Chapter Text
UA didn’t hire people that weren’t heroes. That was their whole brand. They were the hero school, why stray from that?
So when you got the call back telling you you’d gotten the position you’d applied for, you were pretty surprised. You thanked them gratefully and soon enough you would begin the school year as the new head of the science education department.
You were turning twenty-six in a couple months and were straight out of college with your PhD in Zoology. Your dissertation was long and complicated and the process of getting your degree was grueling, but finally it paid off because you made it. You would be teaching a plethora of biology courses at one of the most famous schools in the country.
Classes ranged from general biology for the first years to AP biology for the third years. You’d mostly be teaching in the Gen Ed department since everyone in the hero, business, and support course were likely to be pursuing careers outside of Biology. You were also in charge of overseeing other teacher’s classes and a couple science clubs and tutoring programs. It would be a lot of work, but you were ready and energized.
You were very grateful for the opportunity, and you saw yourself teaching there for a long time. The pay wasn’t half-bad either.
Your little brother, Leo, was going on fourteen and going to the local middle school near UA. He lived with you and your little sister, Anya. Anya was seven and the most outgoing person you knew. You were their legal guardian, your parents being out of the picture.
Leo was a good kid, if a little bit of a trouble maker. His quirk was strong and simple. He was able to bend the air around him. Despite his powers, he had zero interest in becoming a hero or anything close to it. He was much more interested in the medical world. You yourself were born without a quirk, but that never stopped you from pursuing exactly what you wanted in life. Your mother used to say you worked much too hard for someone so young. You took pride in this, though.
You and Leo discussed what he wanted to do. He showed interest in becoming a vet, enjoying interacting with all sorts of animals. You encouraged this and listened to him when he ranted and lectured on different species and fun facts about them.
You shared your own facts and lessons, giving anecdotes about the animal labs you had to complete in college.
Soon enough, the year was beginning. You had taken Leo out to the office supply store near your apartment for some school shopping and picked out several folders and pens yourself.
You had to admit you were excited. You had little to no experience with teaching, but you were confident in your education and abilities. Leo had offered to let you practice lessons on him and you laughed and agreed.
You all sat together on the couch, eating pasta and watching Leo’s show. You had a dining table, but you rarely used it for anything but work.
“School tomorrow,” Leo said to both you and Anya, mouth full of spaghetti. “Are you excited for your first day?”
Anya let out a loud, “YES!”
You smiled. “Yeah, I guess. I'm a little nervous, too. I don’t know how complicated to make the lessons. I don’t want to go too hard into college level stuff, but I want to challenge them.”
Leo nodded, thinking. Anya began to rant about how excited she was for the year to begin. You and her had always been more social than Leo, who kept to himself. Anya had a large social circle and was practically going to sleepovers and birthday parties every weekend.
Leo swallowed his food and glanced at you. “When you were my age…did you have a lot of friends?”
You smiled sadly. “I knew a lot of people, but no one was really close enough to call a friend. A lot of the kids weren’t too fond of the quirkless boys.” You thought for a moment. “In freshman year of high school, I dyed my hair bright hot pink. I had wanted to since middle school, but I never did it because I was really scared I’d get crap for it. But eventually I mustered up the courage. No one really cared, but I loved it so so much. I think that helped me realize that I was the only one I really cared to please. And you guys, of course.”
Leo soaked in your words. “So I should dye my hair pink?”
You laughed. “You should do what you think would make you happy. If that means dying your hair pink, by all means, I’ll buy the bleach myself. Just be yourself.”
He smiled sadly. “Yeah. Maybe.”
You watched him as he shoved another bite of pasta into his mouth.
Anya pulled on the sleeve of your t-shirt. You smiled at her. “Yeah?”
“Can I wear the pink dress tomorrow?” she whispered nervously.
“Of course!” you chirped. “Do you want the white tights with it? Or we could do the stripey candy cane ones!”
Her eyes lit up. “Candy cane ones!”
You pulled them both close, hugging them tight. “School will be so much fun, and if it’s not, then we can have fun at home instead.”
Anya squealed happily and Leo grinned.
+++
UA was a large school and you struggled to find the teachers lounge. You’d just barely arrived after dropping off your siblings. Anya ran into the elementary happily, barely glancing back at you and Leo. Leo had walked into the middle school with a completely neutral expression. You worried about him, but you hoped he would take your advice and be himself.
When you eventually found the teachers lounge, you entered with a smile on your face. The teachers all wore their costumes, but seeing as how you weren't a hero, you wore simple slacks and a semi-casual button up.
The room was full of people and you smiled and all that made eye-contact with you. A man approached you. He had gravity-defying blonde hair and the brightest smile you’d ever seen on anyone other than Anya.
“Hello! Are you the new recruit?!” he practically yelled. “I’m Present Mic! I teach the hero course English!”
You winced slightly at his loud volume, but smiled cheerfully. “Yeah, I’m the new head of the science department.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Wowza! You must be pretty smart, yeah?”
You shrugged. “I like to think so.”
The two of you continued chatting and more people came up to introduce themselves. You happily engaged in conversation with all of them.
When the bell rang, you checked your schedule. Your first hour was a third year Gen Ed class learning advanced chemistry. You knew enough about chemistry to get you through your PhD program, but you harboured a deep dislike for the subject (you failed a high school course because your teacher didn’t like you and ever since then, you had a bad taste in your mouth when it came to the science).
You walked confidently to the class and peaked your head in. The students were all chatting and a few glanced up when you entered.
“Hello! I’ll be your new teacher for advanced chemistry,” you announced. Everyone looked up at you and began making their way to the desks. You smiled and most of them smiled back. You turned and wrote your name on the board.
“Alright, let’s begin.”