After you reached the college, you were greeted by a few of your students. Seeing their cheery selves, it managed to put you in a rather good mood. Something about seeing kids their age reminded you of your own teenage years.
You made way to the teacher's lounge to place your bag down before you got to work.
As soon as you got there, Byakuya's happy and wide brown eyes were the first thing that you saw, almost making you let out a scream, "I-Ishigami-san?!" His boisterous laugh was the next thing that your senses picked up.
God, why is this man like a child on a sugar rush?
You, along with everyone else in the lounge heaved a tired sigh as you made way to your desk. As you passed by everyone else, you sent a quiet nod to everyone, just how they preferred it (it took you a month to figure it out). No one here had the energy to greet each other first thing in the morning.
Well, except for maybe, Byakuya.
"Good morning, [Last Name]-san!" The said man's cheery voice rang at your side, making you turn towards him with a calm smile, "Good morning, Ishigami-san."
"Had a good night's sleep?" You smiled politely along with a nod and his grin grew brighter. He nodded to himself with a grin and walked off to chat with the Japanese Literature teacher. Ever since your first day here, you noted that Ishigami got along with everyone, not just you.
He was cheerful and peppy. And he also had a kind looking face, so it was easier to get along with him. But you were naturally quiet, and found it hard to actually keep up with him ever since that one conversation you had with him on your first day.
So the most interactions you would have with him were when he would greet you in the morning or when he would bid you goodbye before leaving for the day. It wasn't as if you didn't like him.
But he was just too energetic for you to handle.
Throughout your life, you only had friends like Xeno and Stanley who were even quieter than you were, and so you were the chatterbox among them. But with someone so high on energy, it was honestly difficult for you to even keep up.
Even [Sister Name] all charged up wasn't this energetic.
And so, as much as it saddened Byakuya, you both were still practically just acquaintances. Not even friends, let alone good friends like he had hoped for.
Meanwhile, you thanked God that you only had three classes in your schedule today. Most of your work was before lunch break.
The only other thing that you had after lunch was a single class. After that, your schedule was mostly free, except for scoring the exams and compiling the results of the students.
The moment you were done with the day, you still had some time. So you decided to go to the library for some material that you were gathering.
But apparently, you miscalculated the time it took you to scour the library, because by the time you had noticed, it was already way past your schedule. With a swift look at your watch, you gathered your belongings and made your way to the teacher's lounge.
Since the first monthly exams had just finished, all of the teachers were busy marking the tests and quizzes. And you were no different.
As you reached the lounge, you saw most of the teachers still working.
Without much of a greeting, you entered and sat down at your desk. Grabbing one of papers from the large pile, you opened the reference book with another hand.
"Become a teacher, I said... It'll be fun, I said..." You muttered to yourself in English, and continued to check the answers.
All of a sudden, you heard buzzing on your side that was quickly followed by a whisper.
"Hello? This is Ishigami Byakuya." The whisper at your side pulled you out from practically sticking your nose in the paper.
It was Byakuya's voice.
He seemed to be on the phone, and was just getting up to go outside when all of a sudden, his breathing hitched and he stopped in his tracks.
"What?!" Byakuya's horrified voice boomed in the quiet area, making everyone turn to him. His usually relaxed face was plastered with worry and fear as he talked on the phone, "W-Where is he right now?!" There was silence for a little while after he had cried out the question, followed by him suddenly snapping his phone shut and rushing out the door.
You all watched in surprise as to what had just happened.
Is he okay? None of you could hear what was being said on the phone, and neither did you guys had any plans to, since it would be intrusive. But it was getting worrying, especially since Byakuya was someone who hardly ever had a look that miserable. While you had only known him for about two months, you knew he wasn't easily swayed by things.
He really was a guy with nerves of steel.
And the only thing that seemed plausible, was something related to his family-wait... Is it about his kid? You sure hoped not.
But with how he rushed out, you really couldn't confirm. And neither were you in any position to, since you both weren't even that close. Whatever happens, you just hope it isn't life threatening.
Second turned into minutes, and minutes turned into an hour. But the dual haired male didn't return. But by then, you all had managed to get immersed back into your work. But when he did come back, you guys could tell that something was wrong.
"Ishigami-san! Is everything okay?" The accountings professor spoke up, you believe his name was Furuta Todou. Ishigami looked up at the younger man and smiled weakly.
"It's Senku... The neighbors just called me, they said that he's got a really high fever. He's at the hospital." Everyone gasped in horror. Poor kid...
Even you felt your heart clench upon hearing the news of that poor child suffering from a fever so bad that he had to be rushed stop the hospital. With worried glances, you all watched Ishigami gather his keys and wallet before stacking up the unchecked papers, which were a lot.
"You're leaving? What will you do about the test results that are coming tomorrow?" The Principal said while entering the lounge, and you swore Byakuya's eyes flash with annoyance for a minute, before returning to normal.
"Don't worry, I'll return soon and work till morning if I have to, to compile the results. I won't bother anyone, if that's what you're concerned, sir." It was a shame that even the substitute teacher was on sick leave, or else Ishigami wouldn't have to go to such extreme lengths.
You watched with indifferent eyes as the guy gathered his stuff and bid everyone goodbye. The moment Ishigami left the room, the principal heaved an annoyed sigh, "I can't believe this... Such an annoying situation... Isn't one of you done with grading your own? Just grade his ones as well!"
Is this guy for real? Wow... He's a piece of shit!!
Everyone else didn't seemed to react much to his words, or perhaps they were just used to it. Whatever the reason was, they all wordlessly returned to work, and so did you.
Ahh... This is so tiring...
You can't wait to go home and get some rest!
Ooo, maybe you can even get some [Favorite Food] on your way back and eat it while watching that movie you wanted to watch for so long.
A smile made way to your lips as you thought about enjoying your night after completing such a grueling task.
But... Your smile suddenly fell, eyes clouded with old memories...
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As you sat near your sister's shivering body on the bed, you could only pray to God that Xeno managed to get the medicine. Stanley was by your side, continuously changing the towels on [Sister Name]'s forehead.
"She'll be fine," Stan started after a small while, "-you know that, don't 'cha? Xeno's gone to get the meds, she'll be fine." He reassured but it only did so little in calming your jittery nerves.
She was just a kid, and high fevers are usually dangerous for young kids... What will you do if something happens to her? You didn't want to think about the what ifs right now.
"Did you tell your manager that you can't make it today?" Those words shook you. Oh, God...
You couldn't afford to lose this job... You needed the money, or else both you and [Sister Name] would starve to death.
With shaky legs, you gathered yourself to walk towards the telephone, and picked up the receiver. As you dialed the number of the shop you part-timed at, you could feel your skeleton shaking inside of you.
"Hello, this is Kate's Pizzeria. How can I help you?" You forgot how to breath for a second. Thank God for Stanley, if he hadn't shook you out of your frozen state, your manager would have hung up, thinking it was a prank-call.
"U-Uh... Ms. Johnson, it's me, [Name]..." You greeted and almost immediately you could feel her anger, "Are you kidding me? You've got some nerve calling when you didn't even show up for your shift, miss [Last Name]!" You never understood why she never liked you. You were always diligent at your job and didn't even take that many days off...
"I'm sorry! But my sister! My sister, she's really, really sick! She's gotten down with a really bad fever, and I just couldn't leave her!"
"Miss [Last Name], please keep your personal matters out of your job, this is really unprofessional of you. Frankly, it does not even concern me why you aren't here. All I care for is the fact that these tables aren't going to rings themselves. You have to find someone to take over your shift."
Wasn't she the manager? Wasn't it her job to manage your schedules and find someone to fill in for you if you couldn't?
"I'm sorry, but please-" She cut you off again.
"If you're sorry for being unable to do your job, then I'm afraid I'm sorry too. Please find someone to fill in immediately or else I'll be forced to make the harsher decision."
How cruel... But you didn't have anyone to clock in for you...
You turned to Stanley, and he heaved a sigh. You didn't exactly have a choice. In the end, you had to leave [Sister Name] in Stanley's and Xeno's care while you had to complete your shift. Most of your friends from the pizzeria were unable to cover your shift since your request was so sudden, but at the very least they let you get off quick.
————
Now that you think of it, your old memories really did leave a bad taste to your mouth.
As you recalled your bitch of a manager who you can only hope is getting karma for how much she tortured you throughout your time there, your mind drifted to your current colleague's dilemma.
Ah... Sometimes you really hate your conscience for guilt-tripping you like this...
As you got through marking your papers throughout the night, you had managed to get your own work done by 11 in the night. By then, a lot of the teachers had left too. The only ones who were left were the maths professor and the chemistry professor.
With a deep sigh, you turned to look at the side, seeing the pile of papers untouched as Byakuya had left them. It's already late, and if Byakuya does arrive right now, it'll take him at least 3 hours to grade and compile all the results.
Ah... you really, really hate your conscience...
With a small creak from your chair as you got up, you walked towards the pile and looked through them. Byakuya already had a reference book, so that made things easier. You gingerly picked up the book and peered at the papers under it.
Wow... This stuff's kinda easy... Or maybe that's because Xeno's university level projects made this stuff look like child's play for you.
Even without the reference book, you can easily mark this...
Have you mentioned that you hate your conscience? Yeah, you do... Cause there's no way it'll let you walk away from a situation you were once in yourself...
Seating yourself in front of the stack of papers, you laid everything out and cracked your knuckles. Guess you're not gonna watch that movie tonight...
————
The maths teacher; Ayajima Yuuichi got up, completely drained, mentally and physically as well. Just as he got to stretch his legs, his eyes caught sight of the remaining people left with him. There was the chemistry professor, but that was expected. That guy had the most students so he had a lot of papers to grade.
And the other one... was you, the toxicology teacher?
Why were you of all people here? Sure, you were new and all but you had the least number of students to grade, so why were you still not done?
Wait... Is that Byakuya's desk? As he tiptoed towards you, he looked over your shoulder to see you focusing on grading his; Byakuya's papers with the reference book.
Oh, Lord...
You're an angel!! A true angel!!
He never had thought that you'd be such a kind and thoughtful person! Although you might have a cold and quiet exterior, you're so kind that you're staying over willingly just to help the poor guy out!
Yuuichi couldn't help but smile to himself. He was so wrong to have judged you as a snobbish foreigner! With a knowing smile, he tiptoed back to his seat.
Meanwhile, you were almost halfway through the remaining papers. Since the physics department also had a heap load of students, it made sense why this was taking so long. Thankfully, by now you had all the answers memorized and were about twice as fast as you were in the beginning.
After a good ten minutes, you heard a pair of footsteps coming your way, but before you could turn your head, a bottle of macha tea placed at the table you were working. You looked at the hand that placed it and found the maths professor smiling kindly at you.
"Please have this. I'm sure you must be drained from all the hard work." His kind words really did cause a smile to blossom onto your face, and he smiled back with the same gentleness, "Thank you for doing something, we, Byakuya's buddies should have been doing. I know that you've been here for just a month and a half, but you're very kind..."
You shook your head as you turned to the papers again, "I'm not kind. I just felt bad, so it's more for me than anyone else." He was confused by your words, but you simply turned to him with a smile.
"It's so I don't feel guilty for leaving someone who needed a helping hand." Unbeknownst to you, Yuuichi smiled and tilted his head in newfound fondness.
Yeah, you were definitely too humble for your own good...
"Anyways, I'll try to finish my work quickly so I can help you as well." The male's black eyes shined with kindness and determination, making you feel bad if you told him that by the time he'd be done with his work, you'll probably be done here too.
But you nodded anyways and Ayajima walked back to his seat, while you looked over to the macha tea and smiled. Grabbing onto it, you took a small sip before getting back to work.
You just hoped that poor kid, Senku was feeling better...