Talyak: Yep! Now Mokuba knows.
Kiss death666: Thanks! Here's some more.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Things were running great with his job at Kaiba Corp.
At Mokuba's request and Roland's approval, Joey had picked up Mokuba multiple times from the school. He had even picked up dinner a couple of times while on the way to the manor. He had received a pay raise which according to Nakamura had been earned "due to exemplary behavior fitting of a Kaiba employee." He had spoken briefly with Hawk on a few occasions. He had come close a few times to Kaiba seeing him, but thankfully had yet to be discovered.
He was excited when he was finally able to schedule an appointment with an Audiologist. Joey checked out of school early Tuesday afternoon, much to the confusion of his friends. He rode the bus to the other side of town and showed up to the office twenty minutes early. He signed in, grabbed a magazine, and sat down. Soon, the Audiologist appeared with a loud call of "Joseph Wheeler."
He put down the magazine and followed the petite woman to the back. After introducing herself and explaining what she would be doing, she led him up a short ramp to a large, enclosed room. He sat down in a comfortable chair. She picked up a pair of headphones and put them over his ears. She adjusted them until they fit perfectly. The woman handed him a clicker to hold in his hand.
The Audiologist flashed him a thumbs up before leaving the room. She closed the door firmly behind her, leaving Joey alone in the quiet room. Her voice came on loud in the headphones.
"Can you hear me okay, Mr. Wheeler?"
"Yes," he replied.
"Good. Now I'm going to play a series of tones in your right ear. Remember to click the button when you hear a sound. Understand?"
"Yes."
"Good. Let's begin."
Joey was patient and tried to listen for the sounds. He heard a few, but he was certain there were ones he was missing. After testing the one ear, the Audiologist came back and told her she was switching ears. The second time, he felt like he pressed the button even less.
Soon he was sitting outside with the Audiologist. She showed him a chart which resembled a line graph from math class. It had blue X's and red O's. The X's descended down to a certain point before looping up. The O's sat a little higher on the graph than the X's.
"Still looks like a moderate loss, Doc," Joey commented.
The Audiologist grinned.
"You are correct, Mr. Wheeler. Judging by your past history, it seems the hearing loss in your left ear has increased. It just dips into the moderately severe whereas your right ear is a little higher up in the mild-moderate area. You have what we call a bilateral sensorineural hearing loss," she explained.
Joey nodded. He already knew a bilateral loss meant a hearing loss in both ears, but he wasn't sure about sensorineural.
"Sensory…nor…ell?" Joey asked, trying to pronounce it.
The Audiologist chuckled.
"Sensori…neural. It means a permanent type of hearing loss. You see, the ear is made of three parts," she explained.
Joey nodded. "I remember. Outer, middle, and inner."
The Audiologist praised him for his knowledge.
"Good. Sensorineural hearing loss is in the inner ear. It's the most common permanent hearing loss."
The Audiologist proceeded to explain what his hearing loss entailed and how it usually affected him. Joey wasn't really surprised by anything she shared with him.
"So what do ya say, Doc? Can we order some hearing aids?"
"Of course, Mr. Wheeler. I'll take the molds of your ears today so I can send them out. You can select the colors you want for them and the piece that will fit behind your ears. It'll take three to four weeks for the earmolds to arrive. You'll receive an email when they arrive and you can come in for me to take a look to make sure they're fitted correctly."
Joey smiled big. It made him all excited. He played it smart and asked about payments and what not. The Audiologist explained the pricing based on his hearing loss and the devices he would need. She explained how he could pay off the hearing aids in monthly payments starting after the devices arrived.
"Let's do it, Doc!"
After putting special foam stoppers on strings in Joey's ears, the Audiologist squirted some cold, pink goo in his ear to surround the outer ear space. While he sat and waited for it to dry, Joey looked at earmold colors and devices. He chose the hearing aids that were a light cream/khaki color. They would blend in perfectly with his hair.
As excited as he was to have hearing aids again, Joey still wanted to keep them from being seen. He decided on clear earmolds. After the goo dried, the Audiologist carefully extracted the molds from his ears. He spoke a little longer with the Audiologist before departing.
Because it was such a nice day out, he opted for walking through town instead of catching the bus. He stopped of at a shop to grab a bottle of water. It was well past dismissal at school. Since it was nearing dismissal for the elementary school, Joey jogged over there. He arrived just as the students were getting out.
It was easy to spot Mokuba out of the others.
"Hey, Mokie!"
Mokuba glanced over everyone's head and spotted Joey. He waved as the older male came over. He pulled him into a hug and squeezed tight around his ribs. Joey made a small grunt.
"Hi, Joey! What are you doing here?" Mokuba asked.
Joey chuckled as he gave the kid a gentle noogie on top of the head. Students milled around them as they were picked up by parents and left on their bikes.
"Just came from the doctor, kid. Got my 'ears' ordered and everything," Joey explained.
Joey was glad he had braced himself because the next thing he knew, Mokuba was hugging him tightly.
"Yay, Joey! I'm so excited! You're going to show them to me when they get here, right?!" Mokuba exclaimed.
Joey laughed yet agreed that he would.
"I'll have to mark today on my calendar. October 25. The day I finally ordered my new ears."
Mokuba gasped. Joey jerked his head down with a confused look.
"What's wrong?" Joey asked.
Mokuba shook his head.
"Today is Seto's birthday and I didn't get him anything. He's going to hate me forever!"
As Mokuba was explaining, a black SUV pulled up and Roland stepped out. Joey shook his head as he turned Mokuba towards him and he dropped down on a knee.
"Kid, your big brother could never hate you. Yugi, maybe and me, definitely. But never you. Now how about I help you find something for you to give your brother for his birthday?" Joey asked.
Mokuba nodded frantically as he threw his arms around Joey.
"Roland, when is Big Brother due home later?" Mokuba asked, his arms still wrapped around Joey.
Roland let a small smile flit across his face.
"Mr. Kaiba is in the middle of an important meeting right now. He won't be home until 8:00," Roland reported.
Mokuba cheered. "Perfect!"
Mokuba pulled Joey into the back of the SUV and Roland returned to the driver seat. They brainstormed some ideas about what Mokuba could get his brother. They finally settled on going back to the manor and Joey helping Mokuba to bake something. The cook had the night off so they had the kitchen all to themselves.
"I'm worried, Joey," Mokuba confessed.
Joey frowned.
"Worried about what?"
"Seto doesn't really care for sweets."
That would explain his sour attitude, Joey thought.
"I got just the thing, kid. It's an old family recipe. My family's Sour Cream Pound Cake."
Mokuba made a face. "Sour cream? Yuck!"
Joey chuckled as he started searching around the kitchen for the baking items.
"You'd be surprised how good this tastes. You don't even really taste the sour cream. Plus it goes great with strawberries," Joey commented.
Mokuba sat straight up. "Seto loves strawberries!"
Joey started listing off things they would need. Mokuba opened the fridge and started pulling ingredients out. Then he went to the pantry to retrieve the dry ingredients. Luck was on their side as they had everything they needed.
After plugging in the mixer, Joey instructed Mokuba in how to make the recipe. He gave him each step one at a time, providing a little assistance along the way.
"Okay, kid. Start with adding these ingredients together," Joey instructed.
Mokuba mixed the things together in the mixer with the blades on low. Joey slid the egg carton over.
"Now for the eggs," Joey said.
Mokuba pouted. "I can't break eggs. I always get pieces of the shell in the mix."
Joey smiled. "It's okay. I'll help ya."
Joey held Mokuba's hand while he held an egg. Joey showed him how hard was just hard enough to break an egg on the side of the bowl. He used their hands to demonstrate how to open the egg to drop it (and only it) into the mix. On the second egg, Mokuba tried it himself and cheered when none of the bright white eggshell landed in the mix.
At Mokuba's request, Joey took a few photos of him using his cell phone. They shared laughs as they mixed the ingredients, preheated the oven, and poured the mix into the baking pan. While the pound cake baked, Joey and Mokuba cleaned the countertops and washed the dishes by hand at the sink.
"My quiz bowl is next week, Joey. Will you come cheer for my school?" Mokuba asked.
"What day is it?" Joey asked.
"Next Saturday! It'll be at the convention center. It starts at ten. If we win all our rounds, we'll play in the finals on Sunday," Mokuba explained.
Joey knew Mokuba's older brother would likely be there, but Kaiba probably wouldn't think twice of seeing him at the competition. After all, he knew Mokuba liked Joey and considered him a friend.
"Sure, kid! I'll be there. I'll see if Nakamura can schedule me during the week and not the weekend," Joey answered.
"Yay!"
Joey laughed as Mokuba threw his soapy hands around him in a big hug. It was a few hours later, not long after Joey departed from the Kaiba estate, that Seto arrived home. Mokuba greeted him with a slice of the pound cake topped with strawberries and whipped cream.
"Happy birthday, Seto!" Mokuba greeted.
Seto chuckled as he took the plate from his brother.
"Thank you, Mokuba. What's this?" Seto asked.
"It's pound cake, Seto! I know you don't like a lot of sweets, but it's sour cream pound cake. A friend taught me how to make it," Mokuba answered.
Seto smiled.
"That sounds different. I'll have a piece if you try a piece too," Seto said.
Mokuba agreed and went back to the kitchen for a plate. Seto sat down on the couch in the living room and waited for Mokuba to return. The pound cake looked good. It warmed his heart that his brother made it himself.
When Mokuba returned, they tried the pound cake. Seto was pleasantly surprised. Not only did he not detect any eggshells, he also tasted a cake that was moist and barely sweet at all. The strawberries and whipped cream were the perfect combination with the pound cake.
"This tastes wonderful, 'kuba. Tell your friend this is a great recipe," Seto told him.
Mokuba grinned from ear to ear.
"You got it, Seto!"
After they were done eating, they played some video games together before Seto tucked Mokuba in for the night.
"I forgot to ask if you have to stay after school this week," Seto commented, pulling the blankets up over his brother's lap.
Mokuba shook his head.
"Not this week, but we're going to finish practicing on Monday and Tuesday. The competition will be next Saturday. You're coming, right?" Mokuba asked.
Seto sighed.
"I'm sorry, Mokuba, but I have to go out of town next weekend. It's an important business deal," Seto explained.
Mokuba pulled his brother in for a hug.
"I know, Seto. It's okay. I invited my friend to come and he can make it. I'll ask if he can take some pictures and video so you can still see the quiz bowl," Mokuba said.
Seto nodded.
"I'd like that. Thanks again for the cake. Good night, Mokuba."
"Good night, Big Brother. I love you."
Smile. "I love you, too."
END OF CHAPTER SEVEN
AUTHOR'S NOTE: For argument's sake with this story, the school year runs from August to May. Joey was hired by Nakamura in mid-August.
