How Green Becomes Wood

"Themselves, I guess," He mumbled, but knowing what to say to that and taking her much too literally, "I um, you know, haven't really thought about it."

"Saturday, I think," Sloan said.
 
"No? Then what is it that draws you to the more old-school kind than the new, flashy digital stuff?" Becky asked, giggling a little at his answer. She realized she was looking at him too intensely and turned to give her full attention to her lunch.

Xander heaved a sigh. "Great."

Alec grinned and patted his shoulder. "I'll help you with your transition."
 
"Because it's like magic watching all the changes take place? Or because it's dark, quiet, and meditative?" Becky guessed, working to not look at Milo more than the occasional quick glance.

"If you start singing," Xander warned Alec as he opened his mouth.

"You can always borrow this scarf, if you like, but I have been having issues. I have no idea how to make a scarf like this stay put," Peter grumbled as the scarf tried to fall onto his lunch again.

"Here, I'll help," Alec said, going to help Peter with it. "Twist here, drape there, and there you go!"
 
The first thought which popped into Milo's brain was it makes me feel like a wizard, followed shortly by it makes me feel close to my dead dad, and neither of those statements seemed much like something he wanted to share with Becky. The first was dorky, the second was personal. "I like the dark," He eventually mumbled, "and the red lights."

"I feel like that scarf is probably worth more than most things in this school," Sloan mused.
 
"Oh," Becky said, sensing that Milo was holding back, but she didn't want to press. Instead, she smiled and said, "I've never seen it done in real life, but when I see it being done in films and things, it always looks so cool! Like magic! If I did something like that, I'd struggle not to turn my dark room into some kind witchy aesthetic. That probably wouldn't work well in a dark room. You'd need it to be sleek and easy to clean and all of that, right? No random little coldrons or plants."

"Is it?" Peter asked in surprise, looking at it. "I should probably put it away, then. I don't have any idea what scarfs are worth."
 
"I don't know enough about plants to say if any would survive in a dark room," Milo replied, trying to convince his leg to stop bouncing.

"It's just your mother's very sparkly scarf, I don't imagine she buys from like... Target." Sloan explained.
 
"I don't know, either, so I guess it'd have to be fake if it was allowed at all," Becky giggled. She placed a couple of candies next to Milo's spot and turned away to talk to Alec, teasing him gently about being the only person not wearing sparkles. She was still next to Milo, but not forcing him to interact in any way.

"I don't even know what a Target is," Peter admitted. He folded up the scarf gently and slipped it into his backpack. "Having sparkles for a bit was kind of fun, though. Maybe I should get something for myself."

"Oh, no. It's spreading!" Xander groaned.
 
"Yeah, probably," Milo replied, looking warily at the candy. After recognizing what she was trying to do, it made the little gifts much stranger to him.

"You know that store with the big red sign that looks like a billboard? You've lived here long enough you've definitely seen it." Sloan explained.
 
"Hey, I thought it was a myth you sold them in grocery stores, and then I found out about Walmart," Peter said.

"I don't think they do that anymore," Xander remarked. "Or less, I think."
 
"I think Australia is the least believable of all," Milo mumbled, but it was while Sloan (unintentionally said), "Sure, Australia is totally believable, that's why all the insane animals are there," so it may have gone unnoticed.
 
Becky heard and giggled in response and nodded to him.

Xander did not hear, but he did snort at Sloan's remark. "Right. Totally believable. Like the showers of spiders, right?"

"Well... " Peter drawled out.

Xander practically choked. "Wait. What? Those spider rains? They're real?"

"Some people call it angel hair. It sounds a bit nicer," Peter said.

"Are you f***ing with me right now?"

"Nope. But, to be fair, it's only sometimes and in certain areas, not all the time everywhere."
 
"You probably would," Peter chuckled. "Kangaroos are usually pretty fine, but you don't want to forget that they're wild animals, either."

Xander shook his head. "I don't like wild animals. I mean, I like the idea of them in existence, but I'm perfectly fine in the city."

"What about when you go riding on the trails?" Alec asked. "Are trails not wild."

"Eh, halfway," Xander shrugged.
 
"I guess we have bears here, but they're all black bears, so they scare off easily," Sloan shrugged, "And a black bear isn't going to punch me in the face. Animals shouldn't be able to throw punches."
 
"Oh, they don't just punch. They've got claws, too. If they don't mean anything by it, they will just give you a solid whack that will have you wondering if you'll ever breathe again, but if they're serious, they can slice you up like nobody's business," Peter said seriously.

"I'm with Sloan. I'll take the bear," Xander agreed.
 
Back
Top