Quoted By:
Mr. S is logged in on his own account and playing on a solo deathmatch server, so he takes a long moment to notice you still hanging out in his classroom, standing in front of his desk. "Wesley? Sup?" His eyes are still half on the monitor. He's getting his ass kicked.
"You've known my Dad since you were kids, right?"
"Uhh, yeah. Yeah, I think so."
"...You think so?"
He clears his throat, logs out of his game (fucking ragequitter), and sits forwards in his chair. "What's up? He doesn't have one of those cancers, does he?"
"He's fine," you say, already sort of regretting this conversation. Noticing that Lily left the door ajar, you go over and gently close it. "I just wanted to know what it was like growing up with him."
Mr. S gets up, hurries over to the door, nudges you aside. "Let's keep this baby open. I have -- I'm on an open-door policy. Y'know?" He returns to his desk and tries to do the Mr. Cool Teacher lean-his-tailbone-against-it-while-folding-his-arms maneuver, but he chooses a spot quite near the corner to lean against. He wobbles, clearly uncomfortable and off-balance. "A-anyway. Your Dad? Ohhh man. Your Dad -- ah, ow" (he nearly topples over before catching himself and resuming the arms-folded pose) "-- let me tell you. Alabaster is... he is one classy effing guy. Oh sure, his taste in anime is complete garbage, but we don't hold it against him, right? Right? ... Right?"
"Right."
"Right!"
You swallow hard and stare at a ceiling tile behind Mr. S's shoulder. "Do you think Dad's ever been... evil?"
Mr. S's eyebrows just about make it all the way up to that ceiling tile. "E--" he begins, but has to pause once again to catch himself from falling. This time he seriously lists to one side, and when he uprights himself, he gives up the ghost of pretending to be cool. He stops leaning against his desk. "Evil? No. No how, no way, Wes-lay."
You nod.
Mr. S motions with his hands as he speaks. "I mean... did he write a letter of contra-recommendation to the dean when I was interviewing for a teaching job here? Yeah. Was that a hilarious prank? Also yeah. So so what if he's like third or fourth in command at a company on the Forbes Evil 100 list? That doesn't make him <span class="mu-i">evil</span>, for--." He squints in confusion. "Why are you asking about this?"
"No reason," you say.
"Well, I can tell you one thing. He loves his kids."
"Some of them--"
"Maybe a little too much!" He cuts in. "I mean... when Alabaster found out that you were going to be on my E-sports team, did he threaten to gouge out my eyes with a rusty screwdriver and bury my body in a shallow grave in the desert if I looked at you sideways? Yeah. Was that yet another hilarious prank? Also yeah!" He glances uneasily back at the wide-open door, and rushes over to open it even farther -- as far as it physically can be -- until it's parallel with the wall it's mounted to. Turning, he adds: "that... that Alabaster... he's really funny, when you get to know his sense of humor."
