Chapter Text
- - -
Today was your first official work day in.
It had been a week since that somewhat embarrassing encounter. You and the principal had scurried off quietly after that, not without a followed gaze of disapproval though. That had been your first impression for the teacher who taught in the classroom across yours. No matter. You decided to put it behind you and focus on making a better rendition of yourself to other co-workers and your students.
When you walked into your classroom, the teens who were eagerly chatting, and being obnoxiously loud, suddenly turned their heads to you. Silence fell and damn did you wish you had more social charisma to brush it off. Instead, you semi-awkwardly got to the front of the class and smiled.
"Good morning, everyone."
You introduced yourself and started teaching your first English class.
Who knew they'd love you right away? You certainly didn't. But the way you entertained their humour and taught with a tone that didn't bore the students to death, had won their favour and crowned you as the new 'cool teacher'. You supposed it was because you weren't much older than these High Schoolers, so your generational humour was still aligned. Either way, you thanked whatever god was up there that you matched well with your class.
The lunch bell rang and the class had ended, the students were starting to pack and file out when your ears caught something a few girls chatted about.
"If only we weren't across Dr Ratio's class... ugh, I can't believe we have to be 'quiet' when we walk down the corridor."
"Seriously though, like- we're not grade-schoolers."
"I still feel bad for Amelia. Our girl has been tormented by that asshole... so what if she hands in homework late, right? At least she did it, jeez."
You tried not to eavesdrop but you couldn't help leaning to listen, you wanted to know more about your colleagues after all, especially the man next door you had accidentally pissed off already. Now you could guess that the man you had bumped into with the principal was 'Dr Ratio' and that he was just naturally... harsh.
You decided that you wouldn't let other people's opinion create an impression of this 'Dr Ratio' and pushed the gossip to the back of your head. For lunch break, you headed to the staff room to see how it looked and to hopefully encounter other teachers to befriend.
You cracked open the door and peeked inside, but to your disappointment, nobody was there. You sighed softly under your breath as you stepped inside, having lunch here anyway. The room was clean and somewhat big, enough for 3 tables that could seat 4 people. There were a few microwaves, a fridge, and a coffee machine that seemed older than yourself. You walked over to it and eyed it curiously, the smell of coffee enticed you to have a cup for yourself.
While you were fumbling with the buttons and trying to figure out how to use the damned thing, a few teachers filed into the staff room. A shadow loomed over you from behind and you finally realised that other people had walked in. You glanced over your shoulder and was met with those same pair of deep amber eyes... with the same irritation in them too.
"Good aft-"
"Are you so incompetent that you're unaware of how to use a coffee machine as you are unaware of your surroundings?"
He interrupted you with a quip. You swore you could feel a physical stab in your side with how sharp his tone was.
"Sorry, I'm just not quite sure how to use this."
You said with a slight smile despite this guy's attitude. What the hell was his problem with you already? You suppressed the twitch that threatened your eye.
"Clearly."
He grumbled under his breath with a huff.
The man took a paper cup of his own and pressed a few specific buttons until the machine whirred, while making strange sounds, before it spewed out the dark drink into his cup. He didn't even bother showing you how to do it. Just silently getting his own cup of coffee then walking off to one of the tables without another glance at you.
Holy shit, this guy was a prick.
Thankfully, a soft-spoken female teacher came to your aid with a kind smile and taught you how to properly use it. She led you to her table with 2 other teachers, introducing herself then the others.
"I'm Mrs Moore, I teach the seniors English Literature. This is Mr Moore, the head of English department, and this is Mrs Wright, she teaches the ESL students,"
You wanted to pump your fist, finally, you were with your people!
"Don't mind Dr Ratio, dear. He's always a little grumpy."
"A little? He's been even snootier after he got his doctorate in math... Dr Cruz got hers before even comin' here and she's the nicest damn person in the science department!"
Mr Moore said with a small frown of annoyance, to which his wife reprimanded in a hushed tone,
"Hush- he might hear you say such offensive things... you know how loud you can be."
You grew increasingly curious of Dr Ratio with how much you were hearing about him, clearly he was rather notorious for being... well, a complete asshat.
They chatted with you over lunch and you felt welcomed by their presence, allowing you to relax slowly into the conversation. The warm cup of coffee in your hands soothed you further, along with the rich aroma that wafted from it. This group of teachers felt just like this drink really: comforting, mellow, and absolutely marvellous. You could say Dr Ratio tasted like it in turn, being the bitter man he seemed to you so far...
Lunch had ended and you had no more classes to teach for the day. What an easy first day of work.
You were walking down the corridor to your classroom, planning to arrange your next few classes during your free time. You glanced through the windows of classrooms as you passed, smiling at the sight of teens learning and being taught.
You were about to reach your own when you noticed the one next door was empty, the single man inside wasn't difficult to recognise. Dr Ratio must have the rest of the hour free too then. After some internal conflict of either being a good colleague or ignoring the prick to give him a taste of his own medicine... you decided on the former since you had told yourself before NOT to form impressions of people based on other's opinions (even though he has technically proved to be a jerk to you).
Building up some courage to knock on the door, you gave it 3 quick raps.
There was a short, agonising silence before the man on the other side of the door finally answered.
"Come in."
You swore your heart leapt to your throat in surprise when he actually allowed you in.
The room you stepped into was as you remembered: clean, organised and with the same mathematical signs printed on coloured paper plastered on the walls in an attempt to make the subject itself seem less boring than it really was. The man himself was sat on the chair behind the Teacher's desk, a pair of glasses sitting on his nose.
"Sorry if I was interrupting anything, I just wanted to introduce myself to you. I realised we haven't properly spoken despite bumping into each other a few times."
You smiled politely, hoping he doesn't throw another jab at you this time.
He eyed you up and down behind his specs with that ever sharp gaze of his, even his long lashes were violet. Goddamn, this man really was gorgeous no matter how much of an attitude he's got.
"I suppose you're right."
He said, getting up from the seat.
Grateful that he was willing to talk, your smile widened.
"I'm-"
"I'm sure you know the staff are informed of new members before they join, so I don't need your name or which department you teach in. I am already well aware of such information,"
He interrupted. Again. You felt your smile beginning to waver, but you kept it up as well as you could.
"...But I ought to introduce myself to you personally. I am Veritas Ratio, refer to me as Dr Ratio please."
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
You forced a friendly tone still, and held out a hand to shake.
The man's brows knitted slightly at the hand you held out, a flash of slight surprise and also slight annoyance. He took it and shook firmly, his hold was not tight but definitely still grounding. You glanced down at your joint hands for a second, his was bigger and surprisingly smooth. Once they parted, Dr Ratio crossed his arms over his chest, you let your hands fall to your sides.
"Do ask your department for help if you need any. Know that I am always busy, so I can't 'entertain' you."
He said, the word 'entertain' was paired with an icy gist.
"That also means: do not disturb me whatsoever. Just in case your spatially unaware little head of yours is also socially unaware as well."
- - -
You shut the front door behind you with a little more fervour than usual. Your first day of work had ended on an irritating note with Dr Ratio. Muttering curses as you trudged through your apartment to get to your bedroom, you went through the day in your head.
One thing you liked doing in particular was rating things. It was a silly habit you had developed since you were small, first when your kindergarten teacher asked you to rate your pain from 1 to 10 after you had fallen and scrapped your knee.
Your tiny self had thought it was a very neat thing to do, to rate things. It made things you liked and disliked clear, it made your thoughts and feelings easier to understand for yourself.
The day itself, you decided, was a solid 7 out of 10.
Your students were an 8.
Mrs and Mr Moore were 10.
Mrs Wright was a 6. You needed to get to know her better.
And Dr Ratio...
...
Definitely a strong 1.
1,726 words
Note: --- will mean timeskip
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