Barrier

Learning The Language

Thank you for reading so far and for the amount of response this got last chapter, thank you all :-) Do you think we can try for the same this chapter? Would that be okay? We're more than halfway done now, folks :-)

Chapter 6:

Learning the Language

The next day, Yami had gotten up early and marched into the language department, asking for an appointment as soon as possible. The woman behind the desk had immediately called back and requested that the speech therapist make an exception to see Yami without a scheduled appointment (because they had been waiting for him to finally cave). As soon as she received confirmation, she stood up and escorted him back to the speech room, leaving him waiting outside the large wooden door.

Yami looked up at it, slightly overwhelmed and a little edgy. It was large and ornately carved, gleaming in the low light. It almost felt like it was built specifically to intimidate those waiting outside it. He felt like he was in a courthouse rather than a hospital.

Slowly, it began to creak open, gleaming in the pale light as it hit the adjacent wall. On the other side was a man who was dressed in a red velvet suit from head to toe, grey hair hanging loosely around his shoulders. His right eye gleamed with a golden replacement, the shape of an eye carved onto it. In his left hand he loosely held a wine glass that Yami knew couldn't be filled with actual wine. He stood up straight, his stature intimidating as Yami was short himself. He gave a shaky intake of breath before sticking out his hand for the man to shake.

“Ahh, Yami-boy!” The other signed, before grabbing his hand and shaking it fondly. “My wife has told me so many things about you! Come in, come in!” He announced extravagantly, flipping his hair. Yami gulped.

“Your wife?” Yami signed, tilting his head to the side. The man reached up for his name tag and grabbed it, tilting it downwards for Yami to read. Printed across it in elegant handwriting was the name 'Pegasus J. Crawford', and something tugged at the back of Yami's mind. “You're Cecilia's husband?”

He smiled, placing his hands together fondly as he nodded his head. He lifted them again as soon as he was done, and his intention to say something was clear as day. “My darling Cecilia has told me so many good things about you! You're one of her favourite students! I've been waiting for the day I'd get to take you under my wing for ages now!” He said. Once he had finished his speech, he immediately stepped to the side and gestured for Yami to come in.

Yami tentatively walked into the room, seeing a couple of mirrors along a side wall and a television in the far right corner. In the very centre of the room sat a large, wooden desk with a pitcher of whatever Pegasus was drinking on it, and a second cup in front of a large pile of files and paperwork. Yami felt himself drawn to it as he took a couple more clumsy steps forward, eventually coming to stand in front of the chair. He ran a hand along the top before Pegasus came around the desk and sat in his own chair, gesturing for Yami to do the same.

Yami sat in the chair, bouncing lightly as he sunk into the red velvet cushion. He put his hands on the sides of the chair, the wood scraped from years of fingernails biting into it. The room no longer reminded him of a courthouse, but of an old fashioned principle's office. At least Pegasus had the decency to smile and lighten the atmosphere. Yami thought that if he didn't, he would have gone mad.

“So, you want to learn how to speak, is that correct?” Pegasus asked. Yami tore his eyes from where they were wandering the room, (he had currently been looking at the thin woodworking on the ceiling, the repetitive knots and swirls capturing his interest) looking back to Pegasus and nodding his head yes enthusiastically. He gave a small huff and straightened up a little, repeating his answer firmly. Pegasus nodded his head, his smile growing wider.