Sorry, Granny." Alex's first words were an apology as soon as he walked in her door that evening. Dressed in nothing but pure strings and tattered rags, at the end of the day, Alex was completely disappointed with himself. He'd thought he'd planned everything out perfectly for their day's activity, but Alex had forgotten one of the most important things of all — something suitable to carry the harvested grass back in!
"I ruined your dress," he half sobbed, feeling utterly terrible about it. Alex knew as good as anyone what little Granny had to her name.
"Broke me sleepy-case too," Thorn grumbled moodily from outside the door.
"Yes, I know we ruined your pillowcase, Thorn." Sighing deeply, Alex sat down crosslegged and hung his head.
"No worries. No worries," Granny Stone cackled happily. "Kekeke! It was worth losing that old thing just to see you like this, Ribbon-Woman!" Freely teasing Alex, Granny was truly enjoying the moment. "How'd you end up like that anyway?"
"Grass kick yer ass," Thorn muttered, sagely, from outside the entrance.
"Yeah," Alex agreed wholeheartedly. "The grass kicked our ass."
"I harvested it easily enough," Alex explained to Granny, "and we collected a total of fifteen clumps of silver weeds by the end of the day."
"Yeppers," Thorn nodded in agreement. "But grass still kick yer ass," he added, chuckling lightly.
"Yes, the grass still kicked our ass," Alex sighed, feeling both down from his failure and yet already tired of being picked on over it.
"The problem came," Alex added finally, "when I tried to pack up the bundles and carry them in Thorn's pillowcase. The silkgrass ended up ripping and slicing that poor pillowcase to shreds."
"Kilt it dead," Thorn added solemnly.
"And, since we were already getting to the more traveled roads, we tried to make due any way we could," Alex added.
"Kilt me pants," Thorn sighed sadly from outside the door.
"We didn't kill your pants," Alex snorted, moodily. "We just tore the legs off and made them into a pair of shorts. YOU killed Granny's dress, though," Alex reminded him, putting the blame squarely on Thorn.
"Oh! Ho! Ho! So it was the big ox-boy who ruined my dress? Kekekeke! How'd you do that, boy," Granny Stone asked. "Do I need to get my cane to beat you with?"
"You sure do, Granny," Alex nodded vehemently, shamelessly tossing all the blame on Thorn. "I told the big lug to rip the dress in half; to tear it so there'd be enough to use for a wrap around both my top and bottom, and we'd use the rest to patch up the holes in the bundle we were carrying…"
"Me did dat," Thorn snorted, crossing his arms in front of his chest stubbornly.
"You tore it in half from top to bottom," Alex snorted. "You didn't tear it into a skirt and top!"
"Ya say'd, 'Thorn, rip dis'n half.' So me rip'd it 'n half! Not me fault ya ah dum-dum an' not say which half," Thorn growled back, grumbling outside the door.
"Kekekeke! I can't hardly breathe!" Granny Stone was bent over, slapping her knees with her hands, and cackling like a mad woman, listening to the two blame each other so seriously. She didn't have the heart to tell either of them that the dress in question was one she'd found in the garbage heap a few weeks back. The only reason she'd dug it out and kept it at all, is because she thought she could tear it up and use it for dingy old dust rags. She just hadn't gotten around to it yet!
"Well *Thorn* is going to buy you a new dress with his share of the profits we earned today," Alex stressed.
"Wif Brudder Boobz coin," Thorn corrected, instantly.
"No! With your coin," Alex demanded. "You've already made me one step from a murderer today!"
"A murderer," Granny Stone gasped. "Do tell! Kah! Haha haha! Kekekekekeh!" Wobbling over, she slowly sat down on the one stool in the room, while trying to catch her breath.
"Well all thanks to Thorn shredding the last of the cloth that we could use," Alex glared over at the entranceway where Thorn sat pouting. "I had to end stealing some poor family's washbasin to carry everything back home. It's *his* fault I'm a thief!"
"Wasn't you already a thief, kehehee," Granny asked, wiping water from the corner of her eyes? "Didn't you steal that healer's kit this morning?"
"Uh huh," Thorn agreed, nodding his head vigorously. "Me gud. Brudder Boobz bad," he declared, innocently.
"That was that and this is this," Alex proclaimed, shanking his head from side to side in denial.
"Kahaha! Hahahah! Kah kekekeke!" Granny couldn't help but rest her head on the crate she normally used for a table, as she listened to the two argue back and forth relentlessly.
Alex and Thorn continued arguing amongst each other all the way up the street, until they were completely out of sight of Granny's. "Ha! I told you we'd make her evening, if we pretended to feud amongst ourselves," Alex chuckled, nudging Thorn with his elbow, smiling brightly.
"Yeppers," Thorn agreed, nodding his head vigorously up and down. Arm wrapped around Alex's shoulders, the two almost looked as if they were on a date as they walked down the road snuggled together and laughing freely with each other.
"Thanks for walking me back to the school," Alex beamed brightly up at Thorn. "Today's a day where the school colors are more of a bane than they are a boon out on the streets." Since he'd changed back into his white and blue mini-skirts back at Granny's house, Alex had once again drawn the eyes of every merchant and driver throughout the city as he'd worked his way back to the school. It was only thanks to Thorn's rough and scarred appearance that he was able to walk back without being pestered by all of them.
"No worries, Brudder Boobz," Thorn reassures him, waving his hand dismissively.
"Now remember," Alex told Thorn, "I'm not going to be leaving the school for several days, again. Instead, I want you to come and meet me up at the school entrance in three days time. Got it?"
"Thorn go wait at school gate in three daze," Thorn repeated, showing that he understood.
"Good," Alex praised him, smiling brightly as they stopped in front of the entrance to the school. "Now wait here, out of the way," Alex pointed to one of the alleyways between the schools wall and the closest building, "and I'll be back in just a little bit."
"Ah'll waitz," Thorn promised, moving back to sit against the wall.
"Good!" Turning and rushing into the school, Alex hurried past the empty courtyards and to the boy's dorm first. Going up and into his room, he simply tossed the washbasin he was carrying onto his bed, before turning and heading back out. For a change, he wasn't worried about anyone stealing his stuff — since it was already late evening, the vast majority of students would've already left the school for the break. There really wasn't anyone left to steal from him!
Getting outside the dorm again, Alex turned and made a beeline for the cafeteria. Barren and empty, the place resembled a ghost town as Alex took his time to stuff four whole picnic baskets as full of various foods and deserts as possible. Smiling happily afterwards, Alex whistled a merry little tune as he worked his way back to Thorn with the handles of two baskets in each hand.
"Miss me, sweetie?" Blowing a kiss in Thorn's direction, Alex swayed and flirted outrageously in front of the guards' eyes.
"Nope," Thorn answered truthfully. "Ah almost went ta sleep."
"Fine! You big bully! All you want me for is my snacks," Alex pouted pitifully, causing one of the nearby school guards to snicker slightly.
"Yep. Dat's all," Thorn agreed, taking the baskets from Alex. Without saying a word of goodbye, he turned and began to casually slumber on off, ignoring him completely.
"Awww! Pretty Lady, it seems your boyfriend doesn't really want your company tonight," that same guard chuckled lightly. "I get off work in about a candle's mark, if you want a real man to keep you company tonight," he offered.
"No thanks," Alex pretended to fume, as he stomped off and headed back into the school proper to make a quick trip to the cafeteria for his own supper, and then back to his room for the night.