How Green Becomes Wood

The rest of the weekend went by fairly quickly, and of course Dark tried to get evidence of Ivy's newest skill to share with Cooger, who confirmed it meant all of Dark's children were now cooler than their father.

Soon enough, it was Monday again, and time for another week in a year that had sped by.
 
Most of the day was quite a regular day as far as Monday's went. A little off-kilter because what Monday wasn't, but decent enough. The twins stayed together for lunch and had a good time talking to friends, and then headed to class. Xander needed a bathroom break, so he sent Alec ahead to make certain no one tried to steal his usual seat and went to take care of business.

On his way back, he heard scuffling but didn't think much of it. The halls were mostly empty now with only a few stragglers like himself trying to reach their classes. He checked his phone briefly when he got a text about a used leather sewing machine he'd inquired about after seeing it advertised online (it had already been sold) and turned down the corridor toward his classroom.

Someone collided with him, nearly knocking him over. He caught his balance but dropped his phone. Cursing himself for not paying attention, Xander shoved the guy off and tensed. Four footballers, Toby, and Austin were all tied together in a knot except for the one who'd fallen into him. The footballer tried to get back into the pile, witch ricocheted off the wall and toward Xander. What the heck was happening?? Xander had no choice but to try to block as the anger-blinded teens started drawing him into the fight, not caring who he was.
 
At the sound of the scuffle, several teachers came out to break up the fight, to the best of their abilities, while others tried to get on lookers to go back to class.

Once everyone was separated, the teacher who used to tease Dark would end up a housewife it he didn't stop cooking dinner for his wife said, "All of you, go to the principal's office."
 
Xander tried to protest, but he was quickly drowned out by the four footballers all protesting as loudly as they could. Even Austin tried briefly to protest. Only Toby didn't even try, looking oddly heartbroken despite the swelling black eye. The group shambled their way to the principal's office, still protesting and grumbling with Xander stuck in the middle. Well. This was just great.
 
When the veritable host of bruised teenagers came into the office, the secretary sighed heavily and began getting their names so she could call their parents while sending the teacher to the back to let Bernice know they were going to probably need the conference room for this one. Before beginning to call home, she paged the nurse to bring ice packs and bandaids.

Since there were so many names to call, she went down the list alphabetically by surname, leaving all of the teenagers to sit and wait while she did.

Xander was near the top of the list, so very soon, Dark received the phone call that Xander had been in an altercation at school, and they needed him to drive to get him and speak with the principal. With a heavy sigh, Dark promised he would be there soon. The secretary, who knew and liked him, apologized profusely, and did say, "At least it will be nice to see you again!"

It had been months since this last happened. He genuinely thought the violent phase in their life was gone--- but then again, both teens had wound up brawling on the floor not too long ago, so he supposed, maybe, things were unfortunately back sliding. So, he lifted Ivy and brought her to Daizi's office, where he briefly explained the situation and after stopping to put on a tie, drove to the school.

Near the bottom of the list, the secretary called Lex:

"Hello," She said neutrally, if a bit tiredly---not all of the parents on the phone had been as polite as Dark had been--, "This is Ms. Stede, one of the secretaries at Heather Hill High, am I speaking with Ms. Sims?"
 
"You are," Lex said cautiously, shifting the phone to her other ear as she put the piping hot hot pockets on the counter. Luckily, she'd just taken a break for her own lunch or else she might not have heard the phone ring. "I take it you are not calling me for anything good or at least neutral?" She said it with a note of hope as all the worries were already lining up to march through her brain.
 
"I'm afraid there was a bit of an incident at school. Just scrapes and bruises as far as I can see, but Tobias was involved in a physical altercation here at school. The nurse is having a quick check over all of the boys involved, but we really need you or one of his approved relatives to come to the school to pick him up, if it's decided it'll necessary."
 
"Physical altercation?" Lex blurted in shock, Hot Pockets forgotten. "I don't understand. My boy was fighting with someone? Toby never fights. What do you-" She caught herself and waved a hand, forcing her tone into a calmer register. "Never mind. I'll be there soon as I can to get all the details in person. Thank you for calling."
 
"Of course," The secretary replied politely before hanging up.

Because he was one of the first people called, and Lex was one of, if not the, last, Dark had already left the house by the time she had gotten called, and he was one of the first parents to arrive.

In the meantime, all of the students had been sent to the conference room as though it were a holding sell, and Bernice came in to join them.

"One at a time," She asked simply as she sat down, "What happened?"
 
Lex scrambled to get ready, seething internally. If Toby had started this fight and was an instigator, he was in a world of trouble! But she knew her boy, and she knew for Toby to be involved in something like this, something big must have happened. In which case, if the school tried to unfairly punish him, they'd be in for a world of trouble. It took her eight minutes to change, clean up, and run for her car.

Two of the footballers started talking over each other, each with a slightly different story. Austin sat in silence, head down, waiting for whatever came. Toby clutched something to his chest looking ready to cry. Xander leaned back in his chair and just waited, exasperated and a little annoyed, but fully in control of his emotions. He hoped someone would let Alec know what was going on so he wouldn't worry. The two footballers were getting louder and glaring angrily at each other.
 
"I said one at a time." Bernice said firmly over the sound of the footballers, without much success, but her attempt to reign them in was valiant.

Then, as if to the opening notes of Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, Dark stepped into the conference room, having finally made it and shown his way back. His eyes immediately went to Xander, not yet offering much of a greeting.
 
Xander noticed Dark and inclined his head just enough for Dark to know he'd been seen. Then he turned his attention back to the arguing teens, who had miraculously quieted when Dark entered.

One finally spoke up first. "Look, it's all a big misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding my a**," muttered the other.

The first, Ned, ignored him. "We were goofing around, Mike and me, and Tommy and Austin came by." He meant Toby but got his name wrong. "We included him, but then Jud and Micky came by and got the wrong end of the stick. They started harassing us, and that's what happened."

"That is not what happened!" exploded Micky. "You guys were punking with Tommy there, and you were being a bunch of a***les!"

"If you'd been paying attention, maybe you'd have seen what was really happening instead of getting up on your brand-spankin' new high box!" Ned shouted back.
 
Last edited:
Dark too his seat near Xander, trying to figure out where his son figured into all of this. He didn't look to bad, which was good. He definitely didn't look upset.

"We do not use that language in this office," Bernice commanded, "And we have a zero tolerance policy for violence in this school, do you understand? I am well within my rights to suspend all of you for fighting!"
 
Just then, both of Ned's parents and Micky's father walked in, already arguing with each other in quiet, snipped tones. All three of them looked as though they likely ran in the same circles as Sloan's parents, and they split off to join their sons.

"What is the meaning of this? I left a lunch with a very important potential client to come here!" seethed Ned's father.

Micky's father glared at him. "How good of you to cut your meeting with your mistress short to get here. How was it going?"

"I'm sure your wife can tell you all about it tonight over dinner," shot back Ned's father.

Ned's mother rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I thought you two were currently getting along. I suppose I need to update my social calendar again until you two sort out whatever bee is currently in your bonnets this time or you stop PMSing."

Mike's mother - a dental hygienist who came in her scrubs - came in next, looking confused by the sudden hostility but went to her son to check him over. He had a black eye like Toby and a few other nasty bruises but nothing bad.

Jud's mother was on her heels, and she looked flustered and annoyed in her pristine beige power suit. "Would someone care to tell me what all this is about? I am supposed to be meeting with a client in half an hour!"

Austin's mother all but crept in, a smaller, mousy woman who would have been right at home in an 80's sitcom, but a bit shabbier and worn around the edges. She looked at Austin, who sunk lower in his seat, but she wasn't angry. She was tired and disappointed. She said nothing as she joined her son.
 
Dark knew a number of the parents, but not all. It was curious to him, given how despite Ned's father making a fuss about how important his meeting was, he nonetheless arrived, despite his wife being available. As he adjusted his own cufflinks, he gave a brief nod in greeting to the other adults as they came in, even to those he had not met before.

Sitting up straight, Bernice took a breath, having been fully prepared to deal with unpleasant people, but still feeling like her authority as principal ought to earn some respect, "It would seem all of your children got into a fight, as you can well see, here on school grounds, which we have a zero-tolerance policy for. We have yet to ascertain the direct cause, but none of them were in class when they ought to have been. What has been expressed so far is Ned, Mike, Austin, and Tobias--" She paused to look for Toby's parent, but then continued, "Were interacting in the hall, when Jud and Micky began to bother them. Jud and Micky argue instead Ned and Mike were bullying Tobias."

Listening to the recap of the story, Dark noticed something, and shifted in his chair. Running his tongue over his teeth, he leaned over and whispered to Xander in Arabic, "Were you defending him?"
 
"La," Xander muttered in response. He started to add more in Arabic, but Lex arrived just then, winded and clearly having sped a bit, her eyes blazing. SHe'd changed out of her usual work attire and was in black pants, black shirt, and jean jacket, and therefore slightly more respectable.

"I see you started without me," she said crisply despite her New Jersey accent coming through more strongly than usual. She marched straight to Toby and frowned at him. "Are you okay, buddy?"

He gave a slight nod, not quite looking at her.

Lex's frown deepened, and she turned toward the principal. "So. What the hell happened? Ma'am."

"Clearly, this is just an overblown case," Ned's father began.

Lex's eyes cut over to him, and her sharp tone cut him short. "Unless your name or title is 'Principal,' I'm not asking you." She turned her attention back to Bernice, only now finally sitting down.

Ned's father went red, and he glared at Lex, but his wife's hand on his arm stopped him.
 
"La?" Dark replied, a bit surprised, but trusted his son enough to know he certainly hadn't been bullying Toby, and he had been interrupted, so he believed there was certainly more to the story. He wasn't surprised when Lex came in, considering Toby was here, and he gave her a slightly more sympathetic look than he did to the rest of the parents.

"That, Ma'am, is exactly what I am trying to get to the bottom of. There is a question on who began the fight: Jud and Micky or Ned and Mike."

Dark sat back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest, "I have a question, if I may."

Bernice sighed, turning to look at him, "Yes, Mr. Dark?"

"What was my son's role in all of this?"

"He was part of a fight, Mr. Dark," Bernice replied in a dry tone, as though it were obvious and he were wasting her time.

"I am only asking, because," He held up one hand, "Forgive me for retelling the tale. I am asking because the story goes either these two," He gestured, "Started a fight because..." He waved his hand, not entirely clear on what the motivation would have been, if the initial story were true. Gesturing elegantly to the students in the room, his voice remaining calm, neutral, and even, he continued: "Or it was because these two were picking on them. This is what we are aware of, yes?"

She stared at him hard for a few minutes before answering, "That is what we know so far. Yes."

"So..?" With a flick of his wrist, his hand moved to Xander.
 
The others, except for Toby and Austin, looked at Xander.

"Oh, I know that boy. You get into it a lot, don't you?" sniffed Jud's mother. "One of the riff-raff. Obviously, he was a part of this. I have never been to this school without seeing him in the principal's office awaiting trial."

Mike's mother frowned at her. "I doubt 'trial' is the right word, Stacy, and just how often do you come here?"

"I volunteer when I have the time," she said crisply.

"None of which is the point," Lex reminded them sharply. She glanced from boy to boy. "Alright. You lot were fighting. Toby and Austin - which one is Austin?" Austin guiltily raised his hand. "You two were in the middle of it all. Right? So. Xander?"

"I have no idea why I'm here," Xander said flatly. "All I did was turn a corner and get plowed into by that doofus," he nodded toward Micky. "Next thing I know, I'm getting told to report here." He glanced at his father. "I wasn't there to see who, what, or why."
 
When Jud's mother referred to his son as 'riff-raff', Dark shot a piercing glare her way, although the rest of his expression and body language stayed as cool as ever. "I believe we can get to the bottom of this without insulting one another's children," He said simply, shifting his attention first to Lex when she spoke, then to his son, "You had absolutely nothing to do with any of this?"
 
"Nope," Xander confirmed. "The most I had to do with any of this was to push people away when they fell into me."

For a moment, Ned and Mike looked like they wanted to argue if only to get Xander into trouble, but Micky and Jud were already shrugging and nodding in confirmation, so they grumbled admittance that they had no idea why Xander was there, either.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top