The Theory of Tea and Biscuits (Yuuki_Tatsunohi and NotAllThatCreative)

Yuuki_Tatsunohi

勇気 竜火
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  3. Adaptable
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  1. Male
  2. Female
  3. No Preferences
Genres
Fantasy, Sci-fi, Modern, Magical Realism, Slice-of-life, AU, Post-apocalyptic, mythology, time travel, fandom, romance, slow burns. Well, basically anything except for what is stated in the "Don't Like" section

Perhaps one of the best things about Fall was the rapidly changing leaves. How quickly something so vibrantly green can turn to an equally vibrant shade of red. Added when those leaves fall and turn the ground into an array of red and gold. No matter how many times Masato Ueda has seen the change, he never tires of it. And he’s seen it many times, more than anyone here in Portland, Maine.

Standing before his office window, Masato admired a large oak tree. The leaves were already a deep red with many of them already on the ground. A few teenagers—students at the school he worked for—hung out by the tree, some sitting in its branches while others stood around the base chatting with each other. One of them looked at the watch on her wrist, telling the others something before all of them started walking back to the school. That was Masato’s signal that break time was over and he should head to class.

Taking a bundle of papers along with the teacher’s version of the assigned textbook, Masato entered the classroom just as the previous teacher—a man in his sixties—stepped out.

“Max,” the other teacher greeted, using Masato’s American name.

“Hello, Dwayne,” he greeted cordially. They nodded once to each other, a gesture to signal the transfer of classrooms. Once he set down the items he carried, Masato turned to the whiteboard and sighed. It was covered in various notes and equations, likely related to what Masato assumed to be chemistry. As polite as the other teacher was, he wished Dwayne would at least erase the board when he was done. Masato has brought it up before, though Dwayne’s excuse was his joints were in pain and that he feared his back might give out due to his old age. It was annoying and somewhat ironic to hear complaints about being old when he himself was so much older. Then again, they were just humans.

Shaking his head but with a small smile on his lips, Masato proceeded to clean the whiteboard and write his own lesson plan for the day.

Students filed in as he did so, happily chatting with their friends and occasionally tossing him a greeting. A few of them commented on the new unit they were starting: The Roman Empire. Those in the room already seemed excited. His sharper than normal ears picked up on the little trivia bits they exchanged with each other as well as listing off some well-known rulers of the time. Perhaps having read as many books as he had given the very long time he has been alive, Masato should have corrected them in their discussion, but knowing they were eager to learn about the Empire made the teacher side of him stop. They’ll learn more about it, so don’t kill their enthusiasm.

Once finished, Masato headed to his desk at the far end of the room, turning on the computer and logging into the staff portal. There were a few minutes left before the bell rang, so he used the time to pull up the slideshow he had prepared as well as a link to a video for his students. Once the final bell rang and everyone was seated, he grabbed the bundle of papers he carried with him and went through the rows, handing them off based on the name written at the top.

“Morning everyone. I’m handing out your chapter tests from the other day. I recommend you keep them as study guides to help you in your semester final. As you can see on the board, today we are starting the Roman Empire. I estimate we’ll cover it in about the same amount of time it took us to cover the Ancient Greece, maybe even more so since this era had an impact on countries well beyond its time of reign. However, I believe this will not be a difficult subject for many of you.” As he said that last sentence, he slid a paper onto the desk of a young girl named Charity Williams, meeting her eyes briefly before continuing. Written in red ink, was the score of her test: 66% with a letter ‘D’ next to it, and right underneath was a message saying, “Please see me after class.”

Once all the papers had been passed out, Masato turned on the projector to show the slideshow on the screen and headed for the front of the classroom to begin the lecture. His lecture was on the topic of the Empire’s predecessor, the Roman Republic. While the subject wasn’t specifically on the Empire itself, it gave Masato a sense of pride and satisfaction when some of his students raised some eyebrows when they learned the famous Caesar was not part of the Empire. For the last few minutes of class, he played a video he found that summarized everything he had discussed to help the students retain this new knowledge.

The bell rang and as students gathered their materials, he called out, “Your homework for tonight is to read pages 125-133 in your textbook, then answer the discussion questions found on 134. We’ll be having a group discussion tomorrow so make sure you come prepared!” And with that, Masato sat down at his desk as he waited for everyone to leave.
 
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Fall in Maine had about the same weather patterns as London did. Rain, cold temperatures, and cloudy skies were normal to her. In fact, she enjoyed them. The rain is what greeted her when she pulled the curtains apart in front of the window and looked outside for the first time that morning. Her nearly blind eyes scanned the area and she hummed under her breath, turning around to look at her room. She grabbed her glasses off of the stand next to her bed and made her way over to the closet after putting them on.

It was second week of school in this new country and she was, to say the least, unhappy. Every kid dressed up for school but not her. She really had nothing impressive to wear and she couldn't afford the latest trends, not that she wanted to. Her wardrobe consisted of sweaters, long sleeved shirts, jeans, and All Star shoes. Thrift store shopping was the most she could afford and well, that's what all of her wardrobe consisted of aside from her shoes. Pushing her glasses up on the bridge of her nose, she grabbed one of her long sleeved shirts and jeans before stepping away from the closet.

"Another day... In a new country." Charity looked at herself in the mirror and frowned, eyeing herself up and down. Her looks weren't the most impressive. As most would say, she's quite dull. She turns around and goes towards the backpack that's laying near her door, picking it up. Searching through it, she tried to find some change or even some sort of paper bill but nothing came up. "So no breakfast again today." Grabbing her scarf that hung on the back of the door to her room, she wrapped it around her neck and placed the messenger bag around her, letting it rest on her hip. She opened the door and walked out into the hall of the dorm where the students lived.

Students piled into the hall as they slowly made their way to class, talking, laughing, and being rowdy the whole way. Charity, on the other hand, wasn't speaking with anyone or really looking at them. Her eyes were glued to the ground and she was silent. She knew that if she were to say something, someone would approach her and the less attention, the better. These rich kids held nothing back and considering her origins made them feel even more powerful over her. So Charity did the best to avoid them at all costs. And that's exactly what she did too. She stayed as far away from them as she could manage as she walked through the pouring rain to her first class.

By the time she reached her class, her clothes were damp and the students that were in the room let out laughs at the sight of her as she made her way towards her desk.

"Poor little Charity."

"The rain doesn't do much for her looks. In fact, they made that frizzy thing she calls hair look worse!"

"Why doesn't she go back home where she belongs? No one wants her here."

"No one wants her in general, Jasmine! She's an orphan, don't you know that? That's what the principle said when she walked in on the first day."

"How sad. They send her here and she's still not wanted."

Their terrible words will get worse with each passing day, it seemed like. She was used to it. The kids in the school she went to back in England were no better. Charity only hoped that these kids weren't as physical as the others. She didn't need a broken nose again or broken glasses. It was bad enough that the glasses she had on were taped on the side to hold them together. Her thoughts were cut off by a paper being placed in front of her and she glanced up at her teacher before back at the paper. She nearly whined at the sight of the small note. 'First week I'm here and I'm already failing a class.' She knew that this wasn't a good sign.

Class ended almost as quickly as it began and she dreaded the next few minutes. She grabbed her stuff and placed it in her bag before getting up. The other students were quick to run out and join their friends out in the hall. Charity shook her head and walked up to Max's desk, nervously playing with the sleeves of her shirt. "You wanted to see me, sir?" Social circumstances were her downfall and she never liked talking to too many new people. Her eyes never met his and stayed to the ground, waiting to hear what he had to say. She shifted lightly where she stood, trying to get her racing heart to calm down but between that and her tense nerves, she was sure that she might faint if she wasn't careful.
 
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Masato looked up when someone approached his desk, immediately recognizing Charity and remembering the note he wrote to her.

“Aah yes, I did.” He gestured at the chair in front of his desk for her to sit. He then folded his hands over the table. “Ms. Williams, your recent score on this last test was—“ he paused “—significantly less than the class average. I understand you are a new transfer to this school but considering past assignments—” he pulled up her grades on the computer, showing a list of all completed assignments done in his class so far with a letter grade next to it. Most of the grades averaged between Cs and Ds. “—if this continues, you likely may not be allowed to continue attending here.”

The girl had only started attending school within these past two weeks as well as just moving to the country. He was sure she was still trying to adjust to such a new environment. And Masato would be lying if he said he never heard the comments the other students whispered about her. He wasn’t from this country either, so it hit a little too close to home to hear them say that. The difference though was Masato had years to adjust, more than anyone else in this school. He knew how hard it could be as well as dealing those who only seemed to make it even worse, but it wasn’t fair to expect her to have settled in after only two weeks.

He made a mental note to himself of who those students were, so their behavior towards a fellow classmate can be addressed. He hoped it would help, but that for sure didn’t fix the main issue at hand here.

“There is still a chance,” Masato said. “I can tutor you. If you really feel like this is a difficult subject, I’d be more than happy to help. Would you be willing to take that offer?”
 
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Charity took a seat across from him and twiddled her thumbs in her lap as she sat there, listening to him. There was anxiety building up inside of her and she shifted in her seat every few seconds, unsure of what to say to him. She would nod her head at certain points and she knew he was being serious.

"History has never been a, uh, strong subject of mine." She admitted as she could feel her cheeks heat up in embarrassment, turning her eyes away from her teacher. "The history here is hard to get a grasp on as well." Being in a new country and having to learn everything about it was a stressful task, one that has been taking up a lot of her studying time as she wanted to apply for citizenship. She wished that she had been placed in a class that focused on one area of history and not multiple. "Sir, I am trying." The bullies of the school didn't make it easy for her in this class as they sat right behind her and loved to bug her.

His suggestion made her look up at him in surprise. Her eyes were wide with shocked as she took in his words. "Really?" Was he messing with her like the other students did or was he serious? She couldn't tell at first but when the look on his face didn't waiver, she relaxed instantly, her shoulders slumping as she sat there. "That would be wonderful." There was a breathy sigh of relief that came out of her and she smiled lightly at him, nodding. "I would like that. If you still have the time, that is."

She didn't want to impose on him as she knew he was most likely busy during the evenings. Teaching was stressful from what she had witnessed before. A foster parent of hers was an English teacher and the man hated his job but she wasn't about to ask her teacher if he hated his. He looked as though he enjoyed it.

"Could we possibly start tomorrow?" She twiddled her thumbs as she sat there, waiting anxiously for his response. "If not, it's okay. I understand. I don't want to impose or be a burden."
 
Masato nodded. Learning another country’s history was hard. The past had a big impact in the now and many little things were influenced by it that sometimes it can be too much. He remembered his years in Florence, Italy where many days were spent just in the Uffizi alone, admiring the different artwork and trying to decipher the new language to learn if some major event was the inspiration for an artist. Charity at least didn't have to learn an entirely new language but learning an entire world's history is so much more than a single country's.

At first, Charity did not take his offer seriously. He nodded again, and a look of immense relief settled on her features followed by an immediate acceptance of his offer. Looks like he was right to reach out. He recalled a small conversation between fellow staff members that she was here on a science scholarship and her interests were geared more towards science and math, like Dwayne. He had no doubt her grades in those subjects were far better than here. It happens; he has seen students excel in his class yet struggle in another and vice versa so the least he could do is offer his services.

“Of course. And don’t worry: you are not imposing or a burden at all. I want to help, Ms. Williams,” he reassured. At that moment, the bell rang. Masato pulled out a light green pad that had the school’s emblem on top. He wrote a quick note before tearing it off and handing it to Charity. “Here’s a hall pass for your next class. Meet me in the library tomorrow after school.” He paused to think. “We can review today's homework and tomorrow’s lesson to start off.” He crossed towards the door, holding it open for her. “I’ll see you tomorrow and have a good rest of your day.”


After the final bell the next day, Masato made his way towards the school’s library. His bookbag hanging off his shoulder stuffed with papers and some textbooks, he greeted the librarian and confirmed the room he had reserved for the day. He hadn’t seen Charity, so he took a spot on one of the couches until she arrived. On the little coffee table in front of him was a variety of books arranged on a stand. Among them was a biography on the singer John Lennon. While Masato wasn’t into the Beatles even when they were big, he always found it amazing how much fame the band held. Curious and figuring the book would help pass the time by, he picked it up and started to skim through the pages as he waited.
 
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The next day had passed by rather quickly to her surprise and it wasn't as stressful as it normally was. In fact, it was a rather good day despite how she was still struggling in history. Nobody bothered her, only gave her dirty looks or completely ignored her, and that gave her time to focus on what she needed to do to complete her Visa. Staying in the states was troublesome and their laws made it rather difficult to stay. One Visa said she would have to be married within 90 days of completing the application and another was only for 90 days as a tourist. So many options with ridiculous requirements.

Lifting her head up from her tablet, she noticed the time and hummed in thought. She had an hour before tutoring and she had plenty of time to kill. There was a little cafe nearby that served international pastries and the thought of it caused her stomach to grumble. She ate like a bird so it was no wonder she was so hungry. Putting away her tablet and grabbing her bag, she stood up from her small table in the library before making her way out of the building. She knew she had enough money on her to get what she wanted but she made a mental note to go to the bank in the morning to get some more.

"That'll be $7.50." Charity dug around in her pocket for the small amount of money she had on her before looking towards the glass display case once again. "May I get another piece of the Bread and Butter Pudding please?" She handed the money over to the cashier and grabbed her small bag of goodies she had gotten. Walking over, she set her cup of chamomile tea down on a nearby condiment stand and pulled off the top, grabbing a couple of packets of honey and two of the small containers of milk. The tea was to her liking once she tasted it and she hummed in happiness. "Nothing like the taste of home to cheer one up." She grabbed a couple of forks and some napkins before stuffing them into the brown bag with the two containers of pudding. Looking at her watch on her wrist, she nearly fell over. "I'm going to be late!"

Grabbing the bag in front of her and her tea, she hurried out of the small, but busy, cafe and made her way back to the university. She got there with just minutes to spare and quietly made her way into the library. Her eyes spotted her teacher and she quickly walked over to him, taking a seat near him. She took a small sip of her tea and set the cup down on the table in front of her before grabbing the bag she had set down next to her. Digging around in it, she pulled out one of the containers that had the pudding in it and a fork with a napkin before holding it out to her teacher.

"This is to say thank you." Charity explained with a small nod as she held the items out in front of her. "You are helping me more than you know and I wish to repay you for it." It was the least she could do. "It's a traditional dessert from my home country and a favorite of mine. I prefer it with lots of cinnamon on it but that's my preference." She was babbling now as she started to feel a bit awkward. Gifting things to teachers wasn't a normal thing to her but he went out of his way to help her so she felt the need to repay him in some way.
 
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The Lennon biography seemed like a promising read. He skipped the preface as he only wanted to skim for what this book was worth, and he was already impressed at how informative the first few pages of the first chapter were. He likely would have forgotten he had a tutoring session had he not heard someone sit in the seat next to him. He smiled at Charity and was about to greet her when she handed him a small pastry box and some utensils.

“Uh oh, now I really need to work hard when tutoring you,” he chuckled at his own joke. He took the food from Charity, fingers lightly ghosting over hers. “Thank you for the food though. You say it’s a dessert from your home country correct?” He looked at the pastry, trying to see what it was made of. Some layers of bread, a filling that reminded him of custard, with what looked like raisins sprinkled in between the layers. He was fortunate he could still consume human foods as he was curious to know how bread and butter pudding tasted. He opened the box and took a small sample with the fork. “It’s good,” he said.

“Oh, before I forget, I did reserve a room for us.” Masato returned the John Lennon book back to its place on the stand. He stood up, adjusting his bag with one hand and balancing the pastry in the other. “There’s a table for you to work on homework and a whiteboard as well. I might use it for writing important dates.”

He led the way to a small room in the back of the library. He signed the sheet taped onto the glass and entered, setting his belongings in a corner of the room and digging out the teacher’s textbook.

“Alright, for starters, let’s go over yesterday’s homework,” he began, opening the textbook to the current unit.
 
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Charity nodded at his question and smiled lightly, seeming pleased that he liked it. "I had it a lot growing up. It's considered a poor man's dessert at home." And that's exactly what it was. For centuries, the lower class people in her country would make it as it was something cheap and didn't break the bank. For something so simple, it was rather popular amongst the children in the orphanage. She believed it was because the cook would put some cinnamon in it to give it a sweeter taste and the kids went wild over it. It was a treat compared to what the old man made until he was relieved of his duties and the current chef took over.

She was quickly brought out of her thoughts when he started speaking again and stood up. Following him, she glanced around the library before stepping into the room after him. "It's so different." She grumbled to herself as took a seat at the table in the room and pulled her pen out of her bag along with her notebook, textbook, and the homework from the night before. Despite arriving a few weeks ago, various things surprised her still; especially how they referred to certain things. The fact that they call their rubbish bins trash cans, duvets are comforters, the fact that they use both washers and dryers, and that they have central air. It's all so odd to her. The food was the most confusing of them all! So many different flavors compared to what she was used to and if she wasn't careful, she was going to gain a lot of weight from eating everything that was so savory. Speaking of...

Reaching over, Charity pulled out her pudding and opened the container, taking a small bite of the snack. "This assignment is about the Roman empire, yes?" She arched a brow as she looked up at him. "I do know about that to a certain degree." A small degree but nothing more. That would help her even though she wasn't sure how much. "Or is it something else?" She was hoping it'd be something else, something less complicated. "Why you chose to teach such a subject will be a mystery to me." Shaking her head, she grabbed her textbook and started to flip through it to the chapter they were on earlier in the day.
 
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“Yes, Roman Empire,” Masato repeated. His lip then curled in amusement. Typical quip from someone whose interests were not directed towards the story of the world. He wasn’t insulted though; students will have different interests no matter what. Masato figured that out after his first year of teaching and has learned to accept that. He’ll reach out if ever he finds anyone in trouble and would be more than happy to help if they take it, such as Charity here.I actually find the Roman Empire to be an interesting subject. A period in history where one nation had nearly full control of a continent, divide in half, only for one side to fail and the other to thrive. Not to mention you can still see the empire’s influence today.”

He paused, tapping his chin in a thoughtful manner. “Maybe the next unit after this should be the Industrial period. Skip the Renaissance and numerous revolutions and get right to the emergence of factory workers and an economic boom in the textile industry. Or the 20th century. Now that is an exciting topic and maybe I should make have everyone write a ten-page paper on it.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” he added quickly, unable to hide the smirk on his face anymore. He waited for Charity to pull up the chapter. "Back on topic: any questions from the homework? Things you had trouble with?”
 
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Charity tensed up at the thought of having to write a ten page paper. This teacher is trying to kill me! This must be some form of torture amongst teachers that they love. She was sure she had the most unsettled look on her face right now and he was going to start laughing at her. The fact that he would joke about such a thing made her nervous that he would actually do it. Her teachers back home would joke about such things and then the next day, there would be a twenty page long test. She bit her bottom lip at the thought and reached forward, grabbing her tea and taking a drink of it.

Setting her drink back down, she turned her eyes towards the textbook in front of her and started to flip towards the chapter they were working on. "You talk as though you've seen half of what you teach." Charity pointed out as she glanced up at him. "I have never met a teacher as passionate as you." Pushing her glasses up with her index finger, she flipped to one of the pages that she was stuck on. "I suppose... I'm stuck on the whole chapter." She wasn't sure what to start with as she didn't understand most of it. "We could start with why some of the first wars were started? Or how it came to be known as the Roman Empire?"

The young woman wasn't even sure herself. She was completely lost on this history stuff and she didn't like it. At this point, she wished this class wasn't needed for her to graduate. She had all the credits she needed and was top of her class aside from this one subject. Times like this, she wished she could go back in time and see what caused half of this stuff in history that made no sense to her.

"I can understand most of the questions from the homework but," Charity took her pen and tapped it against her left temple as she thought about which question to ask first. "the questions about Caesar stump me most. Especially when it comes to his role as a politic which lead to the fall of the Roman Republic."
 
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A bit sassy, isn’t she? he thought to himself in amusement. In class the girl hardly talked, so to see such a side to her was different than what he expected. Perhaps this meant Charity was starting to get used to being in a different country? He hoped that was the case, though it was still too early to tell. His lip also curled upwards at her comment about him seeing some of the things he mentioned. She was spot on, but she didn’t need to know that.

He turned to the section in question, skimming the text to see what he could use to help her out.

Masato nodded. “Caesar, during his lifetime, set forth many things that practically turned the Empire upside down. Some of it was beneficial, such as adding Egypt to the Empire and bringing in a major food source. Another—” he pointed at a passage in her textbook “—was when he appointed himself as lifelong dictator over the entire Republic after the civil wars. Take note also of who he gave seats of power to during his rule; we’re going to be talking about them later in the unit, but those in his administration basically fought each other over who would take over after he died.”

He hoped at least giving her some insight into the what’s coming up later would help. Along with giving a short summary of what happened. If only he knew what her learning style was. Some students learned from reading and aced his class, others were auditory learners and benefitted from sitting in the classroom and hearing the lecture. And there were others who were visual and needed a different resource to help them. He could easily draw up a flow chart or something on the whiteboard if that were the case, maybe even have her participate to help the knowledge stick.

“And how about the reforms? From the reading and homework, can you name some of Caesar’s reforms? Both political and societal.” He stood up, taking a whiteboard marker and making a bulleted list. “List off as many as you can remember and I’ll write them down. Hint: I gave you one already.”
 
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Politics always bored her and she could merely stare down at the page in her textbook. Her mind was focusing more on his voice than his words. To her, his voice was lovely to listen to and she liked it as it was something unusual to hear. She was used to the voices of scratchy old women and loud old men.

"I'm sorry, what?" Charity arched a brow lightly as she kept her eyes on her textbook. She felt rather embarrassed and shifted lightly in her seat, knowing that everything he said went right out the window for her. There was a blush starting to cover her cheeks as she sat there, looking at her textbook. "I only got a part of what you said..." Her embarrassment was rising as the silence went on and she was getting uncomfortable. "I... Um..." Moments later, she heard an alarm going off and she froze up, unsure of where it was coming from at first. She quickly reached in her bag and pulled out her tablet, turning the alarm off.

Without warning, she stood up and gathered her stuff together. "I need to go." Charity shoved her book, notebook, and pen into her bag before standing up and grabbing her tea and the bag with her pastry in it. "I'm sorry. I'll see you Monday for the test!" Not waiting for a response, she hurried out of the room and out of the library. She ran down the hall and out of the school, trying to make her way to her dorm before it was too late. Once inside the dormitory, she hurried up the stairs and towards her room. She pulled her key out, unlocked the door, and practically threw the door open so she could get comfortable for her weekly call from her siblings at the orphanage.

"We miss you Charity! And we want you home soon." That was the last thing she remembered before she fell into a peaceful sleep that night.

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Monday came quicker than she liked and she sat in her history class, staring down at the half finished test in front of her. Charity was at a loss since she didn't study too much that weekend. Her studying was leaned more towards chemistry than anything else and she was prepared for that test but completely forgot the history one. She bit her lip as she stared down at the paper, bouncing her pen off of the side of her head as she thought about the answers to the last questions.

"In what year did Caesar conquer Egypt?" 'I don't know! I didn't study for this!' Her mind was screaming at her as she sat there, trying to figure out the answer. That's when Masato called for everyone to stop their test and put down their pencils. Charity cringed at the sight of her half finished test and handed it over to her teacher as he collected the tests. 'I'm doomed. I am officially doomed.'
 
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Masato was about to repeat what he just said when something beeped inside Charity’s bag. She pulled out her tablet and turned off the alarm, abruptly standing up. She made a quick apology, practically throwing everything into her bag.

“O-oh?” Was all he could say as she ran out the door. “See you Monday.” But she was already gone.

“Okay then.” Masato blinked, a frown briefly setting on his features. He sighed, putting his hands on his hips. After another moment, Masato cleaned the whiteboard and gathered all his things. He munched on the pastry Charity had given him as he made way for the exit, spotting the John Lennon book still on its stand where he left it.

Masato paused, then picked up the book and pivoted on his heel to the librarian’s desk.


The following weekend allowed Masato to enjoy some free time. After grading some papers and quizzes, he set about to reading that biography he borrowed, making a trip or two to a local café simply to just get out of his apartment. In between that, he also took the chance to feed.

Usually around Fridays and Saturday nights was when he moved around, driving to another city where he wouldn’t be recognized. Then he’d wander, normally targeting prey who was causing trouble. He never killed when feeding, drinking just enough to give prey a nasty shock and run away with second thoughts about whatever it was they were doing. If on the rare occasion he couldn’t find anything, underground always provided what people like him needed.

Then came Monday and the first test of the unit. Towards the end of the hour, he called for all pencils down and accepted the papers students handed to him. His eyebrows knit together when he came across Charity’s test, noting that half of the answers were left unfinished. He briefly glanced at her, taking the next person’s test and setting it on top of hers to keep away from prying eyes. He wanted to talk to her about this, try to figure out what went wrong or what he can do to help. He didn’t like to see students fail, but it took every ounce of restraint in him to not ask Charity to see him later. He could only imagine the unwanted attention that would bring her from the other students, especially those who were already giving her a hard time.

It was either she approached him to talk about what happened or he wrote another note to give her tomorrow. With all the tests collected and resigning himself to see what would have to be done, he tucked the papers away into a folder and bid his students farewell when the bell rang.
 
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Sitting there, she pondered on what she should do. Should she leave the class an ignore her teacher? Or stay and talk to him? Her anxiety told her to leave whereas her more logical side said to stay and apologize. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she got up from her desk and walked over to Masato's desk. She twiddled her thumbs and stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what she could say to make the situation better for herself.

"I..." She paused and thought about her wording carefully. "I suppose more tutoring should be in order, yes?" Arching a brow, she finally got the nerve to look her teacher in the eye. "I could always join you for lunch so we could go over the lesson once again." There was a few snickers behind her. Some of the other kids would take advantage of this situation but it couldn't be helped. She needed help in this class if she wanted to pass and nothing was going to stop her from getting that help.

"I can always get you another pastry from the cafe near by if you'll accept it as an apology for my terrible job on the test." Charity wanted badly to make it up to him. She knew she failed that test worse than any other one she had done throughout the whole term. "Allow me to make it up to you... Please." The last thing she wanted right now was to be on his bad side. That was never good as some teachers used their ill feelings towards you when they graded things as a way of getting back at their students. She didn't want that happening to her.

A sigh escaped her lips and she dropped her head, turning her eyes back to the ground as she could feel her anxiety starting to rile up once again. "If not, I completely understand. I would not want to tutor a student I felt wouldn't pass regardless of what you did to help them." She shook her head as she crossed her arms in front of her chest so she wouldn't start tugging at her sweater sleeves. "Just tell me what you would like to do and what you think is best."
 
Fortunately, Charity approached his desk.

“I do believe that more tutoring is in order,” he agreed. When she offered to buy him more food, he heard the students who were still hanging around laugh. Masato looked behind the red-haired girl and gave them a stern look. “Hey, guys.” He shook his head. “You best be getting to class.” He nodded at the clock. The students looked taken aback, quietly gathering their things and left the room so that it was only Masato and Charity.

“Ms. Williams. Charity. That is not true. Not true at all.” He shook his head when she said she would understand if he didn’t want to tutor her anymore. He leaned forward on the desk, trying to meet her gaze. “There are other ways you can still pull your grade up. A research project would be an idea. And taking full advantage of tutoring. I’d be more than happy to help you. In fact, there is an after-school club I preside over that can help.” From his bag, he pulled out a yellow flyer. The flyer had the following in bold, all capital letters:

HISTORY CLUB

MEETS EVERY FRIDAY AFTER SCHOOL

FROM 3-5 pm

RM 159

At the bottom was a small collage of famous pictures and paintings taken throughout history.

“We have a ton of resources that can help you. And the members are more than willing to help.” Three members immediately came to mind when he said that. Camilla, Jillian, and Maiara would be more than happy to assist if asked. “I’m not giving up on you. You can still make it, you just need a little help with the class.” He pushed the flyer and another hall pass towards her. “Think about it, okay? And I’ll figure out another day for tutoring.”


Friday came and before long, school ended for the day. His last class over and the whiteboard wiped clean, Masato piled all his belongings and dropped them off at his office. Then with only his bag and teacher keys, he made his way towards Room 159 on the first floor. He wasn’t even at the end of the stairs and he could hear “In My Blood” by Shawn Mendes playing. He sighed, shaking his head in amusement once he reached the room. The door was ajar and the heavy drum beats of the song echoed throughout the room and into the hall. His lips quirked upwards; well, it’s Friday anyway.

He peeked his head in. Four kids were hanging around the room. A girl with braided, curly hair sat at a table with another girl with short dark hair cut just to her shoulders. The two of them were looking at something on a phone. He recognized it as Camilla’s phone which likely meant she had some pictures she recently took. Masato called out to them, asking for the volume to be turned down. The girl with the short hair grabbed her own phone, turning down the volume.

“Sorry, Max,” said Jillian sheepishly.

“I don’t mind music. Just not that loud. You’re going to go deaf.” He ignored the quiet snort from one of the club members. Setting his stuff down, he turned to the four students at hand. “Alright. We’re going to focus on the upcoming museum trip. Just some things we need go over and budget. The club fund is slated to pay for tickets, but food likely will have to come out of your own pocket. Questions or suggestions?”
 
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Why do girls have to be so loud? That question kept repeating over and over in his mind as he sat there with his sister and her friends. His eyes watched them in a bored manner as he waited for his teacher. Koda was used to the loudness that came with being around a bunch of girls but that didn't mean he enjoyed it. He liked to avoid it at all costs but that was never possible. Why was I cursed with sisters? Especially one that's way too girly for her own good. As much as he loved his little sister, she was annoying to him. His savior was there and he let out a sigh of relief as he sunk down into his chair, thankful that Masato had walked in to stop the noise so his ears would stop ringing.

"There is a god." He grumbled and grunted lightly as Maiara elbowed him roughly from her seat next to him. "Play nice, Mai. I'm not your punching bag." His eyes turned towards Masato and arched a brow lightly at his question. A museum trip? That could be disastrous but yet, it sounded interesting. "How about somewhere quiet?"

Maiara rolled her eyes at her brother's ridiculousness and looked at her teacher. "A planetarium?" She suggested in a curious manner as she hit her brother again for his silly suggestion. "Or the historical society." A hum escaped her lips as she tapped her chin, thinking about it. "OH! What about the art museum?! They sometimes have really cool exhibits there that are only for a limited time."

Koda looked up as a strange smell entered his nose and his eyes drifted towards the door of the classroom as an unknown student walked in. Red hair, glasses, and petite. He's seen her walking around the school often and sitting by herself at lunch, usually indulged in a science book. What was her name again? It was something different, something old fashioned. Charity! Most of the students called her The Orphan but he never paid any mind to such names. He didn't understand why they picked on her. She was one of the smartest students in the school and yet, she was one of the biggest outcasts as well. There was something about her that made the other students somewhat jealous but he wasn't sure what it was.

"We have a new group member?" Maiara asked in a curious tone as she looked towards Charity as the young woman hesitantly walked over to the group. Her smell was interesting to the young shifter. She had never smelt such a thing before and she would have to look it up later. There was the smell of a tree (wild cherry tree (native to the UK)), some sort of flower or plant (primrose), and something else she couldn't put her finger on. It stood out as something she'd never smelled before on a human.

However, she broke out of her thoughts and smiled brightly at Charity. "Welcome! We don't bite! At least, I don't." Her eyes drifted towards her brother before going back to Charity. "Take a seat and join us!"

Charity glanced around at the group and seemed rather surprised. She was expecting more people like her and not as many normal looking students. Walking over, she took the last available seat and glanced towards Masato, nodding at him in a greeting. Her eyes drifted towards the other students as she took in their appearance. They seemed so normal, so well brought up. She felt slightly intimidated and shifted in her seat in an uncomfortable manner. Reaching up, she took off her glasses and pulled out a cleaning cloth from her pocket, rubbing it along the glass in an absent minded manner. Her eyes stayed to the floor as that was the only thing she could really make out at the moment and glanced up as one of the girls started talking again.

"Max, isn't she the new student you mentioned the other night? Charity?" Maiara turned her attention to her teacher and tilted her head to the side as she waited for his answer. "She's the one that needs help with her work, yes?"
 
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Camilla picked up the scent of the newcomer around the same time as Koda and Maiara, craning her neck as a girl with red hair and glasses entered the room. She had a faint floral scent to her and something else . . . Camilla couldn’t put her finger on it. Maybe Koda or Mai knew? She’ll have to ask them later. The girl was the foreign exchange student from England who was crazy smart with science. In the same grade as Camilla and Koda, Charity was her name though peers often referred to her as The Orphan, supposedly because she didn’t have any parents.

Jillian looked in the same direction as her fellow club mates as the girl approached. Bright red hair with glasses, she was surrounded by a green aura, one that matched her green eyes exactly. Her aura was different than the rest of them. Less animal-like which is what her club peers had, but more human than Max’s. It was different, brimming with potential as if there was something more to her. Interesting. Her aura dimmed, telling Jillian of the nervousness and uneasiness coming over the girl as she took in the sight of each one of them.

Mai was the first the say hi, smiling at the girl and her dark blue aura pulsing with equal friendliness. She took the only available seat, nodding to Max. Her green aura pulsed with a wave when she looked at the teacher, relaxing as she nodded at him. Maybe he was her teacher for one of her classes, that would explain why Max’s blue aura brightened when she entered the room.

“Hello Charity. I’m glad you took my offer.” He flashed a smile at her. “And yes Maiara, I did. I currently tutor her after school, but I recommended the club as another resource. Why don’t you introduce yourselves?”

“Hi. I’m Jillian Norper,” said Jillian, extending a hand towards Charity with a smile. “I’d be more than happy to help you out!”

“I’m Camilla Halle Pryce,” came Camilla. “We’re in the same grade. And Mai’s right: we don’t bite. Well— “she glanced at Koda then smirked “—most of us don’t bite. Can’t say the same for Koda Thompson over there who probably needs a chew toy or something.”
 
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Koda flashed Camilla an annoyed look as she teased him and tried to refrain himself from making a snarky comment. "At least I don't scratch someone's face off when they bother me at the worst possible time." He doesn't bite but Camilla did scratch at times from his experience and she liked to draw blood at times. Or that's how she was with him. It's probably rather different with others compared to him as they've known each other most of their lives.

"Must you two fight?" Maiara grumbled as introduced herself and her brother. "Please ignore his bad attitude at times. He's not always this grumpy but someone," she narrowed her eyes on Camilla, "has to push his buttons sometimes." They fought like a married couple and yet, were the best of friends. She turned her head back to Charity and smiled lightly. "I heard you plan on majoring in science when you're done here. What is it you want to do?"

Charity put her glasses back on and turned her eyes towards Maiara. "Zoology. I want to work with exotic animals." That caught Koda's attention almost immediately. "I had an internship at the London Zoo and someone paid for me to come here to study." She still wasn't sure who exactly paid for her to come to the States. No one would tell her and the orphanage owner was more than happy to ship her out since she was still undecided about a job. He said she was taking advantage of the situation which wasn't true at all. "I go back to London in the summer to continue my internship." It was undecided whether or not she was going to come back when she was done with it.

Zoology? That could prove useful. Koda glanced towards his sister before back at Charity. If she was as smart as the rumors said, she could be an asset to their family. Anymore, Maiara struggled with her phantom pains at night which made sleeping for him a rare occurrence so if Charity could help when she gets her degree, it would make things so much easier. Maiara was in therapy still for the traumatic stress but they didn't know how to help her with the physical pain. More often than not, his sister would share a bed with either their mother or himself because of the nightmares. Koda didn't mind it until she got clingy in her sleep and wouldn't let go.

"Back to the subject at hand." Maiara turned her eyes to her teacher. "Should we take a vote on where we should go?" This was going to be their first trip as a group and it was exciting. Regardless of where they went, she knew that it would be worth their wild. "I vote on the art museum." Her eyes drifted towards her brother who voted for the planetarium. "Kodaaaaa, why? It sounds so boring!"
 

Camilla merely shrugged at Koda and Maiara, a mischievous grin spreading across her lips. She returned to her phone, thumbing through her gallery and deleting any extra pictures. Jillian watched the exchange in amusement, the auras of the three rippling with a level of familiarity of people who had known each other for a long time. Aside from the interactions, their auras were alike as well; Koda and Mai from the get-go were siblings, and Camilla’s yellow one had a similar vibe but it was also . . . different.

Masato leaned against the desk. Zoology, huh? And already with an internship. A bright student like her deserved that opportunity. Hopefully she’ll be able to pick her grades up in his class. He’d hate to be the one who took that chance away from her.

“I’d be up for the art museum,” said Jillian, glancing at Mai.

“Currently, we’re looking into having a little club trip,” Masato told Charity to fill her in. “Since we’re history club, obviously we go for places that teach history. Last year we went to the Portland Head Light and Saco Museum.”

“Why planetarium though?” asked Camilla. “That’s astronomy, not history.”

“Actually, I was thinking of the planetarium.” He quickly wrote ‘planetarium’ on the board. “They’re hosting a gallery on star charts across ancient civilizations. Egypt, Greek, Medieval, and Chinese star charts to name a few. Star charts from ancient China.” Some of the members gave him a blank stare. He was used to it; it was just part of the topic he taught. Despite that, he grinned to himself. He did not want to pass up an opportunity to see those artifacts. “Of course, they also have their amphitheater show. You have a choice between the traditional show or the limited time show which is part of the gallery.”

“Huh. I have ancestors from Egypt so now I’m curious.”

Masato nodded. “You can come along with too, Charity. They’re really fun.”
 
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Charity glanced at Masato and had a curious look about her face. She swore that he was older than he seemed. There was something about him that told her that he had an ancient soul and he knew more than he was willing to admit. However, she wasn't going to push the subject with him. It could just be her imagination messing with her again and she didn't like to assume things about other people. She was pulled out of her thoughts by his voice and she nodded to him. "I would like to go. I've never been to one before."

**************************************************************

Without even realizing it, she was the last one in the library and it was slowly ticking past nine o'clock. The rest of the school was closed and only the janitor was left. "You should get going, little lady. It's raining out and getting cold." His voice called out to her and she looked up from the book she had been studying from. The lightening flashed before her eyes outside the window and she frowned softly. Luckily for her, the dorms weren't far from where she was.

Charity quickly gathered up her things and put them into her bag, zipping it closed. She knew this wouldn't protect everything completely but it would be enough until she reached the dorm. Getting up from her chair, she pushed it in and grabbed her coat, slipping it on before pulling the hood up. She quickly said her goodbyes to the janitor and made her way out of the library, darting down the hall to the main doors. Standing at the doors, her eyes drifted around outside and she bit her bottom lip. It was raining pretty hard and she was afraid that if her glasses got too wet, she wouldn't be able to see. Regardless, she needed to get back to her room.

Pushing one of the doors open, she made her way outside and shuddered lightly at the cold wind as it blew right through her. She pulled her coat closer to her body and started to make her way towards the dorm building but since the rain was heavy and the wind was rough, she lost her way rather quickly. Only walking for ten minutes and she found herself in an area that she didn't know.

"Why do I do this to myself?" Charity huffed as she pulled her glasses off, going to wipe them off with her sleeve since it was dry. "This is what I get for trying to study for this stupid history class and losing track of time."