How Green Becomes Wood

Daizi slipped on a pair of sunglasses, vaguely normal ones, and went to the front door with her husband, "Hello, welcome," She smiled warmly, "We're so glad to have you here. Would you mind taking off your shoes and touching our bowl of salt?"
 
"Um, okay, sure," Emma agreed, giving the bowl a doubtful look. Still, she took off her sensible, black loafers and touched the salt before walking in. She was dressed in her usual skirt (or slacks, but today was a skirt), shirt, and sweater combo with warm tights. Her plaid skirt hit just below the knee with a matching belt, a white collared blouse, and a warm, grey sweater. She took a moment to adjust her black, narrow-rimmed glasses and set her purse by the door. Then she stuck out her hand to Dark and Daizi. "It is a pleasure to officially meet you, although I know of already know you, Mr. Dark. I doubt you remember me, though. There are a lot of faces at school."

Xander stayed where he was, trying not to think of how she reminded him of a Catholic schoolgirl, especially with her hair pulled back at the base of her neck in a bun.
 
Dark shook her hand firmly but gently, especially since hers was significantly smaller than his, "I remember your face better than I recalled your first name," he lied, but lied well, "I hope you have been well."

Ivy came toddling up, one hand in her mouth, and stared curiously at this stranger.
 
"Yes, thank you, sir. It is interesting to see you outside of school with a family," she remarked. She glanced at his tattooed hand but said nothing.

"Why don't you come sit down?" Alec suggested, guiding her toward the couch. "Did you have any trouble finding the place?"

"Not a bit," Emma said, letting him guide her to sit down on the opposite end from Xander. "My mother had an appointment, so she drove me. I did say yours was the house across the street because my mother was nervous about leaving me at a house with a demon in the front yard."
 
"Well--" Daizi began, but then stopped herself, knowing this wasn't the time. Some people weren't ready for discussions on the esoteric or the occult. Instead she said, "I hope it didn't make you nervous."

When Emma sat down, Ivy watched her closely and then toddled to her mother's side, grabbing onto her legs.

"Can you say hi, Ivy-Qadira?" Daizi asked gently, waving her hand hello so Ivy would too.
 
"No, not a bit," Emma said stoutly. She smiled at Ivy and waved. "Hello, Ivy-Qadira! You are as cute as Alec told me. Are you as clever as he says, too? I bet you are. You look like you're even smarter than he says!"

"I'm going to go fetch the tea, and I'll be right back!" Alec said.

Xander stood and went to help him.
 
Ivy smiled a bit and then shyly turned her face back towards Daizi, who gently picked her up, "I know, habibti, it's always a big day when you meet somebody new." Then, after Ivy settled in, she asked, "How has school been going for you?" since it was an easy enough place to begin small talk.
 
"Very well, thank you," Emma said politely. "The new history teacher is not quite as good as Mr. Dark, but they do rather well, I think, especially when supplemented with my own research. Also, the mathematics teacher does very well and is passionate with their subject. It's not often you find a teacher in math that knows what they are talking about. Advanced English is almost too calm and cozy, but it is nice to have a quiet space to study."
 
Daizi nodded, "I'll selfishly say I'm glad the new teacher isn't quite as good as my husband."

"Ms. Piper is by nature gentle and low energy," Dark said casually, partially defending his friend while wondering, on the basis of Emma's comment about the math teacher, if she was the sort who generally believed she did know what she was talking about.

"Do you have plans for after high school?"
 
"Yes, I intend to try to get a scholarship into college. I have three collages in mind that I am hopeful for, but should I fail to earn a scholarship, I am going to take a gap year to work and try to gain some experience as well as save up money before going to school," she said promptly with zero hesitation.

"Tea!" Alec announced, bringing in the tea while Xander carried the tray of treats. Alec carefully poured everyone a cup.

"This is quite good," Emma remarked, sipping her tea. "I'm afraid I am not much of a tea drinker, I'm too picky, I think, but I like this."
 
"That sounds like a very solid and thoughtful plan," Dark said mildly. She reminded him of Ciara. Certainly she was formal and ambitious.

"If you prefer coffee, we can make that for you also," Daizi offered, taking a sip of tea, carefully reaching around Ivy who was staring wide-eyed at all of the snacks. "What do you plan to study in college?"
 
"Oh, no! This is good," Emma assured her. "I am not fond of coffee. It's the caffeine." She took a careful bite of one of the Arabic treats and gave a tiny nod of approval. "I have not fully decided which career I want to follow, so I intend to keep my options open for the first year, but my plan is for either an anethatist or possibly a technical writer. I had thought to go to veterinary school, but I cannot tolerate stupid people, and people treat their veterinarians, especially the technicians, worse than even nurses. Did you know vet techs have one of the highest suicide rates of any job? It is utterly ridiculous. Not to mention what some people do to their animals. In any case, I doubt I would be able to maintain a job long when dealing with those sorts of people."
 
"I don't know much about it," Daizi admitted, letting Ivy wiggle out of her lap. She toddled over to the tray of snacks and stared at them longingly.

Seeing that look, Dark gently asked, "Would you like a treat, tifla?" Before handing her something from the tray, which she took with the greed and delight of a little raccoon.
 
"Oh, are those called tiflas? They are quite good," Emma said.

"No, it's what they call Ivy," Alec explained.

Emma looked a little confused but nodded. "Oh, okay. I don't have a lot of experience with little kids. I used to babysit for our neighbors, but when their oldest got, well, old enough, they started using him as a babysitter. My mother didn't want me babysitting for a bunch of random people because of liability and all of that."
 
"Tifla means 'little girl' in Arabic," Dark explained. "I understand not wanting to be in the homes of so many strangers."

"My family is massive, but I was never the one they called on to babysit," Daizi mentioned, trying to figure out how to keep the conversation going.
 
Emma started to say something, paused, and changed the subject. "You work in the museum, right, Mrs. Dark?"

Alec leaned over and whispered to her.

"I mean, Dr. Wahid?" Emma said, sounding lightly confused but going with it. "What do you do there?"
 
Daizi's smile changed subtly and briefly when she was called Mrs. Dark, but she understood it was a common mistake. She shook it off easily enough at least, "My research is primarily in folklore, mythology, and it's impact on the people who create, tell, and believe those stories. At least, that's the research I do for me. I also work for ethnographic analogies to benefit the archaeologists---basically, I'll help them interpret their historical or prehistoric findings based on what we know about cultures today. Then I also help create and curate exhibits, or at least parts of them, and give advice and tips for accessibility."
 
"Oh, that sounds like a very important job," Emma said with a nod. "It must really give you a lot of satisfaction. And, you, Mr. Dark? I was shocked when you retired. I was supposed to have you for history this year, and I was quite looking forward to it."
 
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