Okay, so assuming you're in 1/2 or 3/4, I don't know what context you're doing, but this is one of the pieces I did last year for Whose Reality, with the text Death of a Salesman.
Spoiler
There his son was, slowly creeping through the door. Richard knew where he had been, he had been at the library. Most parents would be happy, of course, that their child was studying at the library. This wasn't the case for Richard, though, who knew that his son had been there to research about ancient history.
There was nothing wrong with ancient history, but Richard could not see the job value in it. Mathematics, on the other hand, had plenty of job opportunities. Not to mention that Zed could pick up where his old man had left off, studying the great work of De Moivre.
As he watched his son slowly try to sneak through the kitchen, he finally decided to speak up, “And where have you been, Zed?”
He saw the worry in Zed's eyes as the boy turned around to face him. “I was just out with some friends, dad.”
A lie, and they both knew it. Richard could tell that Zed didn't want him to know, but it was too late for that. “I got excited to see a letter from the university, I thought they had re-instated my funding. Turns out, though, that you're changing to an arts degree?”
Swallowing hard, Zed looked up, stammering out, “maths isn’t for me. That was your dream, not mine.”
Richard stood up, a deep rage starting to enter his mind. “What do you mean it’s my dream, not yours?! What else could you possibly do with your life but continue the work of your old man!”
Zed defiantly stood tall, staring straight at his father. “Did you ever think about what I wanted, dad?! I don’t like maths, I never liked maths. I did it to make you happy, but now I need to make me happy. What makes me happy isn’t complex analysis, it’s Ancient Egypt, and that’s something you’ll just have to deal with.”
It felt like a sharp blow had made contact with Richard. He fell back into his chair, a deep sorrow welling up inside him.
Zed, feeling guilt, walked over to his dad. “Look dad, I’m sorry, but you’ll find an honours student who wants to continue your work. It’s just not for me.”
Richard looked up at the boy, anger in his eyes. “Get out, you ungrateful twerp! Leave me alone! The son who doesn’t respect his old man is no son of mine!”
Zed, cut up by his father’s words, decided to leave his father alone to his own devices. As Zed left the room, Richard began to ponder. He had always thought he should devote his life to mathematics, studying advanced complex theory.
Unfortunately, his current university didn’t understand any of it. Having his funding cut for the past 3 years in a row, the university would constantly claim that the study of the imaginary number, i, was pointless. There was no need to concern themselves with maths that wasn’t real.
Almost like the relationship with his son, whom Richard had worked fervently to get on his own path. Into a job that Zed could do well in, that could make Richard proud. Richard should’ve known, though, that Zed may have been equal to 20, but Z was equal to 20 plus i.
Richard turned to the side, where he could see family portraits. A smile lit his face as he saw Z, the man he had wanted his son to be. Even at the age of five, the boy wanted to be just like his old man…
Suddenly, Richard heard the door open, and turned to see Z walk into the room. “Daddy!”
Richard slowly stood up and took Z from under his arms, lifting the five year old as high as he could. “Daddy, today I learned about what you do!”
Richard couldn’t help but laugh at this, knowing that a five year old would never learn about complex theory, even if they were more imaginative. “And what did you learn?”
With the toothiest grin possible, Z exclaimed, “I learned that one plus one equals two!”
Feigning surprise, Richard slowly put his son down, saying to him, “Wow, that’s big stuff! Soon you’ll be making numbers up, just like I do!”
Suddenly, another door opened, and Richard turned to see Zed in the doorway. “Dad, are you alright? I heard noises.” Richard turned away, with a grunt, the Z he held in his hands instantly vanishing.
“I’m fine – nothing is wrong. Go to bed, Zed, this is no work for some ‘historian’.” Richard m anaged to mutter to his son, his voice filled with venom.
With a worried look, Zed slowly turned away and retreated back to his room. With a huff, Richard decided to get back to his work.
As Richard turned back to his desk, though, he heard the door open again. Turning around, he saw Z approach him, before looking over the work that he was doing.
“You’re looking at De Moivre’s work? Surely you could devote your time to studying something that could benefit mathematics instead of something that already has.”
Richard couldn’t help but laugh at this. “You clearly don’t understand, Z. There’s a lot that can be learned from the past.”
Z shrugged it off, before he looked at the bottom of the paper. “What does it mean ‘rejected’? Aren’t they going to fund your work?”
Richard sighed, before closing the open folder in front of him. “They decided that De Moivre’s work doesn’t need any further improvements…”
Looking further into the work in front of him, Z turned to his father and said, “I think your issue is your focus on the De Moivre identity. Why not try incorporating Euler's formula into this?”
Richard let a smile grace his face, as he turned to his son. “Z, you never cease to amaze me. You'll go far, boy, you know that?”
Z, with a shy smile, said to his dad, “Thanks, dad. You know I always wanted to be like you.” That was what Richard wanted to hear. “Like you” - Z wanted to be just like his old man.
Richard then turned back to his work, before he realised he wasn't looking at his research any more. In front of him sat a letter addressed to Zed Bachor, telling him of his successful transfer to the Bachelor of Arts degree.
Richard couldn’t help but sob at the outcome. He had tried so hard to raise his son like him, to make Zed more like Z.
Unfortunately for him, Zed may be equal to 20, but Z was equal to 20 plus i.
I wouldn't suggest doing something quite as extreme as what I did, I was just having fun with this, hahah.
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