Two Morality Tales
It was another Tuesday evening. Pearl had just gotten back from a tiring two-hour long practice, and she was exhausted. Her hair had fallen out of its perfect bun and her leotard had lost some gems, but before she could relax, she had to first get through her math homework. She took a shower and sat down to eat her slice of salmon, cooked to the perfect buttery softness with a hint of lemon, and homemade pasta with homemade sauce on the side, topped with small and delicate meatballs (she disliked big meatballs). Then she proceeded to start her math. Only, it was extremely challenging but she had to do it anyway. Marker in hand, she wrote out the problem on her white board which was rimmed with shiny pink glitter. UGGGGGG. It didn’t make any sense! Where was she supposed to start? She stared at the question, and gave up. “Daddy! COME HERE NOW! I need help with my math.”
“I’ll be there in a second hon, I’m washing the dishes. Try it on your own first.”
“But I already did, and it didn’t make sense. Just hurry up!”
“I’m coming.” And 5 minutes later, he was nowhere to be found.
“Are you coming or not?” Pearl asked.
“Coming, coming.” Finally he walked over and sat down with a sigh. He took one look at the question and asked her, “So, what do you not understand?”
“EVERYTHING! I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO START!”
“Calm down, and let’s do this step by step.” And so her father went on to explain the literal equation with way too many variables, where she was solving for X. This was met by the rolling of the eyes, where her long, fake eyelashes that she had carefully done that morning were exposed. You could also see her carefully drawn eyebrows where each line was done to perfection. But you see, that was to be expected. And to help all of you, who are probably in shock right now, I will explain a little bit about the spoiled brat who goes by the name Pearl.
Yes, even her name is one expecting luxury. Every morning, she is woken up by her furry turquoise alarm clock that sings out whatever song she chose the night before. Next, she gets out of bed and puts her feet onto her extremely soft, lamb wool, furry rug that was in a specifically chosen shade of lavender mixed with a slight tint of pink. Then she will dress in some expensive outfit and do her hair and makeup in her private bathroom, complete with a jacuzzi, two sinks and of course, the same color furry rug to match.
Dressed and ready, she goes downstairs to feast on her elaborate breakfast, made by her father. Breakfast is usually complete with fresh, French croissants that come from a bakery an hour away from home, one strawberry waffle made in the shape of a heart, two slices of bacon, one scrambled egg with some green onion (to add color) and lastly a fresh cup of orange juice.
So as you can see, she is an EXTREMELY, ABNORMALLY, SPOILED child. Parents, please don’t do this!
The next morning, as Pearl sat there, feasting on her mouthwatering breakfast, feeling like a queen, her dad took off his apron and exited the kitchen. Pearl pulled out her iPhone 12, covered with rose gold designs, to check her texts and various social media accounts.
Pearl’s parents shut their door and retreated to the his and hers bathroom, shutting that door too.
“She shouldn’t be working you like her own workhorse, and besides, she doesn’t need fancy clothes and makeup!” exclaimed her mom. “You are like her servant. You give her everything she wants. I don’t remember you ever being that nice to me!”
“Oh, so that’s what it’s about? You’re jealous that she gets more attention than you?!”
“Jealous! Have you gone crazy? I’m angry because you treat her like she is the queen of the world. I don’t even think real princesses are that spoiled.”
“She’s not that spoiled. I mean remember that time in second grade where she made you chocolates and a wreath for Mother’s Day? Or that time she knit us patterned scarves for Christmas?”
“Yeah, well when was the last time she did that? She has just gotten more and more spoiled by the minute. That happened in second grade! Years ago! Now she’s just become way too grandiose! And do you know who’s responsible for it? YOU!”
“It wasn’t just me. It’s not like you did anything to stop her from becoming so ‘grandiose’.”
“Yeah, well at least I didn’t make her spoiled in the first place! You can’t even say that about yourself.”
“Fine, what if you try parenting her? I’m going to go to work. And if I remember correctly, you aren’t that good at it either. Remember when you fed her almond milk, even though you knew she was allergic to nuts? If I weren’t there, Pearl would have suffered from severe rashes!”
“How was I supposed to know that it had almonds in it? I thought it was just named almond milk. I mean there’s been a bunch of things that have been named incorrectly!”
“Oh yeah? Name one!”
Silence…
“Exactly, that’s what I thought. Well anyway, have fun parenting, and do me a favor, remember that she is allergic to… NUTS!” He finished getting dressed for work, got his briefcase and left the house.
Pearl believed that her dad would be back after a day at work, so she didn’t think about it until she had been dropped off by her mom, only to find no beautiful snack waiting for her on the marble countertop. Usually, her father prepared a mini-tart for her return from school. This tradition had been going on ever since she was 7, so Pearl was more than a little disturbed to find the tart missing. Every single day, of every single week, of every single month, of every single year, a mini-tart had been waiting on the countertop. And on the rare days that her father was unable to, he had arranged earlier for things to be done by mom. But now, for the first time in years, that mini-tart WAS NOT THERE! For a normal child, this would not be a big deal, but for Pearl it was a HUGE deal. Little did she know at the time that this was the start of hard work, something she was not accustomed to.
Pearl stomped out of the kitchen, to find her mom, but she was not there. This was not going to stop her. She was angry, and she was going to let her mom know. Pearl walked over to the family phone to call her dad.
“What in the world is going on daddy?” screamed Pearl. “Where are you? Why are you not here? Where is my mini-tart?”
“Whoa whoa whoa, slow down. I answered the phone because I am no longer your private butler. I am not at home, because your mother and I have finally agreed on a solution for you.”
“What do you mean by a ‘solution’ for me? I don’t need a solution, I’m perfectly fine!”
“Today, while you were at school, your mother and I met up during lunch to discuss a problem we have been ignoring for way too long.”
“What do you mean ‘problem’??”
“Now Pearl, do not interrupt.” This surprised Pearl, who was not used to being told what to do. “I’m getting there. Both of us feel that you are spoiled. And we have finally come up with a way to hopefully change that.” Pearl stood there for a second, shocked and speechless. Who are you? she thought. But then, her anger came back to her. She wasn’t going to give in this easily, so she started screaming and telling her dad that he was crazy. But for once in her life, she did not get what she wanted. Her father took a deep breath and continued.
“For at least the next two weeks, you will be working for yourself. Anything you need or want, you have to figure out a way to get it. There is a part-time job at the craft store down the street, though you may need to work on your sewing,” said her dad. “For your meals you can call me every morning for the first week, and I will have three different recipes that can be easily cooked. But for your second week, you can cook either the same things, or find a recipe online. The pantry is kind of low right now, so you will need to make a trip to the grocery store. The money for it will be dropped off under the mat at your doorstep on the entrance to your room tonight, but there will only be enough to buy your basic needs. So spend it wisely!” Pearl just stood there, shocked, her brain trying to comprehend everything. Her dad gave her directions to microwave macaroni and then said good luck.
Pearl put down the phone, thoughts and emotions swirling through her head. But then one specific emotion came to the front: anger. PEARL WAS ANGRY! Very angry about the entire plan. And when a spoiled brat such as Pearl is angry, she makes an earthquake, and a tsunami and a volcano eruption, all at once. And Pearl, not quite sure what to do with her anger decided to stomp around for quite a while, until her feet were absolutely broken and she couldn’t go on anymore. Then, she figured she should get started on her homework, more than once poking a hole in the paper with her pencil. Finally, when dinnertime came around, she had calmed down enough to attempt to cook microwave macaroni without burning the house down. But when she took it out of the microwave, it seemed that she had overcooked it and many pieces had become crispy. Three hours later, she proceeded to change into her silk pajamas and went to bed. One day down, 13 more to go.
The next morning, she swallowed her annoyance and called her father. She wrote down the instructions for microwave oatmeal, frozen pizza and microwave quesadilla and was ready to hang up, when her dad said something very interesting: “You must learn to not live like a spoiled child, so later today when you come home from school, things will be changed.” This confused her but she pushed it out of her mind and made her oatmeal and her frozen pizza which she brought to school for lunch.
The day at school was just like any other day, but she walked home instead of being driven, stopping by the craft store to apply for a job, which she was given immediately. Had the craft store lady been notified of this? This was exhausting and irritating to Pearl, but what she found when she walked into her room was the most shocking. Nearly everything she owned had been transformed to plain versions and only one sink was available for use (the jacuzzi was off limits, yellow tape barring her entry). Pearl became angry, but it didn’t do her much good, so 20 minutes of stomping later, she was back to doing (and ripping) her homework. After her homework was finished, she decided to go grocery shopping. She was about to go up to her room and get ready in a fancy outfit and makeup, until she opened her closet door and looked at her new clothes, plain as unsweetened oatmeal. This infuriated her to the point where she decided to abandon the idea of shopping for the day.
The next day, she finally forced herself to go shopping, for there wasn’t really anything left in the pantry to eat. At the store, she saw so many beautiful sets of makeup and outfits but after she bought a few food items, she found herself with only 2 dollars left, barely enough to buy a Hershey’s bar. Oh how she hated living like this.
The days went by, cooking microwave recipes, going shopping once a week, walking or biking to places. Then, two weeks later, her parents decided to go out to dinner as a family. To her parents’ surprise but approval, Pearl did not order the most expensive thing on the menu, but instead, she ordered a basic pasta plate with a couple of meatballs (in fact they were the large ones that she used to despise) and only water instead of a mango soda drink with a piece of lime on the rim, for after the weeks of limited money and a part time job at the craft store (she somehow managed to get the skills needed), she finally understood how much money was worth.
After six weeks, Pearl had finally turned around from a spoiled brat to a reasonable teenager. Her parents moved back in, and her father got to sleep in until 7:30 in the morning. Pearl now cooked her own breakfast (upgraded to scrambled eggs on the stove) and packed her own lunch (usually a sandwich). Pearl either walked, biked or carpooled with her friends to school. She was no longer a spoiled brat!
Phoebe
Phoebe had a schedule that one might call cramped. Monday: flute and then directly after flute was band practice, Tuesday: Spanish and gymnastics, Wednesday: Volleyball & Writing, Thursday: Chinese (she considered it important to know multiple languages) and Gymnastics, Friday: Math & Gymnastics, Saturday: art and choir, and finally, Sunday: piano for 3 hours at least. Plus, there was homework from these classes and from school and she needed to study for tests and quizzes. If it wasn’t clear already, Phoebe was busy, one might even go to the extent of saying, she was a WORKAHOLIC! She never played during the weekdays, unless it was a break so she could master all of her eleven classes (gymnastics repeating three times a week). But, to her, there was something almost nice about it. She liked being at the top of everything, understanding and knowing so much, but as she was a human being and a child, she found that she envied those around her who could do nothing but sit there, munching popcorn and binge watching their favorite TV show, so it soon came to be that she found a need to relax and hang out with her friends.
Spring break was coming along and she could see that her week was almost entirely free from academic burdens, and… perhaps she could have fun biking with her friends!
During the eighth period of the day, the last period before spring break was truly here, their science teacher told them that there would be a pop quiz! Yes, you understood correctly, the teacher had indeed decided to give them a pop quiz 40 minutes before break, and quite unfortunately it was the only subject Phoebe wasn’t so extraordinary at. But Phoebe worked through it, and handed the test in relatively confidently, 5 minutes early. It was a disappointment to have a test on the day before break, but she told herself, it’s just one more small obstacle before a week-long break. Don’t worry, it’s nothing, she told herself, but she could already feel her annoyance building up. Thankfully, it was let out when the bell finally ran, releasing all the kids from captivity inside the school building. The sun had been shining so brightly outside, as if to taunt all the students but now they were free – and not just for the weekend, but for the following week! Spring break here I come, she thought.
She got on the bus and soon was dropped off at her driveway. There was only one thing that needed to happen before spring break was truly hers. The dentist. Yes, I know. Why would anyone put their dentist appointment on the Friday before spring break? Well, they do such a thing when there is no other time slot available. She thought it wouldn’t be too big of a deal. After all, she did have the entire week to play, but she didn’t realize just yet what this dentist appointment truly meant. It was 15 minutes before Phoebe was supposed to leave for the dentist and she was getting dressed. She checked her phone quickly for any text messages and found one from her friend: “Are u free today? Do u want to go biking?” “Sry, but I have to go to the dentist today. What about tomorrow?” But to her terrible shock, she read: “Ohh, then I won’t be able to see you until after break.” She stood there, shocked. Desperately, she typed out her message: “Wait, why????” “I’m leaving for Florida to c my grandparents tomorrow and I’m probably going for the whole break.”
Phoebe just sat there. This was the third time today someone had told her they were going to Florida: earlier, when she was getting her books from her locker, she had asked her locker neighbor whether she wanted to get ice cream from Rolling Moo, sometime during spring break. And guess what the answer was? “Oh, that would be fun but I’m leaving for Miami tomorrow. Maybe another time?” The second time was when her partner for English class had left in the 20 minutes before the bell because she was leaving for Orlando in a few hours. And now this? At this rate, no one is going to be left in her town, she thought. At least pick another vacation spot. Couldn’t someone she knew stay, so she wouldn’t be stuck in New Castle for a week by herself? In noting her absence through text, instead of sending her anger through a red-faced emoji, she just replied: “LUCKY!!” with lots of happy faces. Now, all she got to do was go to her very fun dentist appointment and let near strangers poke at her teeth for 20 minutes, or more. This was totally the best thing that could ever happen!
Why is it that whenever something bad is coming up, time seems to pass so terribly fast, but then when something good is coming up, time couldn’t possibly pass slower? She stared at the front door of the brick, dentist building that was her doom. She walked into the waiting room (themed a terrible orange and green) where there were two Pacman games waiting to be played. She didn’t know how to play them, so she didn’t bother. Instead, she sat down on one of the leathery bright green chairs that were exceptionally uncomfortable and waited for her name to be called by a nurse. And way too soon, it came, “Phoebe?!”.
Phoebe stood up and slowly followed the nurse to the dentist room which was themed in purple. There were lots of purple dots, in all sizes lining the walls – at least the color choice was better than the waiting room one. She got a paper towel that was connected by a bendy tube, which enabled it to wrap around her neck so that she wouldn’t get her shirt dirty, but no sunglasses, for she had grown old enough that they didn’t hand out sunglasses to her anymore, not that she minded. Then she proceeded to sit down in the reclining chair and waited for the nurse to start cleaning her teeth. As the nurse picked up the first tool on the tray, she tried to engage in some friendly conversation. This made Phoebe wonder why they liked to make their patients grunt and groan in reply while they stuck tools in your mouth. Wasn’t it just complicating things? And still the tooth cleaning continued, and after all the teeth were sufficiently scraped of any dirty substance, it was time for the tooth brushing. The nurse would apply the toothpaste flavor you had chosen earlier on to your teeth with a buzzing tool, causing annoying flavors in Phoebe’s mouth. Then, the nurse would attempt to get the toothpaste out by squirting water and letting another tool suck it out. I know it’s very pleasant… .
Finally, when the brushing and flossing was done, the worst part came, the FLOURIDE. The icky, disgusting, slightly blue substance, way too gooey and slimy, put in your mouth for a whole two minutes! The nurse proceeded to dump a ginormous pile of fluoride into two, blue, plastic containers that fit over her teeth. As Phoebe sat there in her misery, she wished it would be over – she kept checking her watch to see when the two minutes would be up, but it seemed like time had slowed into a crawl. GRRRRRR… And a century later, it was time for the fluoride to come off. Phoebe wished she could rinse her mouth out with water, but no can do, for you can’t eat or drink for 30 minutes after! The torture of the dentist continued. But thankfully, the worst was over, and all that was left was the dentist coming in and doing his thing (something involving random numbers). The best part was that Phoebe wouldn’t need to do it again for six whole months!
As Phoebe exited the brick building, eager to leave the dentist behind, she suddenly didn’t feel the happiness of finishing her teeth cleaning, for she realized that she didn’t have anyone to hang out with over the entire break. I can figure something out, right? Surely, there is someone I can have fun with! And I don’t have to worry about academics for a week… but strangely, this brought sadness to her heart. She wasn’t used to not working on something – what was she going to do?? What was she supposed to do? Who was she going to do it with? and then it always circled back to, stop thinking about it, just relax, you don’t have to plan to have fun. Something would come up… . With the constant thoughts swirling in her head, it seemed like only a minute had passed by the time the car parked in their gravel driveway. She took off her shoes and climbed up two flights of stairs looking for her brother who maybe she could confide in, only to find that he was playing with his best friend. Her mom left again to run some random errands so she was out of the question. Now, with no one to confide in, Phoebe was all alone in her room, staring at herself in the mirror, wondering what was wrong with her? Her heart was starting to race, and she was desperate for something to do. AHHH!
The more she stared, the worse she felt, but yet, she couldn’t rip herself away from the mirror. She felt as if there was something wrong with her, and it slowly came to her, first as many questions. Where were her friends? Phoebe thought back to first grade, when she had just jumped around at the school playground, not a worry in her mind. She used to just play around, having fun; she thought about the present, when she barely made any time for the few friends she had, instead occupying her time by working and studying. Was it possible that she had pushed her friends away, little by little? With less time set aside for play, and more spent in obsessive studying, what had happened? Maybe, after the break, she should try to lessen her academic load, and bring her friends into the picture a little more… . And that is what she decided to do.
In the weeks to come, she began to change her thinking: maybe I can stop doing so many academic activities. She approached her mom with the idea of taking less classes, and her mom, who never was a very pushy mom, agreed.
The next year when spring break came around, she had a full plan for the entire week – starting off with a 5 1⁄2 day trip to Florida with two of her friends, from Friday, after a half day of school, to Wednesday. Then when she got back, one of the parents had planned to bring everyone to get rolled ice cream from Rolling Moo which she finally got to go to. After that, a pool party had been planned in Phoebe’s backyard, complete with a seven feet deep pool, a diving board, an air track that slid into the pool like a slide, and a trampoline to do cool flips off of and of course, snacks and popsicles! On Saturday, everyone was coming over once again to Phoebe’s house for a day of baking, playing board games, making forts, and who knows what else. After exhausting themselves throughout the day, everyone got their sleeping bags and PJs for a slumber party. And on the last day of break, a barbeque would take place at Lily’s (one of Phoebe’s best friends) house along with a movie to finish off the fantastic break with no dentist appointments or mirror breakdowns. As you can see, Phoebe had transformed from a workaholic, to an excited kid who loved playing and had maybe consumed a bit too much sugar!