Detoxified

Chapter 7 - Episode 6

As Tharn shuffled his way out of his final class of the day, he found--oddly enough--Techno milling about in the middle of the hallway, looking utterly lost and confused.

With a slight quirk of the brow, Tharn made his way over and tapped Techno on the shoulder, making him flinch out of startlement and whip his head around with wide, surprised eyes.

"You're a far ways away from the science faculty building, 'No," Tharn said, vaguely amused by the exaggeratedly relieved expression on Techno's face when he realized it hadn't been a complete stranger that had poked him.

"Aow, Tharn!" he beamed. "Thank God you're here. I'm lost as hell."

"Uh... I can see that." Tharn then gestured grandly to their surroundings, with musical note murals and colorful music-themed posters littering the walls. "You're in the music faculty building. Did you make a wrong turn somewhere along the way?"

"Well..." Techno held up a neatly-pressed beige folder with a nervous grin. "I kind of fell asleep in the Student Union office, and an employee there mistook me for a member of the Union and sent me on a mission to deliver this folder to one of the professors in the music faculty."

"And you didn't try to clear up that misunderstanding before walking all the way here?" Tharn asked incredulously.

"The lady shooed me out the door," Techno muttered. "Couldn't even get a single word in... Can you help me, Tharn? I have no idea where this professor's office is."

Tharn sighed, then nodded with a friendly smile. "Sure. Who're you looking for?"

"Well, that's the other thing--" Techno squinted at the label on the folder-- "I can't read this name."

A furrow formed in Tharn's brow as he stepped closer to read the label, then tittered with laughter. "Maybe because the name is European?"

Techno rolled his eyes and lightly smacked Tharn atop the head with the folder. "I know it's European. I just can't read or pronounce it. I didn't pay much attention in my English language class in high school."

"Alright," Tharn chuckled, "well, Madelynn Whitacre is on the fourth floor; she's the European Music History professor. She mostly teaches foreign students, but she actually speaks Thai really well. The fourth floor's a maze, so I'm going to have to show you the way."

As they headed on their way toward the stairs, Tharn could hear Techno repeating the name under his breath, messing up something small in the pronunciation each time.

"Madelynn Whitacre..." Techno said slowly, accompanied by an exasperated huff. "How did you say her name so easily when it's spelled so stupidly?"

Tharn snorted. "Paying attention in English classes in high school helps; you might've learned a thing or two about silent e's and y's that make the same sound as i's, but only sometimes," he said with deliberate convolution, "but I actually learned a lot of English from my dad growing up, so European names are no problem for me."

"Is your dad fluent, or something?" Techno asked.

"Or something," Tharn said with a casual shrug. "He's Thai-American. He grew up speaking both Thai and English."

"Oh, American, huh?" Techno laughed. "You better not let Type know that."

"What? Why?"

Type already knew about it, so it wouldn't make a difference now, but Tharn was still curious.

" Ugh , it was every other day with him back in high school," Techno grumbled. "He would come to me bitching about some new tacky American tourist staying at his parents' resort. Every other day , I swear!"