Chapter 2 - Parents
A couple weeks after Twilight’s bi-weekly magic lessons had started, we hit a rather important event in the school calendar; the term’s parent teacher conference, or ‘parent’s evening’ as I always knew it. While parents get annual reports at the end of each school year, each term the school holds a meeting for teachers and parents to meet up and discuss any important issues. This can be anything from slipping grades, bad behaviour, or it can be something good, such as improved performance.
It had all been scheduled for the fifteenth of this month, a Thursday night. Cheerilee and I would each meet up with all the parents and share our findings. With two of us, it would certainly be a lot easier this year, but it was still no easy task getting all the foals, and their parents into the relatively small schoolhouse.
Before we could do all that though, we had to see who was coming and plan everypony’s appointments out for the evening. As is often the case, Cheerilee and I were going to pass out letters for the parents at the end of lessons today, a week before, to see who would be attending. Back on Earth, it was usually the parents of the troublesome kids who didn’t show up, but Cheerilee assured me that everypony turned up pretty much without fail usually.
The bell rang for the end of the day just as I was telling the kids that it was time to pack away their things. I’d spent the lesson on multiplication tables and set them to work on a few worksheets, helping a few of the stragglers as needed.
“Alright, everypony,” I called out as the foals all prepared to go. “Before you go, everypony needs to come up to the front and take one of these with them.” I held up the short letter and attached slip. “It’s parents’ evening next week, so make sure your parents sign these if they’re going to be here, and bring them back to Ms. Cheerilee or me before next Wednesday.” The foals luckily didn’t try to all grab a form at once, and in a couple of minutes, they were all out the door.
I started to head around the classroom and tidy up; tucking in the chairs, picking up scraps of paper and errant pencils, and wiping down the chalkboard. Cheerilee, who had spent the last lesson marking homework in her office, quickly came to join me.
“Hey, Margaret,” she greeted warmly. “How were they all today?” I smiled and shrugged my shoulders.
“As good as they usually are. Snips and Snails were having a bit of a hard time though with some of the multiplication worksheets. I’m starting to worry that they’re going to start falling behind.” Cheerilee nodded.
“I’ll take a look at their grades for the term; see if they’re just behind or still slipping.” With such a small class, we could usually afford a bit more leeway than larger schools if a few kids were struggling. With the small class we have, Ponyville Elementary would have been closed down in a heartbeat back on Earth. I switched the conversation towards less work related topics.
“So how’s Big Mac been?” I asked. Big Mac is Applejack’s older brother. Cheerilee’s been seeing him on and off for almost a year now. Not too long ago, the pair even took a little weekend getaway. Apparently it all started when the Cutie Mark Crusaders noticed that their teacher was alone on Hearts and Hooves Day. That resulted in an incident involving a love poison and the pair almost tying the knot.
Despite the odd introduction though, Cheerilee still seems to like the quiet stallion. Whenever the opportunity arises, she’ll usually take it go spend with him.
“Oh, you know how he is. He’s been kept busy at the market this last week or so. And getting Sweet Apple Acres ready for winter. I honestly don’t know how he does so much on his own. I might head to the farm tonight, see if I can lend a hoof. How about you?” I thought for a moment.
“I was planning on going to see Milano tonight, have a little chat, maybe head out to dinner. Celestia knows she needs a break from those two kids of hers.”
Milano is one of my best friends here in Ponyville. She’s Button Mash’s mom, an odd, slightly eccentric colt, with a passion for video games. We actually met at my first parents’ evening here and quickly became friends. I like to drop by whenever I can to see her. Her husband is away a lot due to his work, and I think she appreciates some company from her own gender, or at least a break from those two kids of hers.
Glancing at the front desk, I spotted a solitary form that hadn’t been picked up. We’d made up exactly the right amount, and nopony was absent today. That meant somepony had forgotten, or avoided, taking one home. They were all in envelopes with the recipients address on them. A quick glance told me who tried to duck out.
“Oh hell.” I muttered. Cheerilee looked up.
“What is it?” She spotted the letter in my hand. “Ah. Who forgot to grab their letter then?”
“Diamond Tiara.” I replied.
The daughter of local business mogul Filthy Rich, owner of Barnyard Bargains, Diamond Tiara is a constant thorn in my side. She your typical spoiled rich kid; anything she wants, her father gets for her. It makes her a rather demanding and unyielding student. No matter what, it’s never her fault. When she doesn’t bring her homework in, well why did we not keep it here? When she does badly on an assignment, she demands a second opinion. And that doesn’t even factor in the fact that she’s mean bully, particularly towards the Crusaders and Dinky Hooves, along with anypony else who doesn’t have a cutie mark yet.
On its own, this would be bad enough. But I’ve dealt with kids like her before, so it’s nothing new to me. The problem is her father. He always backs her up and tries to ensure she gets her way. So whenever there’s any kind of dispute, I worry it’s going to end up with lawyers involved.
Diamond’s grades had been slipping a little recently. It was nothing major, but I was planning to raise it with Filthy on Thursday. Now though, I’d have to deliver this to him myself. He’d ask why Diamond hadn’t gotten it, and no matter what I said, it would somehow be my fault. He probably wouldn’t even listen to my concerns anyway. He’s not a bad parent; he’s just a doting father who trusts his daughter a little too much. I mean, let’s face it, Diamond could flunk her education entirely and still inherit her father’s fortune.
Cheerilee at least understood my pain.
“Want me to come along with you?” she offered. I shook my head.
“Nah, I can manage this. I’m going to have to deal with him on Thursday anyway. You alright to lock up here?” Cheerilee nodded.
“I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” she answered as I went to grab my coat. Autumn was giving way to winter now, and it was fairly chilly outside.
“See you tomorrow.” I called back. I then headed out the door and headed for Filthy’s gaudy mansion.
Filthy’s large mansion is hardly in keeping with Ponyville’s rustic aesthetic. It’s a big, brick built thing, ringed by wrought iron fences connected by brick pillars. I’m sure by this point he sunk a fair bit of his money into it. Walking up to the front door, I tugged on the pulley rope for the bell. Inside, I heard the connecting bell ring out a few times. A few moments later the door was opened by a dull grey earth pony in a butler’s suit. He looked me up and down a moment.
“Can I help you?” he asked, a note of sneer in his voice. I held up the small envelope.
“I have this for Mr. Rich,” I replied, my voice betraying my dislike of being here. The butler nodded, and was about to take the letter off me, when Filthy himself appeared at the door.
He’s getting on in years, with a few wrinkles appearing around his eyes. His coat is a tan colour, not too dissimilar to Mayor Mare, while his mane, once black, is now a mixture of faded black and grey. His cutie mark, perhaps unsurprisingly, was a bag of coins. Honestly, all that was missing was an overly large snout. He smiled when he saw me.
“Ah, hello there, Mrs. Owen,” he greeted in a friendly tone. His accent is similar to that of my son’s, only it has a haughtier cadence to it. Kentucky I’d say at a rough guess. “And what can I do for you on this fine day?” I handed over the letter.
I’d considered various possible strategies for dealing with this on my way over here. I could say Diamond avoided picking it up, which would only put him on the defensive. I could say I forget, which would effectively cave to Diamond and reduce my authority over her. Or, I could do what I actually did.
“Diamond Tiara must have forgotten to pick this up on her way out,” I said. I chalked it up as a draw effectively. I didn’t directly confront Diamond, nor did I give too much ground. "This term’s parent teacher conference is next Thursday. I assume you’ll want to attend?” Filthy nodded.
“Yes, yes, of course. Thank you for bringing this to me, Mrs. Owen.”
“Will it be just you, or will Mrs. Rich be joining you?” Oddly, I have never met, or even seen Diamond Tiara’s mother. She’s on the board of governors too, so I would have thought she’d at least take a vague interest in her daughter’s education.
“No, it will be just me,” Filthy answered. “My wife has some business to take care of back in Canterlot.” Ah yes, despite coming from what many Canterlot ponies describe as a ‘backwater town’ Filthy and his wife do move in some high society circles; another reason that I have to be careful.
“Very well, Filthy,” I replied as I prepared to leave. The stallion flinched at the use of his name, he much prefers ‘Mr. Rich’, but I wanted a parting shot. “Then I will see you Thursday evening. Good day.”
I headed back down the path to the street and turned right to head for Milano’s house.
I’ve made quite a lot of friends here in Ponyville. First, of course, were Twilight and her friends. Twilight in particular had been kind enough to let Roger and I stay in her library home when we first arrived.
Then there’s Cheerilee, the only other teacher in town. I met her when Twilight suggested that I talk to her. At the time, my husband had just been offered a position in Celestia’s court, and I didn’t fancy sitting idle in the new home we had been given, courtesy of said princess. So, I dropped by the schoolhouse. She was initially a bit skceptical, but after an hour or so of teaching, Cheerilee was sure I knew what I was doing. We quickly became friends after that.
But my closest friend here has to be Milano. As I said before she’s Button Mash’s mother. I’d met her through the school and we’d quickly hit it off. Milano is, like me, and old hand when it comes to parenting, having raised two boys almost on her own. Her husband is often away on business as I understand it. As such, we can both talk into the small hours, and occasionally do. I make a habit of dropping by to see her whenever I can, or to have her come over to my house for dinner.
Her house is not too far from the centre of Ponyville. Unlike Filthy’s particular abode, Milano’s home fits in quite nicely with the others in Ponyville, being a small thatched roof building. Like my own place, it has a very homely quality to it, more so given that she still has kids living in it. I do find myself missing my own children when I’m at home. It does make it seem more empty after all.
Popping round the corner, I quickly came upon the house. Knocking on the front door, I waited for an answer. I wasn’t kept long, as Button opened the door a few moment later.
There’s something to be said for the look of fear that children get when they see a teacher outside of school. They seem to think sometimes that we live in the building, and aren’t supposed to come out. Or at least, you might think that if you saw the look of shock on poor Button’s face when he saw me. I’d say the poor tyke leapt a foot in the air.
“Ah, Mrs. Owen!” he exclaimed. “What…what are you doing here?” I tried to ease his fears.
“Relax, Button,” I replied. “I’m just here to chat with your mum a bit. I’m not after you or anything.”
Button is actually a very good student, just so long as he keeps his hooves off the little video game machine of his. A moment later I heard Milano’s voice.
“Button? Who’s there?” she called from back in the kitchen. I raised my voice a little.
“It’s just me, Milano,” I called back. I heard the sound of cooking utensils being put down, followed by hooves at a trot. A moment later, Milano appeared.
“Oh, Margaret. I was wondering when you might be coming over.”
Milano is a tan coloured earth pony, with a light brown mane and tail. She keeps her mane in something of a loose ponytail, if you’ll excuse the pun, draped down one side of her face. Her cutie mark is a light pink heart and a milk bottle. I guess that symbolises her brilliant parenting skills. She certainly does know what she’s doing to have raised two lads without trouble.
Trotting over to me, Milano reared up on her hind legs to be closer to my own height. Briefly bipedal, Milano was able to hug me in a way not too dissimilar to the way a human would. We exchanged the usual greetings before she invited me in. Button meanwhile scampered off to hole up in his room until the danger had passed. He’d probably go off to play some of those video games of his. Equestria only seems to be about twenty years behind Earth on that front. I wonder what would happen if Button got his hooves on my son’s Xbox. A moment later, Milano released me.
“Anyway, come on in. I’ve just put coffee on.” she said invitingly.
“I think I need some coffee at this point.” I replied, and followed her into the kitchen.
As Milano finished up her story, the two of us burst out laughing again. We’d been chatting for about half an hour at this point, sitting at the kitchen table and talking over a mug of coffee.
“And so, I go in his room,” Milano went on. “And the poor colt looks like death warmed up. He’s sitting there in front of that machine of his, staring at the screen. And you can just tell he’s been there all night.” I nodded as I took another sip of coffee.
“Oh yeah. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.” I replied. My own son had done similar things too. Luckily he’d only done in in the holidays when he didn’t have school to worry about.
“Anyway, I ask if he really has been up all night, and comes out with this gibberish. Something like ‘no…the cat’s got it with the salad’, or something like that. So I unplug the damn thing and try and talk some sense into him. But he just grabs his JoyBoy and start playing on that. So I have to take that off him too.” She paused and shook her head, smiling at the memory. “And that was when he discovered I can speak Hungolian. Ended up grounding him for a week.”
The two of us burst out laughing again, and it was now my turn to spin a yarn.
“Oh, it’s always fun when you suddenly get to break in on their world. I remember, when mine first started getting into video games, he figured I didn’t know anything about them. Well, guess he figured wrong. I warned him about playing those games instead of doing his homework. So, one night he comes home and poof, all save data gone.” Milano giggled a little as she tried to drink her coffee.
“I might have to steal that one from you, Margaret,” she warned. “At least as a threat to keep him in line.”
“Honestly, Milano,” I said, sitting back in my chair. “Sometimes I wonder if there really is any difference between us and those Royal Guard instructors, like that Strong Shield fellow my son hangs around with sometimes. We just have to turn these adorable little hellspawn into functioning members of society.”
“Well, I’ve never had Button or Gibson doing push-ups as punishment yet.” Milano replied. I set my own mug down.
“Here, speaking of, how is Gibson doing. He still trying to get that band of his started up?” Milano nodded.
“Yeah. He’s actually not that bad you know. Okay, he’s not going to be the next Sapphire Shores, but he’s got talent. I kind of wish him and his friends didn’t just commandeer the basement though. It’s no fun being cut off from your washing machine.” That got the two of us to laugh again.
“How about yours?” Milano went on. “Lizzie seems to be doing pretty well working on the Weather Patrol. And I’ve seen Blade Star a few times running the Apples’ stand in the market.”
“Well, it certainly wasn’t what I imagined them doing when they grew up,” I replied. After all, who would see a future where both their children turn into adorable technicolour ponies? “But yeah, I’d say I’m proud of em. I thought Lizzie might want to follow me into teaching. She is pretty good with kids after all. But she seems to have taken to flying like a duck to water. And as for Bones…”
“Bones?” Milano repeated, cocking an eyebrow.
“Oh, it’s a…silly nickname Roger came up with for him. He reminds him of a character in one of those TV shows. I guess it sort of stuck. I even heard Princess Celestia call him it once.” Milano considered this for a moment.
“Huh. I was just curious, since he’s a farmer not a doctor.” I nodded, sipping the last dregs of my coffee.
“That I did not see coming. My son a bloody farmer. Back on Earth, he wouldn’t have lasted a day on a farm. Weak as a pussycat, bad hay fever in the summer, and that glass is always empty no matter what outlook of his. But he seems to be making a go of it.
“Anyway, I’d best be heading off. Your Button’s been holed up in his room for forty five minutes; he’s probably going stir crazy. I’ll see you on Thursday night in any case. And maybe over the weekend you can drop by for dinner or something.”
“Sure. Button’s off on a sleepover on Saturday anyway,” Milano said as we both walked to the front door. “I’ll see you on Thursday night.”
I spent that evening borrowing Roger’s small office that he’s made for himself in the house. After he’d moved out a few ‘sensitive’ files of his, I was free to use his desk and had a quiet place to work. I spent the evening going over the records of the foals in my charge. After all, some of them stand out more than others, and it’s important to be up to speed on what is happening with each student. That and it looks bad if you’re done talking in two minutes. Most of the time, parents want a good snapshot, but they often have a few questions too.
I kept up at this revision if you will until Thursday rolled around. I had that particular afternoon off to do some marking anyway, so I was bright eyed and bushy tailed for the parents evening.
Leaving Roger to help himself to the dinner I’d left cooking in the oven, I headed out to the school. It’s certainly odd going to a school after hours. It doesn’t fit with the normal routine that you get so used to. There’s almost a certain novelty to it. Cheerilee was just setting things up when I arrived. The parents wouldn’t be here for another quarter of an hour or so.
“Hey, Cheerilee,” I called out, rapping my knuckle on the open doorway. “Everything going smoothly?” Cheerilee was just setting out desks for the two of us, and an ad hoc waiting area in one of the other classrooms for parents to wait their turn.
“I think so,” she replied. “Pinkie Pie dropped by earlier with some cupcakes as well. They’ll certainly make the evening pass more smoothly.” Ah yes, good ol’ Pinkie Pie, Ponyville’s slightly unhinged baker, party planner, babysitter, and Element of Laughter as the situation dictates. I set to work helping set up the waiting room next door.
“So how many do you think will be here tonight?” I asked.
“Should be everypony, I expect,” Cheerilee answered. “Although Dinky said her mother might be a little late. Something about helping Time Turner out at his shop or something.”
A few minutes later, the first few ponies arrived. Rarity came first, standing in for her own parents to see how Sweetie Belle was doing. The young unicorn filly trotted along beside her. After that came Pipsqueak’s folks, then Twist’s father, then Applejack and Blade Star to talk about Apple Bloom, then Rainbow, who claimed she had an interest in Scootaloo’s education, and finally Filthy, with Diamond, his wife again conspicuous by her absence. By the time seven o’clock rolled around, we were ready to begin.
“Alright, everypony. Can I have your attention please?” Cheerilee called out. The parents and foals had been mingling around snacking on the cupcakes Pinkie Pie had brought. All eyes though now turned to the maroon earth pony.
“I’d like to thank you all for attending this year’s annual parent teacher conference,” Cheerilee began. “Hopefully this year things will be a little smoother. Since there are two of us available to talk tonight, we’ll be using two classrooms for meetings. Each of the invitations should state whether you will be seeing myself or Margaret. With that, we’ll start with you Scootaloo.” Rainbow Dash and the little orange pegasus quickly got up and followed Cheerilee into the classroom. I then stepped up.
“And I’ll be starting with…”I consulted my list. “Sweetie Belle. Rarity, you want to come through here?” The two white unicorns followed me into the other classroom, leaving the other parents to wait. I could already hear Diamond Tiara complaining to her father about not being first in line.
Stepping into the classroom, I took a seat behind my desk and invited Sweetie Belle and Rarity to pull up a chair each opposite. Sweetie Belle bounded up in a manner that sort of reminded me of a dog, while Rarity settled herself down with her usual air of dignity and refinement. I quickly opened up Sweetie Belle’s file.
“Right, shall we start with Sweetie Belle’s new magic lessons?” I suggested. Rarity nodded.
“Yes, I would love to know how my little sister is taking to magic,” Rarity replied enthusiastically. I quickly scanned the document again.
“Well, according to Twilight, and from what I’ve seen myself, Sweetie Belle has really taken to magic lessons. Her levitation spells are very stable and she has a good level of spell refinement. She has the occasional problem properly manifesting a few more complex spells, such as moving larger objects, but she’s been making steady progress.”
I went on to go over each of the subject Sweetie Belle was doing. She was a pretty good student, but there is always room for improvement if you ask me. Still, Rarity seemed quite pleased with my summary. She asked a couple of questions at the end and wanted a bit more detail on a couple points, but otherwise seemed happy. When I had finished my summary, she and Sweetie Belle departed. Next up was Milano.
The evening passed by in a steady stream of parents and foals. At this point, most of them are quite used to me; I remember at one time a lot of parents were a little worried at the prospect of a strange bipedal creature teaching their young (ponies can be remarkably xenophobic at times). Still, at this point, my opinions and assessments carry the same weight as Cheerilee’s. Most of the parents I would even call my friends. You get to know parents quickly as a teacher, and given how small Ponyville is, it’s a case of everypony knowing everypony.
Anyway, it was just getting on for eight, and I was just finishing up my last but one appointment, with Snips’ folks as it happened, when I finally came to the last one on my list, Diamond Tiara.
In a slightly trollish move as my son would put it, I’d made a point of seeing Filthy and his daughter last. The long wait would either take him down a peg, or much more likely irritate him, either option was fine by me. You do need to have a good rapport with parents, but there’s nothing wrong with a little innocent fun.
I called Filthy in, with him and his daughter being the only ones left in the hall.
“Sorry about the wait, Mr. Rich,” I said as I led him into the classroom. “But we have been rather busy this evening, you understand.” Filthy actually did seem understanding. As I said before, he’s more of a doting father who goes overboard. It’s his daughter that’s the spawn of Satan.
“No, not at all, Mrs. Owen,” Filthy replied in his somewhat deep Kentucky accent. I sat down on my side of the desk.
“Well, I’ll start with the good and then look at where Diamond Tiara could be improving,” I began. I could already see the little filly glaring at me in disgust, though Filthy was oblivious.
I went through the various subjects; Diamond was an okay student, but she was missing a few grades here and there. I then though, turned the conversation toward the delicate subject of her behaviour.
I’ve actually been here before. A while ago, there was something of an incident involving Diamond Tiara, Apple Bloom, the other Crusaders, and my own son. That resulted in a bit of a sit down with Applejack, Blade Star, and Filthy, and saw Diamond Tiara officially put on notice. So far, she hadn’t done anything beyond the pale. However, at times she could still be disruptive. I did my best to be diplomatic.
“Now, on to Diamond Tiara’s behaviour recently.” At this, the filly in question bristled. “She’s been mostly behaving herself and not bothering the Crusaders. There’s certainly been no other incidents as we had in the past.” At this, Diamond decided to chip in her two bits.
“It was the stupid hick unicorn farmer’s fault,” she sneered. I merely glared at her in response, though I didn’t care for hearing her describe my son like that. I let the conversation hang for a moment before I went on.
“However, she can at times be somewhat disruptive during lessons. Nothing serious, you understand, but enough to cause problems and disrupt other students’ learning.” Filthy quickly began rationalising.
“Oh, now I know my little filly can be a bit high strung, but I’m sure you can compensate. She doesn’t mean anything by it, do you sweetie?” Diamond quickly switched to her ‘adorable’ expression.
“No, Daddy,” she replied in a fake cutesy voice. Filthy went on.
“Why I’m sure there are a few other foals in your class that give you trouble too from time to time,” he prompted. I nodded.
“True. But they don’t work at the same consistent rate as your daughter. If I tell them to stop what they are doing, they will do so. Your daughter on the other hand, will start up again the moment she thinks she can get away with it. I’ve already had her in detention during recess four times this year.”
“That’s hardly fair on the poor filly though,” Filthy replied. “Keeping her all locked up all day. She’d just get bored during your lessons.”
I saw how the land lay. Filthy was going to try and make out that my keeping his spoilt urchin in for detention resulted in her bad behaviour. Therefore, his perfect little filly couldn’t possibly be at fault, and it had to be me, the incompetent teacher. I leaned back in my chair a moment.
“Mr, Rich, allow me to be blunt for a moment. Both Cheerilee and myself have both tried, at length, the carrot with Diamond Tiara. She hasn’t responded all too well. As such, my only option is the proverbial stick.”
Filthy though was having none of it. We soon, as was often the case, found ourselves at an impasse. It would be pointless for me to force the issue, as it would only make Filthy dig his heels in more. So, I merely gave him my opinion that Diamond’s behaviour still needed some improvement. With that, I let the two of them go on their way, and let out a long sigh of relief.
Twenty minutes later, everything was done and dusted. The school was locked up and I was ready for home. It was just getting on for quarter to nine at night, and the moon was high in the sky. I was standing outside, looking up at the night sky when Cheerilee came out.
“Phew, thank goodness that’s over,” I said to the mare.
“Everything go smoothly with Filthy?” Cheerilee asked. I shrugged my shoulders, a gesture which doesn’t have a counterpart in pony body language.
“As smoothly as you could hope for. I didn’t get far with him though. Still, at least Diamond Tiara’s been relatively well behaved recently.” Cheerilee elbowed me in the side.
“Shh, you’ll jinx it!” she whispered conspiratorially.
“Well, at least we don’t have to do that all again for a good long while,” I answered. “Is Twilight still doing her magic lesson tomorrow afternoon?” Cheerilee nodded.
“Yeah, she’s still available to help. That map thing of hers seems to be quiet for the moment. I’ll supervise her. You alright to keep an eye on the other students?”
“Sure,” I replied, nodding. “You got some worksheets I can set them on?”
“Yes, I figured it might be a good chance for snips to catch up with the rest of the class on his multiplication.”
“Fair enough then,” I replied, preparing to head for home. “See you tomorrow morning then, Cheerilee.” With that, I headed back home.
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You get a 1Up for the awesome Buttons Adventure reference
arcanegel.com/mayclaire/memoriam/dkelley/bonesmccoy.jpg
ok Filthy straighten your brat up or she gets thrown out for a week and false the year and held back.
I have a huge problem with bratty kids.
Methinks Filthy Rich isn't the problem. Not denying that he's doing everything he can to be a good father for Diamond, but he needs to grow a backbone. Spoiled Bitch is the REAL problem, if you ask me. At best, she'll ascend into the Manehatten upper class, seeing as the Canterlot upper class is unicorns only. She only has the money because of her marriage to Filthy. If I didn't know any better, Filthy would have been raised as a southern gentleman.
I always struggled with 8x7, 7x7, and 8x8.