Yet another unattributed dialog adventure.

“I’m beginning to worry about Mephistopheles.”
“Why?”
“It’s about that time, you know. He turns thirteen next month, and the hormones and the teenage rebellion are starting to rear their ugly heads.”

“What is he doing? I haven’t noticed anything.”
“Well, of course you haven’t. You’re not here enough—you spend so much time at your sister’s Tattoo Parlor, and with those friends of yours and their Thrash Metal Band—”
“Hey, they’re getting some attention from some record companies, Babe. They’re going to need some help with the equipment and the sound system.”
“Did you see what your son wore to school this morning?”
“No, I didn’t get home until four. He hasn’t been in my Spandex closet has he? That is strictly OFF-LIMITS.”

“Oh, no. He left here this morning wearing a white button-down collar and a navy blue tie. He must have used his allowance for a haircut—a ‘corporate-conservative’ haircut.”
“He WHAT? Does he think he can just act however he wants to? As long as Mephie lives in MY house—”
“He doesn’t go by ‘Mephie’ anymore. He tells his friends that his name is ‘Paul’.”
“We’ll see about that. I’m going to march right up to that school and set some things straight. What classes does he have this morning?”
“First period he has ‘Introduction to Corporate Structure’, followed by “Accounting Practices in the New Millenium”.
“Oh, my God. It’s worse than I thought. I may have to catch him at lunch.”

“Good luck with that. Today is Wednesday, which means that he has lunch with the interns at the downtown Brokerage Firm, while they listen to guest lecturers discuss new tax legislation.”
“I’m not feeling so good…”
“Don’t beat yourself up about it. Parents have been dealing with rebellious youth for centuries.”
“Where did we go so wrong? We’ve done everything we could to lead him in the right direction, and now he seems determined to throw it in our faces and continue down this insane path.”

“Let’s try to keep our chins up. The holiday’s are coming up—you should spend some time with him. We’re leaving for your parents’ farm for Thanksgiving in about a week.”
“You’re right. Let’s head over to the mall and get Mephistopheles some new outfits for the trip. I saw a really cool chain-mail shirt in the window at Hot Topic.”

Be well, my friends.