Likeness (Attack on Titan One-Shot)

Untitled Part 1

“It’s all right, darling; you can tell them you were out of the classroom at the time.”

Marie shook her head. “No, a girl smart like that, she’d have geniuses for parents...”

“Have you ever met her parents? or even heard about them?” he asked with a sigh, cutting a potato on his plate to bite-sized portions. “Maybe I have. What’s her last name?”

“Smith or something...”

Nile gasped. “Smith?”

“Yes, dear, why are you acting up? D-darling-?”

Her husband glared at his plate, frowning disapprovingly at his gravy. “Never mind... Smith is a pretty popular name anyway... probably just a coincidence...”

Still as confused as she was when she began, Marie commenced to eating in silence, not able to help but notice how the shade of the gravy matched the hue to Coralline Jade’s poor, chopped hair.

After a long night of uneasy sleep by her snoring husband’s side, Professor Marie Dawk wobbled out of her horse-drawn carriage in her high heels, careful not to get any mud on her dress. She pushed the back of her hat up so that it perched delicately on her head, giving her an enhanced sense of sight. It was fated to be a hot afternoon, and the sun was fierce against her head. She naturally worried for her students’ safety- what if one of them caught sunstroke?

 Despite her drowsy head and anxious thoughts, Marie did not fail to notice the cluster of students by the school gates. Her eyebrows knitted over pale green eyes, and she decided to watch before intervening. 

Two boys had their backs against the school building, cowering in fear. The girl facing them was not touching them. In fact, she wasn’t even that close to them. She was a tall, lanky girl. From the back of her head, her strange hairline, it was almost like she let a toddler chop her maroon brown hair off...

Coralline Jade Smith was making the boys panic and cower.

Marie bit her lip. Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord, oh, Lord, oh, Lord- she took a deep breath and walked over bravely to the trio, trying to ignore her irrational fear of the intimidating eleven year-old. Her tired mind raced, and her heart thudded anxiously. Oh, what a morning!

The boys gave huge sighs of relief when they saw their teacher coming to their rescue. “P-Professor, we-!” they began simultaneously. Marie cut them off. She was looking at Coralline, who still didn’t turn around.

“Coralline Jade,” she ordered. “Look at me.”

When she did, Professor Dawk could have flinched at her expression like did the boys.

                Instead of showing remorse or guilt or fear on her facial expressions, Coralline only stared up at her blankly, fearlessly. It was like she didn’t see her, but Marie knew better: her blue eyes bored through her as would have a hungry wolf’s. She wore her hair neatly parted to one side today. Her eyebrows were not arched up in a look of innocence, nor were they crossed in anger. They stayed neutral, not moving, giving her a very, very familiar glare.

That glare almost reminded Marie of...

“Young lady,” she explained calmly, “you are going to explain to me what happened, and you are going to apologize to the two boys-“she moved her hands around to touch their heads, but felt nothing. Blinking in confusion, she craned her neck backwards to see the two boys, Augustus and James, running away from them both.

Marie gave a long sigh, which was interrupted. “Do you wish for me to explain inside the building, Professor?” the small student piped up.

“Y-yes-“she stammered in reply, surprised at her courtesy. Of course, it certainly wasn’t surprising that she was courteous, as she always was, but most girls her age- oh, never mind most girls her age.