How Green Becomes Wood

"Popular shows tend to be more expensive," Dark said, "but they also tend to earn more money, since people in the community will hear the name of a musicial they are familiar with, and maybe even like, and be willing to see it. The average person does not know A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder so unless they are really big fans of theatre, they are not likely to attend."
 
"I am not sure, actually. You would need to do research on it... I am a fan of it, myself, but it may be worth editing slightly, because originally almost everyone who is murdered is played by the same man. That may be hurtful for high schooler's egos, so it may be better to cast them all seperately. Especially since many of them have songs."
 
"If you do not have enough, then you can have the one actor play all of the roles like it was written. But I do not even know if rights for it are even available or how much they would be." Dark said, looking down at his hand. He was wearing his wedding ring on his finger again, rather than on a necklace, since he wasn't at risk of scratching anybody at work.
 
"It's worth looking into, at least," Alec said cheerfully.

The rest of the drive was uneventful, and soon Xander proudly pulled into Dark's usual parking spot. They disembarked with Alec nearly forgetting to grab his bag, and headed to the school.
 
After exiting the car, Dark took his keys back from Xander and stuck his hand deep in his pocket, adjusting his bag on his shoulder with the other one. The moment he stepped inside, Mr. Art Major was right there with a bright grin on his face, wearing a t-shirt decorated with a Picasso-inspired illustration of Dark and the text "WELCOME BACK". When he saw Dark, he nearly squealed and excited exclaimed, "Oh ho ho! There he is! My dear good friend Mr. G.M. Dark! Oh, it's been so long! And look at you, hair all grown out! How--bohemian! Oh, oh! Had I learned, I would have changed the shirt design! I wanted all staff to wear one, but alas I only managed to get one onto friend Rose and dear darling Hetty Piper! And we have one for you!"

Dark stood silent and stiff, blinking in surprise at his coworker.
 
"Nice threads, Mr. Major," Xander smirked, glancing between Dark and his coworker before heading toward the gym.

"I think it looks amazing, Mr. Major!" Alec told his teacher, grinning from ear to ear. "Excellent color palate!" He ran after Xander to hide his giggles.
 
"Thank you~!" Art said cheerfully, grinning brightly at them before staring at Dark, "My friend, I am using every ounce of my strength to resist hugging you! Come, let's visit your classroom! I sent that sub straight to hell and reorganized it for you!" With that, he happily sauntered towards Dark's room, with Dark following behind him, murmuring quiet appreciation--mostly for the fact Art restrained from hugging him.
 
"I didn't realize just how much Mr. Major loved the Professor," Alec remarked to Xander as they found their way to the gym.

Xander just snorted and pushed open the door. It felt both good and weird to be back at this time. Coming with Dark meant they showed up earlier than most, and they ended up waiting in the gym with the other early kids. Most of them were the children of other teachers, and some had parents that went to work ridiculously early. Some had formed friendships amongst themselves, some tossed balls into the hoops, but the majority preferred to lounge on the bleachers listening to music, doing homework, or getting just a little more sleep.
 
Dark stepped into his classroom to find Mr. Major had filled it with helium balloons.

Not long after the twins entered the gym, a boy who looked probably about their age with floppy brown hair and glasses hurried in, holding his backpack on both shoulders, taking a quick look at the bleachers before ducking underneath them. Unfortunately, it seemed to be too late, because a couple of boys, who used to be friends with Logan, followed him underneath.
 
Xander noticed out of the corner of his eye and frowned. "Do we know them?"

"Huh?" Alec asked. He hadn't been paying attention. He was watching two girls from the cheerleading group showing off to a couple of boys. They were nice enough to look at, but what he really wanted to know in all honesty was how they managed to do some of that stuff without ripping their jeans. Was it some sort of magic fabric?

Xander hesitated. "Never mind. I'm going to fill up my water bottle." He pushed his bag closer to Alec and stood up, stepping along the bleachers carefully as he made his way to the end.
 
"Hey, West," One of the boys was saying, just audible over the sounds of the gymnasium, "let me see your camera. I want to see what pictures you've been taking."

"No, you can't--" Replied another voice, meekly.

"Why?" The third boy asked, "Are you spying on the girls. That's what I've heard you do. In the locker rooms."

"What? No, I, I've never--"

"Don't lie to us, you freak, who else would even have a camera all the time?" The first boy said, "Let me see." Again, the meeker voice protested, and then there came the sounds of a bit of a struggle, a sharp, "No!" followed by more struggle.

"What is even in this?" The first boy again, laughing derisively.

"Film! That's why I said you couldn't see!" Then there was the sound of something hard hitting the ground followed by someone hitting the wall.
 
Xander didn't think about what he was doing. He just did it. He hopped down from the bleachers and strode into the dark shadows underneath. It didn't take him long to spot the group in a suspicious huddle by the wall. "Ah, geez, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your little love fest here," he said blithely, pretending to be embarrassed in exaggerated movements. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone you've got a whole thing going on here."
 
On the ground was a camera with the film spilling out of it in dark, ruinous ribbons, as well as a spilled backpack, and two of the boys turned around to face Xander while the third shrank down against the wall.

"This ain't any of your buisness," The first one said, but the second one whacked him and stepped further away from the boy by the wall.

"We're not gay, Cunningham, we're just trying to teach this little perv a lesson. You'd do the same." He said, but by the way he laughed it was obvious he didn't mean a word he said.

The boy sitting on the floor cried out, "I don't even know where the lockerrooms at this school are!" which prompted another round of laughter from the othe two.
 
Xander frowned and glanced at the kid on the floor. "How do you not know where the locker rooms are?" Then, walking closer, he swooped down and picked up a piece of curly, ruined film. "Ah, come on! Don't tell me you broke the camera!" He scowled at the closet of the boys and waved the film. "You got any idea what this archaic junk costs? Looks to me like you owe this kid a big apology and a lot of money." He leaned forward, eyes darkening. "So get scraping or scram."
 
"I only transferred here in January and I don't have gym," He replied, staying where he sat.

The other two looked at Xander now, and then looked back at the kid on the floor before rolling their eyes and shoving past him to leave the bleachers, making sure to kick the kid's bag again as they left.

"Be glad your watchdog is back," one sneered, but secretly, both had notice Xander was definitely looking stronger than he had a year ago, and maybe it wasn't smart to mess with him anymore even if Dark wasn't working at the school. As they left, they turned around and glared at the new kid, called him a few names, and laughed as they strode off.
 
Fury boiled in Xander's gut. His hands itched to reach out and drag those boys back! Let them feel the pain they inflicted turned back on them. Let them see how hard the underdog could bite. Win or lose, he'd make sure they'd carry a reminder with them.

No. He couldn't do that anymore. He knew he could totally take them out, but that wasn't the point. He took a deep breath. He was a calm ocean. He held it. Rage had jo part in him. He Let it out in a woosh. Violence was for practice and protection, not frivolity. His fists relaxed.

He turned and looked down at the kid. "Anything broken or bleeding?"
 
"My camera, maybe. I haven't looked at it yet. The film is ruined." He looked up at Xander, roughly wiping his face with his sleeve, "I wasn't taking pictures of anything weird. I don't do that."
 
"I'd still kick their asses even if you did," Xander shrugged. "Then I'd drag you to my dad and let him deal with you." He nudged the bit of the film with his toe, and his curiosity got the better of him. "So... what were you doing?"
 
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