Nemesis.

Beege has really gotten into Pokemon lately. I don't get it, but she loves them. The show, the video games, the books; all of it. She talks about it incessantly. I'm trying very hard to pay attention, because I want her to know that she can talk to me about anything at all... but it's just so boring.

Anyway. One day, Beege came out of her room and asked what an "arch nemesis" is, because some Pokemon guy has got one. "Well, an arch nemisis is what someone might call their very worst enemy. Someone who is constantly causing them trouble."

Kee was sitting on my lap during this discussion, and once Beege had gone back to her room, she turned to me and said, very seriously, "I have one of those, Mummy."

His name, is Baxter.

I first heard about him on the way home from school one day.

"So how was your day, honey?"
"Fine. We played in the gym."
"Yeah? What did you play?"
"Freeze tag."
"Was it fun?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I was frozed the whole time! Nobody unfreezed me! Even, even, even I called them, and they didn't, because that BASTER told them not to!"

For a second, I wondered where she'd heard the word "bastard", as it's not one anyone in our house uses, and I'm pretty sure that they don't use that kind of language on TVO kids.

Then I realised, she must mean Baxter. Every other day, I hear how THAT BASTER has done something else. He wouldn't let her sit with Amy. He told the kids at recess that she was a princess who "stoled" something and they should all be police and chase her. He told her that carrots were a "yucky" snack.

All, apparently, unforgivable things. 

The root of the problem appears to be Amy. Kee decided very early on that Amy was her very, very best friend, and that she wanted to be with her all the time. So did Baxter.

We've talked about it a bit; how he's not her enemy, and that they could both play with Amy, and that if they really can't, maybe they should try taking turns playing with Amy.

But there is this perverse part of me that keeps thinking that, if she has to have an "arch nemisis", how perfect it is that his name is  Baxter.

"THAT. BASTER!"