Jae getting ready for her Juilliard audition meant she was off his back more, and so Alex was enjoying what bit of freedom he had from responsibility. He knew that being class president was kind of a big deal and came with a lot of work, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. But he was trying a little more. Just sometimes old habits, especially the bad ones, kind of lingered when they shouldn't.
He hadn't really been to the woods since Barclay had sent him running through it. That was a hell of a night and maybe he deserved something but he still didn't think he deserved that. Perhaps if Alex had remained unchecked by his grandfather and the school, he might have become a Barclay. Someone who was so wrapped up in taking justice into their own hands, they didn't stop to think that maybe cosmic forces beyond their comprehension already did enough.
But Barclay wasn't there anymore and the woods didn't have to be fearful. Once upon a time, Alex had come into the woods as part of a ceremony to show respect for the dead. During the Lunar New Year the previous year, he'd learned a lot. In China, he'd learned a lot more about ancestors. How important they were and how one needed to respect one's ancestors. He wasn't going into the woods for that, but he was going in to make it a place where he could go and think again. His music wasn't doing the trick.
"Whoa, bad day?" Alex asked when he came across Fred throwing knives at a target. He knew Fred was tough, but he didn't think she knew enough about knife throwing to make the guys at circuses look like chumps.
His friends were a mess. Alex knew it. Even Haylie was something of a mess. She seemed the most sorted but she was a he and a he that . . . well, that would work itself out or something. Alex would need to talk to Haylie about it. Maybe figure out how to help her get back to what she was. Not that Alex was great with that but friends stuck with each other through things. Which was why Alex came to talk to Fred instead of walking on and letting her be emo with knives.
Alex came and sat down on a fallen tree. He'd made sure to clean off whatever he could. These pants cost $200, after all.