Mr. A blinked once and closed the video. An image of one of his students smiling through burns was not a pleasant sight. Nor were the expressions of terror or disgust on several of the other students. Neither reaction was appropriate. He never understood why kids were forced to undergo something like trials. He had done it, and he had his fair share of nightmares from them. People who passed the trial had to reach a balance. The question became how.

How would he get someone like Clo to relax? The kid was too tense and desperate, and likely had a good reason for it. The teacher had encountered enough exceptional gifts, to know that Clo was hiding something. A recognition would probably account for the power. He was only one case though. There was another student who might be just as difficult, but on the opposite spectrum. Thankfully, they weren’t clever enough to hide their recognition. Zealot. Not a fun group of people to work with. Finally, there were the people who needed to realize that there were safer options with their gifts. Not everyone needed to learn how to fight, even if they had combat gifts.

The trial did so much for people beyond just the ability to kill one another. Just passing the trial meant that someone had a relatively easy way to get smarter or stronger. No that wasn’t fair. He shook his head slightly at the mere thought. He had taken the trial like everyone else, and he knew that the people that actually managed to pass wouldn’t settle down for a comfortable life. He certainly hadn’t, and he shouldn’t expect any of the kids to want that. After all his job was to prepare them for the chaos that was the trials, and the people who monetized it.

As a teacher, he loved helping his students, it was literally the only reason he was one. The academy had decided that his attitude and abilities meant that he could handle all of the problem students. Thus, his class was composed of students that needed the most help, and many of them were among the strongest at the academy. He had sent emails to all of them, and three people failed to read them.

He blinked his eyes again and closed the other two videos he had opened. If only the movie theater had been the only issue of the weekend. It seemed like his students were intent on making this job a challenge. One such problem lay on the ground five feet from him. Glancing over to the student, he looked through the rest of the alleyway to make sure the other kids had left. There was some blood on the asphalt, but it was the cracks on the wall that was more telling. One of the walls had what could only be a hand imprint on it.

The student who created the mark was very one on the ground now. The kid wore a black leather biker jacket that was made of some type of metallic pseudo cloth. It would probably work like some cheap armor. Not to mention that it was clearly a custom order. The expense did not equate to style though; it was a bad look. It didn’t match at all with his bright green mohawk which was also not great. If not for poor fashion decisions, the kid would probably be considered handsome in the traditional sense. He had sharp features and a square jaw that made him seem stern. The teacher sighed, before calling out to him.

“Well, Jake are you done yet?”

The student, Jake Larian, had thrashed against the ground for the past five minutes straight. There was nothing the kid could do to escape though. He was firmly trapped beneath the teacher’s aura and couldn’t even respond to the question. The best he could manage was some awkward wiggles, but he had kept at it admirably. Slowly, Mr. A drew his aura back and gave Jake the opportunity to speak.

“You mother-“

Jake’s roar of fury was cut off as Mr. A pushed a little with his aura. Raising an eyebrow at Jake, a student he knew to be intelligent and capable, Mr. A made a very pointed comment. Jake wiggled against the invisible restraints for a few more moments before stopping. The asphalt wasn’t exactly clean, and his jacket was already getting some scratches.

“I know who you are and that you are not this dense.”

Mr. A was careful with the words that he used. In his experience, he found that foul or mean language tended to stop a conversation. Oh, students would respond and nod their heads, but they wouldn’t really listen to the rest. Jake nodded. That was a good first step, though he didn’t release Jake just yet.

“Glad to see you can still act like a sane human being. Now, can you explain to me why a sane human being tried to kill three students here?”

Avoiding toxic language did not mean that he would be polite. His acerbic tone was enough to insult anyone. A second after the chagrin on Jake’s face left, Mr. A drew back his aura again, and this time he did it completely.

Jake moved as soon as he could. His hands surged beneath him, and he pushed against the ground and twisted his body in a short jump. He landed in a half squat with both of his arms stretched out in front of him to balance. It was the type of landing an amateur gymnast would make. He smiled up at the teacher before responding.

“Yeah, they were being assholes.”

He stopped as if that was all that needed to be said. The teacher let out another sigh. This was turning out to be more problematic than he expected, and there were still two more places to visit tonight.

“And what great act of assholery did they commit to deserve death?”

“They were saying some really nasty shit about some girl. Plus, I wasn’t gonna kill them for real.”

Jake’s response made him hesitate a little. If the fight had been about insults against him, then it would be easy to deal with, but this sounded like a case of principles, and good ones on Jake’s part. Chivalry might be dead, but Mr. A wasn’t about to dissuade it in his students. The extreme violence on the other hand was something he could address.

“Let’s leave aside the matter of justification. Two of the kids had broken ribs and the final one had a concussion.”

Jake rolled his eyes, and he shrugged his shoulders with his response.

“So what? I saw a video of a kid trying to kill someone.”

“That was a sanctioned duel. This is an alley brawl. Why didn’t you go to a teacher about the students? The academies very much encourage punishment in the form of training exercises, and I would have been more than happy to provide them.”

Mr. A realized that Jake wasn’t as crazy as he pretended. Who knows, maybe the wild appearance was a part of his illusion? He couldn’t help but think that, as he examined Jake more carefully, and found that he liked Jake. He liked people with strong convictions even if they could be annoying at times.

“The teachers won’t touch a kid from a big family.”

Jake said the words, but the circumstances made him hesitate. Mr. A noticed the irony and responded by waving his hand between Jake and himself. The implied statement was enough to make Jake blush a little.

“How was I supposed to know there would be a super teacher here?”

Mr. A cut in with a cruel smile.

“You attend class. I am your teacher, Jake.”

Jake choked on his response. The teacher’s look was flat except for the obviously fake smile.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“I’ll show up now that I know my teacher.”

As the teacher in question, Mr. A considered giving a snarky response but stopped when his AI alerted him to one of the other students. An image of a girl popped up into his vision. The girl was about to do something incredibly stupid. It was time to leave.

“Good. Since the students were healed, and this was your first offense, I will let you off with a warning. Please don’t do anything like this again. I have two more students I need to meet tonight, and I will trust that you can get home without another incident.”

Jake’s eyes widened at the sudden end.

“You're just gonna let me go? Wait, what was that about two more students?”

Despite the confusion in his voice, Jake looked more interested now than before.

“Yes, you are not the only student that needs some guidance tonight.”

Mr. A replied somewhat automatically as he scanned the video his AI had highlighted. He saw a female student, Maria Abernethy, breaking into a chemical lab. It seemed like his students were really trying their best to make his night interesting.

Jake got his attention by waving a hand.

“Wait, before you go, can I ask you a question?”

Mr. A smiled at that.

“Of course. Any good teacher loves questions, and I have plenty of answers. I would never betray a student’s curiosity.”

“Who… No wait, are there aliens on the uncivilized worlds? I mean smart ones like us?”

Jake changed his question into something annoying.

“You already know that I can’t answer that. Please ask your earlier question.”

Mr. A let his smile disappear with his response, and he narrowed his eyes at Jake. Jake’s family was amongst the biggest and most influential among the sectors, and he should know better than to ask that question. Few things were kept from public ears. This was among the most important secrets that the government maintained, and they wouldn’t be pleased if Mr. A answered it honestly. He was already on the shit list of most of the major powers, and this was not a good reason to provoke them. He couldn’t help but sigh again.

“Ok, who are the other two students?”

The question earned an eye roll. If Jake was trying to be annoying, then he was succeeding.

“Fine, can I at least come with you?”

Jake sounded a little desperate with his question. it was the cry of a child who literally needed something to do.

Mr. A considered what problems could arise by bringing Jake. Jake would almost certainly ask more questions, that was something he didn’t mind though. The real concern was if Jake would disrupt him while he ‘helped’ the other two students. Ultimately, it came down to the fact that he could restrain Jake with a simple application of his aura.

“Why not. Just know that I will restrain you as needed.”

************************3 Hours Later…**********************************

Mr. A had returned to his office, and he was very tired. He had a lot of stats and shouldn’t get mental or physical fatigue easily. Even still, he felt tired. The long day had turned into an even longer night. He leaned back in his chair. It was thick and plush. The kind of chair that would fit a mob boss in a movie and the cushions were designed to bend around his body. It was incredibly comfortable and more expensive than some buildings. His desk on the other hand was plain. It didn’t have any drawers or anything. It was a simple wooden construction of four legs and a flat top. The office was pretty empty aside from a single window and a small tree in a corner. The window was directly behind him, and it was closed at the moment. Thick wooden shutters let in a tiny amount of moonlight.

Lights were built into the ceiling which illuminated the room dimly. It was very much an awkward space and one that he spent little time in. The room would probably fit in a horror movie, but Mr. A didn’t really care. He really only used the room for naps, or as a place to read or watch something. This was the first time he was actually using it for its intended purpose. He gazed across his table at three students who sat on metal stools that had risen from the floor. They were neither plush nor comfortable.

Jake, from earlier in the night, sat quietly with his arms crossed his chest. His black jacket was now a weird shade of yellow in some places. Maria sat next to him with her hands resting in the pockets of her grey sweatpants. She was trying to hide the evidence, but the yellow stains ran all the way up her arms. Her sweatshirt was thoroughly drenched in some combination of thankfully harmless chemicals. Her hood, which was still on, was a horrible shade of vomit green. Although, it kind of looked nice as it made her bright green eyes stand out more. They seemed like they glowed a little within her hoodie. She was glowering, and her sunken cheeks seemed even more empty as she frowned.

The final student, Gavin McAlister wore a stolen school janitor uniform. He had been snooping around the student’s files, but he hadn’t revealed for what. Dirty blond hair dangled across his face as he shamefully looked at the ground. All three were wonderfully talented by school standards, but they all had issues.

“Well, which one of you would like to go first? I am prepared to sit here all night if I need to.”

Mr. A said the words for their sakes. He wouldn’t actually stay here all night. In the worst-case scenario, he would just make them attend some remedial classes. They didn’t need to know that, and Mr. A turned his glare to Jake since he looked the least remorseful.

“Don’t look at me! I’m just as angry as you are. Look what she did to my jacket!”

Jake tapped his jacket as he shouted at Maria. The girl did not even seem a little bothered by his anger.

“Trust me, your better off with literally anything else. And a mohawk, really? You look like an idiot.”

Maria had a slightly squeaky voice. Mr. A didn’t disagree with what she said, but he still winced as he saw Jake's downcast expression. He seemed genuinely hurt by the comment on his hair. It seemed like that getup was more than just an act, and Mr. A was glad he hadn’t commented on it earlier. That in turn made Jake do something stupid.

“Well, your hair is probably worse.”

Jake reached over and yanked her hood back. It revealed a bald scalp and sunken cheeks. Jake’s body froze with the hood in hand at the sight. Jake's eyes widened and then his expression grew very obviously confused.

“What, never seen someone with cancer before?”

Maria snapped at him as she pulled the hood back on. Jake probably hadn’t. Most worlds demanded genetic observation of babies and things like cancer were usually prevented before birth. Although, not every world was the same, and while most cancer is treatable, some locations still can’t be cured properly.

“No. I thought people just got that removed now.”

Jake’s response was genuine and cruel. Mr. A decided it was time to interrupt and save Maria from an awkward explanation if she would even give one.

“Her circumstances are her own, and many people forgo genetic alteration regardless of the consequences. It is even illegal on some planets.”

Mr. A could guess what Jake’s life was probably like, and he trusted the kid to keep his mouth shut here. Jake probably wanted to ask many more questions. Questions about why she didn’t use cybernetics or synthetics to adjust her appearance. It would work too, but not every person was the same. As a teacher, he knew better than to judge another person’s way of life. So long as she wasn’t harming herself or others, or doing something stupid, it was not his place to get involved. Mr. A turned to face Maria and spoke more gently to her. She had not been nearly as annoying as Jake.

“And Maria, you should’ve come to me if you were seeking some basic chemicals for your gift.”

“How was I supposed to know that a teacher would just give me chemicals?”

She responded testily, clearly still bothered from earlier.

“You would know by attending class or checking one of the three emails I had sent you. Though, I trust I will see you there on Monday now.”

He replied flatly, having said something vaguely similar to Jake earlier. Unlike Jake, she had the decency to look a little embarrassed by the comment. Her skin was very pale which made the blush stand out a lot.

“Yeah, uh sorry.”

She didn’t exactly sound genuine, but he took her words at face value. He would give every student the benefit of the doubt, and he could always go for more extreme methods later. He did have access to all of the Academy’s emergency systems.

“Now, Gavin. What exactly did you think would happen if you had managed to steal and sell information on students?”

Gavin shrugged and wrinkled his nose. The gesture was easily noticeable as he had a very large nose. It was hook-shaped like the beak of a bird, and it gave Gavin the appearance of a cartoon character.

“it’s the job. I don’t typically focus on the consequences.”

His voice was artificial, made bland through cybernetics. It was like the old, automated tone of text-to-speech. The kind of thing a mercenary would use to hide their identities.

“You are a student at a school. And the records you could access as a security guard aren’t any better than ones you already have access to.”

“I know. I saw. “

Mr. A gave him a withering look and decided to spread that to everyone. Now, this was a complicated group of students. All three of them had issues to spare. A thought struck him as he looked at them all. Might as well let them work on those issues together.

“Since I know none of you have read today’s email, I am happy to inform you that the three of you will be on a team for the practical classes for the next month. Congratulations! I’m sure you three will get along wonderfully.”

He smiled at them, showing his teeth in a disturbingly satisfied grin.

“Oh, and whoever I assign for your last member will be the team leader.”

The three students looked at one another and simultaneously cursed. That was the most pleasant thing Mr. A heard the entire night. He really did love being a teacher.