your whole life it is naturally to want more and better things. At least I thought so.