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Precocious	By : XxSwaggerMcJaggerxX Category: +M through R > Recess Views: 3538 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Recess and do not make a profit from this work.

Chapter List
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Eager to get back to normal, going over to Dude’s place was put on the back burner for TJ. He didn’t completely forget about the guy; he let him say at his place and took care of him while his head healed up, after all. But being outside with his friends and playing again was his priority. Even if his friends tried talking him out of it sometimes.
            He appreciated and understood the concern, he really did. It’s not everyday you see your friend crack their skull open on the playground, but he was fine! The stitches were gone, the wound was closed, and he was ready to play again!
            Once Saturday came, he made his way over to Dudikoff’s house. Maybe he’ll have some advice to help his friends see he was fine. Stepping up to the front door, he knocked and waited. When there was no response, he knocked again, harder. Frankie’s car was in the driveway, so he had to be at home. TJ considered going to the back door, before the door creaked open.
            Franklin, who always looked bright eyed and bushy tailed, looked worse for wear. His hair was messy and uncombed, his typical jeans and button up were replaced with pajamas, and the bags under his eyes showed he hadn’t gotten a decent amount of sleep in a while.
            “How’s it going, Squirt?” He asked. Franklin covered his mouth with a tissue as he coughed.
            “You’re sick?”
            “Yeah. Look, I love working with kids, but you guys are walking petri dishes, and I don’t cope with colds well,” he sniffed. “I slacked on my whole ‘keeping my immune system up and running’ routine, and now I’m paying the price for it. It’s just a cold but do yourself a favor and stay away for at least another week, alright?”
            Franklin stepped back to close the door, but it was stopped, when TJ put his foot in the way.
            “I’ll help.”
            “Kid—”
            “I said I’ll help,” TJ said, pushing his way in. He heard Franklin sigh as he briefly glanced in the living room. It was messy again. Not as bad as when he first came over, but a far cry from how clean it was last week when he was staying over. He rolled his eyes. Sure, he didn’t expect it to be clean all the time, but this was a little excessive. He turned back to Frankie and started pushing the taller male towards the stairs. “Go to bed.”
            “. . .You’re gonna get sick,” Dudikoff said. “It’s just a cold, Kid, I’ll be fine.”
            “Uh-huh. Go. Shoo.” TJ kept shoving him forward. “Go lay down and go to sleep or something.”
            Franklin, in the haze of his slight fever and stuffy nose, looked at the kid, wondering why he was so adamant about ‘helping’ him. Maybe it was his way of paying him back for caring for him a week ago, which he really didn’t have to. He was going to get sick, Frank was sure of it, and he needs to be the responsible one and force Detweiler out the front door.
            But his head hurt, and he was too tired to do that.
            “Get sick at your own risk, Squirt.” Franklin coughed as he slowly marched up the stairs. TJ watched him go, not moving from his spot until he heard the bedroom door close. Good. Now. . .
            He went to the fridge, hoping to find something he could work with. Luckily for him, it still looked like it belonged to a functioning adult, with all the things he needed for what he had in mind.
ZZ
            Having a stuffed nose made it a battle to get to sleep. Franklin couldn’t stand it, and was reconsidering a career in teaching if it meant getting sick this often. Could he make his students wear a mask if they do so much as cough? Probably not.
            He’ll probably be fine. Maybe stock up on those emergen-c things.
            “Hey.” He opened his crusty eyelids to the sight of the kid coming into his room, a tray in hand. “I made you something to eat.”
            Dude managed to sit up with a pile of pillows propping him up. His stuffed up nose kept him from smelling the chicken noodle soup before it was placed in front of him, along with a glass of orange juice.
            “I didn’t think I had any,” Frank said. He wiped his noise with a tissue before reaching for the spoon.
            “You didn’t. I made it from scratch,” said TJ. “I make it for myself when I’m sick.”
            “Your parents are kinda shit, dude. That’s their job.” He paused, taking a bite. “This is really good chicken noodle soup. Thanks.”
            “. . .I know. But you’re welcome. I’m glad you like it,” TJ said. He looked around, and winced seeing the mess around the bed. “How did you make such a mess downstairs if you’re stuck in bed?”
            “I dunno, man. I’ve been back and forth up here and down there for the last week. I’ve been too tired to clean after myself. But that means I get to have you over being my little maid,” he joked. TJ rolled his eyes and started cleaning up the mess around the bed. Even when he was sick, Frankie still found the energy to be a pervert. It was almost impressive.
            “You know what would make me feel even better?” Dudikoff snaked an arm around the boys waist when he got close enough. “If you, ah, slipped on one of those cute costumes I got for you and gave me a little show.”
            “Uh-huh. I’m sure it would,” said TJ, pulling Franklin arms from around him. “There’s nothing that’ll stop you from being a creep, is there?”
            Dude shook his head. “Not as long as you’re here, Squirt.”
            TJ rolled his eyes. “You can at least wait until you’re not sick before trying anything.” Seeing that the food was gone, he took the tray from Franklin and headed towards the door. “You should go back to sleep. I’ve still got more cleaning to do downstairs.”
            “Thanks, Kiddo. I owe you big time for this.”
            “I’ll hold you to that.”
            For the next few days, Dude was greeted by the fourth grader coming over, making something for him to eat, and cleaning up a bit before heading home. Now, Franklin was more than capable of warming up the food Detweiler left in the fridge for him, but the company was nice to have. He helped the kid with his homework as much as he could through his cloudy headaches and powerful urge to sleep. Plus his chicken noodle soup was fantastic, he wasn’t getting sick of it any time soon.
            “You look better.” TJ dropped his backpack at the door.
            “I feel better. I’ve shaken off my cold, thanks to you,” said Franklin. “I appreciate it.”
            “No problem. But you owe me. You said so,” he said, folding his arms.
            “Okay, okay. So what do you want? A trip to the comic book store? The theme park?” He suggested. TJ shook his head at everything he offered.
            “There was a whole thing at school, all the fourth graders got their marbles taken by the fifth graders. So I want some new marbles,” TJ said. “That’s it.”
            “That’s it?” Franklin repeated, confused. “Just some new marbles? Nothing, I dunno, a bit fancier than that?”
            TJ shook his head. “Nope. I just need some new marbles, I’m not picky. That’s it.”
            Franklin scratched his head. What was with this kid? He was ready to shell out money to buy him a new handheld video game, or a brand-new bike, or something. Anything except a handful of marbles that would cost, what, five, ten bucks tops?
            But it was sweet how the kid came over everyday just to dote on him over a cold. Fine. He’ll get the kid his marbles, and they’re going to be some of the nicest, one of the kind marbles he could ask for.
            “Fine. I’ll get you some marbles,” he said. “C’mon. I hope you don’t have any other plans today.”
ZZZ
            It’s been a while since he’d come down to the studio, what with his schooling taking priority. Maybe he should’ve spent more time down here, since it always helped eased his stress. Today, he was here for the kid, and that was fine enough. The large, round chimneys on top of the brick building let out the heat being generated inside.
            TJ followed him inside, wondering how he was going to get marbles from a place like this. He immediately shed his jacket when the heat inside hit him.
            “Alright, I’m gonna have you sit right over here, Squirt. I’m fine with you getting involved in most stuff but Pete’ll have my head if you go to him with a burn,” Franklin said. He abandoned his button up in favor of the t-shirt underneath for comfort. The jeans, he needed that protection, but the top could go. He scooped up a bucket of sand and poured it into one of the metal overs.
            “What’s that?”
            “A furnace. I mean, technically it’s called a glory hole, but I can’t call it that with a straight face,” said Franklin. “While that heats up, you can pick out some colors.”
            He lead the kid over to a large rectangular container. Long, thin, rods sat inside divided by color.
            “I’ll be able to make a few bundles of marbles, so go ahead and pick out a few color combos,” he said. “It’s not everyday you get custom marbles.”
            “How’d you learn how to do this?” TJ asked, poking around the different colored rods.
            “I took a class on a whim a few years ago as a way to kill some time,” he said. “Turns out it’s actually kinda fun. And it makes giving gifts for people easier.”
            TJ picked out a few colors and handed them over to Franklin. Sitting back and out of the way, he watched as Frankie opened out pulled out a glob of molten glass out of the furnace, shaping and working with a set of tools he had. He always went to the toy store to pick out and buy marbles; the idea of getting his own custom set never crossed his mind.
            He watched Dudikoff focus, adding onto the molten glass he handled, eventually adding the pieces he picked out. There were a bunch of questions he wanted to ask, but he stayed quiet, not wanting to surprise the older man and causing him to burn himself. Besides, whatever he wanted to say couldn’t make it out of his mouth with the sight in front of them. Dudikoff, concentrating, seemingly unaffected by the heat coming off the furnace or the glass he was working with, his normally perfectly combed hair starting to fall and cling to his forehead with sweat dripping down the side of his face.
            “It’s been a while since you’ve stepped foot in here, Dudikoff.”
            He was snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of a new voice. He turned and saw Mr. E of all people walking inside.
            “Hey, E. I’ve been kinda busy, you know? Getting certified, finding a job, all that jazz,” Franklin said. “What are you doing down here?”
            “Picking up a few whiskey glasses I left to cool overnight,” he said. He walked to a shelf that held various kinds of glassware and small art pieces waiting to be picked up. TJ watched him carefully wrap his glasses before noticing him.
            “Detweiler,” Mr. E said plainly.
            “Mr. E,” TJ said, matching his tone.
            “You two know each other?” Asked Dudikoff.
            “I substituted for his class for a week, and he made it his mission to be as difficult as possible,” said E.
            Franklin laughed. “That sounds about right. I’m making him a set of marbles since he lost his.”
            “So go buy some.”
            “Relax, E. I want to make him some custom marbles. It’s the least I can do for him after last week,” said Dudikoff. “We’re bonding, if you don’t mind.”
            “The last thing the Third Street needs is you two bonding.”
            TJ watched and listened to the back and forth between the two of them. Frankie keeping his lighthearted demeanor in front of Mr. E’s stone-cold exterior had him stunned. He never imagined the two of them would know each other. Definitely not well enough to have a conversation as easy as they were now.
            “Don’t forget to clean up when you’re done. We’re not your maids,” said Mr. E.
            “I know. I already have one of those,” Franklin mumbled with a smirk. “Nice seeing you, E.”
            Mr. E nodded without a word. At the door, he paused and turned to TJ.
            “Stay out of trouble, boy.”
            Oh.
            Oh he liked that.
            “Chill, E. He’s a good kid,” Dudikoff defended. Mr. E simply rolled his eyes and left. “Here. How’s this look?”
            He turned back to see Franklin coming up to him. With one of his tools, he held up a freshly made marble for him to see. Along with some white bits twisting on the inside were the colors he picked out.
            “That’s amazing,” he said, reaching for it. Dudikoff quickly pulled it away.
            “Don’t touch! It’s still a couple hundred degrees. These things will take 24 hours to cool down,” said Franklin. “Now, how exactly did you make it your mission to be difficult with him?”
            TJ rolled his eyes, but started to tell the story about the week Mr. E took over his class. Dudikoff found the whole thing amusing, knowing all too well of E’s methods of running a classroom. He made quick work of the second and third batch of marbles, placing them in the annealing oven once they were finished.
            “How did you two meet?” TJ asked once they were on the road again.
            “He actually taught one of the classes I took in college. Nice to see he’s still a hardass,” he said. “Alright, where are we going? Or did you come up with something else to get out of me?”
            “Can you drop me off at Pete’s? It’s been a while since we spent time together,” he said. “He’s starting a vegetable garden and I wanna help.”
            “Sure, Squirt.”
            “Thanks for the marbles, by the way. I gotta tell my friends they’re store bought unless you want to make five more batches, but it’s cool having some that no one else have,” said TJ.
            “Yeah, yeah, no problem.” Franklin reached over and ruffled the boys hair. “Something the matter? ”
            “Nah. I’m fine. I think.”
            “You think?”
            “Mm-hmm. I’ll talk about it later,” he said as the car pulled up to Prickly’s house. “Thanks for the ride.” TJ waited until Dudikoff drove off before reaching into his pocket for the key Prickly gave him. Since Mr. E’s unexpected appearance, there was a feeling in his gut that he couldn’t shake and didn’t feel like it was going to go away any time soon. Stepping inside, he hoped that a few hours with his favorite person would help.
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Precocious