How Green Becomes Wood

"Maybe..." Daizi said slowly, "but then what if it lands on a gag gift for somewhere he's really hoping to get a nice thing from? It's only fun to tease him if he's not getting hurt. But if they sell those containers of slime, that could be fun to to tease him with. Or a stupid looking baseball hat, he's not really someone who wears hats, which is why his hairline is so good."
 
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"I think you know him well enough to know when he'll want a gift for real and when just a gag would be fine," Xander said a touch dryly as her perused the shelves. "Aha! Okay, so, there's some small containers of that slime we touched, but some of them come with glitter. As we all know, glitter gets everywhere. We'd never actually do it, but it'd be fun to tease him that we're going to open it and play with it."

Alec picked up a box and looked it over. "On the more serious side, there are some really cool wooden 3D puzzles. Oh! Here's a swing ride like at a carnival that's also a music box. It's almost as cool as the one he's made. None of these would be included in his carnival, of course, but the puzzle aspect might be fun. There's also a really cool globe, a marble run, a solar system, and a couple of different animals. Or, if you didn't want to give him yet more wood to play with, there are Discovery experiments."
 
"Glitter slime is a good joke, I Iike that," She grinned mischievously, imagining the mortal terror that would take hold of him at the risk of that sparkly slime taking over his house conpletely, "I would get him one of those wooden puzzles, but I worry he would just fuss about how he could build it better on his own. What sort of other kits do they have?" She asked, and after hearing the options, she eventually settled on a rock tumbler for him.

What better gift could there be for someone so intent on keeping things clean than an activity that cleans and polishes the rocks themselves? And it seemed like something he would actually use, since, she presumed, he could use them as decor for his Carnival.

After buying the slime and the rock tumbler, she exited the museum with the twins and then asked, once they were back on the street, "Right or left?"
 
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"Left," Xander answered, sniffing the air. "I smell food. Cheese, to be exact. Grilled cheese!" He turned and started marching forward.

Alec took Daizi's hand and walked after Xander. "I've known you for fifteen years, and your ability to track food still mystifies me," Alec told his brother.

Xander grinned and pointed ahead. "Ah-ha! See? There's a sign. Murdock's Cheese! I was right. And it smells and looks like an eatery, not just a cheese shop."

"It's not too far away," Alec told Daizi. "Maybe five minutes of walking? I can see the sign easily from here."

"Closer to eight minutes," Xander told them. He was right, it did take them exactly eight minutes to walk there.
 
"That was very impressive," Daizi remarked first at Xander's ability to find food and then again at his ability to know exactly how long it would take for them to arrive there, "We should test the limits of your abilities. But it smells wonderful, I'm excited. And I'm glad to have the time to sit. You may have to read the menu to me if they don't have braille."
 
They did not have braille, but their menu was rather limited. There were two soup options - tomato bisque or the soup of the day, which was cream of broccoli - and two bread options for grilled cheese sandwiches. The cheese options, on the other hand, were where it got interesting. There wasn't a line as the place was not that busy, and the server waited patiently while Alec stumbled his way through what felt like a hundred different cheese options from cheddar to bacon and blu to jalapeno. Once they'd placed their orders, the server started making and frying their sandwiches right there while they found their seats.

It was a small place with limited seating, but the chairs were comfortable. One wall had a massive window that allowed them to look right into the production part of the building where the cheese and gelato were made. There wasn't much happening at the moment, but it was cool to see the machines. At the other end of the building, another small section sold handmade gelato, and a massive display case in the middle held blocks of all the available cheeses. A black and white checkerboard tile ran throughout with rugs here and there, and one corner held some hanging basket chairs that looked comfortable but impossible to get out of. Regular tables and chairs stood along the wall with three bench seats near the gelato station.
 
Daizi ate a nice, filling, pregnancy-cravings approved meal, and also allowed herself some gelato after. It was only fair, after all. It was a nice little meal, and soon enough they were on the train home, and not long after they had reunited with Dark, gave him his gifts, and went to a quiet night home. Daizi thought that perhaps the hardest thing she had ever done was to stay awake on the train, and so she quickly crashed as soon as they got inside.

Then another week came by, once more Daizi was back to work, and a day came that some in the house were thrilled for, and some were dreading: the day Dark was finally going to teach them to drive. Their permits were all in order. He had driven to an empty parking lot, because he really did not want to make enemies of his neighbors by having one of his twins crash his car into their mailbox. Or, into their house, which he had seen happen before.

He sat for a few minutes after turning off the car (thinking it best the twins start with turning it on for themselves), and just said, "Do not crash my car." He did not ask who was going to go first... He was pretty sure he knew.
 
Alec grew more and more nervous as they drove to the parking lot. He fidgetted in the back seat uncomfortably but didn't say anything. He was not looking forward to this, not in the least. Even the parking lot seemed like a minefield to him. This wasn't going to work. This was going to turn out horribly. This was the worst idea ever!

Xander leaned forward in his seat, watching Dark drive as they headed to the lot, his eyes bright and eager. He knew Alec was anxious and uncomfortable, but he couldn't restrain his excitement. Finally! Finally, he was going to get to learn the key to freedom! Once he learned to drive, then he could go anywhere! Granted, he'd have to figure out how to get a car of his own, but for now, at least, he could borrow Dark's. Dark wasn't exactly the social type, often home. There would be plenty of chances to drive!

Once Dark turned off the car and grumbled about not crashing the car, Xander grinned and glanced at Alec before getting out. "Darn. It was on my list of things I really wanted to do."
 
Dark grumbled getting out of the car, "You are not as cute as you think you are." He said dryly, and went over and got into the passenger side. He was pretty certain he had never sat on that side of his car, and he found it extremely strange.

As soon as Xander climbed in, Dark explained to him how to adjust the sight and the mirrors (taking time to explain exactly what Xander should be seeing out of them), and then, hesitantly, he handed Xander the keys, "Put your foot on the break, your right foot, and then turn the key. And buckle your seatbelt before anything else."
 
Xander did exactly as Dark asked, though it did take him a good bit of time to get the seat and the mirrors so he could comfortably see everything. He was a good deal smaller than Dark. He made a note to try to remember to move the seat back when they were done, or Dark would never be able to get in the car. He started the car, that was easy enough, engaged the break, and cautiously put it in drive. He kept his eyes on what he was doing, his expression intent, but not at all worried. He was taking it seriously, but he wasn't worried in the least. The car moved forward slowly as he let off the break but did not put his foot on the gas yet.
 
"Okay... good." Dark advised slowly, switching his attention from Xander to the parking lot and back again, "I am not going to have you back out yet so... Yes, just go forward. There are not any other cars around, so as long as you do not crash into the building... You can accelerate a little bit, but do not go too quickly. And still use your right foot, unless you are driving manual, which you are not, your left foot does nothing."
 
"What's manual? How does driving get more manual than this?" Xander asked. He accelerated a little too fast, and the car jerked as he quickly took his foot off the peddle. He tried again more slowly and carefully, testing the peddle's resistance as he did so. He started turning the car in a big circle, feeling more comfortable with it.
 
"You may also have heard it called driving stick," Dark replied, "but it is probably not important right now."

After the brief false start with Xander jerking them all forward he said, "Okay, try to get in the space between the parking spaces where you would drive normally. And when you turn, move your hand over hand, do not flit around on the wheel," He demonstrated on the air, "Try a simple little right turn at the end here, try not to get into the parking space. And signal. Flip the lever to the left of your steering wheel up."
 
Xander followed Dark's instructions as best he could. Trying to handle the turn signal and the other knobs and buttons turned out to be a little more difficult than he'd expected. He kept turning the wheel just slightly with one hand while the other tried to flip the turn signal or the windshield wipers or whatever else he was supposed to be doing. Still, as he continued to drive up and down the parking strips, he started to get the hang of things. His weaving steadied out into straight lines, and he started signaling with ease.
 
"Do it one step at a time. Slow down, then signal, then turn," Dark advised, but Xander was doing fairly well for his first time, "and do not look directly in front of the car, look ahead, out towards the road. Okay. Good. Now pull up to the end again, this time imagine there is a stop sign, so you need to break and come to a stop. Then I want you to try a left turn."
 
Xander managed to execute a smooth left turn and nodded in satisfaction. "Okay, this isn't so bad," he commented. "Yeah, I know, it's an empty parking lot, and it'll be a lot more different out with other cars, but I thought the car driving mechanics would be so much harder."
 
"It's easier that we are driving automatic," Dark said, "but you are doing well so far. You can try going a bit faster if you like. At some point we can have you try parking within the lines. And at some point Alec needs to try." Dark turned and glanced back at the other teen, and tried to give him a slight nod to let him know it'd be okay, but he doubted it'd do much to take away the nerves.
 
Alec tried to return the nod with a smile, but his face wasn't quite cooperating. Xander driving was not nearly as terrifying as he'd thought it would be, but Xander driving just meant it was that much closer to when he would be driving. He didn't want to drive. He was a disaster on his own two feet, who thought driving would be a good idea for him? He couldn't even remember where his phone was half of the time!

Xander grinned and pushed down on the accelerator a little more, picking up the speed to a brisk ten miles an hour. He enjoyed the speed for a little bit before slowing down and parking almost perfectly between the lines on his first try. "Ha! Not bad for a newb, right, Professor?"
 
"No, that was well done," Dark remarked earnestly, almost expecting Xander to laugh and confess he had been taught to drive years ago, "I'll have to see how you do parallel parking some time. And do not worry, Alec, there is nothing here to hit, and I doubt if Xander did not immediately slam on the gas, you will be the one to do it. But if you feel you are not ready today, we can try again when you are."
 
"No, no, I can do it," Alec stammered, a little pale. "I'll go. I'll go next, I mean."

Xander let his foot off the break, only then realizing he hadn't put it in park. He slammed his foot back on the break, giving them all a jolt. It took him a moment to figure out how to move it from drive into park, nearly leaving it in reverse for a second. Once finally parked, he turned off the car and got out. "Come on, Alec, it's easy!" he boasted. When Alec got out, and they passed each other to switch seats, Xander leaned close and whispered, "Don't tell him, but I have no idea how I hit the lines right. I thought I missed at first. The field of vision is slightly slanted, okay? Don't look at the lines, look ahead."

Alec nodded and cautiously got into the driver's seat as Xander got in the back. Alec buckled up first thing and then gripped the steering wheel with sweating palms. He could do this. He could do this. He could do this!
 
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