A Rough Day At School (April 2002)

Theo was sitting down in the grass as the baseball team practiced. He was doing his homework as he waited for his friend Lucas to finish up. Several of the boys that were previously on the bench had moved over to Theo. Johnny, the ‘ringleader’ of the boys that hated Theo smirked as he snatched up THeo’s homework.

“Awww, look boys, Theo’s gotta do his homework like everyone else!” He said with a chuckle. Theo sighed and stood up to confront Johnny who had short, brown hair and hazel eyes. Leon, Johnny’s ‘henchman’ pushed Theo back down. Leon was a black kid whose father worked in one of Stark’s factories. Theo scowled up at them. He contemplated telling Leon...suggesting that Johnny needed a black eye but instead he just extended his hand.

“Knock it off Johnny and give me my stuff back,” Theo said THis was far from the first time he had been teased or picked on. Being Tony Stark’s son had not been easy. It was Wednesday, 3rd hour and students either had study hall, or sports practice or could study on their own. Serena usually hung out with her friends or watched the boys practice baseball or football or soccer.

Serena stepped outside alone to get some fresh air and find a place to study. Serena was one of the most popular girls in school, despite being incredibly smart and a self professed science and technology nerd. She was the perfect mixture of both of her parents. She had received her intelligence from her father and her looks and personality from her mother. Serena was nice and approachable and always quick to make new friends. Usually she had a posse of girls with her, but today she needed some alone time.

She spotted Theo, her twin brother, sitting in the grass near the baseball field. Theo was four minutes older than her and the two of them were close. They looked out for one another. It wasn't always easy having grown up with Tony and Isabella Stark as their parents. Not only were they billionaires, they also were Avengers. Tony and Isabella had wanted their children to grow up with a semi-normal life so they were enrolled in public schools.

Serena started to approach her brother, but could see something was happening between Theo, Leon, and Johnny. She didn't like to see her brother getting picked on and she started to form an energy ball in her right hand to throw at them, but she knew she couldn't expose herself here...just like Theo couldn't either, and if she approached them and said something it would only make things worse. Instead, she let her brother handle it and eventually the boys gave him back his homework.

That afternoon, Theo had shut himself up in his room again. Serena grabbed some snacks and sodas and went down to his room. She knocked and then walked in when he told her she could come in. She sat down on the floor beside him and offered him the bag of chips.

"You wanna go see a movie tonight?" she asked with a little smile. "You can pick. We can go see that action movie you've been wanting to see."

Theo was in many ways, jealous of Serena. Everyone liked her, looked up to her and forgave her for being the child of Tony Stark. Theo on the other hand did not have the way with words Serena had. Or the personality. Theo really liked Serena, she always tried to make things right or cheer him up when he was feeling down. Like he was now. Normally he was fine with Serena’s attempts but today. He just wanted to be alone. It wasn’t right to take out his irritation and disappointment on Serena but he felt just like lashing out at someone. ANyone...his father most of all

Theo turned toward her. “Serena, go jump in the pool,” he said then turned back to the television.

Serena knew that there was more pressure on Theo than herself simply because Theo was a guy. Their parents had set the bar extremely high and trying to even just make it to that bar was going to be extremely difficult. She thought that Theo was putting too much pressure on himself though. However, she could tell he wasn't in the mood to listen to her. Suddenly, she heard what he said and then had an urge to go jump into the pool. She couldn't stop herself and she suddenly got up and walked out of the room. She took the elevator up to where the pool was. She then walked over and jumped into the pool fully clothed. As she came up for air she realized what Theo had done and she felt her anger grow. It didn't take a lot to get Serena angry, but Theo had managed it. She was soaking wet with a towel around her as she walked back to his room. He would be able to tell she was angry.

"I did nothing to you except try to talk to you. I love you Theo. You're my brother and the person I feel closest to in this world. But when you do things like this," she said as she motioned to her wet clothes, "you just make me angry and drive me away from you. I asked you not to use your powers on me. I never use my powers on you."

Theo jumped up from the bed. He saw how angry Serena was and he cringed. He had let his frustration with the world get to him. And he took it out on the one person who truly understood him, Who he truly cared about. “Im sorry Serena, ok?” He said though it came out in a whiny tone. He jumped on the bed and buried his head into his pillow and then proceeded to scream into it. When he ran out of breath he turned to look at Serena who dripped water onto the floor. She looked like a drenched rat.

“Those guys have been riding me all year!” He said. “How do you do it?” He asked as he came to sit on the edge of his bed. “Its like you’re the one with the mental powers and I’m the village idiot who people see and throw rotten vegetables at when they see me,” he said as he brushed his shaggy hair back and held his face in his hands.

Serena very rarely got angry...and it was even more rare for her to be angry at Theo. However, she was tired of his whining. It had gone on for far too long. "You don't think people say things about me Theo, or expect more from me because of our parents? Well, they do. However, you can either let it go and move on with your life, or hang on to it and be miserable. If you stop reacting when those guys do things to you then they will get bored and stop doing it. However, if you keep acting like this then you are going to drive away everyone who cares about you...including me."

Theo’s eyes bulged as he listened to Serena. She had never dressed him down like this before. She just didn’t understand. “You sound like father! Just ‘deal’ with it? Johnny picking on me is some how ‘my’ fault!?” He said angrily and stood up. “Well screw you Serena! Screw you!” He yelled and stomped out of his room.

Serena was shocked by Theo's reaction. His words hurt and when he stormed out of the room she didn't follow him. Instead, she went back to her room and changed out of her wet clothes. She smelled like chlorine so she had to take a shower. She tried to do her homework, but she was too worked up so she went to the lab. Their parents were out at an event that night, but Steve was there. He was likely down in the gym. That's usually where he was. She began working on an experiment when she realized someone had come into the lab. She looked up and saw Theo there.

"You wanna help?" she asked gently, as an attempt at a truce between them. She didn't like being angry at Theo.

Theo groaned inwardly as he saw Serena turn around. Silently he stepped into the lab and took the stool next to her. He could see this experiment had something to do with Chemistry but Theo wasn’t in that class nor had he taken it. Serena was in a ‘fast track’ curriculum where she’d actually be taking a few college courses in her high school years and high school classes now. She was very smart.

“ I could make them stop by just telling them to stop. To know I have that power and can’t use it…” He said and shook his head then looked down at his hands. “Mom and dad put us in that school so that we’d have a normal education ‘experience’. But its not workin for me sis,” he said.

Serena was glad when Theo actually walked into the lab and sat down on the stool next to her. Her hair was still damp from her shower, but she had put it up into a bun to keep it out of her face. She handed Theo some safety goggles and gloves. She instructed him to measure out a certain ingredient for her into a beaker. She listened to what he said and looked over at him.

"Well, if it isn't working for you then tell them that," she told him honestly. "They want us to be happy Theo. The school year is almost over though. Maybe take the summer to think about it. You do have friends at school and if you went back to being privately tutored then you wouldn't see them nearly as much."

Theo winced at what Serena said. Their mother had specific ideals about how they should be raised. And their father always told Theo to stand up to the bullies. Theo wanted to but he felt that ‘taddling’ like that was the easy way out. And he had hurt a kid last year when he actually fought back. When he felt threatened his powers just kicked in. He couldn’t control them when he felt fear or anger. Girls rarely got into fist fights. Boys though...the bullies were more than willing to use their brawn when their words or intelligence did not suffice.

“The last thing I want to do is disappoint mother,” he said as he poured the contents into the beaker. “And you know what father will say Serena. And we have 2 more years in junior high,” he said as he sighed in exasperation. “I think...I think I’m just going to have to stand up to Johnny. Humiliate him to get him to leave me alone,” Theo said. This meant using his powers, unfortunately. In other words…’cheating’. Something he and his sister definitely didn’t want to do.

Serena glanced at her brother. She wanted to argue with him, but she knew it was probably pointless. "Well, I don't want to be involved," she told him. Serena took the 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide Theo had poured out and had him add a big squirt of dish soap. She then poured it carefully into an empty 2 liter soda bottle. She added a few drops of red food coloring. She walked over to the large sink in the lab and placed the bottle inside. She then instructed Theo to mix together some yeast and warm water. He stirred it together for about 30 seconds and then they used a funnel to quickly add it into the soda bottle that was in the sink. They stepped back and watched as it quickly began to foam and squeezed up out of the top of soda bottle. It steamed a little from the reaction and they both laughed at the result.

"Congratulations, you just made Elephant Toothpaste."

Theo sat in Principal Kennedy’s office while they called his mother. Johnny had pushed him into his locker and Theo just completely lost it. He punched and kicked Johnny like a madman. Johnny sustained a broken nose and several bruised ribs. When one of his goons tried to intervene Theo used his power and told him to stay back. The boy had. Theo wasn’t afraid of what Isabella was going to say though he knew she was going to be furious. He was angry himself and for now, that kept his fears at bay.

Isabella had been in the middle of a meeting with members of the Stark Foundation board when she had received the phone call from Principal Kennedy. She was mortified to learn that Theo had been caught fighting in school again. She had been forced to leave the meeting and have Happy drive her over to the school. She walked into the principal's office and gave Theo a look that told him that she wasn't happy. Theo was instructed to sit outside whilst she spoke to the principal. She sighed as she sat down.

"I am so sorry for what happened. I don't know what's gotten into Theo. I think he's having a harder time adjusting to public school than his father and I had imagined. We will pay for any doctor bills for Johnny that come out of this."

Principal Kennedy had been dreading calling Isabella Stark. Tony had donated alot of money to their sports and fine arts programs. Gabe was a fair man though and he could not play favorites. Johnny's father Thomas had gone ape shit over what happened but there had been witnesses to the altercation.

"Mrs. Stark, we have a zero tolerance policy here. Both students are going to be suspended but I wanted to let you know. Theo did not pick this fight. Some of the other kids said that he was pushed into his locker by Johnny Carter. Theo has told me that the boy and a few others who follow him had been bullying him all year. Did he mention that to you or your husband?" He asked diplomatically. "Mrs. Stark, its very important to talk to your children. Have there been any problems at home? Normally when a child acts out like this there is usually more to it than just bullying," he said then raised up his hands. "I make no accusations mind. I'm only putting this out there," he said. "Theo will be out for 3 days," he said.

Isabella sighed as she listened to Principal Kennedy. Theo hadn’t told her anything and she knew if he had told Tony that he would have told her. “I honestly had no idea. I do talk to both Theo and Serena but he’s never said anything to me about being bullied. Perhaps though this will put an end to it once and for all.”

She left the office and she and Theo got into the car. Isabella felt her anger melt away and she sighed as she looked at her son. “Why didn’t you tell me what was going on?”

Theo had his arms across his chest in anticipation of a massive tongue lashing. He had seen that look before from his mother and the ride home was not going to be a pleasant one. But what was done, was done and he couldn't and wouldn't take it back if he could. His face was one, big scowl of indignation and anger about the prospect of being punished.

When Isabella's voice sounded supportive and concerned though, it set Theo offguard. But only for a moment though. "And what would you have done? Gone to his parents? Oh that would be wonderful for me at school. 'Look, there's Theo who had his parents fight his battles for him. Or..or, oh, I know, you could pay them off to tell their son to leave me be! That would be even better!" He said sarcastically and in a very disrespectful tone.

"Now wait just a minute!" Isabella snapped back at him. "You may be angry and upset, but you have no right to take that anger out on me. I would not have done either of those things." She sighed and looked out the window and watched the people on the sidewalks as the passed them by. "You used to talk to me Theo," she said more gently. "You used to tell me things and now I feel as if you've shut out your father and me." She looked back at him. "If you're not happy at that school please just tell me. I won't be angry or upset. I want you to be happy and if you'd rather go back to being privately tutored then I can make that happen."

Theo just shut down then and he fought to hold back tears. It was horrible for his mother to be angry with him. He loved her dearly but he was so angry about everything. The thing was, he didn't know what he was angry about. Johnny and the bullying? The expectations put on him to succeed? Or that he knew he couldn’t meet those expectations. He wasn’t a genius like Tony or Serena, he was just a normal kid. Or he really wanted to be. Wanted to be but wasn’t. Instead of talking though, and he did want to talk to his mother, he just scowled and looked out the window for fear that he’d just snap at her again. He was also afraid of what his father would say.

Isabella sighed, but didn't force Theo to talk. She knew that that would only make things worse. When they got back to the Tower she instructed Theo to go to his room and work on his homework. After a while she brought him a snack and a drink. She knew that Tony would be home soon. When he walked in she asked to speak to him in private. They went down to their shared office space and she closed the door behind them. She poured them each a small amount of Bourbon into a glass and handed Tony one. She took a sip of hers before speaking.

"Theo got caught fighting today. Apparently one of the kids at school has been bullying him and pushed him into a locker today. Theo snapped and broke the kid's nose and may have bruised some of his ribs. They've both been suspended for three days. I've already talked to him so please don't go and yell at him. He's upset enough as it is. I think he's having a hard time adjusting to being in a public school."

Tony didn’t say anything at first but he did take a sip of his drink as he listened to Isabella. Once again Theo managed to get into trouble and Tony could not understand it. Instead of using his brain and his words he had resorted to his fists. Tony knew that sometimes violence was the answer but not in middle school. To say he was disappointed was an understatement.

Tony’s lips grew tight and into a line as he seethed for a moment. “What should I do then Isabella? Just let him get away with sending a kid to the hospital? I don’t care what the boy did, you don’t solve your problems like this. Having a hard time is no excuse Isabella!” Tony said angrily. “I think we’ve been too soft on him. You know he could do better with his grades. When’s the last time you saw him to his homework?” He said darkly.

Isabella sighed and finished the rest of her drink. This was not how she had hoped this conversation would go. She put down the empty glass on her desk and then turned and looked back at her husband. "When I brought him a snack earlier he was working on it. I think maybe we should have Steve talk to him. Theo looks up to Steve and Steve went through bullying himself and he still deals with it. I think perhaps having him spend some more time with him might help."

Tony looked up at Isabella sharply. “I think I can handle my own son Isabella!” Tony snapped, angrily. That was the last thing Tony wanted to hear. Just another jab from her that he wasn’t a very good role-model for Theo. Tony wondered what else could he do? He made his own fortune and empire. Gave millions to charity every year and was the single most effective peacekeeping force than all the armed forces in the world, combined.

Theo ‘had’ to learn to deal with his problems but Tony was also aware that the violence might have been necessary now that he thought about it. Though Isabella would not agree with that. “Are you ‘trying’ to insult me? Or is it something that comes natural for you?” Tony asked to give her a bit of chin music back at her.

Isabella was rather tired of the way she was being treated today by both Theo and her own husband. She was visibly hurt by his last statement. "I wasn't trying to insult you Tony. I was trying to solve the problem. The only reason I suggested Steve was because he's been through this. I'm rather hurt that you would imply that I was trying to insult you. But fine, you handle it! I'm washing my hands of the entire thing." She turned and walked out of his office.

She did not make dinner that night, a clear cut sign that she was pissed. She let Tony figure out dinner for everyone. She made herself a smoothie and then went back to the office and closed the door. She stayed there until late that evening.

Tony got carry out, pizza and he told the kids they could eat whatever and where ever they wanted tonight. Theo and Serena shared a look though, They both knew that this meant that their parents were fighting. Tony ofcourse disappeared into the lab. Theo decided to go and talk to his mother. He knocked on the door before he stepped inside and closed it behind him.

“Mom...Is...are you and dad fighting? Because...of me? I don’t like it when you fight,” Theo said softly. He hated it when he screwed up and this was the result. This was hardly the first time this has happened. “Whatever happened...I know its my fault,” Theo said as a few tears filled his eyes. He could feel what she was feeling and it made his stomach churn with guilt.

“I’m...i’m sorry mama,” He said finally as he wiped his eyes.