Valhalla High (A Magnus Chase Fanfic)

Dreams of my Father

December 5

      My mother dropped me off at my father's place for the day. I said goodbye, shouldered my backpack, and walked up to the front door. I knocked on it, a bit unsure of myself. My father opened the door. "Magnus," he said. "I heard what happened, so I decided to take the next few days off."

    I shuffled my feet. "I hope that doesn't inconvenience you."

    My father waved away my concerns. "No," he said. "Not at all. It gives me some time away from the store. Trust me, retail is worse than school."

    I laughed. "I'm pretty sure retail doesn't involve getting your clothes thrown in the toilet or writing ten page essays."

    My father's smile faded. "I heard about that. Look, Magnus, maybe you should try therapy."

    I tightened my grip the straps of my backpack. Why was everyone saying that? "I'm glad everyone agrees that I'm messed up."

     "We're all a little messed up," my father says. "It's what makes us human, but that's not why you should do therapy, son."

    He sighed. "Your mother told me about your time in school."

    I shifted again, not wanting to remember the taunts, the rumors, and the exclusion. "It's not your fault you were bullied," my father continued.

    I stifled a sigh. People kept saying that, but I'd been to so many schools and managed to get picked on by a diverse range of people. The common denominator was me. "Therapy might help you work through that," my father said. "You can build confidence and heal from those traumatic experiences."

      "Healed?" I said. "Do I look scarred to you?"

     My father frowned and I saw his eyes looking a bit misty. "Most scars are invisible."

    He seemed lost in thought, so I cleared my throat. "Umm, I got schoolwork to do."

    "Right," my father nodded. "You can work in the living room if you'd like or my office."

    I decided on the living room for two reasons. One: I could do my homework on the couch. Two: the office looked a bit too disorganized and I really didn't want to work around my father's messy stacks of paper. I started with catching up on the ASL work I missed yesterday. Luckily, Vidar put up stuff on Canvas and most of our stuff for that class could be uploaded via Canvas too. I did makeup work and then because I didn't have to do my classes in order that day, I did my ASL work for today too.

     It was almost 11 when I got a text from Alex asking me if I wanted to go on a walk or something. I decided to give her a call. "A walk?" I queried.

     "Yes," Alex replied. "For PE. Coach Thor said we need to do something and a walk sounds preferable to the online gym class videos for kids on his YouTube channel."

    "He has a YouTube channel?" I said, pulling up the site in my computer. "How did I just find this out? Oh my . . . Are all his videos about goats, online gym classes for kids, and powerlifting?"

     "No," Alex answered. "There are a few on hammers, beard-grooming, and income inequality. Oh and Magnus, you have a boyfriend today."

    "Glad to speak with you, my boo," I said.

     Alex burst out laughing. "Where would you want to go walking?" I asked.

"How about The Freedom Trail?" Alex suggested.

"Okay," I said. "When do you want to meet up? Also, your parents are letting you do this?"

"Shhh," Alex said. "They don't know. It's not like they're home anyway."

"Alright," I said. "I'll ask my dad."

"Sounds good," Alex said.

He hung up. I was fully prepared to bring the absent father card up with my father, but it turned out that I didn't need to. "Sounds good, kid," he said. "How about we pack a lunch for you two and I'll drive you guys there?"

I texted Alex what my father said and went into the kitchen to look for stuff for lunch. I found bread, peanut butter, and jelly, so I made sandwiches. My father came and filled up water bottles for us, while I packed some string cheese, dried blueberries, and pretzels. When I was finished, I looked over the math lesson Saga had put up for the day and worked on it until my father said it was time to go.

      We picked up Alex and during the drive, my father asked him about his thoughts on life. "I'm not a philosopher," Alex said, "but everything is better when you have dreams."

"I think so too," my father replied. "For example, I have a dream that my son will come to realize his worth."

I wriggled, wishing I could just fall into a hole and never be seen again. Luckily, Alex spotted an eagle and the topic changed to the role the government should play in protecting endangered species. Still, I was relieved when we finally pulled up to the park.

    My father had brought a bright yellow picnic blanket which we ate on. After lunch, my father snapped a photo of us (we needed to document that we actually did it) and we started the hike. My father seemed to realize we wanted some privacy, so he let us go ahead.

      "I must say," I said. "If this is what OSS is always like, I don't mind it."

    Alex laughed. "It's usually not this fun. Most schools make you go to an alternative school and do the work there."

     "A pity," I said, "because I would've just OSSed my way out of all those schools if I had known."

    Alex gasped, his face slight with mischief. "Maybe you are a bad boy after all."

   "Told you," I said. "Am I now your type?"

    Alex laughed. "You never asked me if I had a type."

    I blinked. "Do you?"

    "Blonde healers," Alex said.

      "Let me do the math," I said. "How many people am I competing with?"

     "No one," Alex said, bumping against me.

     I bumped him back. "I'll find Odysseus," I said, "and tell him to back off."

    Alex laughed. "This is why I like you. You make me laugh."

   I stretched my arms out as wide as I could. "This is why I like you."

    "I have no idea what you mean," Alex said.

     "I mean," I said, "this is how much I like you."

     Alex stretched his arms out. "Well this is how much I like you!"

    "Is this a competition now?" I asked.

    Alex grinned and laced his fingers at young mine. "Not with each other, but with the world. Can you do that?"

    My heart fluttered as I met his gaze. "Yes. Yes, I can."