Bags of Candy (Pixel)

[henry]

Sitting on the front steps of the school, Henry rubbed at his knee. He'd stumbled, as he'd been walking up the stairs, and had banged up his knee. Again. Sighing, he picked up his cane. Thank goodness he'd brought it again. He really needed to be careful about how he walked. His knee gave him enough trouble as it was; he didn't need to be hurting it any more. At least he was already at the school. Driving when his knee was hurting was never any fun. Especially when he started getting flashbacks of the accident. Just thinking about it was enough to make him pause, and he turned around, taking a seat again. Setting his cane beside him, he looked out over the school grounds. It was at times like this, when he was suddenly reminded of his wife, that he missed her most. And to think, his day had been going so well. He'd had lessons that were meant to be fun as well as educational planned, and had brought candy as treats. There were going to be games, so they could earn the candy. Now he wasn't sure if he was up to that. It was just too happy. It'd be like spitting on the memory of Naomi, to be so happy without her, wouldn't it?

Opening his briefcase, he pulled out the bag with the candy in it. Unwrapping a chocolate bar, he broke off a square, and nibbled at the corner of it. His life had become a mess, hadn't it? He was a single father, and spent most of his nights at home, reading stories to his daughter, or playing whatever ridiculous game she'd come up with now. Not that he didn't enjoy that! He loved Beatrice, and spending time with her. But there were times, quite often, in fact, that he felt like he was growing to be old and alone. That was something he didn't want, though, he didn't know if he could ever love again. Naomi had completely had his heart. Loving anyone else would be a betrayal, it felt like. Sighing again, he looked up at the sky. "You've ruined me, woman. I'll never be quite sane again, will I?" Chuckling, he knew that his wife would have called him ridiculous had she been there. She would say he'd never been sane. Shaking his head, his mood had lightened a bit. For a moment, he'd almost heard her voice. God, he missed her.

[Pixel Conner]

B+. That currently Pixel's grade in math. A subject she hated so greatly that it made her want to burn her textbook, which was weird because Pixel wasn't a pyro, and fire kinda freaked her out. In fact... Everything kind of freaked her out. But Pixel had studied her ass off every second she wasn't eating, peeing, sleeping or with Anthony over the weekend and she'd.. gotten a B+ in math, from an F. The teacher stared her down after class, and straight up asked if she cheated. But she didn't she'd just studied, and it paid off. So needless to say, with her new B+, Anthony and AMP on the way, Pixel was one very, very happy girl today. So what if Anthony had recently been in isolation again? Whatever made him happy, and as long as he didn't bottle his anger up, Pixel was fine.. Okay not really, but she wasn't going to let it ruin her perfectly awesome day.

Pixel skipped down the hall, wearing her school uniform since classes were going to start in the next thirty minutes. Pixel had grown use to the plaid, though still stood true to the fact that plaid was very much for people that were kilts, and not Pixel Ann Conner. But again, a silly uniform wasn't going to make Pixel upset on an amazing day like this. She pushed open the door to the school and stepped outside, breathing in the cool air. At least it wasn't raining. She looked around, then saw her second favorite teacher sitting on the steps, eating. ."CANDY! Pixel ran down the steps and parked herrear beside him, reaching over and snatching the chocolate bar from him, breaking off two pieces before handing it back to him with a smile. "Good morning, Henry!" Pixel never called her teaches Mr. or Miss... Unless she didn't like them. Her math teacher was Mr. Bones. Always and forever.

[henry]

Blinking as he heard the shout, he looked over as Pixel sat beside him. Chuckling, and shaking his head just a bit, he offered her the rest of the chocolate bar. "Good morning, Pixel. I take it you're in a good mood this morning?" Well, at least someone was. Looking down at her, he was struck by how much she reminded him of his wife. Hyperactive, artistic, and just a little crazy. She wasn't quite as crazy as Naomi had been, but enough so that she reminded him of his wife. He knew that Naomi would have adored Pixel. He could imagine it now; she'd hug the teenager, and beg her husband to let her keep her. A soft chuckle escaped him, and he reached over, patting Pixel's head. He was feeling much better now, just thinking about how much she'd enjoy the students at Blackwood. Even if they were temperamental, or difficult, Naomi would have worked with it. She'd have dealt with any problems, and gotten them to like her. It had been one of her greatest talents.

Putting the bag of candy back in his briefcase, he leaned back on the steps. "You know... My wife would have loved you. You're a lot like her, you know." Ruffling her hair, he smiled. "I remember, once, I came home from work, and she'd cut off all her hair, and dyed it a brilliant shade of aquamarine. Up until the end... she kept dying it crazy colors... For almost ten years, she did it. The only time she stopped was when she was pregnant..." Laughing, just a bit, as he remembered how Naomi had loved bright colors, he relaxed. Even if his wife was gone, he knew that she wouldn't want him to wallow. Whenever she'd caught him, she'd always teased or lectured him about moping. "Sorry, I guess I'm being a silly, sentimental old man today." Henry didn't think most of his students even knew that he'd once been married. Talking about Naomi was hard for him, and so he rarely did it. He wondered if that would ever change, or if he'd always avoid the topic.

[Pixel Conner]

The blonde smiled, sticking a piece of chocolate in her mouth, setting it melt on her tongue. The amount of candy she stole from Henry and ate probably wasn't good for her, but she'd honestly hadn't had candy is over an year. It was kind of crazy. Pixel listened to Henry talk about his wife with a serious expression, and how she'd dyed her hair crazy colors. This one time, for holloween, Pixel went as a goth, and she had a black wig with color stripes in it, and that was as far as Pixel had ever came to changing her hair color. She was awfully attached to the blonde curls. She reached up and ran her finger through her hair after Henry reached over and mess it up, fixing it. It would probably end up in a pony-tail by the end of the day, like it normally did, but right now she just let it fall free.

Pixel shook her head, smiling again. "I don't mind you talking about her, I think it's sweet. You're like me when I get older, because I always talk about Anthony and how much I love him a bunch and everything he does. I mean, he's never dyed his hair blue that I know of," Maybe Pixel should ask him if he had. "But, he does things that just make him.. him and make me fall even more in love with him, because it's something only he has.. you know?" Like the way he would raise an eyebrow when she would do something completely crazy, or said something random. Or how he would turn his head his head to the side and looked at things through the corner of his eyes. Or the look he got in his eyes when he was angry, but he was around he was around her so he didn't want to show it. It was sexy, and what made Anthony him, and made her love him. Though Pixel never told him that she loved these things about him, she just bother everyone else with them. "When me and Anthony get out of here, Henry, and we start our life.. you should come to our wedding. I mean, our official wedding, because our real wedding was in his dorm room, but I mean we couldn't invite people to that one, he just randomly starting saying vows and gave me a ring, but I mean the wedding where I'm wearing a gown, and he's in a tux, and like.. everyone is there and it's like, the most perfect moment and the world and I'll start crying but Anthony will reach up and wipe a tear away before kissing me and everyone else will start crying and it'll be.. amazing." She smiled, popping the second piece of chocolate in her mouth before holding her left hand out to show them the wedding band Anthony had made her. "He made it... Isn't that sweet?" Pixel laughed softly. "And now I'm the way being sentimental, so I guess we're even."