“What’s on this list? A schedule for Hound Dog and the specialist?” She asked, taking the list that was held out to her and looking at it’s contents. “Did Bakugo tell you about the safe in my closet? Because I have a tendency to put alcohol in there along with other stuff I don’t want people getting a hold of, I can write down the code to unlock it if you want…”
Urduja tensed up when he mentioned the security footage capturing the incident, looking down and breaking eye contact with her teacher. “…Yeah, I do… I’m sorry.” She sighed, feeling like the biggest fool on the planet. As she stood up and was about to leave, she remembered Bakugo’s words from that night.
“You still have time to fix this, but you need to be willing to ask for help.”
She turned around and forced herself to sit back down, trying her best to ignore that damn voice in the back of her head that was telling her she was beyond redemption, that asking for help would be pointless, she didn’t deserve help. “Sir, I-I need a bit more help, I think? I dunno…” She spoke up, trying to put what exactly she needed into words but unable to really figure it out as she continued. “Getting rid of the alcohol would help, but like… I started drinking in the first place to deal with my insomnia? I know it doesn’t really make sense but I usually try to get myself to pass out to force myself to fall asleep. And I think I need some medication…? All I know for sure is that I need a bit more help! I don’t know what but I do…! I know you probably wouldn’t trust me with anything like that after I got drunk in the common room but I… I…” Urduja fell to her knees, bowing her head. “I want to be a hero, I want to protect people, I want to be better… I know I’m a dumbass alcoholic but please, help me… I’ll do anything.” She sobbed, beginning to cry as she kept her face down on the floor.
Well, insomnia was something he could understand, at least. “Get up off the floor, Urduja,” he said, his voice tired but not unkind. “Medication and insomnia treatments will have to be discussed with Hound Dog, I’m not a medical professional. But, as someone who deals with their own insomnia, I can at least give you some time off and keep notes for you when you need to do sleep studies. I’m sure they’ll want to track how bad it is while they look for a solution for you.”
He got up, gesturing for her to follow, “For now, we’re gong to your room and you’d going to show me everywhere you’ve hidden alcohol before, even if there’s none there now.”