Clio poofed into the room. "What’s that smell." She wrinkled up her tiny Greek nose.

"Take out. I ordered Chinese."

I was eating at my computer desk in my room. Well, I was starving. After all, the only time you call take out is when you’re starving. I took a gulp of tea from the large while Styrofoam cup.

"Chinese?" Clio's brows arched.  "Do your cooks know Confucius?"

"They are not my cooks, and no they don’t know Confucius. They may know of him, but they don’t know him. He died a long time ago. Only you are old enough to have actually known him."

"Words don't hurt me, Cornelia.  One of my sister's practically invented them."

I cast my eyes down at the keyboard. Belittled again. Oh no, there's a speck of soy sauce on the "f" key.

"Since your writing with that strange board again, type in Confucius so the oracle will summon his story."

"It’s a CRT screen, not an oracle. And I wasn’t writing with it actually. I was wiping some soy sauce off of it. Oh, any way."

Like a robot, I went to Google and did a search on Confucius. Clio reached over me to click on the site which interested her.

I got up out of my chair and took my Styrofoam container of pepper steak over to my bed while she began to tell me about you know who.

"A boy named Kong Qui was born in 51 BC, in ancient China. When he grew up he worked as a shopkeeper, then a farmer. At last he became a teacher. Disciples flocked around him and called him Great Master Kong. Jesuit missionaries later Latinized the phrase into Kongfuzi. The modern tongue twisted it into Confucius."

"Clio, repeat all three names as fast as you can. Master Kong, congfuzi, Confucius. Master Kong, Kongfuzi, fucsious."

"Stop that," Clio tsked. Leaning her slender body in toward the computer, she continued reading. "He wrote lyrics and sung odes while playing a gin."

"A gin? What’s a gin?"

"An ancient musical instrument similar to a zither," Clio rubbed her chin.

"So we have Kongfuzi and his Chinese zither." I love bothering Clio.

"Hush I am reading." She paused, then in a grave, Zeus like tone she added, "about history. His sage advice helped people around the world live better lives. The wise man’s basic philosophy was that man could be good. He believed that leaders should have good moral character and inspire the people to lead good lives."

"That’s a good philosophy." I’m not going to do it. I'm not going to let Clio get me interested in Confucius. No. I’m not. I’m really not.

Clio inhaled. This was it, she was gong to say she caught me again. I watched her lips curve ever so slightly. "In honor of the great Kong Qui, live peacefully." Then she winked at me and in ever so softly she whispered, " No Kongfuzi fighting."

"Clio," I chided her in a feigned prudent tone. But too late she had vanished into the air. Disappeared from sight.

But even more amazing than that, Clio made a joke. Not only that, do you know what this means? I controlled the conversation. I made Clio leave.

"All right," I flicked my two thumbs in the air. "And she didn't influence me to write a single word about Confucius. Well, except for this."