Irene was seated at her desk doing absolutely nothing. She was kind of puzzled why they needed a receptionist. It seemed to her that she spent most of her time just staring off into space. The telephone only rang about four times that week. They hardly ever had anyone come into the office. In a way, she felt that she was being overpaid. Of course, she wasn't going to complain about that. This job was allowing her to escape from her abusive husband.
"Stephen!" Magus shouted. Irene nearly jumped out of her chair.
"What?" Stephen shouted. Irene flinched.
"What are you doing?" Magus shouted. Tense, Irene looked at Stephen's office.
"I'm working on my homework!" Stephen shouted. Nervous, Irene turned to face Magus' office.
"Okay. Never mind!" Magus shouted. Worried, Irene turned to look at Stephen's office.
"What do you need?" Stephen shouted. Irene looked at the door ready to bolt.
"Don't worry about it!" Magus shouted.
"Okay," Stephen shouted.
Irene took a deep breath and looked from office to office. She expected either Stephen or Magus to come out at any time. When nothing happened she started to relax. She jumped when Magus shouted, "Irene!"
"What?" she said. It was more of a squeak than a shout.
"Irene?" Magus shouted.
"What?" she said slightly louder. She stared at the door expecting him to come flying out of the office in a rage at any moment.
"Speak up. I can't hear you," Magus shouted.
"What?" she said a little louder.
"Call Poindexter and tell him to get over here," Magus shouted.
Irene said, "Okay."
"Did you hear me?" Magus shouted.
"Yes," Irene said a little louder.
"Good," Magus shouted.
Irene had a hard time dialing the number to reach Jake and it took several attempts to get it correct. Her fingers were trembling too hard to accurately hit the right keys. She finally got the right number and nearly cried from relief when Claudia answered the phone. She told Claudia that Magus had asked Jake to come over to the office.
A minute later Jake walked into the office. He noticed with some pleasure that Irene's black eye was starting to fade. Stopping a good distance from the desk, he said, "Hello, Irene."
"Hello, Jake," Irene said.
"Poindexter?" Magus shouted.
"What?" Jake shouted. Irene nearly ducked under the desk.
"Get some money from petty cash and buy us some soft drinks," Magus shouted.
"What kind?" Jake shouted.
"Get an assortment," Magus shouted.
"Okay," Jake shouted. He turned to Irene and didn't see her. Worried, he asked, "Irene?"
Irene poked her head out from under the desk. She asked, "What?"
"I need some money from petty cash," Jake said.
"How much?" she asked.
"Forty dollars ought to be enough," Jake said.
Magus shouted, "Bring back a receipt!"
"Okay," Jake shouted. He looked back at the desk and asked, "Why are you hiding under the desk?"
"All of this shouting scares me," Irene answered.
"You'll get used to it," Jake said.
"No I won't," Irene said timidly. She opened a drawer and pulled out two twenties.
"Yes, you will," Jake said picking up the money from the desk. He winked at her and left the office.
A little while later, Irene was seated at her desk bored out of her mind. She got to thinking about how everyone working at Solutions Incorporated was not quite average. Magus was ... well Magus was Magus. Claudia was beautiful enough to be a model, but didn't have the attitude of one. Phil was big and scary looking, but acted like a gentle giant. Jake was off into his world of technology. And Stephen ... he was hard to classify; he reminded her of a young Magus.
She jumped when Magus shouted, "Stephen!"
"What?" Stephen shouted back.
Irene ducked down watching for any sign of quick motion. She really didn't like all that shouting going on.
"What are you doing?" Magus shouted.
"I'm working on my homework!" Stephen shouted.
"Still?" Magus shouted.
"Yes!" Stephen shouted.
"Okay," Magus shouted.
A little later Stephen was typing a paper for one of his classes when the phone chirped. He looked over at it and noticed that the intercom light was flashing. He smiled for a second and then shouted, "Magus!"
"What?" Magus shouted back.
"There's something wrong with my phone!" Stephen shouted.
"What's wrong with your phone?" Magus shouted.
Stephen shouted, "It is making chirping noises!"
"Ignore it!" Magus shouted.
"Okay!" Stephen shouted. He turned back to work on his paper. After a few minutes there was a soft scratching from the door to his office. It was so soft that he was almost convinced that he imagined it. After a few seconds the sound repeated itself. He looked up and asked, "Is there someone there?"
Irene stuck her head in the door and asked, "Can I talk to you?"
"Sure, Irene. Come on in," Stephen said.
Irene took a couple of steps into the office. She said, "I tried to call you on the intercom."
"We don't use the intercom," Stephen said.
"I didn't know if you knew there was an intercom function on the phone," Irene said. She licked her lips nervously.
"We know all about it. We just don't use it," Stephen said.
"You wouldn't have to shout if you used it," Irene said.
Looking surprised, Stephen said, "We prefer shouting."
Irene was speechless. She stood there for a moment trying to come up with some kind of reply. Finally she said, "I don't like it."
"What is there to like or not like about shouting?" Stephen asked.
"I'd rather you use the intercom," Irene said.
"You'll find that shouting is a whole lot more convenient than using the intercom. There are no numbers to remember. You aren't tied to the phone. You can continue working. It really is much easier to shout," Stephen said.
"It sounds so ... angry," Irene said looking around nervously.
"Angry? No. It is just talking in a loud voice," Stephen said.
"Oh," Irene said. She decided to try another approach. She asked, "Would you ask Magus if we could start using the intercom?"
"Sure," Stephen said pleasantly enough.
Irene relaxed and said, "Thank you."
Stephen shouted, "Magus!"
"What?" Magus shouted.
"Can we start using the intercom?" Stephen shouted.
"No," Magus shouted.
"Okay," Stephen shouted. Looking at Irene, Stephen said, "He said no."
"I heard," Irene said. She was pale and trembling.
"Is there anything else that I can do for you?" Stephen asked in a conversational tone of voice.
"No. You've done enough," Irene said just before fleeing from the office.
"Okay," Stephen said. He smiled and returned to his homework paper. He paused when he heard the front door close.
Magus was studying some charts concerning the growth rates of fish under various temperature conditions when he heard the front office door close. He shouted, "Stephen!"
"What?" Stephen shouted back.
"I'll call Claudia!"
"Okay!"
Magus picked up the telephone and dialed the number for the office next door. When Claudia answered, he said, "Irene just ran out of here. Could you hunt her down and talk her into coming back to work?"
"Sure thing," Claudia said.
"Thanks," Magus said. He hung up and went back to work.
An hour later, the front door opened and closed. Magus shouted, "Irene!"
There was a weak reply, "What?"
"I just wanted you to know that Stephen is at school!" Magus shouted.
"Okay," Irene replied softly.
Magus had just returned to work when there was a soft knock on the door. He looked over at the door and asked, "What?"
Timidly poking her head inside the office, Irene asked, "Can I talk to you?"
"Sure. Come in. Have a seat," Magus said.
Irene took a couple of steps into the office and stopped. She said, "I really don't like it when you yell."
Magus nodded his head and looked thoughtful for a second. He said, "I know."
That was the last thing she expected him to say. Irene didn't know what to say in response. She stared at him before finally blurting out, "Why do you do it if you know I don't like it?"
"I do it because you need me to do it," Magus said.
"I don't need you to do it," Irene said. "I'd prefer if you didn't do it."
"I'm going to keep on doing it, so get used to it," Magus said.
"I thought you liked me," Irene said feeling tears welling up.
Magus sighed. He gestured to the chair and said, "Please have a seat and let me explain."
Irene edged towards the chair, but couldn't make herself actually sit down. She said, "I would rather stand."
"Okay," Magus said. He pursed his lips considering how to word his answer. He said, "People shout for all kinds of reasons. Some people shout because they are angry. However, that is not the only reason people shout. Sometimes there's too much background noise for you to be heard unless you shout. Sometimes the distance is too far. Sometimes the person talking is deaf or is talking to someone who is deaf. Sometimes the acoustics of the room are bad.
"You are coming out of an abusive relationship. A lot of that abuse was physical, but there was also emotional abuse. I'm sure that your soon-to-be ex-husband shouted before and while hitting you. In your mind, shouting and pain are intimately linked. Am I wrong?"
"No."
Magus said, "You shouldn't have to go through life thinking that every time someone shouts that it means that they are about to hit you."
"I can live with it," Irene said.
Magus said, "No, we have to break that emotional link you have between shouting and pain. So we are going to shout. You'll soon learn that you can hear a shout without experiencing any pain. After a while, you'll start shouting back and discover that nothing bad happens.
"It is only in this way that you'll be able to walk down a street where people are shouting at each other without flinching, fleeing, or cowering. You see, you have to live in the real world where real people interact in all different kinds of ways."
"Oh," Irene said. She slipped into a chair to think about what Magus had said.
"I promised to solve your problem. I won't have delivered on the promise if you can't get on with your life in a healthy and balanced manner," Magus said.
"Okay," Irene said. She wasn't sure that she accepted what Magus was saying.
Magus said, "Now I'd like to finish this conversation with you seated in the other room. That way, you can shout at me and I can shout back and we can solve this little problem in a noisy manner. Is that okay with you?"
"No," Irene said.
"Why not?"
"It scares me."
"Ah well, maybe we can do that tomorrow," Magus said.
"Maybe," Irene said rather doubtfully.
"See, we're making progress already," Magus said with a smile.
"I don't think so," Irene said shaking her head. It seemed to her that no matter what she said that Magus was going to do whatever he wanted.
Pointing towards the door, Magus said, "Why don't you toddle off to your desk and think about what we've discussed?"
"Okay," Irene said.
Magus said, "By the way, your eye is looking a whole lot better today. How does it feel?"
"It is okay," she said touching her eye.
"Great," Magus said. "Well, get to work."
Irene left the room feeling like they had settled nothing. She returned to her desk wondering if there was someplace else that she could work. She stared blankly at the wall and sighed. There was still nothing for her to do.
An hour later, Magus shouted, "Irene!"
Irene had flinched when Magus shouted. She glared at the door irritated because he knew that shouting bothered her. She shouted, "What?"
"Are you okay?" Magus shouted.
"Yes," Irene shouted.
"Great. Just checking," Magus shouted.
Irene stared at the door waiting for the next shout, but there was nothing. She mumbled, "This is crazy."