Dragon's life in college

chapter 17

Ryu picked up the paper, read it once, looked at Nigel, looked back at the note. Then he spoke.

"I can attempt to help you, but I doubt it will do much."

Nigel, shocked, sat up in bed. "You'll help me?" he asked, forgetting to be too afraid to talk.

Ryu looked over at him. "Only as a favor for the help you have already provided me. I do need to be able to pass my Accounting classes and you are the best option I have available."

"Of course. As long as you help me with this part." Nigel would have volunteered to fly three times around the world if it meant he didn't have to risk jumping into a volcano or having his father eternally mad at him.

"Good." Ryu set aside his textbook. "We shall begin now."

"Now?" Nigel asked, his fear beginning to set in again. "Like, right now."

Ryu lifted an eyebrow. "I believe that is what I said. Stand up, flare your wings back, lift your head a bit."

Nigel attempted the pose Ryu had instructed him to do, but ended up almost knocking himself in the head. When he finally got it correct, more or less, he looked over at Ryu. The green dragon wore a slightly weary expression on his face.

"I see that this shall take some effort," Ryu commented.

Nigel wondered if he had made the correct choice after all.

Over the next several days, Nigel spent every night listening to Ryu as he attempted to at least look terrifying. Ryu also began coaching him on how to best deliver his lines, thankfully there were only a few of them but to Nigel it still seemed as long as a three-page speech. Thank goodness they don't require speech class, Nigel thought as he fumbled his way through another unterrifying delivery.

Ryu shook his head as he listened to Nigel. "No. Remember Nigel, to sound intimidating one must speak as though the other is a small insect."

Nigel was certain his siblings had never spoken to him in that manner and they had always sounded intimidating. But, then again, Ryu always spoke like that and he certainly sounded more intimidating than Nigel's siblings had ever been."

"But I just can't picture the other dragon as a tiny insect," Nigel explained. "I always feel like I'm the tiny insect."

Ryu looked at him. "Then believe that you aren't."

"I've been trying."

"Then try harder."

Nigel sighed and tried again. He was certain by now that he was going to be absolutely terrible in the play, no matter how hard Ryu was trying. But he continued trying, mainly because he couldn't get away from Ryu. Every night the green dragon set aside his homework, stood up, and began lessons. Nigel was unable to get away from them no matter how hard he wanted to.

"So, how have the lessons with Ryu been going?" Oceania asked the day before rehearsals.

"I'm still alive?" Nigel offered, the only positive outcome he could think of.

"There has to be more than that," Oceania told him. "Have you learned anything? Feel more confident? Ready to convince the entire school that you're terrifying?"

"No. I really wish the teacher would let us switch parts. Ryu would be perfect for my part and I would be perfect for his."

"Nigel, you're not as fearful as you think you are. Trust me, this will do you some good. Besides, aren't you getting to know Ryu a little better now."

"If you mean by a little better I spend every night listening to him coach me on how to be terrifying then yes."

"Stop sounding like a soggy manatee. I told you he isn't as bad as he seems. And aren't you also giving him math instructions?"

"Yes." Nigel wished that they were still continuing the note passing form of math instructions. But instead, every time Ryu hit a problem he couldn't understand, which was a lot, he asked Nigel for help. The one benefit was that Nigel was once again able to teach another dragon math, but he would find it much more comforting if that dragon wasn't Ryu. Still, the math teaching was the only time Nigel could be around Ryu without feeling like a tiny lizard.

"See, you're getting better. It won't be long now and you'll be best friends."

Only in a thousand years, Nigel thought. He didn't even bother calculating the likelihood of Oceania's prediction happening.

Rehearsals the next day went about as Nigel expected, with him playing a very unterrifying Stormrider. Surprisingly, Ryu was able to somewhat portray the character of Snail, although Nigel could see the icy anger flowing through him.

Thankfully this time he was able to leave before his siblings caught him and retreat to the safety of the lake with Oceania and Turtle. The same spot where Nigel had first met Oceania had begun their favorite spot, and Turtle joined them in order to wash the paint off his scales. He had been assigned to help paint the backgrounds, and was currently speckled with blue, grey, white, and red paint. He looked a little bit like Comet when he had first discovered paint, Nigel thought, although Turtle had managed to keep the paint more contained. When Comet had emerged from his first painting, Nigel hadn't been sure which had more paint on it, the wall, the floor, or Comet. In fact, he hadn't been sure which surface the painting had been on. After a couple months of paint all over the house and all over the dragons, his mother had moved all the paint in the house to a cabinet out of reach to dragonets, even to all four of his younger siblings. A good thing as his older siblings weren't very happy waking up with polka-dot covered wings or smiley-face tails.

"I don't think I'll be able to do this," Nigel said, flopping down. Despite Ryu's teaching he only felt slightly more intimidating than a leaf.

"Sure you will," Oceania said, splashing Turtle with her tail. "I thought you were doing better."

"You're my friend."

"So?"

"So you're going to say things to encourage me."

"I won't say it if it's not true. Just keep working on it, you'll get it."

"I don't have a choice. Ryu won't let me quit. I asked him once and he said that he wouldn't let me until he was satisfied that I couldn't be helped."

"See, that's a good thing." Oceania glared at Turtle as a wave of water crashed over her. "Turtle," she said in a warning voice.

"Sorry, cous," Turtle called, swimming over. "I didn't know you were that close."

"Right." Oceania flicked a wave toward him. "But seriously Nigel. The fact that Ryu hasn't given up on you yet means that he still thinks he can help you. And if Ryu thinks you can look intimidating, then it means you can. You just need to stop thinking of yourself as being afraid as start thinking of yourself as being different."

"That's hard to do when you've spent your entire life thinking this way." Nigel rolled over onto his side. "I don't think I can change it very well."

"You will, trust me." Oceania smiled at him. "I'm sure your family believes you can as well."

So Nigel kept trying, and trying, and trying. Every night he practiced with Ryu, and during the day, whenever he could get alone, he practice what Ryu had taught him the night before. And slowly, as he worked on the poses, the voice, and the attitude, he began to believe that he could at least portray intimidation, even if he himself wasn't.

Fortunately, or unfortunately for Nigel, the remaining time until the play sped by quickly. Fortunately, he had finally learned to at least look intimidating quite convincingly and his siblings had left him alone. Nigel wasn't sure if this was because they were too busy to be bothered with him, or if they were sufficiently scared of Oceania's threat to write their mother that they considered it best to leave him alone for now. Either way, Nigel was able to walk around school without worrying about them suddenly popping out and begin teasing him. Unfortunately, Nigel still had to go through with the play.