A/N: I am utterly hopeless. For the moment, I've lost any sarcasm/wittiness that was abundant in the last chapter. So this one is definitely more subdued (unfortunately). I blame it on the sentimental, depressing music I'm listening to.
To: Kuramas Girl Angel
Thank you for the advice. I really do think I should change my summary anyway, since it doesn't describe my story that well, eh? Also, thank you for reviewing! teary You're my first!
Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl is too great to be chained down.
Twitchings of the Left Eye
Chapter 2 Breaking in a Quiet Mood
The spacious room they arrived in was covered from floor to wall in a thick, blue mat that yielded slightly to the pressure of their footfalls. The fluorescent lighting was overwhelmingly strong, invading into all corners so that even the shadows cast by the two occupants seemed weakly dim. Here, Mr. Niil placed down the two pillows, separated from each other by a foot and a half.
"Now," Mr. Niil pointed, "sit." He sat down on the leftmost cushion and crossed his leather-coated legs. The seemingly soft gold tassels had a hard glint to them, when now viewed under this harsh light, and their sparkle caught Artemis's eye.
Artemis remained standing. He had noticed the change in Mr. Niil's behavior, the drop of the fruity, exceedingly flamboyant tone, ever since the owner of the building had caught the man making passes at the younger teen.
"I suppose you have an idea as to what we're about to do?" asked Mr. Niil, his attention completely focused on the other's face, as if the situation in the office room/hallway had never occurred.
Breaking out of his thoughtful silence, Artemis paused, and looked about the room, his eye taking in the discarded gymnastic equipment standing in a corner. There was something malignant about the thin metal beams, the dangling ropes, the extra rolled-up mats. He immediately looked back towards Mr. Niil.
"Some form of calisthenics dealing with rotary movement, the stretching of muscles, and joint twists?"
"Why..yes. Rudimentary yoga, if you will."
"I'd rather not."
A look of slight irritation crossed Mr. Niil's face. That pompous, arrogant, rich brat. However, the remembrance of the amount of money he was being paid for the session caused a sickly, strained smile to remain plastered on, for mere courtesy's sake.
"We will start of fairly easy. I will keep things simple, so as you can follow along with no amount of difficulty. Even you should be able to do it." Here, Mr. Niil's smile became genuine as he removed his red shawl. Let the genius take that. Underneath, he was bare-chested, and he threw the covering with a nonchalant glance onto a spot of floor.
"In case you haven't noticed, neither of us is properly attired for this kind of 'training'."
Mr. Niil ignored him. "Let's start with meditation, it is incredibly important to relax, and let loose the tension in your muscles, or else muscle cramps will occur. Remove any outside thoughts, and let your mind wander freely. A loose mind equals a loose body."
Flexing his shoulders, Mr. Niil looked towards Artemis, and again made a gesture for Artemis to sit down on the other pillow.
Artemis didn't catch the look, as he was now staring at the floor, his eyes seemingly vacant as if he was gazing at something else other than the blue mat indented underneath his brown loafers. The boy's eyebrows were knitted together, and as Mr. Niil's gaze lowered down Artemis's body, he noticed that the boy was standing stiffly, as if trying to control himself.
"Artemis?"
No response.
The room became increasingly silent as Mr. Niil stared at him.
A sigh escaped. What was this kid's problem? Was he schizo? Fine, let the boy do whatever he wanted, for the next hour or so, until the black limo came to pick him up again. It wasn't his problem, he wasn't hired to be this kid's babysitter. He was not going to fight or argue, nor force anyone to do anything. After all, he was still getting paid.
A tiny part of him was worried that Artemis was contemplating on how to properly sue him for sexual harassment.
Ah wells. It wouldn't be the first time. Leaning over, Mr. Niil took the neglected pillow without rising from his seat, then placed it nearer to himself to rest his head against. Back to the nap.
That was when the low muttering began.
An hour later-
The limo ride home was quiet, as usual. The new driver that had been hired in Butler's stead was one of the stoic types, believing that one must be seen and not heard when in the presence of his employer. The radio had been turned off when Artemis complained about the racket, though Mozart was playing, one of his personal favorites.
Artemis sat straight up, his back a rigid line that refused to bend. He was watching out of the side window, the tint obscuring the light so that even the sunlight seemed dull. The laptop remained faithfully at his side, unopened.
He was reflecting at what had happened just recently. When had he allowed his character to break so openly? Thank goodness he had somewhat regained himself by the time Mr. Niil brought them to the spare gym room, but still…that lapse..in public…
It was merely the unfamiliarity of the situation that unnerved him, and caused him to act irrationally. Nothing more. But, that was not a good enough excuse, and he knew it.
His fingers clenched into fists in his lap.
He didn't dare to even point out the fact that the whole time he was loosing himself, something inside was laughing and mocking him.
He didn't accept it after all. (1)
YS-
An extreme change in the mood from chapter 1. I made chapter 1 that way on purpose, to properly describe how subconsciously cracked up Artemis was becoming, from the way he perceived things to how he reacted to simple situations. Haha, I hope I didn't scare anyone by that. Though, if you're reading this right now, then you're really something for having lasted this long. This chapter is more of his doubt at himself, and how mentally strong he thinks he is. Ack! I'm a mood writer. However I'm feeling ends up on paper --
(1) "The buzz in his head took his silence as positive. So, you've accepted me! How sweet. 'I'll try to satisfy you as well as I can, Master Artemis'. Making fun of Butler, now are we? Only if it excited you. ..What!" --that was what I referring to in the last line, just so you'll know
