How Green Becomes Wood

These people immediately reminded Daizi of her family back home, all self important because they had more money than they knew what to do with. She still held her hand out, and Dark lightly tapped her forearm to indicate she put it down, recognizing Mrs. Celia was not about to return the gesture by any means, "Well, Mr. Leeds," she replied, sitting up straighter, because she came from Ancient Lands and her soul was, therefore, imbued with more time than either of these petty Americans could imagine, and she was not unfamiliar with their game, "I hope you will show me the same courtesy as referring to me as Dr. Wahid." In some ways, her PhD was her first power play, because it was obvious Richard wanted to be referred to as 'Mr. Leeds' because it made him seem more authoritative, and if that's what he wanted, than she had no qualms about making him continuously reiterate that she had earned a higher title than anyone else in the room. Their wedding rings had garnet stones, not diamonds, and were a rich gold. Dark's actually, as an heirloom, the only thing he had from his parents, apparently retained from generations long past when his family still had money, and he had Daizi's custom designed to match his thematically as a continuous gesture that they were family.

Dark nodded all through Mr. Leed's comment, and then sat back in his chair and said, "Mr. Leeds, I am afraid you misunderstood why we have asked to speak with you today. We have spoken with both of the twins regarding the physical altercations, but it is our understanding that your son has been the instigator in every instance. And I thought it might do us some good to have a chat about that." Dark came fully prepared for this meeting, he, as was his right as Xander's guardian, had carefully combed through his entire record for every instance where Logan was mentioned. He and Daizi had also sat down with the twins to get as much information regarding the bullying out of them as they could--including the names of at least some of the other kids Logan terrorized, so then he called their parents to then get testimonial from them. He was just waiting to be challenged.
 
"Ah," Mr. Leeds said, bouncing his brows at Daizi before turning his gaze somewhere between Daizi and Dark. "I suppose you could call me 'Dr." as well as a I have a BDA, but I so rarely feel the need in a more social setting. Of course, I always felt that PhDs in academic settings were a bit of a scam, don't you agree? The constant pressure publish over and over in order to keep your degree 'relevant' seriously degrades the quality of the work, but still they ask for more. Getting a degree in a more practical and applied field lessens that demand, though even then-"

"You're talking about work, dear," said Mrs. Leeds as she studied her nails critically. "You are supposed to be answering the man about Logan's behavior."

"Oh, yes, right. My apologies. I do tend to go off on tangents." It was hard to tell from Mr. Leed's professional smile if he was actually sincere in his apology or competitively meeting Daizi flex for flex. "Now, then, about these supposed fights Logan is getting into. I really don't see what the fuss is about. The school has assured us that Logan has in no way caused any damages, and, of course, boys will be boys."

"My dear Logan is a big, feisty boy just looking for playmates, that's all," Mrs. Leeds said, waving a manicured hand. "It's hardly his fault that smaller fellows think his existence is a challenge to be the bigger man."
 
Daizi shrugged casually, "I only wish to use the title I earned, and as for practicality: in my line of work I've learned how the world order reinvents itself time and time again, so buisness and capitalism and lust for profit might be relevant now, but give it a few years," She smiled, tossing her braid over her shoulder, "We are not from where we are now, in any capacity."

Dark did not immediately go to hush his wife, he was far too proud of everything she had ever accomplished. When the other parents spoke again, however, he spoke up, "I can certainly see how smaller boys feel the need to peacock themselves around those larger than them," Even sitting, Dark looked down at Richard, "but that is hardly the case here."

"And as for 'boys will be boys,' which by the way is a phrase which has historically allowed men and boys to get away with all sorts of crimes," She spoke from experience, "why is it you expected us to apologize for our child when yours is allowed to 'be a boy'? Either the rule must be applied equally, or not at all." She was not as breezy as she normally was
 
"Your child?" Mrs. Leeds said, looking genuinely confused - or as confused as her stiff skin would allow - before taking out a bit of lotion and applying it to her hands. "I thought they were orphans or some such thing."

"Yes, dear. These two magnanimously agreed to take them in so they might have some sort of example in how they should conduct themselves," Mr. Leeds told his wife.

"Oh. How altruistic," she replied.

Mr. Leeds turned back to Dark. "As for the apology, you called me, not the other way around, remember? It is only logical that I should assume you had something to say, but I see that you don't. Logan is a good boy, gets good grades, never sasses his mother, and has a sport to provide a healthy outlet for his natural aggressions that all true men have. Meanwhile, your boys have failing grades, sharp tongues used indiscriminately, and absolutely not extracurricular activities with which to occupy themselves. When you called this meeting, I looked into them. The only teacher who had anything good to say about either of them was the art teacher." His faint smirk said exactly what he thought of an art teacher's opinion. "Most of them couldn't even remember one of them, and the other is considered a battlefield."
 
"I think you know exactly what my husband has to say." Daizi replied firmly, ignoring their comments about their 'altruism,' "I think you just do not want to listen. We called this meeting because your son is bullying not just Alec and Xander but so many children at that school, and you are refusing to listen to it. Did you know he called my husband a slur? He called him a Sand N-Slur, and I have not met your son, but I would put money on him being smaller than Dark. Excuse me, Mr. Dark, and Mr. Dark is an upstanding man of the community who never raises his voice, is active in the lives of our fosters, is on his way to becoming department head, and has multiple hobbies he dedicates himself too, so how do you explain your 'precious' angle using hate-speak against him?"

Dark inhaled slowly, knowing perfectly well that these folk could never understand the place the twins, or he, had come from. "Empathy, Mr. Leeds, I implore you to teach Logan empathy. I spend more hours with these children than you do, and I will never claim either Xander nor Alec are perfect, saintly children. I have been teaching for a decade, and I have never yet met an angel. And yet, despite all of the ways the twins fail to live up to divinity, most students at the school leave them alone," From the folder beside him, he began to read through Xander's file, "in the vast majority of Xander's incidents, your son has been involved. Certainly, if Xander was the whole of the problem, that distribution would be different. And," he turned the page, "I have a list of names of students at this school who have been harmed by your son, which my twins had nothing to do with. Tyler Morris, who is on track to be valedictorian next year and is president of the chess club, was thrown into the dumpster by your son who, reportedly, called him by both a racial and sexual slur, neither of which will I repeat here. He stole Adam Welton's Dungeons and Dragons binder and has not yet stopped calling him by cruelly altered versions of his character names. Adam is one of the kindest students I have ever met in all my years at this school--last year he attended the 8th Grade graduation ceremony because a girl who was graduating played his daughter in one of the plays at the local community theatre, and he knew her real dad was not going to show up. How do you explain either of those two incidents?" He continued to read out more five more incidents Logan was involved in. With the exception of when he needed to glance at the page, he stared at both parents the entire time.

At last he closed the folder, and running his teeth over his tongue, he said, "Interestingly, none of Xander's incidents include him insulting anyone who has not also been reported bothering him. And Alec, until last week when your son forcibly took and then broke the sunglasses he was wearing before locking him in the Janitor's closet, had not a single disciplinary mark on his record. Not one."

"And let us not forget, after he broke the sunglasses, he made inappropriate and hate-filled jokes about homosexuality," Daizi added. She wasn't able to disguise her ire as easily as her husband could. She drummed her long nails against the tabletop, "A constant thread in all these stories is your son's blatant intolerance. And having met you, I am not surprised, because you do not seem to understand the concept of privilege. How were Alec and Xander meant to enroll in extracurriculars? They were living on the street before I took them in, they didn't have the money to play your manly, manly sports, they had no options, no opportunities, and just doing what they could to survive. And now that they're in a safe home, they're still just now learning to adjust to that, being allowed in a home isn't going to magically solve years of neglect and abuse. But perhaps in your field, they never taught you how to apply those skills."
 
"Well!" Mrs. Leeds huffed. "He certainly never learned any of those behaviors and certainly none of those words in my house! I assure you, despite your obvious attempts to insinuate that just because we have money and you do not, we are somehow the monsters that need to be destroyed, we have never once taught him any such discriminatory behaviors! Why, many of our business associates are located in the middle east. How would that look? If you think all we care about is money, how could you possibly believe that we would allow our son to do something that would threaten our cash inflow, hmm? Not only that, but some of my close and personal friends are most assuredly not white Americans of the straight-laced variety, if you know what I mean."

Mr. Leeds held up his hand to quiet his wife. "Mr. Dark, I think you are forgetting one other common thread," he said mildly. "In your rampant and obvious vendetta against my son in the interest of playing the savior to your street urchins, you have failed to notice that every incident you have listed has occurred on school property. I have never once received a single report from my son's friend's parents of this sort of behavior, nor any store he has gone to, any events, nothing. If my son was such a menace, then surely I would have been informed about even a warning for loitering at a store or something. But no. The only time he acts up is here at the school, which leads me to believe the problem is not him or his home life." He folded his hands, interlacing his fingers, and set them on the table, leaning forward to match Dark's intense stare. "When my son is at school, his behavior and the lessons he learns becomes your problem. You and your fellow faculty members are the ones who are supposed to be monitoring him and guiding him properly. That he is acting up here in this school and behaving in a way we have never witnessed is a reflection on you as a teacher, and you are merely trying to shift the blame and not take responsibility for what is supposed to be your job."
 
Daizi could not help but laugh, genuinely laugh, when Mrs. Leeds insinuated that they did not have money and put all of her effort into resisting the urge to name drop her father, who almost certainly out earned Mr. Leeds' boss, "I am so, so glad you have close and personal friends who are not straight-laced white Americans. That is so wonderful, and I am thrilled you need to remind us of it, it really, really makes your friendship with them seem genuine."

Dark reached over and squeezed her arm, and he remained more relaxed than her, "Richard," he said, intentionally using his first name, knowing perfectly well he could not do the same for him, "your denial of the facts informs your son's behavior. Your refusal to accept your son has done anything wrong is exactly what emboldens him to act this way, because he knows he will never face consequences. My job is to teach history. In teaching history, I hope to teach tolerance and understanding. I have hundreds of students a year, and the vast majority of them do not behave the way your son does. I am not surprised your friends' parents do not report his behavior. For one thing, bullies do not normally bully their friends, but more importantly: You never have to hear the word 'no' if you keep all of your friends on the payroll. It is obvious to me that I am not one shifting blame or responsibility."
 
Mr. Leeds leaned back in his chair with an exaggerated sigh and slowly shook his head. "I see we are not going to be reaching a middle ground here." He tapped the table lightly as if he were sitting in his own office. His words were surprisingly calm and professional as he spoke. "However, I do think this meeting has been highly beneficial. I see that this school is clearly wasting the funds that I and many others have been pouring into it on top of your governmentally allotted tax dollars. So, I will be withdrawing my son from this school and placing him somewhere where the teachers care more about the students than their own subjects. After all, what is a school without students? That should alleviate your issues with my son. Although," he stood, straightening his suit jacket as he did so, "that does not alleviate the issue I now have with you personally insulting myself and my wife to our faces. I have sat here and listened to you call us racist, homophobic, intolerant, and, in sum, horrific parents intent on molding our son into some sort of monster without a shred of evidence other than some rather vague reports. You said there are other incidents concerning other parents, but clearly they do not take this as seriously as you are or else they would be sitting across the table with you. I know you are merely trying to do what is best for your projects, but I cannot help but take personal affront to that. Therefore, I will be strongly suggesting to our dear principal and the school board that they reconsider your position here. Of course, that guarantees nothing will happen to your job, but it will not look fantastic on your resume, will it? But the fact that I might also be suggesting the IRS take a closer look at the school's financial records might... encourage them." He gave Dark a cold, tight smile. "We are done here. Celia, we're leaving."

Mr. Leeds stalked toward the door, not giving either Dark or Daizi a chance to put in a last word, but Mrs. Leeds veered toward Daizi and took her hand, placing a card in it. "I do admire a professional woman who doesn't take her husband's name. Femininity and all that!" she said, her words as fast as her actions. "Here's the business card to my own plastic surgeon, just tell him I recommended you. He can do marvelous work even with the worst of hard cases! Ta-ta!" She clicked out of the room, waving a hand over her shoulder as she disappeared out the door.
 
Dark and Daizi sat silently next to each other after the Leeds left, with Daizi holding the buisness card in her hand. She couldn't even read it, but it burned into her hand, "Did that go well?" She asked at last, "It felt like it didn't."

"It was not ideal," Dark replied, and gently took her hand, and then removed the card from her grasp before kissing her palm, "but at least their son will not go here anymore, so that will, hopefully, at least benefit Xander and Alec."

"They won't fire you," She murmured, still mostly in shock, "did we do it wrong? Should we have handled that differently?"

"I am tenured, legally, no, they can not fire me. It may hurt my chances of a promotion, but..." He shrugged, trying to seem like it didn't matter. In truth, he didn't know if it did. They had a good lawyer, and they hadn't done anything wrong. No, they hadn't. He inhaled, replying their conversation in his head, all he had done was lay out what he knew to be true. And he knew what Logan had said and done, and he knew that wouldn't change if he switched schools. Dark took a breath, and then said, "They are just trying to bully us, that is all. We will be just fine."

Daizi put her hands over her small, slightly emerging belly, "I think we should donate to the school."

"Then we will just drag ourselves down to their level."

"I don't care."
 
Alec sat by the window, staring out as he waited for Dark and Daizi to return. He didn't say anything, just watched and waited in silence. There wasn't even a clock ticking to break up the silence.

Xander sat with his feet on the coffee table flipping through the city magazine boredly. He looked up at nothing and asked the room, "Why do they even get the city magazine? One of them can't read this, and the other doesn't strike me as the type to want to read up on current city zoning plans and fluff pieces about," he glanced down, "the editor's favorite pot pie recipe. Pot pie recipe? That's a thing?"

"I think it also has a list of special events and stuff," Alec said without taking his eyes off the window.

Xander groaned and flicked a few more pages. "Oh, here's a story on the mayor's miniature horse farm passion. It's all about her two favorite ponies, Buttercream and Nacho. Stupid names for a horse. Seriously, who reads this marshmallow?" He didn't close the magazine and fell silent after a moment, reading the article.

"They're here!" Alec yelped.

Xander snapped the magazine shut and tossed it onto the table. Both twins scrambled to the front door and stood watching the entryway expectantly.
 
"Spider, darling," Dark murmured, "they are just too people and they are not nearly as powerful as they like to think they are. I know it does not seem like it right now, but we did a good thing. Or at least, the best anybody could do, the best we could do. This school is free from one more bully, and with luck, whoever takes their place will have parents willing to listen, and most of Logan's sycophants will scatter."

Despite fighting as hard as she could to refrain, Daizi began to cry, "But you don't understand, it's not just those two, it's not about Dick and Celia Leeds, it's not about their son Logan, it's about the fact that there are people like them just--out there. Their overtly racist son who called you all of those terrible things, and their diet-racist parents who don't even realize what they're doing, and" She took the buisness card back from him and held it up to his face with a trembling hand, "people who think that this is an acceptable thing to give someone, that it's acceptable to say, 'I don't like your face, and I think you should change it' and who do it for no purpose other than to hurt you." She stuffed the card deep into her cardigan pocket.

Dark put his hands on her upper arms and calmly and lovingly said, "But you knew all that already, so why are you letting these two get to you so badly?"

"Because we're having a baby! And who knows what disgusting things they would have said if they knew!" she sobbed, "You and I have learned to deal with people like them, but it took us so long, and it was so hard. And the world hasn't changed at all, and our baby will grow up and be called all of those terrible things, and the parents of the people who called her them will do absolutely nothing."

His throat tightened watching her cry and he hugged her tightly, because unfortunately, he knew she was right, or at least mostly right, "We will help her through it," he whispered, "and we will fight for her like we fought for Alec and Xander today, and she will grow up strong and loved and kind."

They took a few moments to settle themselves before leaving the school. By coincidence, at a red light, they pulled up next to the Leeds, and Dark made eye contact with Celia through the window of his car which was visibly better than theirs, but then they drove home. They sat in their driveway for a few moments more, mostly so Daizi could assure herself she wouldn't begin to cry again, then they came inside, took off their shoes, and touched the salt.

"Well," Dark said with a heavy sigh, not bothering with usual greetings because he knew perfectly well what Alec and Xander wanted to know, "at the very least, they are pulling Logan out of the school."
 
"Really? the loser is gone? Just like that?" Xander said in surprise. "Wow, you really are some kind of miracle worker, Professor!"

"I doubt it was that easy," Alec murmured.

"I know. Lemme have my illusion of an all-powerful guardian, okay?" Xander stepped up and lightly tapped Dark's shoulder with his fist before turning to walk into the kitchen. "I hope you want spaghetti for dinner! It's all I know how to make other than toast and sandwiches."

Alec approached Daizi and touched her shoulder gently, studying her face. "You've been crying," he said softly. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to do anything that would make you so upset."
 
In his own private way, Dark smiled at Xander's excitement and praise. It didn't go perfectly, obviously, but it went well enough to make it easier Part of him worried about wherever his new school would be and the students there who didn't know what was coming, but... Well, he wasn't those kids guardian. He would drive himself crazy focusing on those things, he did right by his kids, and he did right by his school, and that was all he could do, "Spaghetti sounds great."

Daizi pulled her cardigan tight around herself and turned her face away from Alec, "I'm okay," she said, "and you don't have to apologize, you didn't do anything. I am glad to have gone there to stand up for you and your brother. They just weren't very nice people, that's all. But I'm an adult, and I've met people like them a thousand times before. The baby just makes me sensitive." Still, she felt that buisness card in her pocket. She wasn't sure exactly what she was going to do with it or why she had kept it. It certainly wasn't because she had any interest in using it.
 
"You said you were going to teach me how to cook. When is that going to happen? Or do you rescind that offer after seeing the mess I usually make of your kitchen?" Xander called over his shoulder as he walked into the mostly clean kitchen. Other than a few small things he hadn't noticed, he'd managed to get it mostly cleaned up, and now a pot of sauce sat simmering on the stove keeping warm with a pile of cooked noodles. A plate of previously frozen meatballs sat in a pile next to the stove.

Alec looked at her closely. Then he stepped closer and very slowly, very carefully, wrapped his arms around her, and hugged her. "Whatever they said that hurt you, it can't matter because you are a dark goddess, and goddesses are above slithering snakes," he whispered. "Witches are, too."
 
"If you were ever around when I was actually cooking, I would teach you, but you always seem to come down right when I have finished," He teased, looking around the room, mildly impressed, "you do seem to be learning, though, I think this might be the cleanest you're ever left the place. And, thank you. It is kind you cooked for us."

Daizi hugged him back, smiling at how he avoided calling her beautiful or any of the other synonyms she hated. She didn't let him in on the complicated reasons behind why it had upset her so badly, but he didn't need to know them, "Thank you, Alec. You're such a sweet, empathetic boy," she ruffled his hair and then smoothed it, "Come on, let's go eat. It'd be rude to let it go cold."
 
"I guess you have a point," Xander grumbled. He heaved a melodramatic sigh. "Fiiiiine, I'll actually be here when you are making dinner. Meanwhile, I hope the noodles aren't cold."

Alec grinned at her affectionate hair ruffling and nodded. "You're right. I heated up the meatballs! Xander doesn't trust me with his spaghetti sauce. Even though it's just from a jar and a few extra spices thrown in."
 
"Good, because I think you would be good at it if you took the time to learn," Dark replied, preparing a plate. It wasn't hard to make spaghetti, but that didn't mean he wasn't impressed, and being curious to see what Xander knew, he asked, "Did you salt the water?"

Daizi strolled into the kitchen, absentmindedly pulling at her clothes, "I am sure it is absolutely delicious." After taking the requisite few moments to orient herself with where everything was located on the countertop, she also plated her food before taking her usual seat at the dinner table.

"Do you know, I think the most unintentionally amusing thing Logan's father said," Dark allowed himself to chuckle slightly at the thought, "was that Logan was a good kid because, 'like all real men' he played a sport. I have never once been on a sports team yet I am fairly certain that, if it came down to it, I could have hurled father and son across the football field." To be fair to an unfair man, although it was true Dark had never played on an official team, the gym teacher kept trying to coerce him into being his assistant coach for basketball, but that was only because he was so tall.
 
Xander looked at him blankly. "Salt the water? No. I didn't know I was supposed to. But I did put a few drops of oil over them. It's supposed to help them not be sticky." He heaped up his own plate and slid into his usual seat.

"I thought Mr. Leeks was a businessman," Alec said curiously as he sat next to Xander. "I thought businessmen valued books, not muscles."

"Not in 'Merica they don't," Xander muttered and started chowing down. The bits of spices he added to ordinary store-bought spaghetti sauce did help make it taste closer to something homemade.
 
"Okay, well, in the future, you do not need to add oil, adding it makes it more difficult for the sauce to stick to the noodles. Salting the pasta water seasons the noodles while they cook," He explained, although the spice added to the sauce made up for the noodles themselves being under seasoned, and he made a point of telling them, "the sauce is really lovely. It is heartening to know the dear Americans at the table are learning to appreciate seasonings."

Daizi chuckled at the the comments about what businessmen value and added, "Businessmen value nothing but money. I may be exaggerating slightly, but my father is 'in business,' I know what most of those people are like, at least when they're higher up in the company or have ambitions to become so." She took a few cautious bites of her food and then set her fork down, lowering her head. She sat that way for only about thirty seconds, at most, before squeaking out an apology and leaving the table. Of course, like he always did, Dark followed after.
 
Xander was quiet a moment before murmuring, "Our mother always said twenty cents of seasoning on a five-dollar piece of beef adds an extra zero to the taste." He quickly shoved a meatball into his mouth and focused on that. Daizi's abrupt departure took away any attention to his words, and he was glad of it.

"Maybe we should have made toast," Alec mumbled, poking at his noodles disinterestedly. He ate a few more bites before excusing himself.

Soon, Xander was alone in the kitchen. He finished his dinner and started cleaning up, leaving Dark and Daizi's plates where they were, just in case. When he finished, he sat in the living room and pulled a small piece of leather out of his pocket and started fiddling with it as he stared out the window, letting his thoughts wander.
 
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