How Green Becomes Wood

"You're very welcome habibi," Daizi replied, picking up the two mugs she had prepared and returning to her husband on the couch.

"I always prefer whipped cream," Sloan said, walking over to the counter, "These mugs are really cool."
 
"I'm doing both," Alec said, ripping his marshmallows smaller and sprinkling them in before putting whipped topping on top.

"Ba would gag," Xander said, watching him. He went with marshmallows. He liked eating them bit by bit as they melted.
 
"That's an impressive guess," Sloan said in surprise as she took a sip of her hot chocolate, "but I just generally don't like most gummy foods. Except for sour patch kids. I don't even really like gummy bears."
 
"Is that true?" Alec asked Xander, shocked.

"About the culinary thing? Yeah, I read about it. Something about the Leviathan law-"

"No, no, that gelatin is made using bones?"

"Oh. Yeah."

"I'm torn between curiosity about how that works and absolute disgust," Alec said.
 
"I think it's something with the collagen in the bones," Sloan said, "Like, I think horse and cow hooves are used a lot. But now they can also make vegan gelatin with like... agar agar? I think? It's seaweed or... algae or something."
 
"It's from seaweed and red algae," Xander said. "It's a good substitute and good for sustainability because it grows so fast."

"Oh, that's cool. So, you don't like gummy foods? But you do like pudding?" Alec asked her. "How about jello?"
 
"I like the cookie as a whole. Creme and crunch, but pudding is better than jello," Xander remarked.

"If it's sugar, I like it," Alec stated. "I can't think of a single sugary thing I don't like."
 
"That's a challenge I will happily take on!" Alec said cheerfully.

Xander shook his head and licked the melted parts of the marshmallow off before putting it back in the hot chocolate.
 
"Your mom does make really good hot chocolate," Sloan murmured, looking down into her cup. Then after a few moments said, "Do you know, it's been a long time since I've had a snowball fight."
 
Xander squinted in thought. "I think we might have had a brief one last year?" he said questioningly.

"No, I don't think so," Alec said, shaking his head. "Things were a little uncertain, still, so we were trying to keep on the DL for the most part."

"Right."

Both twins thought until Xander admitted, "I can't remember the last time we had a real snowball fight, so that was cool. Did you enjoy this one?"
 
"We had a waterballoon fight over the summer, maybe you're thinking of that," Sloan suggested, "I did enjoy this one, yeah. I mean, well enough anyway. There used to be this kid in the neighborhood, Zack, with a k not an h, and he liked to hide ice inside snowballs and throw them at you. If you complained his mom just said he was just being a boy."
 
"More like a psychopath," Xander scowled. "Those things hurt!"

"And there is no way he wasn't hurting on purpose," Alec agreed, equally upset on behalf of their friend. "But I'm glad this one was okay. As far as fights go."
 
"Tell me about it," Sloan replied, "I don't think anyone was mad when he moved away. Actually, it was one of the first times I ever met your dad. I had been dealing with it most winters, along with most of the kids in the neighborhood because it was not just me who dealed with the kid, and I was probably screaming up a storm as this kid was chasing me down, and your dad steps out onto the street, asks what is going on, and probably scared Zack half to death."
 
"Sounds like Ba," the twins agreed with identical nods.

Alec sighed wistfully. "When you're a mature, grown-up college woman, will you still come throw some snow with us at least once a winter?"
 
"At least my first year I'll live in the dorms so I'll have to come home over all the breaks," Sloan promised them, "It won't be so different. You both only have one last year of high school anyways."
 
"I thought dorms were only available to those who didn't live close," Alec frowned. "Or they were optional, not that you had to do it. At least, that's what I heard. What colleges have you been looking into that you had to live in the dorms?"

"Unless that's just what you want to do," Xander said, finishing off a mashmallow.
 
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