Charlie Whitmen loves sports, junk food, video games, cars and basically anything-if not everything-your average teenaged boy would find interesting. But wait a second, Charlie isn't even a boy! Oh no, she's actually a girl!
Bet you didn't see that...
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Playing Private Investigator
Unfortunately for all of the students residing in the South Burlington district the first day of school has finally arrived. It is 6:30 in the morning and the only person that's up in the Whitmen household is Charles. He waits five minutes before rolling out of bed and ascending the stairs. Knowing his children, they will not get up for school unless he forces them to and if that means he has to douse them with cold water then so be it. As long as they're not late, any method is fine with him. Rousing a bunch of teenagers is definitely an arduous task to have to perform every morning but it's part of being a parent. Besides, he doesn't mind. He actually finds it to be rather enjoyable. Luckily for him, however, his kids decide to cooperate with him today.
The first room Mr Whitmen goes into belongs to Cameron and Alexander. With a simple flicker of the lights, the two youngest Whitmens start to stir. "Come on boys. It's time to get ready for school!" he shouts enthusiastically, his voice booming throughout the entire house. Next, he finds his way over to Ian's room. Ripping the curtains apart, Mr Whitmen permits the natural sunlight from outside to infiltrate the place. The boy grunts in dismay and refuses to get up. Instead, he yanks the blanket over his head, hoping it will make his father go away. Mr Whitmen walks over to him and tears the covers off in return.
"Five more minutes, dad," he groans drowsily.
"Five minutes to you is equivalent to another half hour, Ian. You don't have that much time to spare. Now get your butt into the bathroom. You don't want to look sloppy for all of the girls at your school, now do you?" At the mention of girls and looking sloppy, Ian shoots up and scrambles for the bathroom. He does have an image to uphold. Sleeping can wait.
The last person who needs to be roused is Charlie. Sadly, she also happens to be the most difficult to deal with. Mr Whitmen usually has to threaten or bribe her to get her out of bed. The bargaining alone can typically take up to twenty minutes. But today he has the perfect bribe that will surely wake her up without an issue. He promises her that if she willingly gets out of bed in less than ten minutes that he'd not only let her drive to school from now on, but allow her to use the truck whenever she wants to as well. Hearing this, the girl practically jumps out of bed, her body jittering with excitement. She has always wanted her own car and even though her dad isn't technically giving her the truck, it's close enough for her.
Downstairs Mr Whitmen begins to prepare a simple breakfast. He might not be able to cook a grand feast like Bobby Flay but he has managed to pick up on a few simple tricks and life hacks over the last couple of years. It's bound to happen when you're a single father who has six kids to take care of. After toasting four bagels, Charles proceeds to smear each one with a different filling according to what each person prefers.
