Maybe this time I choose. [Grim]

Some days seemed longer than others, some weeks shorter than days and a few months of teaching that felt like centuries. She loved her students. It was the only reason that she did teach. To help her students discover the power within themselves that they didn't know about. Figure out how to strengthen and grow that power to greater heights. She wanted to be remembered. She'd never admit it though. How could she?

Serenity had finished a class with some freshman. To be specific was was required by the Headmistress, as per the school's board. Despite arguing that she needed to spend most of her time in the battle arena with her students, it was a moot point. The Headmistress thought otherwise and insisted there needed to be three classroom sessions.

"Ms. Hikaru?"

Serenity brought herself back to reality at the modest voice calling her attention, "Yes?" She waited patiently for the girl to speak again, she suspected that it was Penelope speaking - one of the younger freshman, but she wanted to wait to make sure.

"I don't know if anyone told you, but you have some mail sitting on your desk."

Serenity sat up in her chair in surprise, rubbing her hands over her desk. In a moment she found what the girl had been talking about. Three envelopes with unknown contents. "Odd, guess there's someone new delivering messages in the school now. Can you tell me the name on it?" Serenity held the mail out in the direction of where she assumed the girl was. There was a moment hesitation before the girl coughed lightly, "L-Lemar?" It was plain to Serenity that the girl was stumbling over whatever name was on the envelope. "Does it have anything else, like a certain department?" Serenity prodded the young girl then. There was a bit of a shuffle on Penelope's part before responding once more, "Oh, math!"

Serenity nodded in understanding this time, "Thank you, that's all I needed. Don't be late to your other class." Serenity waved her hand at the girl then in a shoo sort of manner causing the student to nod and run off. As soon as she heard the footsteps drift out the door and down the hall, Serenity let out a long sigh and kicked her feet up on the desk in front of her.

Even though she preferred to have more athletic clothing for functionality, in the interest of attempting some sort of professionalism - she was currently clothed in form fitting navy blue jeans and a white button down. Her leather boots stopped right at her ankles, appearing to be quite fervently worn and well kept, even though they had seen better days. "How could anyone mistake electives for the math section?" Serenity groaned out loud, tilting her head back with her face pointed toward the ceiling. "I guess I should explore this school more."

Cade was strolling through the classroom district at a brisk pace, though his complexion gave away his mild annoyance. Occasionally, he would mutter something under his breath, like a curse (in proper French Canadian) or an exasperated sigh about the school’s mailing system. He had no idea why it was his mail specifically that would end up at different corners of the school. It had to be a prankster, though he wasn’t sure if they were staff or student. If it ended up in the physics department again, he was considering it a lost cause. It was bad enough that the island had a bug problem, what they had over in that section of the school was more than he was willing to handle.

Systematically, he snooped through every classroom he came across, either inspecting the desk’s inbox or asking the staff member occupying the class whether they received his letter. No dice.

As he approached the door for Power Training, Cade took a moment to collect himself. He adjusted his snazzy vest, juggling his head as he did. The absurd lengths he goes through for a piece of paper, he thought. Before he merely walked in though, he snuck a peek at the name on the door for the sake of getting through pleasantries quicker.

Cade held a hand to his chin, inspecting the classroom with a critical eye. A lot can be told from the way that a teacher sets up their classroom. It seemed rather lackluster, either she didn’t use it often or she didn’t have an eye for style.

The man stopped at one of the student desks and leaned against it in an almost sitting fashion. As he got cozy, he followed the woman’s line of vision, gazing at her ceiling. “Mm, quaint.”

His gaze switched to his co-worker directly. “Ms. Hikaru, I presume? I seem to be having issues with our school’s postal system, I don’t suppose that you have any mail that doesn’t belong to you?”

Serenity was enjoying her brief solitude. Her moment of silence in a world otherwise littered by sound. The faint ticking of clock slowly matching in beats with a man's shoes coming right up the hallway.

He entered into her room and Serenity suddenly couldn't quite shake the feeling she was being judged. She sat up slowly in her chair, "You'll have to tell me your name and I'll see if it vaguely matches one of my students misproounciation of whatever name is on here."

Serenity brought the envelopes out of her lap and into the direction of where she assumed the teacher was standing, her thumb tracing carefully over the smooth material. "Lucky for you, my name seems to be a bit easier." Serenity let a small smirk escape - ignoring all pleasantries for the man that had entered her classroom in reckless abandon smelling like a teenager.

That was the first thing she noticed about him, the second being that if he hadn't spoken she probably would have thought he was a student at first.

As he sat there, Cade couldn’t help but to smirk a bit at the woman’s choice of commentary. She had a sassy little mouth. Not exactly what he expected and quite out of the ordinary for the teaching staff. Usually he was the bad mouther of the room, but he wasn’t going to be outplayed by this amateur.

“Ah, kids these days. Don’t even bother picking up a second language, think everything’s going to be in English for them” he mused aloud as he bounced off the desk and began to pace around the room. It was aimless, but he took the time to appreciate whatever was laid around the room. “How about this instead, I take a guess at how they mispronounced my name. I hear it a lot. Lemur, Lemare, Lemar. They tell me I have to respect my children like they were my own, but it’s so hard to do when they’re butchering my native language right in front of me.”

The man shook his head afterwards, his face scrunching in disbelieve. “Now I know you’re lying to me. There’s no way English speakers have an easier time saying your name than mine. French is different, yeah, but they’re essentially sister languages. Even when I say Hikaru, I immediately doubt that I’m saying it right. High car roo.”

When Cade turned his attention back to Ms. Hikaru, he noticed that she was already holding out the letter. Well, what he came for was waiting right in front of him, so he wandered over and grabbed hold of the other end. As he looked into her eyes, Cade paused for a moment. A strange sensation washed over him.

“Y’know, I have the strangest feeling I’ve met you before… At the last school dance, did you partake in a keg stand and start challenging students to arm wrestle?” Cade questioned with utmost importance.

"What do you expect? English is taking over the world." Serenity was quick to bite back with a retort, the words flowing easily. There was something in the back of her mind that made her wonder how she could fall in step with this man she had just met. She listened as he started to pace, he was a restless man - was he unsatisfied with something or simply bored? What was it that he was seeing right now? "Oh, come now you know a lot of them are American - they can't help it for the most part." She was trying to give her kids the benefit of the doubt. "Plus, French is easier to learn if you started with English instead of learning Japanese." Serenity shrugged then with a nonchalant expression - her pale blue eyes devoid of emotion.

It wasn't incredibly obvious that she was biracial, in fact most people just assumed she was Caucasian. If one looked close enough they might find otherwise. At the teacher's sudden mispronunciation of her own last name, Serenity let out a quick an unarmed laugh. "Now you're just trying to sound bad." She said to him easily.

A moment's hesitation and Serenity felt the man come closer to her - grabbing a hold of the other end of the envelopes she held in her hand. In response she moved her head in the direction she assumed he was, frowning in response to his last comment. He was a stranger, they had never met before - she knew that much. "It's a possibility, I doubt I would have my job though, if I did." She retorted in quick, albeit sarcastic manner. "You must be thinking of someone else."

There was one thing that Cade had to respect of this Hikaru woman, she was still talking to him. By this point most people would have told him to shut up, get out of their office, or both. Maybe she was really lonely. On that thought, Cade let his eyes wander for a moment. She was a solid eight, he certainly wouldn’t be opposed.

Cade’s train of thought was very suddenly interrupted. Upon hearing her next statement, his head reeled back and he let out a hearty laugh. He had to take a moment to wipe a tear from his eye. “Oh, you reveal your trump card too early. You may not look it, but that’s as American as apple pie. English is taking over the world, you’re a funny one. Wanna sing me Sweet Home Alabama over some brewskis?” he asked as he attempted a southern drawl.

The letters still remained in both of their hands though, causing Cade to look down at them and wonder why she felt the need to keep hold of them. Either his previous theory of loneliness was true, or she didn’t take a liking to his mispronunciation of her last name. He didn’t take the chance to fight her grip just yet, considering the value of those letters.

When Ms. Hikaru’s face nearly met with his, he tilted his head curiously. She didn’t outright refute his assertions, so was she the person he was talking about or did she want that air of mystery. Or, third theory time, did she get blackout drunk often enough that she actually had no idea if it was her. He personally wanted to believe his third theory. Either way, the man shrugged it off lightly. “Okay good, I still owe her a hundred bucks. I really didn’t expect her to beat that kid with super strength.”

“Though, maybe that’s why I don’t see her around anymore. It’s a shame really, I don’t understand why the school board seems to be so against us acting like real people around the kids. How do they expect me to develop a relationship of respect with people I can’t smoke or drink with? You know, the basis of respectability” he continued to pontificate in a tone that was a bit difficult to tell if he was being serious.

At Cade's joking comment of her home country, if the women could move her eyes she would have looked at him suspiciously - instead the expression showed quite indirectly in her brows and a slight twitch of the muscles in her face near her right eye. Since her blindness had been an injury, some nerves in the area didn't exactly work the way they were supposed to sometimes. "I'd keep practicing that, I'm sure you'll get it down. Serenity lightly chided his attempt at an American Southern accent.

She wasn't sure why she hadn't let go of his mail quite yet, a delay in reaction and thought made her realize that she wasn't willing to let go yet - she had been too distracted talking to this Lemaire fellow. He was distracting. It was time to shut it down. Serenity let her hand fall away from the envelopes, now leaving them in the owners hands as she took this time to stand up - she had no actual way of telling their height different, but as it was Cade was just enough taller than her for it to be noticeable by anyone around them.

"I have this strange feeling you're the kind of person that talks more when they drink," Serenity said to him lightly. Most people really didn't bother to talk to her for this long, she wasn't sure why. Sure, she liked to seclude herself for the most part - but coming across someone with such an open nature was a nice change of pace. "Sure, we can be real - but we have to be role models too." At least, that was how she looked at it. She was meant to guide these kids into a better path and help them not make the same kind of mistakes she made.

Serenity kept one hand on the desk as she walked around to the side of it, her movements careful and precise. Since she was dressed more professionally then she normally would be, Serenity had also opted to wear her hair down - which was currently at an awkward length for a woman where it could be worn up if necessary, but not necessarily in the most complimentary way. Her hair in question though was well kept in this sense though, as was the rest of her. With this thought, Serenity hesitated for a moment as she moved her fingers to brush some hair on her left side behind her ear. "If we can guide them, then we can be real with them after."

Of all things, Cade expected a childish game of tug of war to commence, one that he was convinced he’d win. Not by superior strength or anything, he’d probably cook up an underhanded tactic based on Ms. Hikaru’s mode of operation. While their petty squabbles continued, the woman had decided to let go of Cade’s prospect. It caught him a bit off guard, which was doubled down by her sudden need to get out of her chair. Maybe it was just based on his past relationships, but he was expecting some sort of catch, like ‘oh sure, you can have the letter, but I’m going to trip you on your way out the door and ‘accidentally’ break your nose.’ Cade needed to find some better friends, clearly.

While his co-worker spoke, Cade took this time to take a quick peek into the letter, just to make sure it was the one he was actually waiting for and not some red herring that wasn’t worth the hassle. He very subtly peeled the lip open and slid the paper out just slightly enough to get the first bit of text. It read:

Mr. Lemaire,

For your next examination, please considering the following equation: 69d = 2^nt. Solve for d.

Cade nodded with a look of pure satisfaction. He saw nothing more beautiful in his life. Well, looks like his night was booked. A text message would have conveyed the same message much more easily, but Cade wasn’t the type to keep something so easily tracked on his person. Besides, it wasn’t like it wasn’t worth the extra effort.

Despite the minor diversion, Cade was still quite present for the current conversation, though he supposed nodding along was a pointless gesture to a person who was very clearly blind. Maybe she could detect the airwaves given off by his head movements? Then again, he should never underestimate the capabilities of anyone, especially gifted folk. She could have ways of seeing that he had no conception for. But that was enough of the thinking, it was time for the talking. “Y’know, I don’t think I’ve ever measured my mouth’s capacity to blather on under the influence of alcohol. It certainly never feels like I talk more than I normally do. Come to think of it, I think I’ve gotten into more trouble by my mouth running sober than drunk” he continued with a curious quirk to his tone. “And I’ve spent a lot of time drunk, especially in my preteens” he added with reassuring certainty.

As soon as Ms. Hikaru got into the whole role-model speech, Cade rolled his head back, expecting to be preached at like plenty of his colleagues had done in the past. It was really old hat, but he was taken by surprise. Not only was it shorter, but it was sensible to the point that Cade held a respectable expression. Perhaps not all of his colleagues lived with their panties in a ceaseless, never ending bunch.

Returning his attention to Ms. Hikaru, Cade absently watched as she brushed her hair aside. He encroached on her, as she had done to him, locking onto her faded whites. “Fair enough” he agreed, a lack of Cadey-ness to his tone, like he was illustrating that he took her seriously. He broke off though, returning to his leaning position at one of the desks. “I’ll have you know though, the last time one of my students saw me as a role model, they planned on conquering the world and keeping me as their minion. I wish I could say I was joking.”

Serenity listened as the other teacher continued his rambles, resisting the obvious urge to push him out the door. As much as she was enjoying his company, oddly enough - the longer she stood in this classroom the more she was reminded of how she needed to take care of it. It was easier just to let the midnight cleaning staff do that for her. "I'm not sure if you should be bragging about that, Mr. Lemaire." She said to him then - briefly realizing that she only knew his last name.

Moving slowly toward him, once Serenity determined that she was within reach - she silently placed her hand on the teacher's bicep. There was a second pause, where with a unreadable expression Serenity lightly mused "Hm." before letting her hand slide under his arm and with a firm yet gentle guidance - bringing the man toward the door. "I've had some students that have wanted me dead." Once again an unreadable expression.

"But those same students didn't like being pushed to really experience their power, so it's all about comfort level I suppose." Serenity continued to make her way toward the door with Cade in tow. Pushing him ahead of her into the hallway in the gentlest way that she could, Serenity stepped out with him and closed her classroom behind her. Reaching into her pocket, she fished out her keys and then proceeded to run her thumb over the door handle of the classroom - feeling for where the lock would be. "What was it? The subject you teach?" Serenity asked him then, allowing for just a tiny bit of curiosity.

Once she had found the lock, Serenity slid the key in with calculated ease as her face remained straight ahead toward the door. A click and then a light jiggle of the door handle afterward let her know that she was successful in the process.

It was like time had no meaning for the moment. It seemed like it was an appropriate time as any for Cade to leave, but it would be quite rude of him to just bail on a conversation. Admittedly, he sometimes didn’t know how to stop running his mouth, normally people did that for him. It seemed he found the one person in the world that either didn’t care enough to ask him to stop or she was enamored by his constant jabbering. Fine by him, he had a social itch to scratch.

Cade released a light witty laugh, like a couple of college gents joking about theoretical physics. “I’ll have you know, it was something to brag about. I was easily the youngest in my Alcoholics Anonymous group and they loved me for it” Cade replied dryly with a bold face. “Some of them even baked me cookies, so, checkmate.”

While Ms. Hikaru had made some very strange approaches to Cade’s person during their brief interaction, none was more eyebrow raising than her sudden grasping of his arm. She did so very subtly and purposeful. It made it seem more natural than it was. Like, if it was anyone else doing it, Cade might have looked to her with befuddlement and a slightly rude questioning of why. Her blindness might have been a factor in that, considering that feeling would equate to seeing, thus she would have naturally developed a subtle way of feeling that was less alarming. She proceeded to link arms with him and walk him toward the door. The blind was leading the dumb, as it were. Considering that Ms. Hikaru did this without acknowledging it, it put Cade into a similar situation where he didn’t feel the need to commentate. That didn’t by any means eliminate the strangeness of the situation.

As he was escorted, Cade’s head bobbed about with the curiosity of a child being dragged by their mother. “Ah, I see. We talking base-level death threats or actual attempts on your life? Because there’s certainly some dangerous students around this school and your line of work has to be up there with campus security in terms of the risk factor” he rambled until he was allowed for freedom once he was within the outer hall again. “The only risk factor that a humble math teacher like me has to face is the possibility of boring my students to death. Sigh, I blame the media for making children disinterested in math. They will never understand the illustrious and mysterious beauty of an unsolved equation, total shame.”

Once Serenity had finally managed to lock her classroom, she turned toward the other teacher with an odd sort of satisfaction. "Yes, well it's too bad that you pick a subject that will forever be misunderstood." If one were to listen closely, sarcasm could be heard laced between her words. Reaching another hand out to pat the teacher's shoulder, it was a quick a deliberate thing that only lasted for a few seconds at most. "It's been... interesting, see you around, Mr. Lemaire." She was pleasant for the time being as she made her way down the hallway and away from the teacher's ramblings.

She had no reason to stay, no reason to argue and despite obviously being just a tiny bit charmed by his voice - it was better that she left now rather than later. If chance would have it, the next time she would see him would probably be months from now. Just another random encounter with a teacher that didn't work in the same area as her. That's all it was.