"Oh my god!"
"What?"
"You're a nineteen year old boy!"
"Yeah, so?"
"So stop puttering around with your knitting like a senile old woman!" -- OohLookShiny
Andrew took a deep breath in. Slowly let it out. "There are things you need to learn, mister complete stranger who decided to butt into my life. One: this is crochet. Two: I'm making blankets for homeless or abandoned kids in shelters. Three: this is an exercise to help me gain back some fine motor control after an operation."
Alex finished off the square and put his work back into his travel-project bag. He stood, revealing his full bulk to the weedy dude. So many people assumed he just carried a lot of crap with him because his youthful face didn't match the rest of his body. "Four. I find it a useful method to keep calm in stressful situations. Five. It's also a useful method of anger management." He flexed, then, pumping out his muscles so the stranger could take in the full effect.
"N-now I d-don't want any t-trouble..."
Alex relaxed a little, but only a little. He still loomed over the man. "Yeah? So why'd you start it?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Six. Fibrecrafts are a dying art and deserve to be maintained. Seven. Dismissing old women who knit as senile is not only sexist and ageist but also fucking stupid because knitting involves a literal ton of math. EIGHT!"
The guy flinched.
"What you just said to me was so goddamn toxic, it's a wonder the EPA don't haul you away for safe disposal. Nine. Hand-made fibrecrafts last longer and are better made than the factory-second, sweatshop shit you're wearing. Ten. I'm actually helping people. What are you doing with your time?"
He sat down and, glaring the dude right in the eye, picked up his hook and began another square. Everything in his posture said, I dare you to stop me.
The weedy interloper decided to move somewhere else. Alex kept an ear open for his annoying voice, just in case he decided to interfere in anyone else's otherwise okay day. When he got back to his therapist, he'd have to talk about how so many people decided to remain ignorant about things.
But for now, he had thread and hook, and counting. Alex would have to say that the ten good reasons method had actually stopped him punching someone's face in. That had to be a good thing.
Even if it looked like he might have scared that guy for life.
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