Episode 81 - Introductions

With their free hands clasped tight together, the two walked into the building and Amari gave Yangyang a short tour. The setup was much like an elementary school, with one entrance at the front and a long hallway, classrooms and offices to each side. A wide, open lobby was to the left of the entry, a reception desk just off the hall and seating organized in clean, widely spaced lines behind.

Unlike a normal school, the walls had large, low handrails, and all doors were positioned across from each other, connected by tactile strips in the hall. The lighting wasn't as bright, not using the typical fluorescent bulbs.

Amari confidently led Yangyang to the third room on the left, the door already open. He flipped on the lights, dim like those in the hallway, and gestured toward a corner with some stacked chairs. "Will you grab those and start arranging them in a circle in the middle? We'll need around twelve."

Yangyang obeyed while Amari went to a far wall, pulling out a long folding table. He set it up and pushed it close to the door, using his body and arm to make sure it didn't block the entryway.

"Amari?" called a light voice, a figure stepping in from the hallway. "You're here early."

"I was waiting with Franklin again." He leaned up against the table, folding his arms. "He just left." Yangyang joined him, shifting to lean next to him.

After a soft sigh, the woman stepped closer. "Poor kid." She held out an arm across Amari and took Yangyang's hand, shaking it. "I'm Nisa, the director here. I'm assuming you're Yangyang?"

Amari smiled at him awkwardly clearing his throat. "Yeah," he replied, sounding almost nervous. "It's nice to meet you. I'm glad A Li found someone like you. He really loves this job."

"I'm glad he found me too," she agreed with a laugh, her voice warm and caring. "He's such a sweetheart, and great with the kids." Amari felt his cheeks warm at the compliment, moving his gaze down toward his feet. "He has so many talents, I feel awful for overworking him. I hope he can finish school quickly, so I can pay him what he deserves."

"'So many talents?'" There was a nudge to his arm and his face grew hotter. "Does he do more than teach guitar and help out teachers in the classroom?"

Nisa gave Amari a light slap on the shoulder and huffed. "You don't tell him everything you do here?" She was clearly surprised, but also seemed a little offended. "Well, for one, he's our best interpreter. It's immensely helpful. Even if he isn't here, I can just give him a call and he usually answers. He also does an after-school support group for visually-impaired and blind teens. Most of them weren't born blind, so he's such a great resource for them to have." She sounded like a mother praising her child.

Yangyang put an arm around Amari, now burning red from embarrassment, and sighed. "Why didn't you tell me all of this? Our A Li is so impressive."

"Shut up." He groaned, trying to pull out of the grasp, but he was held tight. "You never asked."

"How would I know to ask those things? You should be proud of it and tell me!" Amari just huffed and frowned, so Yangyang leaned forward to speak to Nisa. "So, you have a lot of Chinese and Korean students or parents here?"

"Oh, we have a lot of students whose parents don't speak English well. Having someone around who can speak five languages is very handy."

Yangyang immediately pulled his arm away and let out a frustrated breath. "You know three other languages?"

"Spanish." Amari scratched at his head. "And I'm pretty good at Japanese and French."

"What the hell..." Yangyang's voice trailed off in disbelief. "When did you learn those?"

Amari gave him an indifferent shrug. "When I first came to the city, there were a lot of Spanish-speaking people where I lived. It's hard to be visually-impaired and not understand what people are saying, so..." He scratched his head again. "Japanese I just picked up. I listen to a lot of Japanese music and wanted to understand the lyrics, and then I figured I may as well learn the basics of the language.

"Ziggy taught me French, though it's Canadian-French. He jokes that I only know the dirty words, but I know the rest of it pretty well too." Yangyang cleared his throat, nothing to say or too shocked to respond, and Amari shrugged again. "I had a lot of free time."

After a few moments of awkward silence, he tugged at Yangyang's sleeve, but his hand was pushed off.

"I'm kind of mad about all this," Yangyang grumbled, though it was clear from his tone that he felt more left out than angry.

"Sorry. It just never came up. You know I don't talk about myself."

With a resigned sigh, Yangyang pulled him over, petting his head. "You know I'm going to ask you in detail about your days now, yeah? I want an hour by hour report."

Amari giggled and then put a hand over his mouth to muffle the sound.

"Well, I feel like I started something," said Nisa apologetically. "Sorry about that."

"No, I'm glad you told me. We should get together sometime so you can tell me more." Bringing Amari's head into a strangle hold, he added, "Since that's apparently the only way I can learn anything about this kid."

Nisa chuckled as Yangyang released his grasp, Amari coughing dramatically.

"Oh, Yangyang, while you're here, how about filling out some paperwork so we can do a background check? I know Amari wants to bring your son to visit, and it would be great if you could come and see what we do here. Unfortunately, working with minors is sensitive, so we have to screen any adults who aren't here for their children."

"Sure. A Li already told me about that, so that's not a problem." His fingers intertwined with Amari's, any disappointment from before easily gone. "It would be great to bring Taitai here, to see what A Li does and meet the other kids."

Nisa rubbed Amari's arm lovingly. "We frequently bring children from surrounding elementary schools in to visit. Children at that age are inquisitive and friendly, and it's a great time to show them how others handle disability." Amari nodded and smiled, and Nisa removed her hand. "Well, I've been taking up your time. People will start arriving soon." She turned toward the door. "It was very good to meet you Yangyang. Amari is always talking about you and your son, so I look forward to meeting him too. Come find me in the office on your way out, and I'll give you the papers."

The two said goodbye and as she left down the hallway, Amari let out a nervous breath and punched Yangyang hard in the arm.

"Ow. What the hell was that for?"

"That was so embarrassing, you two going back and forth talking about me." He walked over to the circle of chairs, kicking one and then pulling it back to sit.

Yangyang stepped behind him and leaned down, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and kissing him on the neck. "You should be proud that you're amazing, not embarrassed." Amari groaned and Yangyang kissed him on the cheek, then tilted his head back for a deeper kiss.

The sound of footsteps and smell of food interrupted them, and there was a small gasp from the doorway. "Oh, I'm sorry. Seems like we're interrupting." The tone was condescending and Amari sighed. "I guess you're Yangyang then?"

Amari didn't bother to stand or acknowledge their entry, but Yangyang approached the newcomers and cheerfully greeted them.

"That's me. Please, let me help you with these." Containers of food were set on the long table as the women moved further into the room. "I'm Yangyi Lee, but everyone calls me Yangyang. I assume you ladies come regularly, if you already know me."

The women nervously introduced themselves and Amari pressed his lips together to stop himself from laughing. Yangyang was sickeningly sweet and polite, and he doubted this was the man they were expecting. It clearly made them uncomfortable.

"I hope it's alright that I came tonight," he continued, leading the women to a couple of chairs. "Taitai's my son, so it's important for me to learn how to support my family, don't you think?" He walked over to Amari and leaned down to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before sitting in the chair next to him.

Amari swallowed to control his inner giggles and leaned over. "What're you doing?" he asked in a curious whisper.

"You said you weren't here to make friends," Yangyang whispered back. "I don't like their attitude. I'm glad you can't see the expressions on their faces." Amari let a giggle escape and took his hand, squeezing it.

"Xiao Li!" came a squeal from behind them and Amari's amusement dissipated. He groaned as a group of women in their late twenties and early thirties came scurrying over.

The woman who called his name circled her arms around his neck, hugging him quickly, then took in a dramatic gasp. "And you must be Yangyang? We finally get to meet you!"