Alvin blew up at the little brats, but judging by how little they cared, it probably hadn't done much good.
This left Alvin feeling quite frustrated. How could a big shot like him, stuck in jail, be unable to do anything about a few kids? It was almost ridiculous!
He pulled out his phone and called Dr. Banner, launching into a parental-style rant. Before hanging up, he added, "If necessary, you can let Hulk out for a bit and see if he can scare those little troublemakers straight!"
After ending the call with Dr. Banner, Alvin thought it over and called Old Rat, too. The old rat ate his food and lived under his roof, and he'd been teaching a little disciple for nearly a year—yet somehow he'd come up with 60 for 32 plus 18. How was that acceptable?
On the other end, Old Rat Splinter listened to Alvin complain for half a minute, then started hurling "obscenities" at him in a rat language no human could understand...
Alvin had no idea what he was saying, of course. But among all the languages in the world, swear words were the easiest to learn. Tone and context meant you didn't need to understand the words to know they weren't nice...
Alvin glared and swore back at Old Rat in English, Chinese, and Chinese dialects for five minutes, then hung up, satisfied.
What was the best way to relieve stress and irritation?
Blame it on someone else—or a rat...
It really did put Alvin in a better mood, since he'd ruined two other people's good moods in the process...
After letting off some steam, Alvin looked at the kids, who had gone outside and were now laughing and playing together on the lawn. He smiled helplessly and could only reassure himself,