How Green Becomes Wood

"You do not have to be sorry for Daizi and me." Dark told him. Again, he took a few quiet moments to watch Xander before speaking again, "What is done is done, and it is too complicated a situation to say exactly what you should have done or what would have worked. All we have now is the future to grapple with. Do you think you will fight everyone you meet who says hateful things?"
 
Xander shrugged. "Not always. I think I've gotten to be less of a jerk, but when it's about people I kind of like, it's harder. I don't want to be nice to them on any level. I know that's not right, but... it's harder." He looked away again, remembering the past. Was this how some of his mother's boyfriends had felt? Was that what this was like? Was that who he could have turned into? Could still turn into? He never wanted that. Not for anyone. He'd rather live alone on the moon than hurt someone like that.
 
Dark nodded, "I hope you remember I used to fight like you too, once. That is why my hands get stiff when it is cold. You are not the first person to struggle with this, and you are not alone in it. But you have come an incredibly long way. I hope you can see that too. Was it a friend of yours they were talking about?"
 
Xander glanced at Dark and weighed his answer before cautiously saying, "Yes, but I won't say the name. Not even to you." He looked away. "Sorry. Not my secret to be telling. I wasn't even supposed to know."
 
Xander looked up at Dark again, relaxing a little. "Me too," he said quietly. He took a breath and glanced at the clock. "You should probably head back to class. I'll wait for Cooger."
 
He gave Xander a little nod and then stood, "I will see you at home. Do not torture yourself, my son." Then, he walked out of his room, returning to class. On his way, he texted Alec's teacher to send him out into the hall, so he could break the news to him.

When Cooger showed up, he reached out to fistbump Xander and said, "I think I'm getting deja vu, kid."
 
Alec scrambled through the desks and practically fell into the hall. A ripple of laughter from his classmates followed him, but he didn't really care. He stood waiting for Dark, nibbling anxiously on his knuckle.

Xander almost fist-bumped Cooger but stopped himself just in time. He turned his hand so Cooger could see the rough skin and bandaids before dropping it. "Sorry about that. Looking forward to getting my own car so I don't have to bother you. Or, you know, stop getting into trouble."
 
"Xander was suspended again," Dark came right out and said, not wanting to drag it out and increase Alec's anxiety, "Nine school days this time instead of seven. But he is okay."

"Ah, right," Cooger chuckled, "and either is good. One is probably better than the other, but we'll figure it out. Ready to go?"
 
"Oh," Alec said meekly. "Two suspensions in one year isn't good, is it? I mean, it's across two school seasons, but it's still not good. What happens if he gets expelled? Will another school take him? Can I go with him? To the school? DId he say what it was about this time? He didn't tell me, but I know it was something bad."

"More than ready!" Xander told him, shouldering his backpack. "Were you working on a project?"
 
"It is not ideal. Technically it is two different years, his last suspension was last spring. It will be alright. I suppose if we have another situation like this there is a chance of it escalating to a more severe punishment, but we do not have to worry about that now. If he was expelled, we would find another school. I suppose we would enroll you in that one, too." He inhaled, "He did tell me, but I would have you ask him."

"I was putting up wallpaper," Cooger said, looking down at his messy, glue-covered self, "It looks great when it is finished but I hate wallpaper. So your choices are either I drop you home or take you back with me to the job."
 
"Okay." Alec closed his eyes for a moment and took a few deep breaths. "As long as he's okay. He seemed fine earlier, but as long as he's okay." He opened his eyes and gave a little nod. "We will survive."

"Long as I get back at a good time, I can come with you, I suppose," Xander said with a nod. "I've never done wallpaper, so you'll have to teach me." He started walking toward the door. "I gotta tell Daizi about what happened, which is going to be fun. I'd rather hang wallpaper for a while first."
 
"Yes, we will. This is by no metric the worst thing to happen to us. And life is different now than it was before, hm?" He quickly hugged Alec with one arm, not wanting to risk embarrassing him in the school hallway, "You should go back to class. It will be alright. You are very strong."

"At least now you're just telling her," Cooger said, walking Xander out to the truck, "she doesn't have those crazy pregnancy hormones anymore. I swear she lost her mind last year. And don't worry, it's not too hard to do. You'll pick it up quick."
 
Alec smiled up at Dark, willingly accepting the short, one-armed hug. "You are absolutely right," he said quietly. "Thank you for telling me about what happened." He turned and let himself back into the classroom, finding his way back to his seat and ignoring the smirks as he went. Most of them had no idea what was happening and were only laughing at his ungraceful exit. He could ignore that with no trouble. The rest of the school day wasn't going to be fun, but he'd done it before and he could do it again.

"Thankfully, she's found most of it." He climbed up into the truck and settled in. "Especially now that the mini is actually sleeping."
 
As Dark went back to class, Cooger drove Xander to his client's house. He introduced him as his nephew and worked with him for a good few hours, bought him pizza, and then drove him home. On his way, he said, "You know, if you want, during this summer, or, I guess, even during your suspension, you can come work with me. I'll let you keep a portion of the profits."
 
Xander glanced up from trying to pick off some of the wallpaper glue. "Yeah? Really? Cool. That'd be fun. I could learn some stuff that's actually, you know, worth it in the real world." He nodded to himself at the idea. He never thought Cooger would offer something like that, but he liked the idea. He liked his leather business, but it was slow going, and he could stare at scraps of leather for only so long before he started feeling like he was going insane. Sales were slow, too, but steady, surprisingly. He seemed to average about one a week, which covered his supplies but didn't really lend a profit yet. He wasn't giving up yet, but a supplemental income meant he could afford a car sooner.
 
"Yeah, it's good to have an extra set of hands. And if you learn the skills one day when I retire you can take over the business," He snorted, mostly joking because he doubted Xander had any interest in that, "Can't leave my clients hanging."
 
"Whoa, now, I can't say I'll be promising to inherit nothing," Xander cautioned, though he knew full well that Cooger was joking. "How about we see if I last the suspension period? And then the summer?"
 
"That sounds great, kid. I can't take you with me on all my jobs, but when I can, I'll come get ya, alright?" He nudged Xander, then pulled into the driveway, "Alright. See ya later, Gladiator. Go break the news of your suspension to your mom."
 
"Thanks for the break, Cooger. See you later." Xander hopped out of the truck and gave Cooger a salute before heading inside. He still smelled like wallpaper paste, but at least he wasn't too dirty. "Hey, Mum? I'm home early," he called as he opened the door and stepped inside. He kicked off his shoes and touched the salt smoothly before carrying his backpack inside.
 
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