After Sevs and Markus finished up in the gym, they repeated their previous experience of working. They found an open conference room and took turns driving. They were not in a hurry and just chatted while they worked. Sevs occasionally asked a question about a lift that had occurred to him or maybe about programming, and Markus would give some reply. Mostly though, the topics were kept light.

It was not long before Father gave Markus a call, and they wrapped it up to go meet him out front of the building. They made their way out and met up with Father, who thanked Markus and gave Sevs a tight hug before Father and Sevs headed for dinner.

That day changed the routine that Father and Sevs had established. First, it was common for Sevs to spend a little time with Markus when Father had a meeting. One day when Father did not have a meeting after lunch, Sevs just followed Markus back instead of Father. It was a complete accident. No one even realized. When Markus and Sevs were wrapping up their workout session, Markus got a call from Father asking if he knew where Sevs was. He wasn’t worried yet, but when he got back and did some work, he looked up and realized Sevs was absent from his usual spot. Father checked his calendar, and there were no meetings he had missed. That might have caused him to have asked Markus to watch Sevs and had forgotten about it. He had correctly guessed what had happened. However, he wanted to be sure.

They all had a good laugh when Father picked him up for the day. On their way home, Father had asked Sevs about it. They talked for a little and then spoke with Markus the next day at lunch. Now most days after lunch Sevs would go with Markus. Sometimes in the morning, Sevs would hang out with Markus if Father had an early meeting. But for the most part, Father had moved all his meetings to the afternoon. So it didn’t have to happen that much.

As this routine continued, weeks started to blend together. Sevs wasn’t sure when Father and he had gone from just existing to when they had begun to enjoy themselves. Sometime during the last six months after the funeral, some life had returned to their motions. On the weekends it did not feel like they were just keeping busy. The activities Father planned started to feel less like they were to keep Sevs occupied and more like a family activity.

It was at breakfast when the first hint of a deviation came. Father and Sevs were sitting at their usual booth, and the same waitress had just poured them drinks before Father spoke. “You know it's starting to get the time of year where school starts. I think we need to have a little talk about what we should do. Around your age children start having to go to school, though that might be next year. I will have to check the cutoff date for enrolment.”

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Sevs groaned one thing that never got better with age. School. Each time he had to go through it was the worst. Everything he already knew had the same problems. The kids he in no way capable of relating to even when he was their age. Interests that he had never shared, topics he already knew.

Father looked at Sevs face and smirked at him. “At least hear me out first.”

Sevs grimaced and motioned for Father to continue.

“So we could sign you up for kindergarten…. but I think we should at least look at the options.”

Sevs could not quite bring himself to hope. But it sounded like it was not inevitable.

“So the way I see it,” Father continued. “You can, one, go to a normal public school. Two, we can find a private school for more gifted kids. Three, we can 'homeschool' you. You take some standardized tests as long as you get top marks. I will not bother you about it. Or Four, we can find some hybrid approaches where it is mostly homeschooling. However, you spend some time in a university-style setting with other kids. Some places do that for gifted kids.”

Not sure how to react, Sevs thought for a bit. After waiting for Sevs to digest these options, Father had one more thing to add. “So I do have a couple requirements, well one actually. You will have to interact with other people regularly. Preferably when near your age and in a purely 'fun' capacity. That can be from a sport, but I think more is better. I want you to develop better social skills. That includes the capability to get along with others you might not have interests in common with.”

Sevs was upset with that requirement. With the build he was playing, working with people was unavoidable. Sevs gathered his thoughts, “I’m not really sure.”

“Think about it. We don’t need to decide now.”

“I would like to hear your thoughts on it. Do you have any advice?”

Father smiled, “Nothing like hearing your kid ask for advice. I think each has its own advantages. Don’t count out a normal school. There is something to be said about shared experiences. Also, it's a good way to make friends. But it comes down to what you want to do with your life. That is not something you even should try to figure out right now.”

That was one of the first times Father’s advice was not helpful to Sevs. He didn’t care much about shared experiences as he had already had those experiences more times than he would like to think about. Also, going down the college route did not interest him much. One, Sevs had already taken classes for every degree that interested him over the years. Two, because he was not a genius. Given enough time, someone with a decent intellect could learn almost anything. After a little bit, he would reach his limit and not be able to get much further. To Sevs, the choice was apparent after just a little thought. He wanted to improve his people skills. What better way to do that than to work with a master of the craft?

“I think I am going to need to start playing a few sports.”