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~-~-~-~-~--~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Chapter 2 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
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They were walking down the hall to class:
"So, Joey did you do your homework?" Yugi asked in hope that maybe – just maybe – Joey actually did his homework. A blank look appeared on Joey's face.
"Homework?" Tristan, Tèa and, Yami laughed.
"Told ya Yug' Joey will never change." Joey grinned like an idiot but really he wanted to scream at Tristan. It was always like this. Always pretending not to care so they wouldn't know that... that he couldn't read.
"No seriously, we had homework?" Joey asked and like he expected it they laughed. He was always the funny guy – never to be taken seriously.
"Oh, did the mutt forget to do his homework – again? Forgetful aren't we?" Seto Kaiba appeared behind them. He had a horrible smirk on his face.
"Or maybe your just stupid." He shrugged as if it was no big deal, as if he had expected that all along.
Joey's face darkened. Though unknown to his friends Kaiba was just to little close to the truth. They didn't know that even Joey himself thought he was stupid. So stupid that when – EVERYONE – else could read The Joey Wheeler could not.
"Bugger off, Kaiba!" Joey growled glaring at Kaiba. If looks could kill Kaiba would be long gone. But nothing could penatrate those cold blue eyes of his. He stalked off, walking in the direction of class.
Soon after Joey and his friends followed.
But Joey didn't forget what Kaiba said. In fact it never left him. It stayed with him till the very end of the day – English class.
The teacher was reading out loud to the class part of the book. Joey unlike everyone else wasn't paying attention. Just sort of day-dreaming combined with a bit of staring stupidly into space. Ah, there was that word again. Stupid. He wasn't stupid was he? He was normal, he could do everything everyone else could. He could read if he just tried hard enough.
No, scratch that. Joey had tried. He used to try to read some of his books from when he was little but even some of those were hard. Anyway they didn't really help him now. He had tried to stay up with everyone else but he'd always fall behind. The books they read just had too many hard words and Joey just couldn't stay with the plot... he'd always get bored and lose focus.
"Joey? Joey?" Joey snapped out of his daydream to see the teacher staring at him and the whole class also. Did I just see Kaiba laughing?
"Since you seem beyond paying attention..." The teacher said dryly.
"Why don't you read for us?" She was laughing at him. Teachers always did when he wasn't paying attention. How can you blame him though? He hated reading, despised it, loathed it, absolutely dreaded it.
"Read?" Joey managed to whisper. He could feel his heart beating faster. Somehow, before he had always been able to get out of reading – either faked being sick, or something. But he was caught in a corner and there was no excape.
He opened his book to the right page which Tèa kindly showed him. Of couse Joey didn't exactly consider Tèa was being nice – I mean she was helping him get closer to his downfall, as if he really wanted that. But he looked down at the page and began to read to the class.
"Mrs. Holland, in..." He stopped to look at the word, trying to sound it out in his head, he didn't want to say it out loud, to make an even bigger fool out of himself than he had to.
"Pur...su....ance of her agreement," He stumbled over the words, knowing that everyone was staring at him.
But truth be told, Joey was kind of happy in a weird sort a way. I mean he hadn't completly failed yet. Okay, so he stumbled almost everything and pronounced half the words weird but he hadn't showed everyone how he truly couldn't read well at all. He just seemed slightly below average.
But you know what's funny? When you face your fear and finally decide it isn't that bad it suddenly gets worse. Very worse...
Soon after clumsily reading the word tormenting he stopped – for like the hundreth time mind you. It was another one of those words with ion's in them.
"Pre...oc...cup...at?" He started.
"Preoc....cup....at...I...ons?" He glared at the word wishing it to go away or that he could read it. He could tell that everyone was laughing at his pathetic attempt to read. He could feel their eyes staring at him.
A minute went by. Of course the simple sixty seconds felt like years to Joey.
"It's preoccupations," The teacher said pronouncing it correctly. Then she went on to let someone else read.
Yugi, Tristan, Yami, and Tèa along with the rest of the class were staring at him. Wondering why in the world couldn't he read even a easy page of a novel, wondering that maybe there was a reason he never did his homework...
But Joey didn't notice. He was scarred, frozen in space. Now everyone knew he couldn't read. And this morning he was complaining that they thought he was only lazy. He resisted looking at anyone but out of the corner of his eye he could see Kaiba smirking – at him.
Laugh all you want Kaiba. Yeah, you were right. I'm stupid, you win. Can we end the game now?
"Joey and Seto please stay after class." Everyone else was getting their stuff and leaving; but lucky Joey, he got to stay after class – just what he most wanted.
Kaiba looked anoyyed at having to stay later, probably couldn't wait to get home to work – when will he ever get a life?
The teacher started yelling at Kaiba about something or other. Something about not laughing at other people's misfortunes... I wonder what she's talking about? But whatever she says it's not going to make Kaiba leave Joey alone now that he "officially" can't read.
The teacher finished her rant and told Kaiba he could leave.
Kaiba picked up his stuff real slowly, he wanted to just walk out the door but he didn't think he could do it. He was feeling that unexplainable urge. He had to touch the window panes. He just had to, there was no reason for it except because.
He didn't want to do it, he didn't like doing it. It worried Mokuba and it was embarrasing. Why couldn't he control it? And what's worse was that he wasn't the last person in the room. Hell, no. Joey and the teacher both were watching him. Waiting for him to leave.
He was walking down the wall of the classroom, the windows staring at him, daring him to try to leave without touching them. Kaiba knew he couldn't. He was a prisoner. As inconspicuous as he could he raised his hand and let it make contact with the window pane.
Again and again, till he had touched every window pane in the room. He could feel them staring at him and for some reason time had decided to slow down so it seemed to be an eternity before he got to the door.
Once outside he relaxed, free at last. But his freedom didn't last long. A teacher was walking torwards him.
"Seto Kaiba?" She asked. As if she needed to ask who he was, everyone knew who he was!
"Hn," He grunted, what now?
"The headmaster wants to see you."
Back inside the classroom Joey was suffering. The teacher had suddenly burst out saying stuff that seemed to be a bunch of nonsense. What was it with those teachers that they had to talk so fast?
"You could get special help and – " But Joey cut her off.
"What? Special help? I don't need help! I'm not stupid!" She closed her eyes for a moment then started talking again only this time slower.
"I never said you were stupid, but clearly you seem to have a lot of trouble in my class. I think you may have Dyslexia."
"Dys wat?" Joey was staring at her. What was she talking about?
"Dyslexia, it's a disorder which affects your reading and spelling. There is nothing wrong with having Dyslexia – it doesn't mean your stupid. It just means you need some help in reading and spelling."
"I... I don't have," Joey felt as if a giant weight had been dropped on him. What happened to the cool Joey Wheeler who was always in control? Never had any problems, was as normal as everyone else, never got laughed at.
"That!" But even as he said that, he began to doubt himself. He looked down at the book on his desk. The words were just a mixture of letters, put together in a combination. Forming simple words with simple definitions, and yet impossible for Joey to figure out.
Joey sighed, he knew what happened to the 'cool' Joey Wheeler – he was gone. He died never to exist again. But Joey didn't want to see that, he wanted to live in his own alternate reality. Of course he knew he couldn't go on pretending forever.
He picked up his bag and headed torwards the door.
"Joey?" Joey turned around.
"I know you may not like the sound of that but there's nothing wrong with it. Talking about it helps..." As if he could talk to his friends, they'd never understand. They probably think he's an idiot for not being able to read or for not telling them about his problem. Lose, lose situation.
"I'd recomend you student therapy. Sometimes it's hard to talk to your friends." Joey nodded in agreement, forced a smile and walked out the door.
Now back to Kaiba...
He was in the office with the headmaster.
The headmaster was sitting at his desk. It was like a debate. Kaiba and the Headmaster, both trying to win at all costs. They would take turns attacking each other's arguments – destroy all the good in them by looking at the miniscule mistakes.
It was the Headmaster's turn to state his argument. He had a smile on his face, a look which showed he had no doubt about how the debate would end. He would be victorious.
"Student therapy," Kaiba sat up suddenly, choking on his own spit.
"What? You can't be serious!" Kaiba was outraged at such a suggestion.
"Maybe I am. You know that talking is usually the best treatment for things like this." The headmaster was refusing to back down.
Just because Seto Kaiba was the C.E.O. of Kaiba Corp didn't mean he could get away with everything because... well for that exact reason. He still was a student of the Headmaster's school so he should listen to him.
"Partly but..." Kaiba started but the headmaster shook his head making him stop in mid-sentence. It was time to end this thing.
"Your brother recomended it."
There was on way out.
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~-~-~-~-~--~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Chapter 2 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
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They were walking down the hall to class:
"So, Joey did you do your homework?" Yugi asked in hope that maybe – just maybe – Joey actually did his homework. A blank look appeared on Joey's face.
"Homework?" Tristan, Tèa and, Yami laughed.
"Told ya Yug' Joey will never change." Joey grinned like an idiot but really he wanted to scream at Tristan. It was always like this. Always pretending not to care so they wouldn't know that... that he couldn't read.
"No seriously, we had homework?" Joey asked and like he expected it they laughed. He was always the funny guy – never to be taken seriously.
"Oh, did the mutt forget to do his homework – again? Forgetful aren't we?" Seto Kaiba appeared behind them. He had a horrible smirk on his face.
"Or maybe your just stupid." He shrugged as if it was no big deal, as if he had expected that all along.
Joey's face darkened. Though unknown to his friends Kaiba was just to little close to the truth. They didn't know that even Joey himself thought he was stupid. So stupid that when – EVERYONE – else could read The Joey Wheeler could not.
"Bugger off, Kaiba!" Joey growled glaring at Kaiba. If looks could kill Kaiba would be long gone. But nothing could penatrate those cold blue eyes of his. He stalked off, walking in the direction of class.
Soon after Joey and his friends followed.
But Joey didn't forget what Kaiba said. In fact it never left him. It stayed with him till the very end of the day – English class.
The teacher was reading out loud to the class part of the book. Joey unlike everyone else wasn't paying attention. Just sort of day-dreaming combined with a bit of staring stupidly into space. Ah, there was that word again. Stupid. He wasn't stupid was he? He was normal, he could do everything everyone else could. He could read if he just tried hard enough.
No, scratch that. Joey had tried. He used to try to read some of his books from when he was little but even some of those were hard. Anyway they didn't really help him now. He had tried to stay up with everyone else but he'd always fall behind. The books they read just had too many hard words and Joey just couldn't stay with the plot... he'd always get bored and lose focus.
"Joey? Joey?" Joey snapped out of his daydream to see the teacher staring at him and the whole class also. Did I just see Kaiba laughing?
"Since you seem beyond paying attention..." The teacher said dryly.
"Why don't you read for us?" She was laughing at him. Teachers always did when he wasn't paying attention. How can you blame him though? He hated reading, despised it, loathed it, absolutely dreaded it.
"Read?" Joey managed to whisper. He could feel his heart beating faster. Somehow, before he had always been able to get out of reading – either faked being sick, or something. But he was caught in a corner and there was no excape.
He opened his book to the right page which Tèa kindly showed him. Of couse Joey didn't exactly consider Tèa was being nice – I mean she was helping him get closer to his downfall, as if he really wanted that. But he looked down at the page and began to read to the class.
"Mrs. Holland, in..." He stopped to look at the word, trying to sound it out in his head, he didn't want to say it out loud, to make an even bigger fool out of himself than he had to.
"Pur...su....ance of her agreement," He stumbled over the words, knowing that everyone was staring at him.
But truth be told, Joey was kind of happy in a weird sort a way. I mean he hadn't completly failed yet. Okay, so he stumbled almost everything and pronounced half the words weird but he hadn't showed everyone how he truly couldn't read well at all. He just seemed slightly below average.
But you know what's funny? When you face your fear and finally decide it isn't that bad it suddenly gets worse. Very worse...
Soon after clumsily reading the word tormenting he stopped – for like the hundreth time mind you. It was another one of those words with ion's in them.
"Pre...oc...cup...at?" He started.
"Preoc....cup....at...I...ons?" He glared at the word wishing it to go away or that he could read it. He could tell that everyone was laughing at his pathetic attempt to read. He could feel their eyes staring at him.
A minute went by. Of course the simple sixty seconds felt like years to Joey.
"It's preoccupations," The teacher said pronouncing it correctly. Then she went on to let someone else read.
Yugi, Tristan, Yami, and Tèa along with the rest of the class were staring at him. Wondering why in the world couldn't he read even a easy page of a novel, wondering that maybe there was a reason he never did his homework...
But Joey didn't notice. He was scarred, frozen in space. Now everyone knew he couldn't read. And this morning he was complaining that they thought he was only lazy. He resisted looking at anyone but out of the corner of his eye he could see Kaiba smirking – at him.
Laugh all you want Kaiba. Yeah, you were right. I'm stupid, you win. Can we end the game now?
"Joey and Seto please stay after class." Everyone else was getting their stuff and leaving; but lucky Joey, he got to stay after class – just what he most wanted.
Kaiba looked anoyyed at having to stay later, probably couldn't wait to get home to work – when will he ever get a life?
The teacher started yelling at Kaiba about something or other. Something about not laughing at other people's misfortunes... I wonder what she's talking about? But whatever she says it's not going to make Kaiba leave Joey alone now that he "officially" can't read.
The teacher finished her rant and told Kaiba he could leave.
Kaiba picked up his stuff real slowly, he wanted to just walk out the door but he didn't think he could do it. He was feeling that unexplainable urge. He had to touch the window panes. He just had to, there was no reason for it except because.
He didn't want to do it, he didn't like doing it. It worried Mokuba and it was embarrasing. Why couldn't he control it? And what's worse was that he wasn't the last person in the room. Hell, no. Joey and the teacher both were watching him. Waiting for him to leave.
He was walking down the wall of the classroom, the windows staring at him, daring him to try to leave without touching them. Kaiba knew he couldn't. He was a prisoner. As inconspicuous as he could he raised his hand and let it make contact with the window pane.
Again and again, till he had touched every window pane in the room. He could feel them staring at him and for some reason time had decided to slow down so it seemed to be an eternity before he got to the door.
Once outside he relaxed, free at last. But his freedom didn't last long. A teacher was walking torwards him.
"Seto Kaiba?" She asked. As if she needed to ask who he was, everyone knew who he was!
"Hn," He grunted, what now?
"The headmaster wants to see you."
Back inside the classroom Joey was suffering. The teacher had suddenly burst out saying stuff that seemed to be a bunch of nonsense. What was it with those teachers that they had to talk so fast?
"You could get special help and – " But Joey cut her off.
"What? Special help? I don't need help! I'm not stupid!" She closed her eyes for a moment then started talking again only this time slower.
"I never said you were stupid, but clearly you seem to have a lot of trouble in my class. I think you may have Dyslexia."
"Dys wat?" Joey was staring at her. What was she talking about?
"Dyslexia, it's a disorder which affects your reading and spelling. There is nothing wrong with having Dyslexia – it doesn't mean your stupid. It just means you need some help in reading and spelling."
"I... I don't have," Joey felt as if a giant weight had been dropped on him. What happened to the cool Joey Wheeler who was always in control? Never had any problems, was as normal as everyone else, never got laughed at.
"That!" But even as he said that, he began to doubt himself. He looked down at the book on his desk. The words were just a mixture of letters, put together in a combination. Forming simple words with simple definitions, and yet impossible for Joey to figure out.
Joey sighed, he knew what happened to the 'cool' Joey Wheeler – he was gone. He died never to exist again. But Joey didn't want to see that, he wanted to live in his own alternate reality. Of course he knew he couldn't go on pretending forever.
He picked up his bag and headed torwards the door.
"Joey?" Joey turned around.
"I know you may not like the sound of that but there's nothing wrong with it. Talking about it helps..." As if he could talk to his friends, they'd never understand. They probably think he's an idiot for not being able to read or for not telling them about his problem. Lose, lose situation.
"I'd recomend you student therapy. Sometimes it's hard to talk to your friends." Joey nodded in agreement, forced a smile and walked out the door.
Now back to Kaiba...
He was in the office with the headmaster.
The headmaster was sitting at his desk. It was like a debate. Kaiba and the Headmaster, both trying to win at all costs. They would take turns attacking each other's arguments – destroy all the good in them by looking at the miniscule mistakes.
It was the Headmaster's turn to state his argument. He had a smile on his face, a look which showed he had no doubt about how the debate would end. He would be victorious.
"Student therapy," Kaiba sat up suddenly, choking on his own spit.
"What? You can't be serious!" Kaiba was outraged at such a suggestion.
"Maybe I am. You know that talking is usually the best treatment for things like this." The headmaster was refusing to back down.
Just because Seto Kaiba was the C.E.O. of Kaiba Corp didn't mean he could get away with everything because... well for that exact reason. He still was a student of the Headmaster's school so he should listen to him.
"Partly but..." Kaiba started but the headmaster shook his head making him stop in mid-sentence. It was time to end this thing.
"Your brother recomended it."
There was on way out.
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