Chapter 05: Teaching methods.

" gotta say, didn't expect this at all….."

The setting was a Saturday afternoon, the location was the Rhodes living room and the scenario that was playing right now was Jaden's first surfing lesson thanks to his new teacher Atticus as the older teen was screening footage of surfers trying to catch waves with the occasional pause for instructions and notes.

" Jay, surfing is no more or less a serious business than dueling, I can't just sent you off into the ocean before drilling the basics into you."

Jaden sighed.

" great….. just what I needed more homework…"

At that Atticus gave a sincere laugh and smile saying.

" admit it, this kind of homework is fun….."

Before Jaden could continue the conversation Atticus continued the footage before dashing off as Mrs Rhodes came by with cool drinks and snacks.

" thank you."

Not to pass up on drinks and snacks Jaden helped himself as he replied as follows.

" you're welcome but what for though?, I haven't done much…"

Mariam gave a sincere smile of her own, though Jaden noticed that there was a bit of sadness in it.

" Atticus won't admit it but ever since he returned he's been feeling kind of lonely."

Jaden only asked.

" lonely?"

Mariam continued the conversation as such.

" he had lost some of his friends to that abandoned dorm."

At that Jaden felt like kicking himself for not thinking about the other missing students when Mariam stopped him by saying.

" that's a dangerous place to go to…. Don't go there, there's no point in lingering on what I could've done better or differently, focus on what you can do in the future."

Jaden gave an apologetic smile just as Atticus returned with a worn down surfboard, a stack of white papers and a pencil as the now curious teen raised his eyebrows a bit.

" Jay, I have a fun exercise for you."

Jaden at that took an immediate guess.

" you want me to draw this surfboard until I can do it from memory?"

Atticus beamed at him saying.

" bingo, three attempts here and another three everyday until our next lesson"

At this point Jaden got excited as he began his three attempts, it took some time but eventually he managed a decent picture on the third attempt as Atticus 'dismissed' him for the day. As he exited the family home Jaden ran into Alexis coming home from shopping as she gave him a friendly smile.

" I see you survived Atticus as a teacher."

Jaden responded with a smile of his own.

" yup, got some fun exercises out of it too."

Jaden at that point elaborated further while Alexis's smile grew bigger as she said.

" you know what will really impress Atticus?"

Jaden took the opportunity to make an easy going joke while drawing attention to his ears.

" I'm all ears."

Giving a playful roll of her eyes Alexis replied.

" try and search for a variety of surfboards and learn how to draw them."

Jaden smirked.

" thanks, any other tips?"

Alexis smirked back at him.

" tune out everything he says if it has nothing to do with surfing."

With that Jaden nodded in approval.

" got it, see ya later….."

With that said and done Jaden began jogging towards the nearest bus station towards home. As Jaden arrived early in the evening he fixed himself an impromptu dinner as he scarfed it in mere minutes before he went back to his room to tackle some of the homework he was given, any guesses to which ones first? Doing some surfing on the net he found multiple pictures of surfboards as he began trying drawing them all, filling most of the pages within half an hour to an hour before he called it quits for today as Winged Kurriboh began chirping in his ear.

" no I didn't forget about the other stuff I have to do, I just don't have the energy to deal with them right now."

With that kurriboh began chirping insistently as Jaden groaned.

" are you serious there buddy?"

With that Winged Kurriboh simply acknowledged with a chirp and the best positive expression he could make to which Jaden replied with.

" fine, I'll start with those too, but If I fall asleep in less than fifteen minutes you let me sleep in peace until the morning okay?"

Winged Kurriboh at that vanished as Jaden began Alexis's homework too, his lights were out in ten minutes. The next moment he woke up he was already on his bed as the light from his bedroom window told him it was about 8 in the morning.

" well time for breakfast."

As Jaden cleaned himself nicely for breakfast he noticed dad was already having a cup of coffee in front of the TV.

" morning."

Gordon only replied.

" same to you, had yourself a nice rest?"

Jaden slightly chuckled.

" you know me with homework"

Gordon just laughed it off saying.

" you don't have to tell me, just do me one favor though…"

Jaden quirked his right eyebrow in curiosity.

" sure old man, what is it?"

Gordon at that smirked.

" don't go and drool on your textbooks."

Jaden at that sighed before replying sarcastically.

" gee thanks dad…"

Smiling wryly Gordon ended the conversation with.

" you're welcome."

As Jaden made it to the kitchen, enjoying a full breakfast and clearing the dishes said teen in question returned leisurely back to his room where the dreaded textbooks were still waiting. As Jaden began to stare at them he took a big breath while saying to himself.

" they won't make you quit… they won't make you quit…"

With that said and done Jaden resumed his studying and after about three hours or so he began to feel his eyelids closing as Gordon entered the room with a couple of mugs in hand, coffee from the smell of it.

" are we having guests or something?"

Gordon shook his head from side to side as he stated.

" no, I think it's a perfect time for a son and dad to share a cup of coffee together."

Jaden deadpanned as he asked.

" isn't it usually a can of beer or something?"

Gordon at that gave a wry smile.

" usually but what kind of dad would I be if I turned my son into a lush?"

Jaden couldn't argue with that logic but still he refused as politely as he could.

" thanks dad but no, maybe in a couple of years… still if you see me fall asleep, how about a good butt kicking to wake me up?"

Gordon at that ruffled his son's hair while giving him a proud and genuine smile.

" suit yourself kid, more coffee for me anyway."

With his current pace, with lunch break not being counted, Jaden finished his homework at around 17:00 in the afternoon as he strapped his duel disk and deck as he headed outside to find at least of a couple of duels before dinner. On the very next day Jaden returned to the Rhodes home to continue his studying making it surprisingly just on time as Alexis was waiting for him at the usual spot.

" hope I didn't make you wait too long….."

Alexis gave him a smirk as she asked.

" you're a regular class clown aren't you?"

Jaden joked saying.

" only if I can think of something really funny."

At that both teens burst into a comfortable and friendly laugh as they began their study routine as at some point Jaden flat out asked.

" say, the house seems a lot quieter today, got any idea on why is that?"

Alexis simply replied.

" dad's working, mom is busy with her restaurant, Atticus works as a part time waiter and grandpa is researching a new project he stumbled upon."

Jaden nodded as he stated.

" never pictured Atticus as a waiter, didn't know he was patient enough to do any kind of waiting."

Alexis at that couldn't help but burst out laughing as she said in between her laughter.

" I give you… this…. This joke…. Is really funny…. And…. Clever…"

Jaden in turn looked a little worried as he said.

" stay right here….. I'm going to get you some water"

Before he could get anywhere the elderly Rhodes graced them with his visit as he carried a tray with a couple of pitcher and glasses, both containg water and freshly squeezed orange juice.

" how did you….."

Before Jaden could finish his question Henry Rhodes senior replied with a wink.

" sixth sense my son….. sixth sense."

With that he poured to both Jaden and Alexis a drink before asking.

" how are the studies going along?"

Alexis at that gave a little nod.

" well enough for Jaden to afford a small break."

The elderly Rhodes gave a playful smile stating.

" good, because I have a small job for Jaden to do."

Jaden asked in curiosity.

" a job?, what kind of job?"

Henry Rhodes senior smirked.

" come along and find out."

With that Jaden followed as he realized that the elderly man needed a bit of extra hands as he moved boxes around or certain items being reached, moving around the office for a bit said teen happened to look upon a sketch and a blurry photo of a helmet which caught his attention.

" it's called the helmet of shadows."

Jaden's curiosity peaked as the old man continued.

" a legendary artifact once sought after by some of the ancient world's greatest kings and warriors a like."

Jaden asked.

" so I'm guessing it's not just because it looks cool right?"

Henry Rhodes senior snorted at how Jaden chose to word it as he answered.

" you're a sharp young man, as for the helmet itself no one really knows what it's truly capable of but three theories remain consistent."

Before old man Rhodes continued Jaden tried to keep track by asking.

" theories as a fancy word for smart guesses right?"

With a nod the old man continued.

" well the first theory was that the helmet was able to let the wearer conquer his own worst fears as well as manipulate others,, the second was that the helmet itself was a gateway to another world untouched by humans, and lastly many believe that the helmet is connected to the shadow realm, the world where duel monsters originated from."

With that Jaden took a guess of his own.

" and you think somehow that the answer to the helmet is all of the above?"

Henry Rhodes senior smirked as he replied.

" it is my best guess so far."

Jaden took a moment to think about what he's been told before asking.

" what do you intend to do if you found this helmet?"

The old man simply smiled.

" for the moment I want to find it, study it and make sure it belongs to a museum so others could learn about it if interested."

Sensing he's being sincere Jaden smiled back saying.

" I better get back before Alexis drags me by my shirt, feel free to call me when you need help with some more chores."

Henry Rhodes senior smirked.

" best you get going then."

As Jaden headed out of the old man's study he was about to get lost until he was met with Alexis halfway through.

" am I late for class again?"

Alexis could only smirk as she stated that she was looking for him to make sure he wasn't lost to which Jaden responded with.

" not fair….. I'm getting better at this…"

At this point Alexis chose the opportunity to throw in a compliment.

" you're getting better with your homework and studies too but you still have a lot of work left to do."

Jaden comically whined.

" what's the point of it being a summer vacation if I'm missing the vacation part?"

At that Alexis playfully flicked his nose stating.

" you've treated the school year as one long vacation so no complaining."

Jaden in return mumbled something about shadow riders interrupting the school year as both of them returned to their study room where said teen saw a large plate of fried shrimp waiting for him as Alexis stated.

" it's exactly what you think, whenever you get too bored with homework you can take a bite to help you keep going."

At this moment Jaden wanted to ask who to thank for this treat when he realized something.

" did you cook these?"

A bit proud of herself Alexis replied with.

" yeah well, mom taught me to cook a bit in her spare time but it's nothing to brag about really…."

However she was cut short as Jaden surprised her by giving her a big hug, thankfully he hasn't caught the blush that crept up on her face as said teen in question thought to himself the following.

' does this count as weird?…. What's weird about hugging someone?….. why am I feeling weird about thinking if it's weird or not?'

With that said and done Jaden instinctively and reflexively released Alexis from his hold as he sheepishly said.

" sorry… I was acting without thinking again…"

Alexis cleared her throat as she hoped he wouldn't notice her blush as she replied with.

" it's not like it was awful, so no harm done."

Not wanting to drag the awkward moment for longer than it needed to be Jaden got back to his studies quickly with Alexis doing the same. Having checked his recent homework when Jaden tried to tackle a new subject Alexis noticed that despite being chronically lazy Jaden had real potential at being an A+ student but before any thought having the chance to creep into her mind said student asked.

" say? When I finally finish these homework, then what?"

Alexis asked curiously.

" what do you mean?"

Jaden answered that question sincerely.

" I like coming over here, everyone's so nice and welcoming, so what will happen when there's no more reason to return?"

Alexis's first instinct was to sigh, however she began laughing.

" you really are dense you know that?"

Jaden at that answered sarcastically.

" gee thanks for making an idiot feel like a total idiot…"

Alexis at that shook her head with a grin plastered on her face.

" we're friends, I would welcome you every time you feel like dropping by."

feeling like a mook Jaden laughed back saying.

" I knew that…."

With that said and done the study session went by a lot smoother and faster than the last couple ones since there was great food and even better company as Alexis had an idea pop in her head.

" say how about I'll help you with your surfing homework as well?"

Jaden smirked at the idea as he made an appropriate joke about it.

" I thought you'd never ask I was practically drowning in it."

Alexis rolled her eyes at that corny line as she ruffled Jaden's hair just a little bit as he protested.

" hey now, that was a really good joke right there."

At that Alexis snorted while Jaden grumbled to himself before he pulled out the sketches he did

and as she took a closer look at the sketches she couldn't help but stare at awe at it saying.

" wow… these are really good, those could definitely rival with what Chumley could pull off."

Not knowing how to say this Jaden just stated.

" thanks but I usually draw for fun, Chumley's the one who should be making a career out of this."

A little taken aback by this Alexis simply asked.

" so tell me, how come you never mentioned you could draw?"

Jaden's reply was simple.

" it never came up and you didn't ask."

Alexis sighed as she concluded the conversation.

" fair enough, now with what do you need help exactly?"

Jaden admitted without shame to the following.

" I'm drowning with all that surfing lingo, it's driving me crazy…."

Alexis at this point sympathized with Jaden because she too could never keep up with her Brother's surfing jargon as an idea came to her head.

" Jay, I think that for once we should take a play from your book."

Both teens at this point were broadcasting on the same wavelength as they let their minds relax a bit as eventually both figured out that the best way for Jaden to learn was to make it into a fun little competition. At first Alexis was dominating said competition since she had the affinity for the little details however Jaden eventually caught up which resulted in a neck and neck win for the blonde beauty.

" how about a rematch?"

looking over at the clock Alexis noticed that time flew by as she said.

" rain check for tomorrow."

Jaden at that gave a friendly smile as he finished the last of his fried shrimp.

" fine, just answer me this…"

Gesturing for him to continue, Jaden did just that.

" were you taking it easy on me?"

At that Alexis playfully pinched his nose.

"no…."

Jaden laughed through the mild pain saying.

" good enough for me, see you next time Lexi….."

With that Alexis released him from her hold as he gathered his textbooks before leaving the house altogether as she muttered to herself with contentment.

" see you Jay….."

A few minutes passed as Alexis sat quietly in the room as she was mulling over on what happened today as Mariam entered the room with a small and satisfied grin on her face.

" busy day dear?"

Alexis responded with.

" no more busy than yours or dad's"

Mariam's smile persisted as she responded with.

" I'm proud you know the classics."

Alexis's only reply was.

" with Jaden you have no idea….."

Mariam at that dropped the grin just for a bit as she said.

" how about I fix us a light desert while Atticus is away?"

At this moment it was Alexis's turn to grin a little as she asked.

" so you want us to gossip about boys?, is that about right?"

Mariam gave a confident smile at her daughter responding with.

" honestly, after what happened last year I was banking on the fact that I should really get to know and be involved with my kids as much as possible."

With that said and done Mariam took off towards the kitchen as she returned five minutes later with the snacks in hand as she offered a small bowl of Italian ice cream to Alexis.

" so was it love at first sight?"

Chuckling at her mom's blunt bedside manners Alexis replied sincerely.

" I wouldn't call it that, let's call it interest at first sight."

Mariam nodded along as she added.

" I can see why, that boy has an interesting and a mysterious quality to him."

Alexis countered that statement.

" well his love for food is no mystery."

At that both mother and daughter shared a quiet laugh as Mariam continued the conversation.

" so how exactly did he win you over?"

Alexis took a pause to think it over before answering with a small smile.

" you remember all those love sick boys pestering me all the time?, he never did that, he treats me like I'm more than just another pretty girl."

Mariam smiled at that concluding the conversation with.

" sounds like a keeper to me."

Speaking of keeping Mariam had to do a few more things around the house, business related or otherwise as she left Alexis to herself. As the days flew by Jaden continued returning to the Rhodes household as it was yet another tutoring day, this time however was with Atticus, as the older teen checked Jaden's homework he couldn't help but being floored with the results as he instinctively asked.

" how much did Alexis help you with?"

Jaden felt a bit nervous as he scratched his head.

" just with some technical terms."

Atticus nodded as he asked seriously.

" and you remember them well enough to be tested on them?"

Jaden replied as follows.

" honestly I'm not sure…."

Atticus didn't respond at first so Jaden took the opportunity to study his expression while asking.

" I get the feeling there's something else going on besides surfing….. am I right?"

Atticus sighed.

" sharp as always… tell me, what mom told you about me?"

Jaden replied in a no nonsense tone.

" that you're lonely but won't admit it."

Atticus gave a wistful smile.

" Jay, I don't know if you know but surfing can be a life or death scene, so I'm trying to look out for the friends I have left."

Jaden was left speechless for a moment before saying.

" in that case test me as much as you like…"

Before Atticus could respond Jaden continued the conversation with.

" in fact I'll even ask you to throw exams at me one after the other until I'll nail it, so what do you say teach?"

Atticus smirked.

" one thing, it's coach, not teach."

With that said and done both teens spent the next few weekends doing tests after tests until surfing knowledge became like dueling, a second knowledge to Jaden, speaking of knowledge it was the weekend and Jaden took a small break to rest and fill his stomach as he got the following text.

' two weeks from now- the real thing, be ready.'

Jaden texted back.

'what do I need?'

the following text sent explained everything Jaden needed as he texted back.

' see you there A.'

With that said and done Jaden smiled to himself as he found that he couldn't stand still anymore since for the first time in a while he truly felt excited for something just as much as dueling, speaking of.

' someone's in a good mood.'

Jaden smiled as he replied to Sparkman.

" you can bet on it."

Sparkman asked.

' got enough time to slack off slacker?'

Jaden asked playfully.

" have you been hanging with Chazz lately?"

Sparkman smirked under his helmet, well as far as he knew anyway.

' no, I'm just picking up on what you're getting on a daily basis.'

Not wanting to get dragged into a quipping contest with one of his duel monsters Jaden logged on to his computer searching for how much it would cost to get a top rate surfboard and surfing gear as Sparkman gave his commentary from the peanut gallery.

' if you're picking colors make sure it's gold and blue.'

Ignoring it for the moment Jaden scrolled through the options presented to him as one common factor kept popping up every single time, the price tags as they made him utter.

" no way I can afford these, might as well just…"

Before finishing his sentence he reached for his phone as he texted Atticus the following.

' hey, do you know someone who'll help me make a really cool surfboard?'

The response Jaden got back read as follows.

' I know a guy who knows a guy so hang tight.'

With that said and done about an hour passed by with Atticus still not answering as Sparkman took it upon himself to remind Jaden of his other homework as said boy asked.

" do I even want to know what will happen if I don't get to it?"

Sparkman's only reply was.

' nope.'

As Jaden managed to finish the bulk of his homework with that incentive, said teen plopped on his bed, resting his eyes as his duel monster spirit disappeared just as Gordon was checking up on his son.

" not drowning in his own drool, check."

Seeing he got no response from Jaden Gordon made sure instead that his son was comfortable, after making sure his son slept well he noticed the search.

" well… that wasn't what I was expecting….. can't complain though either"

eventually Jaden snapped out of what turned out was a really powerful daze. with the next few days or so going by quickly, Atticus finally made contact again with instructions for Jaden to follow. Doing just that Jaden wound up with a surfboard of his own, leaving no money for the other gear with Atticus eventually texting him further.

' if you need anything, call and I'll front you.'

At that Jaden rolled his eyes as he thought.

' oh sure…. Now he tells me…..'

With that said and done Jaden texted exactly what he needed while Lauren passed by her son's bedroom.

" heard what have you been up to lately…"

Jaden smiled and shrugged.

" I can't keep on you or dad bailing me out, am I?"

Lauren ruffled her son's hair a bit answering.

" well, no matter what you're our son first and foremost."

With that Jaden got a text back from Atticus reading.

' sorry pal, couldn't pull some strings this time.'

Jaden sighed as he texted back that he understood before looking towards his mom.

" it seems I do need some help after all…."

Lauren simply nodded giving her son the go ahead to explain himself before stating.

" well it seems we need to do a bit of shopping, get ready, no time like the present"

Jaden beamed saying.

" thanks mom."

With that said and done the mom and son duo set out on yet another shopping trip, getting Jaden excited for a new adventure out at sea, well at least that's how Atticus would describe it. On the drive on the way to the mall Lauren noticed that Jaden was awfully quiet as she started a conversation with him without breaking her line of sight with the road.

" penny for your thoughts?"

Jaden snapping out of it a bit replied with.

" oh….. just thinking for a bit, nothing to worry about….."

Lauren cracked.

" well that's dangerous."

Jaden fought the compulsion to roll his eyes.

" and here I thought dad was the go to guy for deadpan cracks."

Smirking a bit Lauren simply responded as follows.

" well here's a life lesson, people will and often surprise you, you're no different."

Curious Jaden couldn't help but ask.

" really?!, the good or the bad kind of surprise?"

Lauren gave a genuine smile as she answered.

" the good kind dear, so do you feel any better?"

Jaden chose to reply as follows.

" jury's still out on that one."

By the time the duo reached the parking lot mall Jaden took the time to tell his mom what happened with Alexis on the way to the entrance.

" so there it is, I acted without thinking but I can't tell if it's the best type of a scenario or the worst….. arghhh… it's driving me nuts…"

Lauren thought about the best way to reply to her son's plight, using the term mildly of course before settling on the following.

" first of all I'm relieved that you realize that acting without thinking leads to bad results, considering your track record…."

Jaden rolled his eyes at that, however he let his mom continue just the same.

" did I tell you about the date I had with your dad that cemented our relationship?"

Jaden answered sincerely.

" actually no, you're not the kind of persons who just blabs about their personal life, no offense ma'am."

Lauren smirked at Jaden while entering the mall.

" none taken, do you want to hear that story?"

Jaden at that Gestured his mom to continue.

" well, the date itself wasn't anything too special, a movie date and a restaurant meal afterwards, so at the time bein a big movie fan, he took me to see an old fashioned musical, now I who saw quite a few movies in my life, never understood the appeal of musicals so I asked him what's the big secret behind them?. You know what his answer was?"

Jaden honestly shrugged.

" knowing him it was probably both smart and smart aleck at the same time."

Lauren ruffled Jaden's hair a bit stating.

" something that you've got in spades too…. Anyway, he said that the reason that musicals are such a hit with people simply boils down to the fact that big and explosive emotions often surface better in a form of song or dance."

Jaden at that funnily enough managed to follow along with as he both asked and concluded.

" so you're saying that the hug I gave Alexis was like a musical moment?, that my body reacted to my emotions at the time?"

Lauren at that nodded as they got closer and closer to the local sporting goods store Rosewood's as Jaden was the first to take notice, losing some of the color from his face as he thought to himself.

' please don't tell me it's who I think it is….'

that thought aside Jaden entered the store with his mom as though nothing happened with them taking a good look at the place with said teen noting to himself that this place had everything an athlete would need except maybe steroids. Within a moment or two a towering and muscular man with receding brown hair and black piercing eyes came to greet them.

" now I'm usually not a betting man but that's probably your first time here."

Jaden replied as follows.

" well first time at this store anyway."

At that the man gave Jaden a hearty laugh in return as he continued.

" well folks I'm Reginald Rosewood of Rosewood's sporting goods, the number one in Domino and worldwide, so what can I do for you?"

Lauren answered as follows.

" my son picked up surfing not too long ago, so we're here to pick up a quality wetsuit for him, so what have you got to offer?"

Reginald at this point asked.

" well that all depends on if he's going pro or if it's nothing more than a hobby, so which is it son?"

Jaden responded as follows.

" oh it's just for fun, I'm a duelist at heart if I'm honest…."

Reginald at this point gave him a pointed look that bore deep into his soul while asking.

" wait a minute…. Are you Jaden Yuki?, the kid who kicked my son's ass in a duel earlier this year?"

Jaden sighed as his suspicions were proven before giving the older man a pointed look of his own as he gave him his answer.

" the very same."

At that Reginald smirked.

" good, that brat had it coming for a while now."

With that said and done Reginald pointed the duo to a rack of wetsuits that fit the description of what they looked for as Jaden checked the price tags on them, almost losing it as the salesman gave him a knowing smile.

" I know, I know, you're thinking it costs an arm and a leg but since you've knocked some sense and humility into my crazy and arrogant son how about I give you a forty percent discount and a couple of Lycra swim shirts?"

Lauren at that stepped into the conversation with a smile.

" make it four and we have a deal."

With that said and done Reginald went towards the register to make the sale as Jaden picked out a wetsuit and four Lycra swim shirts. As the duo left the shop Jaden was busy texting Atticus the following.

' got everything I need, now where and when?'

Atticus's reply came soon after.

' same time and place, I'll tell you more once you're there.'

Jaden concluded the conversation saying.

' sounds good to me, see you there'

As he put his phone away Lauren gave Jaden a curious look to which her son said the following.

" I'll tell you about it at home, okay?"

Lauren nodded as she said.

" I'll hold you to that."

At that the duo made it back to the car as they headed towards home.

Next time: An unexpected break.