Day 50

January was sitting next to Kyle's bed with a funny look on his face. "What happened?" I asked as I came in with Kyle's fiftieth birthday card in tow.

"My brother is just being unreasonable," January replied.

"No, I'm not!" said Kyle with a pout. He gestured for me to come to his bedside which I approached with caution. "What January doesn't understand is that he cannot always follow the modus operandi of our parents!"

I sit down in the chair already situated on Kyle's right while January is sitting on the other side. "What did he tell you to do this time?" I asked January.

"He is right here," said Kyle. A statement that both January and I disregarded.

"He told me I should take a gap year after I graduate high school so that I can travel on my own before heading to college," said January. "However, that would actually derail my plans of getting two doctorates before the age of twenty-one." January looked at my face for a moment before adding, "It's not an unrealistic goal. There's child prodigies who have already received their first doctorate before their twentieth birthday..."

Kyle threw his pillow at his brother as he yelled, "You have a right to break a few rules!" I grabbed the pillow off of the floor before January could think to throw it back at Kyle. I also gave Kyle a disapproving look.

"Is having two doctorates before you're twenty-one what you want, January?" I asked him. January's mouth tilted slightly for a moment before he shrugged.

"I have a responsibility to uphold the family name since my brother did such a good job of that," he replied. "To be honest however, I would be okay with just having one doctorate before I'm twenty-one."

"You hear that Renata? January only wants one doctorate before he's twenty-one. Oh my god, what will our parents do? Beat him up? Maybe." Kyle smirked at his younger brother for a moment. "Just break a rule once in a while, January. Or I'm not going to be the only one who calls you a robot." Kyle looked at me with his dark brown eyes and had his palm out, waiting for the birthday card. "Now, onto the next order of business," Kyle replied as he flipped his birthday card open.

January looked at the number on the back of Kyle's card with a smirk of his own. "Oh look at that, you're officially an old man."

"Shut up," grumbled Kyle, before reading out loud. "You and Persephone have some father daughter time bowling. You see much of yourself in your daughter which causes you much worry." Kyle narrowed his eyes at me. "Oh and why should I be worried? It's good to take risks once in awhile."

"There's taking risks and there's being a risk junkie," January answered back.

Kyle looked up at the ceiling as he said, "Whatever January, I'm fabulous and so are my kids and my mistress totally agrees with me."

"Mistress?" asked January.

"Yes, I'm his mistress," I replied reluctantly. "Oh, and apparently, we're both grasshoppers too."

January shrugged as he said, "I'm okay with being a grasshopper. They've been around since the dinosaurs so I guess that means I'm wise and will live forever."

"Or I'm saying that you're both old," replied Kyle. "Make of that what you will."