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It was a well-known concept that school was boring as hell. And Carol totally agreed with that. The lecturers would drone on and on about theories and concepts, calculations that made no sense to Carol at all.
Especially one particular lecturer known as Mr Sendak. His teaching methods were so ineffective, she was sure half the class had no idea what he was talking about, plus he hardly opened consultations for students. At this rate, the entire class was going to fail. It would be a miracle if half the class even got close to the passing mark.
Carol expected today’s lecture to be like any other. Two hours of Mr Sendak’s nonsense teaching before he assigned them another assignment which would be due the next day. This man really had no damn chill.
However, instead of Mr Sendak, a young man with jet black hair pulled into a small ponytail stepped through the door of the lecture hall.
“Good morning class. I will be taking over this class for Mr Sendak while he recovers from...certain complications.” His lips twitched, as if resisting a smile. “My name is Mr Kogane.”
Chaos immediately broke out in the lecture hall as students discussed the sudden changes in not so soft whispers, while others asked their new teacher about what happened to Mr Sendak.
“Quiet.” The hall fell into a hushed silence.
“I am sure you are all concerned about Mr Sendak’s well being and what is going to happen to this class. I will be picking up from wherever Mr Sendak left off.”
A student in the front row raised their hand.
“Yes?”
“Is it possible for you to go through some of the previous lecture materials as well?”
Thank you brave soul.
“Does anyone else want me to?” Mr Kogane asked, looking around the lecture hall.
Carol’s hand immediately shot up, as did majority of the other students. Mr Kogane seemed surprised by the large number of hands raised.
“Oh. Well then… I’ll open a small supplementary class in the evening every Wednesday and Friday. Would that be alright?”
Carol gasped. The class cheered.
“I can’t believe we’ll actually have a chance of passing this class.” She turned to look at her best friend sitting next to her. “Fred, can you believe it?!”
“I can’t either. Thank you whatever allowed Mr Sendak to be replaced by this cute teacher.”
“Did you just call him cute?”
“Oh shut up Carol you can’t deny it.”
“Please control your thirst.”
“You too Carol! I saw how you looked at him when he first entered. Hell, I think half the class is crushing on him already,” Fred groaned.
Carol chuckled. “Okay Fred, I admit that he is rather attractive.”
“Control your thirst child.”
Carol lightly smacked Fred’s arm.
X
The supplementary classes didn’t start until two weeks later. Apparently it took some time for the school to approve of Mr Kogane’s request to use the classroom at this time slot.
Carol, along with Fred and many other classmates, made themselves comfortable in the small classroom. Mr Kogane had yet to appear but he was never known to be late for class.
Five minutes before the starting time, Mr Kogane walked into the classroom looking slightly more flustered than usual. Whispers broke out throughout the classroom as each student wondered what had caused the pink colouration on their beloved teacher’s cheeks.
“Maybe he just ran all the way here from the faculty office. Our university is pretty big.”
“Maybe he’s just nervous?”
“Or maybe he was making out with someone. I mean, his signature ponytail is gone.”
Carol’s head jerked her head towards the last speaker. It was some boy she couldn’t remember the name of but recognised from some of her other lectures.
“He doesn’t have to always tie his hair up. Maybe he just decided to let it down now,” one of his friends said.
The boy shrugged. “Just saying.”
“Do you think what Josh said is true?” Fred whispered.
Josh? Oh, the boy.
“I don’t think so? Also it’s pretty rude to pry into Mr Kogane’s privacy,” Carol replied in a whisper.
Fred nodded. “True.”
They both returned their attention to the front of the classroom where Mr Kogane, unaware of what the students were whispering about, quickly dumped his materials on the teacher’s desk and took some deep breaths before looking at the class.
“Sorry. We can begin now. What do you guys want me to go through?”
Several hands immediately shot up.
Mr Kogane gave a small smile. “Alright. One at a time okay?”
In the end, Mr Kogane had briefly went through almost half of the syllabus that Mr Sendak had taught. Carol could tell how surprised he was when one of the students asked about the first chapter of the lecture notes, which were essentially the foundations of the entire module. If you didn’t get it, you wouldn’t get anything else taught after. Mr Kogane spent almost half the time going through that chapter.
“If you guys still have anything you don’t understand feel free to ask during the next supplementary class or send me an email,” Mr Kogane said. “Class dismissed. See you guys next week, or on Friday if you are coming for the next class.”
Carol rested her face on the cool tabletop once Mr Kogane declared the class over. She had learnt so much more in this mere one and a half hours than she ever had in any of Mr Sendak’s classes since the semester started.
“I feel so enlightened,” Fred murmured. Carol chuckled.
“C’mon Fred. Let’s go. You promised me dinner for helping you catch that cockroach in your room on Tuesday.”
“Only you would demand dinner in exchange for helping their friend.”
“Hey at least I bothered to help you.”
Carol laughed when Fred pouted at her. The two friends walked out of the classroom talking about dinner and favours.
Neither remembered the incident at the start of class.
X
Anything could happen at university, or so Carol had heard. She had seen students walk into class in their pajamas, in outfits they clearly wore to a club but didn’t have time to change out of, once she even saw someone wear a horse mask throughout the entire lecture.
However, she didn’t think the “anything can happen in university” theory could apply to their teachers as well, until today.
Mr Kogane had walked into the lecture hall and started the class as per usual. But halfway through, the door to the lecture hall opened and in walked a man carrying a large bouquet of roses.
“Excuse me? I’m in the middle of class. Is there anything you need?” Mr Kogane asked.
“Sorry. But I was told to deliver this to ‘Keith Kogane’ at this timing, from ‘your cute sharpshooter’.”
Carol’s eyes widened. Fred was gripping her arm tightly, eyes also focused on the scene below.
“Oh. Th-Thanks.” Mr Kogane accepted the bouquet from the deliveryman and signed a form. The delivery man thanked him and left the hall as quickly as he had entered.
“Not a word from any of you,” Mr Kogane warned as he placed the bouquet on the desk. A tense silence spread through the lecture hall. “We’ll continue with the class now.”
And just like that, Mr Kogane plunged back into whatever they were supposed to learn today.
Sadly, Carol couldn’t focus on the rest of the lecture at all as she was too occupied with the faint blush on her teacher’s face.
X
The incident from lecture that week had been quickly forgotten once Mr Kogane assigned them an essay due a week later.
Carol took a large sip of her mocha latte as she typed away on her laptop. She was currently seated at one of many cafes near the university trying to complete the essay assignment due the next week. She was always one for completing her assignments ahead of time.
After continuously staring at her laptop for an hour, Carol let herself have a break. She glanced around the cafe. It was a pretty cozy place, many other students were also here working on their assignments or studying. Sadly, Fred had been unable to accompany her as he preferred to work in his own room.
After a few minutes had passed, Carol declared her self-imposed break over. She glanced at her surroundings one last time, and was about to return to staring at her laptop screen when she noticed a familiar figure walk past the cafe window. Her head immediately jerked towards the window and she was met with the sight of Mr Kogane walking hand in hand with someone. They didn’t seem to be talking, just enjoying each other’s company. Sadly, she only managed to capture a few features of the hidden lover before the couple was out of sight.
“Holy shit.”
Carol grabbed her phone and quickly opened the messenger app. Thankfully, Fred’s name was always on the top of her list.
[Carol >> Fred]
[Carol]: Boi you wouldn’t believe what I just saw
[Carol]: I was sitting at Cafe Altea, you know the one that serves the weird funky milkshakes that are unexpectedly yummy
[Carol]: Anyway, I was looking out of the window and guess who I saw
[Carol]: Mr Kogane
[Carol]: And he was walking hand in hand with someone
[Carol]: I couldn’t see their face but holy shit
[Carol]: Mr Kogane has a lover
[Fred]: VIOREHFIDJAJ
[Fred]: Are u serious
[Carol]: 100%
[Carol]: The lover was definitely male
[Carol]: Tanned skin and short brown hair
[Carol]: They were both wearing casual clothes and I think the secret bf had a beanie and sunglasses on
[Fred]: Sounds shady
[Carol]: Not now
[Fred]: Sorry
[Fred]: His secret bf sounds like a celebrity or something
[Carol]: That would explain the disguise like beanie + sunglasses
[Carol]: But tanned male with short brown hair could mean anyone
[Fred]: We do know one tanned male with short brown hair who is also a celebrity
[Carol]: No way is Mr Kogane dating Lance McClain shut up
[Fred]: I didn’t say he is but there’s a chance you know
[Carol]: No I do not know
[Carol]: Anyway can I go over to your place I can’t focus on work anymore and I have a great need to scream
[Fred]: Yea sure
[Carol]: I’ll be there in 10
Carol locked her phone and quickly packed up. When she arrived at Fred’s dorm room, they greeted each other with excited grins and spent the rest of the time speculating about who their teacher’s lover could be.
X
“Carol? Carol!”
Carol gave Fred an unimpressed look. They were currently in her dorm room, studying for a pop quiz.
“Yes?”
“Just look at this.” Fred slid his phone with a photo open towards Carol.
Carol stared at the photo. It was just a photo of Lance McClain posing for a magazine shoot to promote his latest movie. Carol and Fred were both big fans of the Cuban actor, and they had both already purchased a copy of this magazine.
“What am I supposed to be seeing?”
“Look closely, do you spot anything odd about it?”
Carol squinted. “No?”
Fred sighed and zoomed into the actor’s left hand. “Do you see it now?”
Carol stared at his hand, trying her best to spot the difference. It took a few minutes before she finally found what Fred had been trying to point out to her.
“Holy shit is that a ring.”
“It is.”
“Does that mean-”
“He has a fiancee? Yeap. And I think it’s Mr Kogane.”
“No. We have already gone over that. The description of the man I saw could fit anyone.”
Fred sighed. “If you say so.”
“How is the internet holding up?”
“Everyone is screaming after a fan pointed it out and posted their discovery on Twitter.”
“Same.”
X
It was during a short break during the lecture, before the pop quiz, that a brave student finally asked the question on every student’s mind.
“Mr Kogane?”
“Yes?”
“Do you have a lover?”
The class immediately fell silent, everyone anticipating their teacher’s answer.
Mr Kogane seemed rather shocked by the sudden question, but quickly regained his composure.
“Why do you ask?”
“Because you’re wearing a ring.”
Mr Kogane’s eyes widened and he quickly glanced down at his left hand.
“Oh. I forgot to take it off this morning.”
“So does that mean…?”
Mr Kogane sighed and hid his face with his hands.
“Yes. I’m engaged to my lover.”
All hell broke loose in the lecture hall. Some were screaming excitedly, some looked devastated, and others were just gaping at their teacher.
Carol belonged to the third category.
“Carol.”
“Do not say it.”
“But look, he’s engaged. And so is Lance McClain. Coincidence? I think not.”
Carol gave Fred an unamused stare.
“But Carol-”
“Okay all of you quiet down!” Mr Kogane shouted. The volume in the lecture hall decreased slightly. “You can all discuss my love life later, after you have finished the pop quiz which I am handing out now.”
A collective groan was heard as everyone settled down and prepared to attempt the quiz.
After the quiz, no one had the energy to do anything but collapse on their tables, groaning.
x
The pop quiz had been...okay. Carol knew she would at least pass.
It was currently Friday’s supplementary class and the whole class had turned up for it, since Mr Kogane had said he would be going through answers for the pop quiz. And since the classroom they usually held supplementary in was way too small to fit so many people, Mr Kogane had found a larger, unoccupied classroom and moved the class there.
“Any questions so far?” Mr Kogane asked halfway through the class.
Carol glanced around the classroom. It didn’t seem like anyone had anything to ask, and Mr Kogane seemed to realise that as well.
“Okay. Let’s move on to the next question-”
“Excuse me, I have a question.”
A man stood at the classroom door, a large bouquet of roses blocking his face. Mr Kogane seemed to recognise the man, if the huge blush on his face was anything to go by.
“Are you alcohol? Because I’m getting drunk on you tonight.”
That, was the lamest pickup line Carol had ever heard. And the rest of the class seemed to think the same as several groans were heard from the crowd.
“Lance you can’t just- What are you even doing here?!”
Carol’s eyes widened and she shared a glance with Fred who also had a similar expression on his face. Mr Kogane had just called his lover “Lance”. And from the incident at the cafe, she knew he was a tan male with short brown hair.
No way.
“Delivering roses to my fiancee of course,” the man, Lance, replied smoothly. He then pressed the bouquet of roses into Mr Kogane’s chest, revealing his face and causing their teacher to look even more flustered.
“I’m in the middle of class you idiot. You can’t just walk in and-”
“I knew it! He was engaged to Lance McClain!”
Carol quickly slapped her hand over Fred’s mouth. However it was too late as they had already drawn the attention of the couple and the rest of their classmates.
Lance didn’t seem affected by the revelation of his identity and smiled at them.
“You knew about Keith and I?”
Fred pried Carol’s hand off his mouth and excitedly explained how Carol had seen them on the streets and how he had made the connections.
At the end of the explanation, Lance McClain looked pretty impressed and Mr Kogane was frowning.
“You need a better disguise, Lance,” Mr Kogane said, “I’ve already told you your sunglasses and beanie aren’t enough.”
Lance McClain pouted. “But I like them. And you like them too.”
Mr Kogane gave him an unamused look.
“Okay fine. I’ll ask Hunk to go shopping with me this weekend.”
“Hunk Garrett? The famous chef?” a student suddenly asked. When the student realised what she had done she immediately froze up.
“Yea. Hunk’s my best pal. I did mention that in my interviews right?” Lance McClain laughed.
Seeing as they didn’t get in trouble for asking the celebrity questions, some other students decided to give it a shot.
“If you don’t mind me asking, Mr McClain, how did you meet Mr Kogane?”
“Oh. He was assigned to me and I fell in love with him at first sight!” A loud groan was heard from Mr Kogane.
“Like a bodyguard?”
“Yeap. I would never mess with him if I were you.”
“Wait. Then why is he a teacher here?”
Lance McClain laughed and turned to Mr Kogane. “Should I tell them?”
Mr Kogane just groaned. “You’ve already said enough.”
“I’ll take that as a yes. You see, Keith here is a little reckless. He got injured and just recovered so the doctor told him to rest for awhile. He got restless after a few days of not doing anything so Allura offered him this temporary job, saying she had an opening because of an incident with one of the teachers.”
“Allura as in the Dean of our school, Allura Altea?”
“Yeah!”
A collective gasp was heard. Everyone knew the reputation of the Dean.
“Who else do the both of you know?”
“I know plenty of people. But Keith only knows a few because he’s emo and doesn’t think he needs friends.”
“Lance stop exposing me to my students.”
“Don’t worry I still love you anyway.” Lance McClain wrapped an arm around Mr Kogane’s shoulder, causing their teacher to blush even more. Carol wondered if blushing so much was healthy or not.
“So anyway, we both know Shiro, you know, the astronaut from the Kerberos mission. And Pidge, the lady behind the codes for the Kerberos rocket launch. And her brother Matt, the geologist who went on the Kerberos mission. And also Coran! He makes the weirdest but tastiest milkshakes.”
“Holy shit,” Carol cursed under her breath. She was literally in the presence of two great beings.
“Alright Lance that’s enough. We’re going home before you say any more unnecessary stuff.”
“But baaaabe.”
“No. Do not ‘babe’ me.”
Mr Kogane slipped out of Lance McClain’s arms and grabbed his stuff from the teacher’s desk.
“You guys.” He pointed to the students. “Are dismissed for today. I will make up for this...another time. It’s clear none of you are going to pay attention now anyway.”
“And you.” He turned to face Lance McClain. “Are going with me to see Allura.”
The actor’s face visibly paled.
“Please babe, no. I do not want to face the Princess’ wrath.”
“Too late. I already told her you’re here.”
“Baaaaabe.”
“Oh shut up, Lance. We’re leaving.”
Before he left, he warned the class not to let slip anything that had happened today if not they would face dire consequences involving the Dean. No one dared to speak after that.
It was only when their footsteps could no longer be heard in the hallway did everyone start talking again.
“Fred, do not say it.”
“Carol-”
“Fred.”
“I’m sorry, but I told you so!”
Carol punched Fred’s arm with all the strength she had.