Chapter 8: Choices
Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh, nor do I claim rights to any of the affiliated characters, I make no profit from this story.
Warnings/Notes: Sorry for the shortness of my last chapter, I'll try to make this one longer and more interesting, I know puzzleshipping isn't exactly working out either, I don't know if I should force it with the plot unfolding like this. I shall see. In any case, somewhat OOC… and sorry for the delay.
Slowly Tea began to succumb to the feeling of helplessness and moved a comfortable distance away from her friend, who had collected himself considerably. For a moment she cast her gaze to the ground, not wishing to look at him after having selfishly put her own desires before the boy's needs. Why was it that she was so desperate to get close to him?
Upon feeling the weight of Tea's body move from his own Yugi opened his mouth to speak, "I hate this." He announced, inhaling deeply, "I hate that everything I do has to be so complicated."
Pegasus leaned back against his chair and smiled empathetically, "You'll get there in due time, don't worry." He assured the boy as the gang settled themselves into the mood.
"I'm sorry, I feel like I'm making this so much more dramatic than it needs to be."
"Yugi-boy, drama knows no bounds in art." He replied with a note of laughter, "If anything the fault lies with your teacher and his unreasonable timeline." At this the group of teens smiled, normally adults would call an accusation against a teacher an excuse for laziness, but there was something about Pegasus that differed drastically from the majority.
"It's not like complaining about it changes anything." Yugi added as he cleared his throat a bit, "I should get working if I want to finish in time."
Pegasus nodded in agreement, "I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this, but I think for the time being we should try a different approach. I want you to try painting your mother in a happy light, think of any good memories you have of her and try to keep them with you as you paint. Ideally it'd be a better reflection of both characters if it was done in a more realistic mood, but I'll talk to your teacher for you and see what I can do once we've finished. Would that be alright with your grandfather, maybe I should contact him first."
Yugi shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know how much good it would do with my art teacher, but I'll call my grandfather and explain the situation, he'd probably want to deal with all the messy stuff himself. He'd feel like he was disengaging if he didn't."
"I'll talk to him about it to see if he's alright with even confronting the teacher. I don't want him to get the wrong idea and scold you for something that could be avoided."
Yugi smiled, "I'm sure he wouldn't get angry, but thanks all the same."
With that the two moved to their feet, "We'll need a bit of privacy if we're going to get this under way." Pegasus piped up politely in order to excuse them. The rest of the group nodded their understanding and made their way back to their rooms. "I was curious about one thing before we start." Pegasus continued as he walked Yugi down a few corridors where they arrived in a room full of painting supplies, "Why is it you didn't request a different instructor when you re-took the course?"
"There isn't another instructor." Yugi replied.
Pegasus froze for a moment, sketchbook in hand, "There's only one art teacher in such a large high school?" He repeated; astonished.
Yugi nodded, "Not many people are into the art classes at our school, they're not split up into drawing and painting classes, they only offer foundations A and B. In A you learn all the text book stuff, and in B you apply it."
Pegasus stared at him for a moment before handing the boy the sketchbook; "And this is art in which sense of the word exactly?" He questioned, shaking his head in disbelief. Yugi shrugged and took the outstretched object in his hand. It felt foreign for a few moments, unfamiliar when compared to the feel of his usual sketchbook, but he disregarded such things. Reaching for a pencil, he jumped involuntarily when Pegasus outstretched a hand to re-direct him, "Use the coal pencils, they work better on the heavy weight paper. It's only a rough sketch, we can do more than one if you become dissatisfied."
Yugi nodded, "I'll do the best I can." He replied, and slowly, pausing to collect from memory the glimpses of felicity he had with his mother, began to draw. His hand moved fluidity across the paper to shape the outline of her pale face, when her hair was long, like before he moved in with grandpa…it was pretty, framing his face like that. A tear fell from his eye, but his fingers did no more than relax around the pencil, easing out the sorrows onto paper. For what felt like hours he sketched, perfecting her eyes, and struggling to recall the exact shape of her face, oval…round…it wasn't round, not like her sister's…but…. He sighed and continued on under Pegasus's mindful surveillance.
"You're doing well." He'd say off and on as he caught a few glances at the drawing at the boy's fingers, which trembled very slightly from time to time.
Yugi would barely nod, just enough to acknowledge his elder, never pausing, knowing if he did he'd never regain the confidence to continue where he'd left off. He felt uneasy but the majority of the anxiousness was diluted in the security he felt in being near Pegasus, who had become so much more than just a tutor or a mentor.
When at last he'd finished, he handed the sketch to Pegasus, who smiled elatedly at the chance to see the full picture. Subconsciously his fingers traced the folds of the ringlet curls that framed the woman's face. Her eyes glimmered with the promise of a young woman, and the hint of a smile touching her lips glowed in its cheeky magnificence. He reached over to pat the boy's head and continued his inspection. He'd drawn her neck and shoulders perfectly, mastering their slender shape and sketching them with a subtle gracefulness as he had in his previous attempt.
"Yugi-boy, you've done it." He turned to the boy, smiling brightly at him, and the two laughed for a long time at the very thought.
"Now all I have to do is paint it." He replied, and Pegasus nodded to him once again as the boy drank in all of the pride the other felt for him. It didn't take long to mix the paint, and as the two did so they talked of various things.
"Do you think your teacher will like it?" Pegasus inquired as Yugi placed the first stroke on the canvas with great satisfaction.
"I hope so." He replied a bit doubtfully, "I've never seen him give anyone a grade higher than a C, so it's hard to get a feel for what sort of work he actually appreciates."
"Well what sort of artwork does he have hanging around the classroom?" The elder asked as he moved to work the stiffness from his long legs.
Yugi thought for a long moment, "Mostly his own work, things from college, and others that were high school assignments-as examples for us."
Pegasus laughed aloud without restraint, "More like mosaics of vanity. The only reason an art teacher would keep that many of his personal works about the class would be to show off the talent the adult world didn't see fit to recognize."
Yugi, though far from admiring his art teacher, wasn't quite sure what to say to the bashing at the man's expense, and laughed it off with a quick, precise brush stroke. "Now Yugi-boy blend with a damp brush." He reminded the eager young boy, who smiled sheepishly in an attempt to dismiss his recklessness.
"Sorry." He murmured as he gently worked a shade of purple into an appealing amethyst hue.
"Do you always start with the eyes?" Pegasus inquired, disregarding the boy's unnecessary apology.
"Only when I'm comfortable enough with my subject." The teen replied as the blur on the canvas began to take shape, "Since I have a clearer image of the frame of her face I can work the spacing out as I go."
Pegasus nodded absently, watching as the boy toyed with different brushes in order to achieve the effect he wanted. Being too heavy handed would make for a harsh outline and uneven pigment, while being too meticulous would cause smearing, and other unwanted blemishes.
"You mentioned before that this class was required to graduate correct?" The elder inquired as Yugi patiently continued his work.
The boy nodded, "Since it's acting as my fine arts credit." He verified.
"So you're a senior?"
"No." Yugi replied with a small laugh, "Everyone here's a junior…well, all my friends and I, that is." He corrected. "It's just nice to have all of your required electives taken care of before senior year so your primary focus can be core classes. That way, if you're approved to, you can take the spring semester off and graduate early."
Pegasus nodded in understanding then flinched, almost sympathetically, as a drop of periwinkle paint fell onto the fabric of Yugi's pants, "That'll stain." He noted a bit whimsically.
Yugi shrugged, and continued, well into the afternoon and evening, until at last, the vision on sketchbook paper had come to life on a canvas. The two of them inspected it for a long while, taking in its every detail, "I think you were right." Yugi finally declared, "About it being a better reflection if painted in a different light, but I do think I made more of a personal impression on this painting than the last." He continued.
Pegasus nodded and subconsciously moved a hand to-and then quickly away from, the eye socket covered by his long hair. "I second that." He said, a bit sourly at first, then brightening, he turned to the boy and rose from his seat, hand still on the younger boy's shoulder, "But it's a gorgeous work regardless, and for a high school student, I find it to be very advanced." He continued, "Come on." He coaxed, "I'll have someone email a photograph to your teacher for grading purposes, right now it's late, and you haven't eaten. Really what a slave driver you have for a host." At this they both laughed into the dining hall, where neither were surprised to find Yugi's friends awaiting him.
"So?" They all piped up eagerly, Tea sitting in front of some green tea, and Joey and Tristan enjoying a plate of something, which resembled blueberry cobbler.
"It's finished." Yugi announced with his timid smile.
"You think he'll like it?" Joey asked, his mouth full of blue-violet filling.
Yugi laughed and nodded once more in affirmation, "At least I hope so." He then added, "If not, he can't say it's for lack of trying."
His friends nodded, and soon all of them were absorbed into conversations about Serenity, schoolwork, and home lives. Somewhere between Tea's new desire to be a part of the school year book committee and Pegasus's fantasy-like musings of Egypt, Yugi drifted off to sleep, and Yami, for the first time since arrival day, took over until morning light.
The weight that had been lifted from the gang's shoulders was prominent, as none of the teenagers made it out of bed until nearly ten that morning. Pegasus, although flustered, was in no hurry for them to awaken.
"Are you absolutely certain the quality of the photo was up to par?" He whispered harshly to a servant in his study.
"Yes sir, our technology, even in things like digital cameras, is top of the line." The other man agreed.
"Whatever you do, don't mention this to anyone, especially not Yugi-boy. I'm going to have a chat with that art teacher, until then make something up."
"About what sit?"
"My whereabouts you idiot!" Pegasus snapped without meaning to.
"But sir do you really think this is a good idea? What real power to you have in this situation, you're not a parent or guardian, and you don't have any real proof that he's treating the boy unfairly."
"First thing's first." Pegasus replied, in a tone deadly low and reflective of Duelist Kingdom, "I do not pay you to be a voice of reason, you'd do well to remember that. Secondly, I am a painter myself; I do have multiple visual arts degrees, so I'm quite sure that qualifies as something. I won't have this boy taken advantage of-him or any of those students. The teacher grades too strictly based on their level of expertise, and if anything he's discouraging all of them from a future they'd be well suited for. I've had it, Makoto, my mind is made up."
"What do you plan to say sir?" Makoto was practically pleading.
"Whatever gets the point across. Now be quiet, I hear someone coming." With that there was only silence as Pegasus walked briskly off to his office.
It was only after several hours of relentless argument that he immerged, victoriously, from his place of work, to make an announcement no one in his estate-himself included; was fully ready to hear.
Standing before the group of suspicious and troubled teens, who had gathered into a game room, he began, "I spoke with your art teacher." He informed them all in a soft tone, taking a seat himself, 'Your painting got a 92." He continued.
"That's great!" Yugi exclaimed, unable to contain his excitement long enough for Pegasus to finish. "Did he say anything else?"
"He's done a lot of thinking." A smirk played on the man's lips, "And he's decided to "resign" from teaching at Domino High."
"What!" The group replied in awe.
He continued, "It occurred to him that was not cut out to teach high school students, and that he was better suited for a group of people that were more sophisticated."
"So…who's going to teach art classes?" Yugi asked, feeling slightly disheartened.
Pegasus took a deep, even breath, and in two words, rendered the group speechless "I am."
As you sear these roads in your haste
To get somewhere you've never been before,
You notice the leisurely pace of other lives
in their familiar routines: how an old man,
digging in his mailbox for news of a world
he doesn't believe in, stares at you
Hurtling past,
A wave of music and light
with the hooded eyes of envy.
And how a young couple facing each other
At the wind of a small café
Raise their glasses of wine to their lips; oblivious
To the way, flashing by, you have stolen their souls
With your eyes.
-Judith Ortiz Cofer
Please forgive the belated update, more details of Pegasus's "conversation" with Yugi's art teacher will be added in the next chapter. Until then, R&R.