"Braxton Alexander Rudforest."
Braxton flinched at the use of his middle name.
"What was that about?"
Jim had just finished filling Matt in about Braxton's argument with Zephyr, and he did not appear to be handling it favorably.
"We agreed that you were going to try and have a personable relationship with him, not start even more fights!"
"In my defense," Braxton interjected, "he hates me."
"That is no excuse," Matt answered, his arms crossed and fingers tapping irritably against his bicep. "You can't say that it's his fault you never walked together if you also refuse to take the first step. Someone needs to start moving or you're going to continue to stagnate."
Braxton just sighed. He slumped, defeated, in his chair as he listened to Matt's lecture. Thankfully their classmates were otherwise occupied in their own conversations or beginning to pack up to leave, and no one seemed inclined to evesdrop on the tiff between friends.
"Unless you want to escalate this to proper authorities, the plan hinges on you being able to mend a temporary bridge between you and Zephyr. This is the plan that you came up with, if I might remind you," Matt continued in his sharp whisper.
"Alright, alright," Braxton threw his hands up. "I'm sorry, alright? I'll try to make it up to him later. He just sets me off, okay? I can't stand rich, pompous, stuck up," he gestured to indicate a continuation along those lines, clearly too upset to produce more insults.
"Cosseted nointer?" Varian filled in helpfully.
"Yes! Thank you!"
Matt sighed. "Varian."
"Sorry."
"Look," Braxton continued reluctantly. "I'll try again, okay? But if he's not able to meet me part way, it might be on you guys to handle this instead. We're like oil and water."
"An emulsion?" Varian puzzled.
"Yes!" Braxton sat up. He frowned. "Wait, what? No! We don't mix."
"You can mix them, you just have to handle it carefully," Varian replied hesitantly. "And it helps if you have an emulsifier to assist in the process, though through my experiments i've discovered various ways to-"
"Not the point, Varian," Braxton interrupted him irritably.
"Actually," for the first time since the argument started, Jim decided to interject. "I think that is the point."
"Come again?" Braxton had his arms crossed now, though Varian and Matt both looked more receptive to what Jim had to say.
"Oil and water don't mix, under normal circumstance. Zephyr and Braxton won't get along under normal circumstances. However, this isn't a normal circumstance. So we need to find a way to emulsify them. We can add something to make it easier, that's you Matt. And Sy. You two are what we're adding to help. Or, we can adjust the situation to make it happen. Between the two new factors, we can find a way to mix oil and water. Or, you know. Make Zephyr and Braxton be in a room together and not want to maim each other. We just need to find the right mix."
Matt was nodding now. "You're right. That's it exactly. You two can agree on some things. You handle the free time situation well. You both agreed on how to handle what to do after dinner just fine. So we just need to find more situations where it benefits you both to achieve the same goal."
Varian perked up. "And meanwhile Matt and Sy can help stabilize you. Jim and I can try and help more, as well. We'll start changing the subject whenever we see you two starting to go at it again. Matt and Sy will be in charge of trying to steer the conversation away from territory that might start you both off, but we'll all keep an eye out for when things begin heating up. Hogarth will help, too."
Jim couldn't help the smile that was taking over his face. "And eventually you two will start to blend on your own, you won't need us to handle every situation. I bet by the end of next week, you'll be able to be in the same area together alone without making each other mad!"
"Are you willing to bet on that?" Braxton drawled sarcastically. "I thought rampant optimism was your boyfriend's thing. He rubbing off on you that much?"
Jim shrugged. "Maybe a little optimism isn't such a bad thing."
"Alright, fine." Braxton sighed, but at last relented. "I will continue to try and befriend De Châteaupers."
Jim and Varian high fived each other.
"Thank you, Braxton." Matt hugged his friend tightly. "You're doing the right thing."
Zephyr entered the near empty classroom just a minute later. He nodded to Mister Boots before turning to the small group of friends. "I hope that you haven't suffered greatly from having to wait again, Rudforest."
Braxton ignored the jab. Jim was rather proud of him for that. It seemed as if maybe their plan would be able to work after all.
"Thank you for coming to collect us," Matt scooped up his items and started for the door. "How was your test?"
"Fine," Zephyr waited until all of the boys had exited the room before following them out. "I managed to complete the majority of my work. I only had about a page left when time was called. I believe I have passed with a wide enough margin not to harm my class score."
"Not that grandpa would let his precious lamb fail," Braxton snarked back. "Couldn't have precious golden Zephyr looking like the plebians."
And there went Jim's pride. Not even thirty seconds into hanging out together and they were already bickering. Maybe Braxton was right. Perhaps by within a week was a bit too optimistic. Sighing heavily, Jim followed his friends towards their next class. They could try again for peace at lunch.
