How Green Becomes Wood

"You are very welcome. I am glad I was able to get it sorted and that Mr. Dawson was willing to be wrong." Then he hugged Alec quickly, "I love you too, Alec. You both have a nice rest of your day."

Then he turned to his friends, who were all absolutely delighted to see him and they gladly put all their work aside to get to talk with him. Although at first he kept saying he needed to go home but eventually they wore him down. After calling him and getting a very intense, Yes, what is wrong with you, go have fun. He agreed to go out with them for a little while and catch up. Admittedly, despite his every attempt to act put out over it, he was quite pleased to get to hang around them again. There were not many things he missed about being a teacher, but talking with the three of them in the halls and in the break room every day was one. Actually, he supposed as he walked out of the school, there were many things he missed about teaching. He just didn't miss them enough.
 
The twins went home, dropped off their school things, said hello to their mother and sister, Xander changed into horse-appropriate attire, grabbed a snack for the road, and then they headed out again. Xander dropped Alec off at the flower store, and then he went to the stables to get started on his therapy and work.

At the store, Alec noticed a box of random items near the back door. "Uncle Tristan, what's this?"

"Some extra things I've gathered, leftovers from old projects that did not sell well," Tristan said as he emptied the water from a bucket of flowers and started giving them fresh water.

"Oh, that's cool. Can I look through it?" Alec asked, already reaching, assuming he knew the answer as it was a common request for him.

Tristan's usual affirmative answer was on the tip of his tongue when he remembered his discussion with Dark and Daizi previously. "Actually, that box already has a designated destination," he said, trying desperately not to lie. The fact that the destination was the trash can did not need to be shared. "You can look, if you like, but please do not take anything out."

"Oh, okay!" Alec agreed. He looked through briefly and then turned back to work, none the wiser and not at all offended.
 
Dark, Hetty, Art, and Rose all went to a coffeeshop to catch up. Art was thrilled about his art gallery coming up. All of the pieces displayed were for sale, but the proceeds would go to charity. The whole event was a collaboration with other local artists whom Art was friends with. He was especially proud because not everybody's art was accepted. Rose was still struggling in her apartment she hated but still couldn't find somewhere to move into that she could both afford and had enough space for her instruments. Hetty was thinking about adopting a rabbit. Or a cat, but she had always wanted a rabbit. Dark suggested she adopt rats.

Eventually they all needed to go home, Dark promised he'd spread the word about the art gallery. Really, the afternoon had worked out well, if a bit unplanned. When he arrived home, Daizi was cooking dinner and Ivy was "helping", which is to say, she was sat on the ground with a wooden spoon and a pot full of dried beans.
 
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Eventually, Alec and Xander returned home at their separate times. Alec got a ride instead of asking Dark, almost forcing himself to enjoy the feeling of independence. The feelings with Xander being pulled away so quickly had startled him, and he was overcompensating a little bit as a result. He got home and happily greeted his parents before going to his room to do his homework. He made it through about half of his homework before getting distracted and moving on to his rag rug, which then turned into him trying on a couple of T-shirts he'd designated for the rug project and deciding to try to alter them to wear instead of ripping them up. He had a lot of fun with that and did make some progress in both rug and T-shirt projects.

Xander got home and went to shower before actually saying hello. Then he came in and greeted Ivy and his parents and, eventually, Alec before eating. As usual, he scarfed down everything in sight robustly before heading out to his shed, grumbling about bilby faces. He intended to only spend an hour out there trying to figure out how it could work before coming to bed.
 
When Dark came home, he helped keep Ivy occupied while Daizi finished up cooking. It was in this period of time they discussed Alec not submitting assignments again, but during their actual meal, he just explained to Alec, briefly, Mr. Dawson had mentioned some late assignments and said they could talk about it more thoroughly tomorrow. It was late, they were all tired, and it wasn't so urgent they needed to deal with it that night. Still, they didn't want Alec to be overwhelmed with anxiety over the situation wondering what on earth his teacher had said, which is why they brought it up casually at dinner--leaving out the part where Mr. Dawson theorized Alec had been completing Xander's homework for him.
 
Alec accepted Dark's remark about talking about the work pretty well, but he was still nervous. He really didn't want to talk about it. He knew how important all things education was to Dark, and he didn't want Dark to think he was brushing him off or his concerns, but Alec had his mind set on other things. He knew what he was doing. Or thought he knew what he was doing. Still, he knew better than to try to resist the inevitable now that it was out.

The twins headed to bed at a reasonable time, Xander highly satisfied because he thought he knew how he was going to make the bilby's face, and Alec trying not to sulk a little at being called out over his schoolwork when it was supposed to be Xander in trouble.
 
The next day, as soon as it was morally acceptable, emails went out to all of Alec and Xander's teachers to check in. After the conversation yesterday, he was definitely more worried about Alec's, but in the spirit of fairness he reached out about Xander's as well--especially with the whole cheating allegations, if any other teachers had issues, he'd like to clear it up with them, too.

Of course, he had actually written the emails the day before, outside of the school day, but one thing Dark absolutely refused to do was send an email outside of working hours, so he had simply scheduled the email to go out at the beginning of the school day so it'd be fresh in the inbox when the teachers checked.
 
The teachers replied back throughout the day. A couple did back Mr. Dawson's suspicions of cheating from Xander, though none really suspected Alec of helping. They had not found any proof of it other than the suspicious spike in the quality of his performance, which was why they hadn't said anything, and for most of them, the spike was not quite as drastic. He was still struggling in certain areas of science (mainly the labs) and in English. Still monumentally better grades than he used to have, but nowhere near the levels of his math grades. He was fully acing every math subject, and he wasn't far behind in History and Physics. As far as science was concerned, his teachers remarked he worked very well with Alec, Peter, or Milo whenever they were paired, but his teamwork still needed some improvement whenever he was paired with anyone else. He was not as bad as he once was, but not great.

Alec was not what most would call a "struggling" student. His grades had slipped, for certain, but he was still easily passing. Instead of the consistent high 80's he was known for previously, he was down to mid-to-high 70's, and he likely could have gotten high scores on many of them if they hadn't een docked for lateness. Some work was clearly rushed and lacking. Still, the teachers remarked that he was a consistent participant in class, did not try to hog the spotlight, and was respectful of teachers and students. They felt he could be doing better grade-wise, but they didn't notice any obvious signs of trouble. He did well in groups and pairings, though he did have a tendency to get carried away and take more control than was appreciated. Not always, but sometimes, and it was rather obvious when he did.

The twins arrived home from another day of school, and Xander went off to get his Judo gear while Alec took the time to say hello to Ivy and fuss with her playfully. They had a few minutes to spare before they had to leave.
 
Dark was satisfied enough with those reports and they felt it wasn't necessary for them both to sit him down over it, just to check in and see what was going on. Since Dark was the former teacher, it seemed fitting it be his job. After giving Alec some time to relax after school, but knowing there wasn't too much, he said, "Alec? Do you have a few moments?"
 
"Just for a little bit," Dark said calmly, going to sit down and gesturing for Alec to join him, "Your teachers say your grades have slipped some. Not significantly and they are not worried, but they noted you have been submitting many of your assignments late and do not seem to be as careful as you once were. Is everything alright?"
 
"Yeah, it's fine," Alec assured him. "I just forget time. It gets away from me sometimes. I'm not troubled or going through anything more than the usual teenage stuff, I don't think. There's just so much to get done!"
 
"Do you need help creating a schedule?" Dark asked, "I know you are busy, but school should be your priority right now. I would be glad to work with you to develop a better work system so you can complete your work on time again." It didn't seem severe enough to mention this yet, but he and Daizi had already agreed if the problem worsened, they'd have to discuss if his extra-curriculars were taking up too much of his time.
 
"No, I really don't need a schedule," Alec sighed. "Really, Ba, it's fine. I'll make a bigger effort to not be so late so often, and it'll work out just fine. I promise, I'm not hiding anything or going through anything secret." He paused. "Except for my relationship, I guess, but that's different and not affecting my grades. I'm sure of it."
 
"I hope it is not, even if I am not the type of parent who would force you to end a relationship for the sake of school," Dark said calmly, although he was frowning slightly. "Do you think it is difficult to work in your bedroom? If it is distracting, I can set up somewhere else where it is easier to work. I only want to provide you with the tools you need to succeed."
 
"Ba, it's fine!" Alec asserted, a seed of frustration growing in his voice. "I like my room exactly as it is. Nothing needs to change! I've already said, I'll try to be more timely. Then I won't be an inconvenience to my teachers. Otherwise, I'm fine with everything as it is."
 
Dark held up one hand, "I am not suggesting we redo your room, but we can set up a work space in the kitchen or in the dining room." Then he dropped his hand back into his lap, still speaking calmly, "I do think you should care about doing your work well, though, and having it done on time, and not just for your teacher's sake. Why are you okay with not?"
 
"I just mean I'm okay with things as they are. I do care, and I think my grades are fine," Alec asserted. "I'm nowhere near failing, I understand the material, and I don't feel like I'm floundering. I'm right on cue with my peers, I think."
 
"It's the best effort I'm willing to give," Alec replied without hesitation.

Xander came down with his judo bag, and headed for the door. "Alright, ready to leave?" he asked, aiming the words toward Alec without really looking. When Alec didn't immediately answer, he glanced over and realized Alec and Dark were talking, and it looked serious. "Oh." He glanced toward the clock. "I'll be in the kitchen for five more minutes, then," he said and left his bag near the door before retreating to the kitchen. He wanted to stay and see what this was about, but he also didn't want to make matters worse than they already were.
 
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