Twelve-year-old Rachel gnashed her teeth. ” I have to go to summer camp?” she howled throwing herself on the bed. “What is this obsession with ruining my life?”

The Wizard Tim sat down beside her. “Oh, it’s not as bad as that. Your parents are just trying to get you ready to be an adult.”

She turned her head, so an eye stared at him. “Really? I thought they were just trying to get rid of me.”

“Oh, come on, getting kids ready to be independent is part of the parent’s job.”

“I know. I just don’t like having people in my business.” Tim picked up a tube of lip gloss off her nightstand.

“Well, it’s better than it used to be.” He twisted the cap off and sniffed it.

Rachel snatched it out of Tim’s hands. “Back in the stone age, you mean?”

“It wasn’t all that long ago. Ever wonder why the many kingdoms no longer fight wars?”

“Duh, because war is stupid.” “Ah, but the better question is — why is war stupid?”

“I suppose because what you gain is never worth what you lose.”

“In most cases, yes, unless what is at stake is your freedom.”

“Okay, okay. Thank you for the civics lesson. What has this to do with my life?”

“Well, in the old days, Kings would throw away the lives of their children to increase their status, only to die themselves and have nothing show for it. So eventually, the Kingdoms got together and got rid of war, which allows them to focus on giving their children a better future.”

“Oh, I get it. That’s the point of this story. That my parents are giving me a better future by sending me to Princess Summer camp.”

Tim shrugged. “Well, yeah, plus they’re trying to get rid of you.”

Rachel face-palmed herself.