How Am I Ever Going To Convince Them?

by Jiao Li

"I hate lettuce!" I announced.

"Well, you're going to eat it!  It's good for you and it makes you brainy," Mum said calmly as she stuffed a heap of cooked lettuce in my mouth.

I had to eat it because if I didn't, I knew there would be punishment.  I chewed, and then I swallowed.

"Yuck!" I mumbled to myself.  I stuck my tongue out.

Remaining calm, Mum said, "Now eat all the rest."

"Okay, okay.  I'll eat it," I replied getting really annoyed.

You see, my mum is strict about vegetables.  So I HAVE to eat them or else.  It was always the same when we are having dinner.  The worst, however, was last Monday.  It happened like this...

I was eating my dinner peacefully when Mum served the lettuce.  Yuck!

"Now, you'd better eat it all this time or you know what will happen."

But I didn't really know what would happen.  So I answered back defiantly, "No I won't.  I won't eat lettuce and you can't force me to!"

Mum didn't say anything.  Instead, she just leaned over and stuffed lots and lots, and I mean LOTS of lettuce into my mouth.

I choked.  Then I spat it all out.  Then "G-g-g-ovf-bleah."  I spewed all over Mum!

You should have seen her change.  She became mad, really MAD!

I scrambled out of my seat and went to get Mum a towel, but on the way I slipped and slid along the shiny floor boards crashing into our antique Chinese vase on a marble stand which had cost over $10 000!

"Uh oh," I said to myself.  I knew I was in BIG trouble.

Mum came storming up to me and saw the pieces.  Her face looked like that of a furious and ferocious bull!

First I had spewed on her.  Then I had broken her valuable vase.

Then I went scientific - totally scientific.

I started spurting out all the stuff scientists say.  You know, 'formula plus formula two equals something something..."

They were really surprised because you wouldn't expect an eleven year old to know such things, especially the stuff that most parents don't know.  So they took me to the specialist and the specialist said that I had been using a new part of my brain.  But...  she thought that it was because of the lettuce.

So I was out of trouble.  But now they are making me eat more cooked lettuce than ever.  You see, they think whatever the doctor says is true.  But it was really from the bonk on the head when I crashed into the $10 000 vase.

How am I ever going to convince them?