BLOCKHEAD'S A CHIP OF THE OLD BLOCK

3 MARCH, WEDNESDAY, CONTINUED

"Alpha George, Alpha Kingsley, you remember my son, Alpha Stephan." Madam Principal smiled widely.

"Yes. You introduced us not five minutes ago." My dad answered at point blank, but Madam Principal laughed like Dad's sense of humor was amazing and continued guilelessly, "And this is Madam Silvia from the Lorent Pack, she is certainly no stranger to the theater world either. We were very lucky to have Madam Silvia personally mentor our students during this production."

The cameraman quickly positioned himself to capture the moment of where Madam Silvia meets prominent Alphas and Lunas who would hopefully be grateful and impressed by her work with their children.

I waited for Dad to say they had been told this not five minutes ago again, but Madam Silvia beat him to it and immediately launched into one of her soliloquies.

"Oh! I can't say enough what an honor it is to mentor your children!" Madam Silvia exclaimed.

{Is that why she keeps repeating it?}

I looked up surprised, partly because I suddenly overhead a mindlink, but mostly because it wasn't my Dad I overheard... It was Alpha George. But unlike my Dad who spoke his mind out loud, Alpha George had masked his sarcasm with his smug smile plastered firmly in place.

I quickly averted my gaze as if I was just looking around the room. Now that I thought about it, there was no need to pretend I didn't hear him. I doubt anyone else had my "gift of insight." This had to be Grandma Luna's family secret - that our so-called "gift of insight" was really just really advanced eavesdropping. Then again, I guess the "gift of eavesdropping" wouldn't grant the same level of respectability. It was pretty smart. Sneaky, but smart.

Meanwhile, Henry's Mum was dutifully trying to soothe her mate, {Please dear, cooperate. She obviously wants to have some of our earlier conversation on footage.} Just bear with it. She is your son's teacher.}

{She is wasting my time.} Alpha George grumbled, {Do you know how much my time is worth?}

{I'm sure it's priceless, dear. Now please, for Henry's sake, be nice.}

I took a very small half step back. Sometimes, physical distance helped me remove myself from the sticky threads of mindlinks, but the moment I did, I bumped into Ki who was wearing his usual professional smile right behind me.

{Apologies, goddess. If you might bear with this a little longer, it would cement your good standing in the public eye.} Ki mindlinked.

{This is wasting my time.} I decided to mess with Ki, just a bit because this was boring and Boo wanted to play, {Do you know how much my time is worth?}

{Far more than rubies, goddess.} Ki assured me, {A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.}

Quoting in Lycan is foul play! But I had to say, Ki would make a surprisingly good luna.

Meanwhile, Madam Silvia was recapping how she was startled by the shocking disparity between public schools and private ones such as the Lorent Girls' School where she had cultivated the love of theater and nurtured countless starlets.

"Madam Silvia!" Henry's mum ventured to prematurely end the theater luminary's "few words" before she exhausted the patience of the Alphas present (Alphas were notoriously short-tempered after all), "Thank you for your tireless efforts in educating our youths and your care for our children during this production."

"Oh, it's truly my honor, luna." Madam Silvia said.

I honestly thought it would end there, but Madam Silvia gained a second breath almost immediately, "It was my pleasure really, to mentor such raw and amazing talent. Truly a pleasure..."

"Yes, yes... you cultivate, we sign the cheques." Alpha George had enough, "Alpha wolves are patrons of the arts, not actors."

Technically, since Henry sponsored the production, he WAS the patron.

But now that Alpha George brought it up, I guess it wasn't the norm. Like you wouldn't expect Alpha wolves to take to Broadway. It just wasn't an Alpha thing to do. There had been an Alpha wolf who liked to play the saxophone. I heard he would perform once a year and his whole pack would have to come watch his concert, but when the adults talked about it, it was usually with amusement or contempt.

"I don't know if he is leading his pack, or practicing his sax most of the time." Beta Lucas would comment.

"There are also alphas who spend all day in the office practicing golf." Dad would say, "Maybe betas too."

And Beta Lucas would look guilty because it was during this time when he had an obsession with the "sport." I didn't personally agree with the category, but Dad said chess was a "sport" too so I guess golf was a sport - but only because it was relatively sportier than chess.

Anyway, Alpha George was shaking his head at Henry, "I really didn't expect to see you clowning on the stage."

Yes, in front of everyone - even Madam Silvia and her camera crew.

I'm not sure how Alpha George expected Henry to react to scathing comments being tossed at him publicly like that, but Henry smirked, "Where did you expect to see me then? In the orchestra pit?"

Alpha George laughed loudly, "Never!"

Why? Was it not an Alpha thing to do either?

"I've heard you on the violin, son." Alpha George was still laughing, "Unless they wanted the sound effect of a goose dying, you wouldn't get the seat!"

Well, I've never heard Henry play the violin, but I've heard him play the bass. It wasn't great, but it was better than our band as a whole. I wouldn't say we sounded like a goose dying or any sound that would deserve poetic imagery. We just sounded like a really below mediocre band.

"He is playing the bass now." Henry's Mum tried to speak up for her son.

"Oh, I thought we adopted a walrus." Alpha George said.

Hahahahaha. But while Alpha George seemed to be having a fabulous time, Henry failed to see the humor in his Dad's words. His wolf rose up dangerously close to the surface. If I poked him, I'm sure he would shift and bite my hand off.

Awkward silence while Henry radiated pure anger at his father.

And then Dad, who had been wearing his thinking frown, suddenly spoke, "A broad experience in life is enriching for young wolves."

Madam Principal took the opportunity to promote Winderhill High School's robust curriculum and broad program, the school strives to give our students every opportunity to try new things and discover their passion.

"Passion is fine for normal wolves who have nothing else better to do." Alpha George rudely cut Madam Principal off, "But my son is the future alpha of Silver Mountain and will one day be the top alpha of the Gold Packlands. Never forget it, Henry. You aren't like the other kids. You're going to have to run in front of the pack and build upon the business empire you would one day inherit."

I'm not sure if it were possible to be more serious than Henry about business as it was, but I kept my mouth shut because it was Henry's Dad talking to Henry and I should mind my own business. At least that was what I told myself, but then Alpha George said to my Dad, "You think so too, eh Kingsley?"

"Not really." Dad answered flatly, "A broad foundation enlarges and disciplines the minds of young wolves and is the most solid kind of foundation for establishing their abilities to grasp specialized subjects later on in life."

But time is money and Alpha George didn't have the time to spare for ideas different from his own, "Yes, yes, but it's different with girls, Kingsley. We all know the Lorent Boy will be the one paying the bills when they get mated."

{Tell me exactly how this was supposed to cement my good standing, Ki.} Boo mindlinked.

{Apologies, I miscalculated, goddess.} Ki confessed, {I deeply regret wasting your time.}

It was no fun when Ki was apologetic.

{Do not worry.} Ki tried to reassure me, {None of this would be cleared for broadcasting. I will have a word with Beta Pete, if Silver Mountain does not have a word with the news producer, I certainly will.}

Wait, but can you do that?

{I do not think the LNC would dare offend its two largest shareholders.} Ki noted wryly.

Who? I knew Silver Mountain owned a majority share of LNC, Beta Lucas had commented as much when they had daily coverage on Henry in the lead-up to his inauguration.

{Does Night Leaf have LNC shares?} I asked.

{No, goddess. But your father, Beta Lucas, and Beta Gerald have it in their personal portfolio.}

{What personal portfolio?} Since when did my dad invest in stuff outside our packlands?

{The ones they opened to follow Luna Bell's financial activities.} Ki answered sounding rather pleased, {If you combined all our individual shares, it does add up to a significant percentage.}

Right, I vaguely remembered something like that to keep Bell in check... but financial stuff like that often flew past my head.

Anyway, since Ki seemed to feel the executives at LNC were smart enough to put the two and two together and not risk repercussions on their stock prices, I think it was pretty obvious at this point that whatever was filmed would not be usable, not for the LNC news report nor Madam Silvia's documentary. They were going to report the truth and nothing but the truth without the last few minutes of footage.

In fact, looking over my shoulder, I realized the cameraman had put down the camera. I guess he could take a break. At any rate, no one was looking very camera friendly at the moment. Even Madam Principal was no longer smiling. Luckily, we only had the LNC crew and not the friends of the zoo or paparazzi hunters.

It was exactly at this moment that Alpha Gunter coolly came over to say goodbye. He was leaving early and just wanted to thank Madam Principal and her son, Alpha Stephan, for the invitation. He also stopped to congratulate Henry and I on our performance. It was a very cold and polite parting, and he only smiled just a little when he shook Dad's hand and nodded toward me.

{F***. That one's like a ghost.} Alpha George mindlinked to his luna, {I'm surprised he even showed his face here.}

Henry's Mum was holding Alpha George's arm, {Maybe we should go too.}

{Why?} Alpha George demanded, {I was just starting to enjoy myself.}

I'm wondering if he noticed no one else enjoyed his unique definition of fun.

"My luna and I have to return to our pack too." I guess Dad had decided to take this golden opportunity to make his getaway.

Mum gave me a quick hug, "Congrats again, Sam. Have fun with your friends. I'll see you back home later."

"Yeah, okay. Thanks, Mum." I wriggled out quickly.

"Please excuse us." Ki was still the master of PR because even though this episode didn't turn out as he planned, he was at least able to extract us smoothly from the scene, "The young alphas are due for their after party with their fellow students."

Our cue to exit - stage right! I turned to go, but Henry stood there (in my way), fury taught under his skin.

"Let's go, Hen." I poked him then.

And yes, I fully expected him to chikaboom, shift, and bite off my hand. What could I say? Boo liked to live dangerously. Boo was also a little more on the surface than usual, {Fun.}

Uh oh.

Henry brushed off the finger poking his shoulder. He barely afforded me a second glance. Instead, he stepped forward to confront his father, effectively putting me behind him. How dare he brush me off! Like literally. I flared.

Unfortunately, Mum and Dad hadn't quite left either.

"Oh Sam!" Mum immediately gasped. This wasn't me puffing out just to show off. Dad quickly grasped Mum's arm and put her behind him. Dad's instinct was pretty spot on.

"Don't tell me what I can do or what I can't do." Henry's eyes darkened as he faced his father.

Ki must have sensed it too. He immediately nudged the small of my back to guide me a few steps closer to my parents.

Chi-ka-boom time.

The first one to go off was actually Alpha George though. He bombed dominance, "I'm your alpha father. I can tell you whatever I want."

Henry growled a low warning. His mum caught Alpha George's arm as if to calm him, {Please dear. Let it go. You know how teenage wolves can be quite sensitive.}

Yeah, right. Henry was a blockhead.

"At any rate," Alpha George smirked - the exact same smirk that Henry liked to use, "I'm just telling you upfront. You could say I'm saving you from wasting your time on things you have zero talent for."

It seems Henry was a chip off the old block. The old block continued, "Focus on investments that would generate long-term gains. Until you become the alpha and gain control of the pack, you will do as I say."

"Go to hell, Dad." Now it was Henry's turn to explode, "What I choose to do with my own time and money is none of your business!"

Alpha George narrowed his eyes at his son, "You mean the allowance I transfer to your bank account every month?"

Wait, why was it about the money now? But now both of them were facing off with full alpha dominance radiating from them.

"I don't need your small change." Henry's spat back. His face was red and by now, I felt quite sure Henry was speaking out of his anger because the normal Henry would never reject free money! I guess that's what it means by regretting the words you had said in your anger?

"Then you won't mind if I stopped the GIRO order?" Alpha George challenged.

That's some kind of automated bank transfer, right? Alpha George was going to cut Henry's allowance?

{Please dear...} Henry's Mum tried again, but her plea sounded weak even on the mindlink.

Because both father and son were bombing dominance. The other wolves in the room were now just rooted where they were.

"Do you think a lame threat like that would work on me now?" Henry was now matching his dad in volume.

I knew I had to do something before Henry said something he'd regret.