How Green Becomes Wood

Ivy giggled, very much liking this game.

"At least you have more time to study," Milo began, but then frowned, realizing he didn't actually, because his brain was bruised. So he corrected himself, "At least if you don't do well, you can blame it on your concussion."
 
Xander gave a little shrug. "Eh, it's alright. As long as I just pass, I'll be happy. I'm pretty sure I'll do just fine with history. Other than that, well, I never was an Einstein, so whatever."
 
"It'd suck if you had to do summer school. I'm not sure how my finals will go, but it doesn't really matter, my grandparents are having me do summer school anyway, so I can get caught up. I guess it makes sense why. Still don't like it, though." Milo replied, migrating awkwardly to the front hall to wait until his grandparent arrived.
 
"If we both end up doing summer school, maybe we can do the same classes then," Xander suggested, walking with him but keeping space between them.

"Oh, you're not going to end up in summer school," Alec chuckled, still playing with Ivy. "But you can totally help Milo with his homework!"
 
"You're lucky enough to have a teacher for a dad, so he can help get you caught up privately." Milo said, turning his head to watch Ivy curiously, trying not to think too hard about how much she drooled, "It's still better than being home, though."
 
"You do realize he's only the history teacher, right? Not the teacher of all the subjects in the entire school," Xander pointed out mildly. "It's an edge, but not that much of one. And tell me how it's better than being home when you're doing algebra and it's a beautiful day that has people out and about doing interesting things."
 
"Only the history teacher," Dark scoffed from the other room.

"Yeah, but he knows the other teachers," Milo pointed out, "He's probably heard about what they do. More than people who aren't teachers, anyway. You've got to take teaching classes to teach, anyway. It's not better than not being in summer school, but it's not really summer school or be outside, it's summer school or be tutored at home over the summer."
 
"Teaching classes only teach you how to keep students from merking each other and keeping parents happy while fulfilling a million and one standards that don't even make sense," Xander said. "But I guess you're right about how he'd know more than your average person." He leaned against one of the corners and looked for Enkidu. "Tutoring at home might be nice. Unlimited bathroom breaks and snacks. Bet there's no snacks at summer school. But being tutored at home also means there are no time limits. You might never end the day."
 
The absolute second Enkidu caught Xander looking at him, he hustled over, rubbing his body against Xander's leg.

"Summer school is supposed to only be half a day, I guess." Milo commented, looking at Enkidu. Dogs were easier to understand than babies. "I think you'd understand if you were in that house every day."
 
Xander gave up on any attempt at positivity. He was too tired to fight through the brain fog and the depression rolling off Milo like a second fog. That was usually Alec's court anyway, but his brother was distracted with the baby trying to eat his shirt. Any pretty much everything esle she could fit in her mouth. Instead, he crouched down and started giving Enkidu attention. "Of course, I would. I wouldn't even want to do that here. Never mind. We gotta deal with finals before summer schools."
 
"Some schools do like... virtual summer school, where instead of getting an actual teacher, you work through a computer module, and you can take it at your own pace and finish it in, like, two days." Milo said, sitting down on the floor while they waited. After a pause, those, he said, "I don't think I want that, though. I do actually want to learn. I'm not the kind of person who doesn't care about learning."
 
"Good. Your brain's too good to waste, right, Enkidu?" Xander asked the dog. "He'll do better than great and show everyone up." He gave Enkidu a thorough neck scratching before trying to guide his attention toward Milo as subtly as he could. Basically, a "go attack Milo with attention." He didn't know if the dog would do it or not.
 
"Is he a service dog?" Milo asked, inching closer in so he could pet Enkidu too. As smart a dog as he was, he needed a little more direction to go to a person than just a subtle look, and Milo didn't recognize Xander's attempt to send the dog to him, he just liked dogs.
 
"Cool." Milo said, digging his hands into Enkidu's fur and grinning when the dog made a harumph noise as he lay down. "I really like dogs. I like big dogs. Paisley is cool, but she always kinda looks like she's going to keel over at any minute. I think she's like... our age."
 
"That's an old dog," Xander agreed, sitting back. "Guess once everything and everyone are settled, you could think about getting your own dog. Or a cat. I know a guy if you want a cat, and he probably has the inside line to dogs, too. Or knows who does. It's a while away, but now you know you have a source."
 
"She might be a few years younger. But that's why she looks so... raggedy." Milo scratched Enkidu's ears, "It'd be cool if Mom and I got a dog. We could get a puppy, and it'd give us something to focus on. Do you know a cat breeder? I always forget there are cat breeders. Cats just seem to... spawn, I guess."
 
"He's not a breeder. He works with the shelters and fosters a lot," Xander explained. He glanced at Milo. "What about you? Would you want a dog that was just yours? Or just a family one?"
 
"What's the difference?" Milo asked, genuinely not understanding, "If it's 'my' dog, my mom would still hang out with it. If I was sick or working, when I have a job, she'd still take the dog out. The only difference would be if I take the dog when I move out or not, but until then it's just semantics, isn't it?"
 
Xander chuckled at that. "When you get home, ask your grands whose dog is Paisley? Or better yet, who is Paisley's human? Trust me, you're going to get an interesting answer."
 
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