[Jack of all Trades]

[snakenbake.livejournal.com]

[John is relaxing in the seventh floor kitchen, having a snack or two or three as he waits for his kid, Frank (stoicism), to stop by. He also take that time to try to figure out where he left off on his lesson plan...]

Hnnn...where, where-

[He pages through his grammar textbook until he finds his latest notation.] Hm. Left off at "I", moving on to "J"...

[John rubs his fuzzy chin then picks up his pencil, contemplating getting some coffee to go with his bagels.]

Comments

[stoicism.livejournal.com]

[It never takes long for the boy to show up. He's definitely recovered from the nasty cold he's had -- and quickly at that. Just a day of bed rest was enough for him, it's likely he willed himself back to health to avoid having Elisa hovering about and pampering him.]

[He enters the kitchen and salutes the older man.]

Sir. I'm ready for my lesson.

[snakenbake.livejournal.com]

[John looks up from his work and focuses on the boy.]

There you are-

[He tilts his head as he visually inspects Frank.] Feeling better? You definitely look a lot better.

[stoicism.livejournal.com]

[He nods, stepping over to the table. He takes hold of an apple and takes a seat.] I followed your instructions on providing myself with a day of bed rest. My condition improved dramatically and I intend to continue with this trend.

[He holds up his apple] May I eat before our lesson?

[snakenbake.livejournal.com]

[He glances at the apple, then at Frank.]

Alright.

[John picks up a half of his cream cheese-laden, bacon, and lox bagel and takes a bite.]

[stoicism.livejournal.com]

[Null takes a bite out of his apple, chewing contentedly. Elisa made sure he ate before training, so this stands to serve as a bit of a snack to keep his stamina up. He's eating and of his own volition -- consider this a vast improvement, Jack.]

[He swallows his bite and looks to the older man.] What is our lesson today? [And he takes another bite, waiting for a response.]

[snakenbake.livejournal.com]

[He notices that...and he seems to be watching Frank in awe.]

Uh...yes. Next letter is "J", I believe. [He takes a moment to draw it on a sheet of paper then slides it in front of his Son.]

[stoicism.livejournal.com]

The letter "J"... [He repeats the letter a few times, his mind quickly working on trying to think of words that have a 'jay' sound; he can't offhandedly think of anything.]

...Is there another way it's pronounced?

[snakenbake.livejournal.com]

[He writes out his name on the paper.] My name starts with a "J". "John".

Also...the "J" can have a zh sound, a ha sound, and a ya sound. [He write the word "Taj", "jalapeno", and the word "Jäger".

[stoicism.livejournal.com]

[He's beginning to understand, until he sees that umlaut on Jäger. His brow furrows, gesturing to the strange mark above the 'A'.]

What letter is that? We did not cover this one previously.

[snakenbake.livejournal.com]

[John wonders why he did this to himself-]

Right...

That thing over the "A" is an umlaut. It means that the sound of the letter has changed...in this case, it makes the "A" behave more like an "E". The umlaut saves us from having to write "AE".

[stoicism.livejournal.com]

[And it's just about to get worse...]

...If things like this exist, why does the English language continue to have multiple letters that serve identical purposes?

[snakenbake.livejournal.com]

...I...don't know. I really can't answer that-

[He frowns a little.] -it just evolved this way over time. The best thing to do is to master it.

[stoicism.livejournal.com]

It serves to make the language more confusing than it already appears to be. I don't like it.

[He takes another bite of his apple.]

[snakenbake.livejournal.com]

[John snags a piece of lox from atop his bagel and munches it.]

It's not really that confusing once you learn it. Heh. You should see Vietnamese...

[stoicism.livejournal.com]

[Chewing his apple, the boy's mind works hard to recall something. Upon swallowing, he looks to the older man and speaks]

Thật sao?*

(* Really?)

[snakenbake.livejournal.com]

[Jack quirks a brow and answers the boy.]

Có ạ.

(Yeah.)

[stoicism.livejournal.com]

[His Vietnamese is limited but he does understand what Big Boss said. He returns to speaking English.]

Perhaps focusing on learning to read one language at a time would be easier.

[snakenbake.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a good plan of action.

Can you think of any words that may start with or contains a "J"?

[stoicism.livejournal.com]

Juh... Juh... [He murmurs the pronunciation over a few times, mulling over what words he can think of.]

Jail. Jam. Eject. Conjunction... Jack.

[snakenbake.livejournal.com]

Good. Good.

[He rolls the pencil between his fingers for a second before he writes out these words on the paper for Frank.]

[stoicism.livejournal.com]

[He watches the way John's hand moves, taking note of the simple strokes that create the letter "j". He recognizes the letters in several of the words the man has written down as well.]

How long until I'm able to write words too, Sir?

[snakenbake.livejournal.com]

Once you know more of the alphabet. At the rate you're learning this...it shouldn't be too long.

Hmm...you can write my nickname once you master "K".

[He points to his name on the paper.]

[stoicism.livejournal.com]

[Null looks to where he points; so that letter is a 'Kay'. Like "j" it makes a different sound than it's pronounced. He wonders where in the alphabet it's located.]

Teach me. In the future, I would like to be able to write not only your name, but my own, Sir.

[snakenbake.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Well...

[He pushes his grammar book to Frank.] Try studying. This book isn't particularly difficult. Most of the first half you know. Anything you don't understand...ask me and I will explain it to you.

[He points to the page with the "Kk" at the top.]

This is the letter "K". It makes a kh sound. Like in the word "kill" and "kiss". As you know, it also can be at the end of words like my name, "Jack".

[stoicism.livejournal.com]

[He looks to the book, examining the letters on the page.]

And the end of mine? It's in "Frank" as well... Isn't it?

[snakenbake.livejournal.com]

Good. Yes, it is.

[Papa takes a moment to write the boy's name out next to his own.]

It's also in my codename. [He scrawls that out beneath the others, writing it clearly.] "Naked Snake."

[stoicism.livejournal.com]

You're "Big Boss" as well, though. How do I write that? I may know how to spell "Big"... I'm uncertain of "Boss".

[snakenbake.livejournal.com]

You're getting a little ahead of yourself, but-

[Since he inquired he will show him. John writes out his current codename for his Son.] "Big Boss". The round ones is an "O" and the two snakey-looking squiggles are "S"...

[stoicism.livejournal.com]

[Chewing on the remaining core of his apple, he watches Big Boss writing out the other codename. He makes note to practice that one in particular.]

"O" and two "S"es... I won't be learning those letters for a while still.

[snakenbake.livejournal.com]

No, not for a while, but they will come up pretty fast. The next few letters after "K" are "L", "M", "N", "O", and "P".

[He points to them in the grammar text.]

[stoicism.livejournal.com]

"Ellemennopi"...

[Well, that string of letters seems easy enough to remember.]

[snakenbake.livejournal.com]

Yes. You'll get a lot of use out of them.

The "L" makes a la sound and start off words like "lick", "love", and "lettuce".

The "M" makes a mm sound and start off words like "more", "man", and "monster".

The "N" makes a nn sound and start off words like "no", "naked", and "null".

The "O" makes an oh or ah sound and start off words like "odd", "obstinate", and "old".

The "P" makes a p sound and start off words like "particular", "pie", and "practice".

[stoicism.livejournal.com]

I will, Sir. I'll start practicing... [It's a lot of letters to go through but he's quite determined to make the man proud.]

Will there be a test of my knowledge when we are through?

[snakenbake.livejournal.com]

Yes. Definitely, yes.

Spelling and writing, so make sure you practice your penmanship.

[stoicism.livejournal.com]

Understood.

I will request Elisa allow me time to practice. My penmanship is still far too poor for me to present it... I will improve and study hard.

[snakenbake.livejournal.com]

Good.

Practice makes perfect, as you may know. If you need any help she and I will be more than glad to assist you.