It had only been an hour, and there were thirty minutes left to class. Shindo was acting out. It was rare to see him like that. There had to be something more to it. What?
Approaching him, Fukukado rested her hand on his shoulder. “Hey, Shindo. I’m going to have you step aside and take a break. Whether that is watching us or leaving to take a shower or something, I don’t care. Tell me what you would like to do and I’ll write you a pass.” She dictated, pointing to the boys’ locker room. “I’ll see you after class in my office. We’ll discuss what happened later, alright?” She smiled, knowing that this had to be difficult for him. Something more had to be the issue, but what? She would only have to wait until they discussed it. That was it.
Carefully observing her students, she overheard a few of them talking about Shindo. Pathetic. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath before reprimanding any of them. “Hey. We don’t talk that way about our teammates. If you want to talk trash about your classmates, that only makes me assume, you’re going to spread gossip after you graduate. That’s bullshit! If you’re going to be a respectable hero, you’re going to quit feeding on rumors and mind your own fucking business. I don’t care if you hear some juicy details about someone else. In essence, even if they’re your least favorite person, you’re not going to last in the hero business. If you want to be well recognized and respected, you’ll keep to yourself and mind your own damn business.” She snapped, hoping they would learn a thing or two from this talk.
Pinching the bridge of her nose, she shook her head in disgust. “Alright. I want everyone to go back to our homeroom and go to your seat. If I hear anyone talking during this time or showing any disrespect, that will result in you writing me an essay. It will be three pages total about how you were disrespectful to your classmates, teacher, and how it hurt you in the long-run. Then you will give me a page on how you are going to change your behavior. Along with the benefits that will bring to you, your classmates, and everyone else you interact with.”
Everyone sat immediately went to their seats. Most bowed their heads, ashamed that their actions had brought this. Yet, there were a few that snickered, thinking that Ms. Joke had gone crazy and finally broke. Those were the students who had to write for her. They were third years. If they weren’t going to learn from their actions now, she didn’t know how they were going to make it as a hero; that was the only thing to it.
EMBARRASSING DOESN’T BEGIN to describe the feeling of being singled out in front of his classmates. It’s frustrating and humiliating. Step aside and take a break. As if he needed it. The outburst might have been uncalled for, but he wasn’t a child. He didn’t need to step back from the situation, he needed to power through it. Heroes didn’t just step aside and take a break.
The heat of his frustration boils over and he wrenches his shoulder out of his teacher’s hand. There’s no use arguing with her. He isn’t trying to be insubordinate, he’s trying to hit the fucking target.
And his brain throttles against his skull, making it that much harder to keep his cool when the entire class was gawking at him. Those who weren’t looking were too afraid. Shindo Yo, “the coolest guy in school”... not anymore. A whistling tea kettle had more chill.
He strides towards the locker room without so much as a glance over his shoulder.
The shower is cold, rushed, but not entirely unpleasant. It does nothing to cease the hammering in his head, but it washes the sweat from his skin and cools him down physically, and mentally. He takes his time getting changed, shrugging back into his uniform and running a towel over his hair until it reverted back to its naturally soft spikes.
He’s tired, he’s frustrated, and he doesn’t want to face his teacher in the one-on-one confinement of her office. He dreads it, actually. So he collects himself, breathing in front of his own reflection, and tries to come up with a good excuse.
. . . . . .
He lingers outside of Ms. Joke’s office, hands deep in his pockets. The door is closed and he’s in no hurry to knock. It’s possible that she’s still finishing up in class- the class that he had been forced to step aside from.
He’s still pissed off about that. // @k-msjoke
