Infectious

ch. 14

Chapter Fourteen;;- Internships & Aliases

"In light of the festival, you'll have tomorrow and the next day off," Aizawa droned to the class. "Scouting reports and such from the pros will be waiting for you here after the break, so looking forward to that as you enjoy your time off."

Normally, [name] would make these kinds of announcements. She had to ask Aizawa to do them today though, since she just wasn't feeling up to standing in front of those kids and faking a smile. Lately, her mind had been too occupied from the phone call. To be fair, it was vaguely traumatizing.

Dismissing the class, [name] slipped out of the classroom just before Aizawa, staring down at her shoes as her feet followed the familiar path to the teachers' room. She spent enough time traveling to and from it that she could get there with her eyes closed.

When she got there, she fell into her desk chair, mentally exhausted. A nap sounded good right about now. Maybe if she hurried home then her brain would let her shut it off for a bit...

"[surname]? You're not going home yet?" The voice of All Might eased [name] from her thoughts.

[name] blinked, trying to reboot her brain. "I needed a second to sit down. I'm tired." She chuckled awkwardly.

All Might nodded understandingly. He was in his true form, looking pretty tired himself. "You've been a little out of it lately. Are you just tired?" He raised his eyebrows, knitting them with concern.

She smiled at him, feeling genuinely touched. "For the most part, yeah." [name]'s smile faltered as her thoughts returned to the phone call. "I've been working through some personal issues, too, so..." A sigh. "Life's tough."

"You can say that again," He murmured, hooking his bag over his shoulder. "I've gotta run now. Have a nice break, [surname]."

"Thanks. You have a good one, All Might." After he left the room, [name] slumped back over her desk, threading her fingers through her hair and gripping it tightly. She was glad that All Might didn't feel the need to pry, but what if he had? She should have just told him she was tired and that was it.

When her scalp was feeling a little sore from her tugging, [name] let her hands drop from her head and onto the table, packing her ungraded papers into a neat stack and slipping them into her bag. She stood, fatigue dragging her shoulders into a hunch.

A harsh inhale drew [name]'s attention towards the desk across from her. "Tired?" Aizawa asked, holding his own bag.

[name] nodded wordlessly, stepping towards the door. "More than ever." She paused by the door, waiting for Aizawa to join her.

"Is the work too much?" He asked as they left the room together and started towards the front exit.

She was quick to shake her head. "No no, I can keep up with the work. I think I need the busy work right now..." She mumbled the last part quieter, more to herself.

Aizawa looked her up and down. [name] could see it in his eyes that he knew something was wrong with her and she wasn't planning on telling. "If you say so."

. . .

The two days off of work worked to clear [name]'s mind of worries, and since she wasn't contacted by Aaron again, she settled back into her previous routine with ease. She slept well the two days she wasn't expected to be up early and by the time school rolled back around again, she felt refreshed.

[name] strolled towards the classroom leisurely, knowing she was a bit earlier than she needed to be. She listened to the conversations inside with a soft smile on her lips.