“No, no, no!” Indra said sharply.

“Dad, come on!” Lakshman said in an attempt to convince him.

“No way, Lucky!” Indra said firmly. “I am not going to train those pipsqueaks!”

It was a few hours after training and meeting with Stuart that Lakshman told Indra. Indra listened quietly to Lakshman, but he immediately expressed his displeasure of working with the kids. Now Lakshman is attempting to convince him while Ondine watched them in silence.

“But Why? Dad, they are around my age.”

“So what?!” Indra said loudly. “Kids their age are always stupid, annoying and mischievous! I’m not gonna put up with that crap!”

“But dad, I am also around their age.”

“You are different, Lucky. You didn’t behave like an idiot or stupid like every normal kid,”

“Dad, are you saying I’m not normal?” Lakshman asked with a confused expression on his face.

“No, you’re normal to your standards, Lucky and that’s good!” Indra said adamantly and he gestured a thumps-up at him. “As for the kids, their normalness is ridiculous. I mean, seriously... they do some things which they don’t even know of!”

“Indra, that’s what’s called being a kid...” Ondine said finally as she entered the conversation. “Or, are you saying you never behaved like them when you were a kid?”

“I...” he began and hesitated before saying “That’s not the point!”

“Then, what is the point?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“The point is... if it’s you two, I am more than happy to train. However, if it involves kids, do it yourself!”

With that, Indra rose to his feet and walked out of the room while Lakshman tried calling after him “Dad, dad!” but he already walked out of the room. Lakshman sighed and covered his face with his hand.

Ondine turned to look at him and said “I told you, master. Indra is not the type to readily train anyone. Besides, he’s more of a warrior than an instructor.”

“I guess so,” he said in agreement with her. “Still, what are we supposed to do now?”

There was a short pause in which they thought about it. Then she said “Like he said, we’ll have to train them ourselves.”

“I know, but... how?” he said uncertainly. “I don’t know where to start their training from...”

Then they remained silent for a while. Just then, Lakshmi wandered into the room looking slightly ill.

“Mum? Are you okay?” Lakshman said as he got up to help her.

“I’ve... felt better,” she said slowly.

Taking his help, she waked over to the chair next to his and sat down. He then sat down next to her, looking worried. Noticing this, she smiled and caressed his hair gently with her hand.

“What happened, mum?”

“Oh... I don’t why, but it must’ve been something I ate yesterday... My stomach felt like it turned over and I had it let it all out.”

“Basically, you threw up,” Ondine said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Ondine!” Lakshman said sharply, but Lakshmi chuckled and smiled slightly.

“You’re exactly right. I did throw up,” Lakshmi said while smiling at Ondine.

“But mum... isn’t it... vulgar to say that about someone?” Lakshman asked in concern.

“No, Lucky, it isn’t,” Lakshmi said with a small shake of her head. “When you got to go, you just... got to go. No amount of pressure or... holding it in or whatever most people try to do, when it comes, you just have to give way, although it doesn’t feel well to do it. It feels like you are throwing out everything from inside out.”

“Ugh!”

Lakshman made a noise with his mouth and shuddered violently. Seeing his reaction, she began to laugh. A heart felt laughter she had not laughed in for a while.

“You are lucky you never got sick like me,” she said after she stopped laughing.

“Well mum... like my nickname says. I am lucky because I am Lucky!” Lakshman said proudly and Lakshmi smiled brightly.

“Very good, Lucky,” she said and smiled as she continued to caress him on the forehead. “So then, tell me... why are you two looking so down?”

“Well... you see...”

He explained about the training he will be doing with the kids from the town and surrounding villages. Then about his intention to get his father to help, but he refused. Finally, he told her about his concern on how to train.

“So you see mum... I don’t know where or how to train the kids,” he said and he looked concerned.

“Mmm...”

Lakshmi made a noise with her mouth as she thought about everything Lakshman said. Then she smiled for some reason.

“What is it, mum?” Lakshman asked, surprised by her sudden smile.

“Oh? I’m just thinking about how my son, at the age of twelve, became someone the people all around look up to. Makes me feel so proud...!” she said and looked at him affectionately.

“Mum...”

They looked at each other while smiling. Suddenly, Ondine cleared her throat to make her presence known.

“Um... if you mother and son finished with your... uh... feelings, let’s get back to business, shall we?”

“Oh? Sorry. I guess I lost track of things,” Lakshmi said apologetically.

“No, it’s alright,” Ondine said and they smiled at each other.

“Anyway, back to the training,” Lakshmi said as the subject redirected back to the main topic. “How about... starting off with something... simple?”

“Something simple?” Lakshman asked curiously. “What do you mean, mum?”

“Let’s see... if I remember correctly, the first thing you did was run around the house a few times, am I correct?”

“Yes.”

“So... do that with the kids,” she said with a smile.

“What? Make them run around the house?” Lakshman asked curiously.

“Yes, but if that’s might seem boring, how about a run to the town and back? That’ll give you a good workout!” Lakshmi said as she continued thinking about it.

“Really?” Lakshman asked curiously

“That makes sense!” Ondine suddenly said with a bright smile on her face. “The distance from here to down is considerably long. You know... we could turn this into a daily racing contest.”

“What?” Lakshman said, looking confused.

“That’s a brilliant idea, Ondine!” Lakshmi exclaimed excitedly. “That way, the kids won’t have the boredom of having to run around aimlessly. This way, they can get the fitness they need, train their bodies regularly, and can challenge each other.”

“That’s great!” Ondine said happily. “They can compete and determine which among them are the fastest, although I think a trophy of some sort could give them the extra urge to take it seriously?”

“Maybe, but those costs a lot of silver to buy,” Lakshmi said hastily. “So, let’s just stick with what we have right now.”

“Okay,” Ondine said and she smiled brightly.

They beamed at each other as they came to a final conclusion. There was just one person in the room who was completely lost track of things. Lakshman turned his head left and right as each talked, looking confused. When they finished, he was at a loss for words as he did not understand anything they said.

“Um...” he said slowly to get their attention.

“So, do you get what we just said, Lucky?” Lakshmi asked as she looked at him happily.

“Uh... about that...” he said slowly as he scratched the back of his head. “I actually don’t know what you two just talked about.”

“Master... really?” Ondine said and she looked at him in exasperation.

“It’s alright. It’s understandable,” Lakshmi said with a smile. “It makes sense you lock track of what we two talked about. We did talk rather fast, didn’t we?”

“I guess we did, haha,” Ondine said and laughed awkwardly.

Lakshmi took a deep breath and said “I and Ondine agreed to start the kids training by making them race against each other in a leg race.”

“Do you mean... a Running Race?” Lakshman asked as if to clarify.

“That’s right,” Lakshmi said with a smile. “That way, the kids can get the fitness and the challenge they need to get involved with the training. Plus, it’s simple and doesn’t require a lot of things to be put together.”

“I see,” Lakshman said, nodding in understanding. “That makes a lot of sense now!”

“Good!” Lakshmi exclaimed happily.

“Master, you need to grow up quickly to keep up with how adults talk,” Ondine said sternly.

“I... I will, someday...” he said and looked unhappy.

“No, no. It’s alright, Ondine,” Lakshmi said with a wave of her hand. “Lucky is only twelve. His behaviour might not fit the natural kids of his age, but he is still a twelve year old.”

“I guess you’re right,” Ondine said and nodded in understanding.

“Well then, I’ll leave you two to planning the race out while I go upstairs to get some sleep,” Lakshmi said and she slowly rose to her feet.

“I’ll help you, mum,” Lakshman said and made an attempt to get up.

“No, it’s okay. I’m not an old woman that requires help,” she said with a chuckle as she pushed him back down.

“Sleep well,” Ondine said

“Yes and good luck,” Lakshmi said and winked at them before leaving the room.

After her departure, there was a silence for a few minutes. Then, Lakshman smiled and nodded as if he thought of something.

Noticing this, Ondine asked “What’s up, master?”

“I just thought of something cool for the running race,” he said and he grinned.

“What is it?” Ondine asked curiously, but he shook his head.

“Wait and find out!”