You're Saying It Wrong.
"No, you are saying it all wrong!" Victoria said while Jamie sat across the table from her and he frowned.
"No, I'm nae," he said.
"There, you did it again! Oh, you are so frustrating!" she said, storming out of the school room.
"Oh my word, what has gotten Victoria in such a state?" the Doctor asked, walking inside the school room.
"She was trying tae teach me tae talk properly," Jamie said while the Doctor stood near the table and sighed.
"I see."
"Doctor, do I really sound that bad?"
"Well, there are times when you speak incorrectly but that has to do with your time period."
"But what exactly do I say wrong?"
"Oh, it's only a few words, Jamie, nothing to worry about."
"No, really, I want tae ken!" Jamie said and the Doctor noticed a look in Jamie's eyes. Did he really want to learn how to talk properly or was he trying to impress Victoria?
"All right, first of all, you say "nae" instead of "not". Try it. Not."
"Not."
"Ah, yes, that was very good. The other thing you do is say "tae" instead of "to"."
"Ah, so I should say "to" instead?"
"Yes. Oh, that's another thing. It is all right to say "yes" instead of "aye". Hmmmmm, this will take some doing. Are you sure you want me to teach you how to do this?"
"Aye, uh, yes."
"See, you've started already!" the Doctor said with a smile then walked to the bookcase and ran his finger along the spins of the books. "Where did I put those diction books?"
Victoria walked down the hallway when she peeked inside the school room and saw Jamie sitting at the table, reading. She was getting worried about the fact he hadn't spoken to her in the last few weeks and wondered if she had hurt his feeling about not talking properly. Her tutors had told her that one must speak properly in order for people to take her seriously. She knew that Jamie came from a different time period as well as a different country but she was never ashamed with the way he talked.
"Jamie?" she asked when he looked up from the book he was reading.
"Yes, Victoria?" he asked and she blinked.
"Did you just say "yes"?"
"Yes, I did. Is there something you want?"
"Oh, well, yes, I was just wondering if you are all right."
"I am fine. Thank you for asking," he said and she frowned.
"No, you are not fine. You sound…different."
"That is because I'm talking properly. Isn't that what you wanted me to do?"
"Well, yes, but you sound, oh, I don't know, wrong."
"I do?"
"Yes, you do. I know that I wanted you to do say things correctly but not at the expense of your tone. I love how you talk. There is this sweetness to it. Having you talk like this is just so mechanical," she said then sniffed and he saw the tears in her eyes. Standing up, he walked to her when he wiped the tears from her eyes and she sadly smiled at him.
"Och, Lass, you are a puzzle," he said with a sweet smile and she smiled back.
"So you are going to speak the way you always do?"
"To be honest, I like speaking this way. I don't sound so…"
"If you say you sound stupid, I will give you such a smack," she teased and he laughed. "Now, would you like to go watch a movie in the theatre room?"
"I would be honored to escort you to the theatre room," he said and she giggled. "What? Did I say it wrong?"
"No, you said it perfectly," she said then took his arm and they left the schoolroom.
The End….