An Intellectual

Of course, it would probably end with everyone sitting in the principal's office.

Lane would probably say something like "Your kid thought it'd be a good idea to jump mine. I'm here to make sure they don't get that idea again."

He'd tone down the swearing because, well, it's a school.

"This is a school, Mr. Fostman."

But he'd still be aggressive enough, stubborn enough, and just enough of a douchebag to get his point across without crossing the line.

I can also imagine him becoming the kind of parent everyone at school whispers about.

"Don't mess with the Fostman kid." "Why?" "Because dealing with the dad is ten times worse. He's like a giant toddler."

The teachers would sigh every time they saw him walk through the front gate because they already knew he was about to be a handful. Meanwhile, all the kids would think he was the coolest dad ever.

He'd probably volunteer for every school event too. If you asked him why, he'd flash that stupid grin "The teachers, the moms, the ladies love me, Honey."

In reality though, he'd only signed up because it gave him another excuse to spend time with his kids.

That's pretty much how I picture him.

The only area where he'd be an absolutely terrible parent is discipline. Raising your kids with Lane would feel like having an extra child in the house because you'd constantly have to parent him too.

And if your kid turned out to be a little troublemaker, there's a very good chance they learned it from the best.

So no, I don't think he'd stop fighting even if he'd already met the sweet version of MC. Maybe he'd get into fewer fights, but I don't think he'd ever completely stop. He'd probably enjoy having you patch him up afterward, but I also don't think he'd want someone constantly fussing over him.

If you treated him like an equal instead of trying to mother him, like you're his friend rather than his caretaker, then maybe he'd actually listen and think about what you're saying.

As for his mom, Laly did mention that she's a bit protective. She also seems like the type who wouldn't like the idea of someone "taking her son away."

So I can imagine she'd appreciate MC to some extent because Lane ends up getting into less trouble and fewer detentions. At the same time, though, she probably wouldn't want them getting too close for a lot of reasons 👁️👄👁️

She also strikes me as the kind of mom who'd go.

"I've been telling you this for years and you never listened. But some random outsider says the exact same thing and suddenly you listen? Do you not respect me as your mother or what?"

So overall, I don't think MC would actually change his behavior overnight or magically "fix" him.