Daily Malec Fix (Wattys 2017)

5. Advice and Safety

Answer: "Excuse me, darling, but I can't see egotistical asses without my glasses and damn, they just don't go with gold."

Mr. Hodge waited until all of the other students walked outside and closed the door. He called Ms. Dot and told her to not expect Alec in her class. Alec put his notebook away and played with the frayed edge of his hoodie's sleeve as he waited for Mr. Hodge to speak. To his surprise Mr. Hodge just hung up the phone at sat down at his desk. He turned to his computer and started to type.

Alec felt even more afraid of what was going to happen the longer they sat there with only Mr. Hodge's typing breaking the silence. Alec cleared his throat. Was it possible that Mr. Hodge forgot that he was sitting there? Alec didn't know what to do. Did he get up and try to leave? Did he just sit there? Or did he go up to him?

Finally he raised his hand.

"Ah, Mr. Lightwood," Mr. Hodge looked at him over his computer. "Looks like you've remembered how to act in my class. Did you want to say something?"

"Why am I here?" Alec asked him. Sure, he knew why but it was all he could think to say.

"Ah, why indeed?" Mr. Hodge closed his laptop and walked over to Alec. He sat on the edge of the desk in front of his student and looked down at him with crossed arms. Alec had always been a model student then all of the sudden he started coming in late, making mistakes on his work, and even talking back. Never as bad as today, but it had been leading to it; he hoped that it was a phase, but he couldn't wait any longer for Alec to figure himself out.

"Look, I'm sorry about earlier." Alec spoke with his hand and Mr. Hodge saw the small scars on his knuckles. He remembered that he had a cast on his wrist right when all of the attitude changes had started. He wondered if it was a catalyst or a condition from the problem.

"And I want to believe you, Alec, but you've been spiraling these past couple of months." Mr. Hodge wanted to heal the hurt in his student's eyes but he knew it wasn't his job.

"I said I'm sorry." Alec looked back down at his hands and picked at his nails. "Can I go now?"

"I don't need to know what's going on, but you need to talk to someone."

"Nothing's going on."

"Alec I may seem like just a dusty old teacher but I'm not an idiot. I can see that something's happened. Now, you can either keep acting out and throw your life away for some cheap thrills like making an ass out of your history teacher," Mr. Hodge paused and Alec looked up at him with tears welling in his eyes, "or you can suck it up and move the fuck past this."

Alec didn't say anything. It felt like he had been struck by a train.

"I'm going to let today's outburst slide, but if you so much as doodle in my class again I will have you suspended so fast that you'll get whiplash, understood?" Mr. Hodge smiled.

"I don't doodle." Alec cracked a tiny smile.

"That's a great start. Your next step is to find Magnus and work on your assignment."

"I can't do that. I'll just take an F." Alec shook his head as he stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

"Alec, you're making it really hard for me to help you." Mr. Hodge stood up and walked to his door. "I thought you two were friends."

"You teach history. You know alliances never last." Alec opened the door and left.

"Mr. Lightwood, they're also stitched back together!" Mr. Hodge called after him, feeling his pain. He knew what it was like to lose a friend.

"And yet, the scars are the only things we remember." Alec stepped outside. He didn't care if he got in trouble he couldn't be in class anymore. He made sure to stay out of view of the cameras and snuck through the hole in the fence. He jogged to the one place that he could always go to feel safe.

"What are you doing here?" Magnus asked as Alec collapsed, breathing hard. He had been running faster than he usually did and the high left much too soon.

"It's Thursday. This is my place on Thursdays."

"Yeah, but it's during school hours." Magnus dropped down next to him and Alec visibly shrunk away from him. "Why are you here?" Magnus asked hoping that Alec would talk to him, he could say anything and Magnus would be happy. He missed their conversations so much.

"Do you ever wonder what life would be like if you could fly?" Alec asked him because he honestly didn't want to go.

Magnus smiled. "You'd probably be just as clumsy."

Alec laughed. "Probably."

"I've missed that laugh." Magnus said and instantly regretted it.

"Me too." Alec got up and left before Magnus could say anything else.

Question: glitter or color?