The Reagan Siblings

Math Is A Menacing Mistress

Joe groaned for the umpteenth time that hour. He had just learned about polynomials and was utterly confused. His Dad was at work, his mom would be no help at all, Erin was busy trying to figure out her algebra, and Danny would always get mad at him for not knowing how to do it in the twisted way his older brother figured it out.
Joe sat at the dining room table and plunked his head down.
"What's wrong?" Seven year old Jamie wondered as he climbed onto the chair across from his brother.
"Math is a menacing mistress."
"Huh?"
"It means math sucks, kid," Danny plopped his book bag and jacket on the table. His girlfriend, Linda, removed the bag and set it next to the chair he had planted himself in. She put his jacket on the back of his chair and walked over to Joe.
Leaning on the table, Linda peered over Joe's shoulder. "Oh, first and second degree polynomials. Need any help?"
Joe looked at Linda, his eyes meeting her scoop neck that showed just the right amount of cleavage. "Uh...."
Feeling she had over stepped her boundaries, Linda looked at her boyfriend. "That's okay, right?"
"Pfft. Go ahead. I hate that stuff."
She took a seat next to Joe. "Do you have an extra pencil? Oh, wait, I've got one in my bag." She grabbed the pencil and twirled it in between her forefinger and middle finger.
Joe slid the book between the two of them, as Linda read the instructions. "Okay, well that's simple. Know what a polynomial is?"
"No." He was still looking at her chest rising and falling.
"Basically all it is is any number or variable raised to an even power. So... if you had 3x squared minus 5x plus... eight. 3x squared is a second degree polynomial because it is raised to the second power, see?"
"Uh-huh."
"Okay, So could you figure out this problem?" Linda wrote some numbers on the paper and glanced up at Danny and Jamie. She smiled when she saw Jamie clutching his favorite stuffed animal and Danny intently watching her.
Half an hour later, Linda smiled at Joe. "I hope I helped you."
"Yeah... Uh.. thanks."
"No problem."
"Can I talk to ya, huh, Joey?" Danny smiled aggressively. "In the other room?"
"Oo-kay..." Joe followed Danny into the kitchen.
His older brother grabbed him by the shirt and growled, "She's my girlfriend, you got that?"
Joe knew exactly what his brother was talking about. "Yeah, absolutely. No doubt here!"
"Good..." he roughly put his brother back down and went to the dining room.
Erin looked at Joe, "staring at his girl again?"
"Yes. I can't help it, Erin. She's so pretty."
The older Reagan laughed. "She is way outta your league, bro! Now, come on. Help me with dinner."