Five minutes had passed since the bell rang.

During those five minutes, the students paid the absence of their teacher no mind, as they were all focused too intently on their own personal conversations, covering topics such as which ultrarush team has the worst bandwagon fans, debates over which was the best chapter of the ULTRA SAGA thus far, and whether it felt better to punch a monster in the face, or suplex it.

And then, ten minutes passed. And still there was no teacher.

Kiria was the first to be concerned by this. Cain had noticed as well, but he wasn’t really “concerned” about the teacher and more “disgusted” at their lack of professional decorum.

When fifteen minutes passed, Ryuna stood up from her seat and began to make her way to the door, stopping only when Kiria called out, “Where are you going?”

Ryuna stuffed her hands into her pockets. “It’s been fifteen minutes and the teacher hasn’t shown up. That means we can leave.”

“Pretty sure that’s just a myth,” Zeo said, before smiling. “But, I mean, if it is legit, then I’m down to leave.”

With a shrug of the shoulders, Ryuna said, “Hey, if they planned to teach us, they would’ve shown up, right? They obviously didn’t, so I’m outta here. I got better things to do.”

The instant she grabbed hold of the door handle, the entire classroom went pitch black.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Reina screamed, jumping into Kiria’s lap and clutching onto her tighter than pants you refuse to accept you’ve become too fat to wear properly.

Amidst the panic, a blue light appeared on the front wall of the classroom. This light immediately expanded into a holographic screen depicting none other than Miss Bianca Hope.

“Uh uh uh, sweetie, I’ve got you kiddos all to myself until the end of the period.”

“Ah hell,” Tyger grumbled. “She’s our teacher?”

Cain’s eyes narrowed. “Why aren’t you here?”

“What do you mean?” Miss Hope replied. “I am here. I’m talking to you right now, aren’t I?”

“You know that isn’t what I meant!”

The ears of each and every student were suddenly shocked with pain as Miss Hope obnoxiously and purposely ripped open a bag of chips as close to the mic as she possibly could. “Why should I show up in person? My arc’s finished, so I’m supposed to be on vacation. You’re lucky I’m even bothering with this much.”

“Arc?” Annabelle asked, head tilted to the side.

“You got a boat?!” said Reina. “Can I ride it?!”

Ever the model student, Kiria raised her hand. “Miss Hope, are you actually planning to teach us today?”

Miss Hope let out a respectable burp. “Yeah, sure, that’s what they’re paying me for, right? Mama needs a new video card anyway.”

Now, despite making the claim that she was, in fact, going to teach, Miss Hope did no such thing for a full minute, and then another. The class simply watched on in confusion, annoyance, and some amusement, as their teacher ate chips on screen.

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Thankfully, in time, she did make good on her claim, even if the only reason she appeared to have done so was because she’d finished her snack. Dusting the crumbs from her fingertips, she said aloud, “Alright, kiddos, let’s get this class started then, huh? What subject is this?”

“Sex Ed,” Ryuna said with a smirk on her lips.

Her comment was immediately washed away as Cain barked out, “World Nations. Get your act together, woman.”

“World Nations? Ehhhh….” Miss Hope trailed on, fingers typing away at her keyboard. “Sex Ed actually would’ve been more fun. Especially since I’ve already locked you all inside a dark, soundproof classroom together. You guys wanna switch to that instead?”

From the back of the classroom came the buzzing, venomous voice of Caedo. “Not when I’m surrounded by hideous hags like these!”

Ryuna reached her foot over and kicked him in the side of the knee, causing him to crumple to the floor. “Shut the fuck up, Caedo. You smell like earwax.”

“Alright, fine,” Miss Hope relented, making a dramatic show of her disappointment. “Somebody name all the countries in the world, then.”

Lance sighed, dropping his chin onto the arms he’d folded over his desk. “Why does every teacher just ask us if we already know the material?” he mumbled.

Kiria was the only student to raise her hand, but Miss Hope wasn’t the type of teacher to limit her options as such. Her game plan was to instead choose whoever looked the least confident about their ability to answer. “Tyger! How ‘bout you give us the answer, hm?”

“Crap,” he growled to himself. “Uh….There’s Fighters Heaven. The country started by martial artists and brawlers. That’s where I live.”

Ryuna held her hand up. “Hell yeah, me too! High five!” He obliged.

“Then there’s Leotera, the biggest one. That’s where Stone Dragon’s from.”

Annabelle’s head tilted curiously to the side. “Stone Dragon?”

To her surprise and utter delight, it was actually Zeo who provided the answer. “Oh, hey, I remember him! He’s the main character from that superhero cartoon, right? Everyone in Leotera grew up watching it.”

Tyger’s brow furrowed. “He ain’t just some cartoon character! He’s one of the greatest heroes of all time! Put some respect on his name!”

“Uh, sorry?”

Miss Hope snapped her fingers right next to the mic, blowing out a few eardrums in the process. “Hey, you still got a buttload more to go, big guy. Hurry it up.”

Continuing, Tyger said, “Uh….oh, there’s the Grahl Empire! That’s where RAYTO first appeared!”

“Are superheroes the only point of reference you have for the countries?” Cain sneered.

“Piss off!”

At the front of the classroom, Miss Hope said, “Yeah, you’re taking too long. D-.”

“H-huh?! I’m gettin’ graded on this shit?!”

Ignoring him, Miss Hope sighed and gave Kiria the floor, just wanting this boring lesson to be over with. “Bring us home, sister.”

“The Kingdom of Leotera, the Grahl Empire, the Vash Republic, the Jura Dinosty, the Dragon Clans, Kahe Ana, Fighters Heaven, Libertas, Aeon, and Radia.”

“And what’s the capital of each nation?”

“Cairn Leone for Leotera, Grail for the Grahl Empire, Beryll for the Vash Republic, Meteora for the Jura Dinosty, Ryugujo for the Dragon Clans, Manao Lumi for Kahe Ana, Ougi for Fighters Heaven, Alttaelim for Libertas, the HEARTSHIP for Aeon, and Radia City for Radia, of course.”

Annabelle and Reina’s faces lit up, and the two girls began applauding.

The only response to Kiria’s confident answer was the frantic typing of Bianca’s fingers on the keyboard. After a few moments of quiet, she then said, “Yup, checks out. Round of applause for Little Miss Know-It-All.”

Zeo turned to Lance. “Did she just search the answer online to make sure it was right?”

“Yup.”

“So….she doesn’t even know what she’s supposed to be teaching us?”

“Nope.”

Letting out a yawn, Miss Hope then said, “Well, it seems like you kiddos now know all of Planet ULTRA’s countries, and thus no longer need to study World Nations. Now aren’t I just the most efficient teacher?”

“So….” Ryuna began. “Can we go now?”

With a click of the keyboard, the lights returned to the classroom. “Sure. Have a good day, kiddos.”

“There’s still an hour-and-a-half left in this period!” Cain spat, insulted by the teacher’s lack of professionalism. “What are we supposed to do until our next classes?”

“Not my problem! Go bother somebody else!”