Chapter Text
First impressions are key; the way we see one another can be illogical, sudden, and yet curiously inflexible.
It was a mantra you knew all too well. One that you took upon yourself to bear in mind whenever new encounters were a matter at hand. And with clothing being carefully calculated and times having been meticulously set, you’d already preemptively decided that this encounter would be no different. As if you had places to be, you strutted across your bedroom floor to your closet with purpose; careful not to wake the young Zorua sleeping at the end of your bed. With Fearow-eyed focus, you filed through your clothes to curate the perfect outfit: something that screamed, “I’m a professional, respectable adult,” but also, “I’m a chill teacher who’ll work well with the kids.” It couldn’t be the ensemble you wore to your interview with Director Clavell the last time you saw him, as nice as it was.
What if he remembers and thinks I’m tacky?, you thought, He wouldn’t remember something like that. He sees, like, hundreds of people a day. Still, what if he did remember? You couldn’t take that risk. You continued rummaging through your closet until you came across a pair of pants that seemed just right, so you took them off their hanger and started to build from there.
You’d spent years teaching ecology at a local primary school here in Cascarrafa before finally getting hired as the resident ecology teacher at Naranja Academy. You remained diligent as you laid out your outfit for tomorrow, when you’d be heading to the academy for a little more orientation before the start of the new school year only a few days from now. Oh, just the thought of it made you squeeze the clothes in your hands with excitement. You could hear the Nymbles chirping outside and yawned as you placed your jewelry out on your nightstand. Peering outside through your curtains, you saw it was pitch black out and nodded satisfied as you remembered the alarm you’d set for 6:00 AM. With that you got under the covers and turned off the lights, but your mind had already started up again with questions and daydreams about the academy. Besides the entrance hall and Director Clavell’s office, what else was there? What would your classroom look like? How would you decorate it? What would the students be like? The school had students of many different age groups, you could have classes of mixed grades! Now that you'd gotten started you could've stayed fantasizing forever, except for the fact that you practically couldn't if you hoped to not somehow oversleep and lose the Director's respect, or worse, your job because of your horrendous incompetence. So instead, content, you closed your eyes. Afterall, just like every meeting before, tomorrow was a day (obsessively) planned to be nothing short of the pinnacle of professional success.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
You woke with a start at the sound of your alarm and groaned as you reached over to the nightstand from beneath the covers to turn it off. Groggy, you wiped the dried drool you realized had pooled on your cheek, pushed the fluffy gray butt of your stretching Pokémon off your face, and forced yourself to crawl out from under the warm safety of your sheets, wondering where all your enthusiasm from yesterday had gone. It would come back to you eventually, if not in the form of excitement at least that of adrenaline-fueled anxiety. You tried to make your bed as quickly as you could with the little yipping menace starting his morning routine of weaving between your legs and pouncing on your hands to get you to head to the kitchen, and nearly tripped over him as the two of you raced down the stairs to get the Pokéfeed. Once he’d been dealt with you could finally get on with quietly panicking as you rushed to get ready, then hurried out of the house to board a flying taxi to Mesagoza and gave yourself a pep talk as you trudged up the huge staircase leading to the school.
There will be no delays, no slip ups, and definitely no unplanned experiences that will change the course of your career and/or life as you know it, you thought, Think positive: things are going to go smoothly, you're perfectly prepared, you'll be fine. You huffed, geez this staircase was long, would you really have to scale this thing every day? After only a few feet your quads were burning, and the mental image you had of the academy's students was becoming more and more fit with each step you struggled to take. They must’ve had legs of steel, and it was a good thing you'd thought to put on extra deodorant because you certainly didn't. Stepping inside the entrance hall you resisted the urge to crane your neck up to look around the place and risk appearing unprofessional. You gazed in awe at the Noibats flying among the bookshelves behind the old receptionists at the front desk. They seemed to be readying for bed, searching for nooks to hang from as the tangerine sun rose higher over the horizon. Their little squeaks reverberated off the towering dome ceiling, muffling the echoes of your footsteps as you approached one of the women.
“Um, hello. I have an appointment with Director Clavell scheduled for 7:40 AM today.”
She looked at you attentively, “Alright, and your name, please?”
“Oh,” You let out a soft laugh and gave her your name as you tried to clear your mind.
“Okay, could you please give me a moment as I look for you h-e-e-e-re…?” She glided over to her monitor and scrolled around before perking up.
“Ah, for 7:40, yes?”
You nodded and she handed you a visitor’s pass before calling Clavell’s office to let him know you were coming. The receptionist then pointed behind you to your left.
“His office is down that hall, third floor.”
You vaguely remembered it being in that section of the building. Thanking her, you hurriedly headed on your way. It was already 7:30 and you were not about to be late for this.
On the third floor you walked down the hallway until you reached a door with “Clavell” written on a plaque next to it and gently knocked before cracking the door open to take a peek inside. You spotted the Director seated at his desk…and the big, fluffy, purple hair of someone sitting in one of the chairs lined up on his left wall. Though from where you were standing, their body was completely hidden by a worktable’s row of top cabinets. The Director was flipping through some documents before he looked up and noticed you.
“Ah,” He said, greeting you with that ever formal ‘Sra.’, “Please, do come in.”
You carefully closed the door behind you and made your way down the rows of worktables to his desk. As you approached you glanced to your left, and out from behind the office supplies the purple hair’s mysterious owner was revealed to be a man in an oversized lab coat. He seemed to have just gotten off his phone and you smiled as you quickly waved him “hello” before looking back at Calvell, who’d risen from his seat and was walking around his desk to greet you.
“It is a pleasure to see you again. I do hope you’re doing well. As you know, today is the last day of your orientation before beginning your new life here with us at Naranja Academy.”
Clavell slowly raised an arm to gesture over to the seated stranger, “As such, I have kindly asked Mr. Jacq—our Biology Instructor and head of the General Studies track—to provide you with a tour of the campus.” As he spoke, "Mr. Jacq" got up and began walking over to you two with a warm smile on his face. He put a hand out for you to shake, which you grasped loosely.
“Hello, hello, it’s nice to finally meet you! I’ve been hearing word of a new ecology teacher but haven’t gotten the chance to welcome you myself until now.”
“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you as well.”
You spoke as eloquently as you could manage considering how nervous you were, but then stopped to examine the person in front of you a bit more. Not only was his lab coat at least two sizes too large, but he appeared to be wearing…pajamas and sandals? Maybe it was loungewear? It wasn’t necessarily a work day for teachers but still, this was a business appointment. What on earth was the dress code for this institution? Oh no, were you overdressed!? To dampen your intensifying bout of anxiety, you quickly brought your eyes back up to his face, which seemed…familiar. But you couldn’t quite place where you’d seen him before, if at all.
Wait, the designer of the Pokédex app works at Naranja now, you thought. You’d seen him when the software was broadcasted on the news a few years back. He had big, purple hair and weird glasses…and wasn’t his name Jacq!? It took everything to stop yourself from tensing up in front of the two men. This was certainly not how you’d imagined meeting a well known contributor to modern zoology: toes out, in his slides, in your boss’s office, while silently trying to figure out if your pits were beginning to smell from the flood of stress sweat you were attempting to contain under you arms. Oblivious, Clavell went on, “Now then, I don’t believe the two of you have any need for me anymore. See to that tour.”
Then he addressed you, “When your orientation is finished you can simply check out at the front desk. Mr. Jacq will return here to notify me on how it all went.” The two of you agreed and Mr. Jacq turned to you, “Feel free to ask me any questions you have, okay? We wouldn’t want you leaving your orientation confused, now would we?” His voice drawled with a certain easiness, sometimes drawing out his first syllable as if perpetually unsure of something. Swallowing hard under your breath, you nodded to him solemnly, prepared to mentally take note of every word he uttered and every new thing he showed you. With that, the two of you headed out the door and into the hallway. On your way down to the stairs Mr. Jacq explained what wing this was and what faculty members and students were allowed to do here.
“There are six wings and each is fairly specialized for a specific use. If you ever feel lost, the monitors around the school all have a map, and you can always ask the receptionists, Mrs. Linda and Mrs. Kendra in the entrance hall for help.”
As you stepped into the entrance hall Mr. Jacq pulled out what appeared to be a map for a quick glance then guided you up to the next wing on the left side before looking over at you again, “So, ecology, huh? What led you down that route?” Oh no. Your muscles ossified. You’d been so focused on doing the tour that the notion of preparing for any kind of extra social interaction had never crossed your mind! And now he wanted to try small talk!? You attempted to remain calm as you forced words out of your mouth, quickly trying to formulate a sentence that made any sort of sense and wouldn’t ruin this guy’s developing perception of you.
“Um, well, I’ve…well I’ve always loved how everything affects everything, you know? How plants and Pokémon shape their environment, especially here in Paldea. I used to be working in the field, studying reef ecosystems for Corsola conservation. But I’d always had a real love for teaching and I missed home, so I’m doing this now. Teaching others about these things allows me to share what I love with them… Hah, but with a biology teacher already, what do they need me for?”
He shrugged, “Eh, it’s more of a fundamentals course. You’ll be teaching them about how all of it actually plays a role out there.” You smiled with customary gratitude, then fell into silence. Seemingly reciprocating, Mr. Jacq didn't prod you for any more little facts about yourself as you took a few more steps down the passageway, and the echoed treading of shoes on ivory square tiles was the only sound that filled your ears. It was strange, how you could like things a certain way but at the same time not want them to be. You could feel your heart beating faster, and you drew your lips inward. You wanted him to know you, to like you. You had to try. The words came out all at once, meek and soft-spoken, “…And what about you? What made you choose bio?”
“Huh? Well, Pokémon are such a diverse phylum. I’ve always been fascinated by how their abilities work and how species differ from one another. Not only in body plan but in physical makeup and behavior.”
“Oh, I get that. Like, I love how Wiglett always confuse people from other regions since they’ve evolved to appear so similar to Diglett.”
“Ah! When they come out of their little holes and people are like, ‘Oh no the Diglett’s drowning—!’”
“And you’ve got to run over to stop them from trying to pull the poor things out of the water!”
“Yes!”
The two of you broke into a fit of laughter.
“There’s at least one person like that every time I go to the beach!” You said. Suddenly Mr. Jacq’s smile grew more earnest as he stared out in front of him, “It’s so fun to calm them down and watch their faces go from terrified to…to excited and curious as they learn more about Paldea’s wildlife.” Wide-eyed, you adjusted your bag strap, “Mm, I guess I can see where the teaching part of your career comes from.” To this, the man just gave a soft laugh, his gaze flitting away.
“You know what I really love?” You spoke up and asked. Curious, Mr. Jacq’s heavy-lidded eyes met yours again, “What?”
“It…it may sound weird, but watching the Pokémon watch us as we learn something about them they thought was common knowledge. When, for a second, none of us can trick ourselves into thinking we’re better than we actually are. That sometimes, we really are still just as oblivious as when we started.”
Your words seemed to draw Mr. Jacq into himself, leaving his mouth ajar and unaware he was staring until you began to shy away. Then, startled, he smiled, “Oh! Sorry.” Not knowing how else to react, you nodded and gave him a noncommittal hum.
Just moments passed before they were nearing the end of the wing, and Jacq once again took out the map of the academy Clavell had personally routed for him, their long-standing issues with his scatterbrained tendencies made apparent by the numerous color-coded arrows and large-numbered steps littering the page. Though, to be fair, the large numbers could’ve also been due to the Director’s eyesight declining with age, and Jacq rather chose to believe that instead. According to it, after this, he was unsurprisingly supposed to take the new instructor over to the last wing on the left side of the building to keep the tour as brief and efficient as possible. They’d talked about it, he’d agreed to it, but now he found himself gazing at the paper. A faint, indescribable beyond “undesirable” feeling was settling in his chest. Finally he smiled, folding it up and stashing it in his pocket before looking back over at the curious woman “And if you follow me this way, I’ll show you the observatory. Why, um…why do you like that so much, Ms.?”
They continued their trip around the school, from the dorms, to the cafeteria, to the library; their back-and-forth echoing off the grand time-tested halls as they drifted from wing to wing. He welcomed her—what she deemed—tales of mundane fieldwork experiences and sad excuses for humor, and despite his apologetically sporadic rants about Capsakid tissue or new discoveries made in the world of Finizen linguistics, he was always met with unrelenting reassurance when he tested the ever-thinning limits of just how long she’d let him talk.
Eventually their less hurried route led them up to the schoolyard, where Jacq began to explain its use for the Battle Studies course and recreation. But just then, a faint cheep, almost going unheard under his own voice, carried over from what sounded like the far right end of the yard.
“What’s that?” She asked.
“I don’t know.”
The cry was high and desperate, and concerned, he started walking over to investigate. But for a moment his orientee lingered behind, suddenly hesitant as she probably tried to form a refute that wouldn't seem too harsh towards a new soon-to-be coworker.
"But…we…!" Was all she could muster, uneasy eyes dancing between him and the door they'd come through, seemingly paralyzed by the very idea of veering off course. It was probably for the best that he didn't tell her they'd already been doing so for a while now.
"It's okay," Jacq said as reassuringly as he could, "It'll only take a moment." Cocking his head he urged her over and his tone seemed to have an impact, but she stayed standing there like a Deerling in headlights. Clutching the hem of her top, she danced on the balls of her feet until another tantalizing "cheep" helped curiosity wear her down, and she finally came scurrying over. But when they got there, despite the chirps getting louder, they didn’t see anything.
“It’s definitely somewhere on the ground," she said, looking down by her feet, “And it hasn’t stopped…” So they resorted to snooping through the partially overgrown grass, dappled by the light pouring down through the leaves, and Jacq gasped when he finally spotted a quivering bundle of feathers that he promptly scooped up in both hands, “¡Ajá! It was this little squirt,” he said, spinning around to show the tiny Fletchling nestling to the ecology teacher, who began to coo as soon as it entered her field of vision. Pink, fluffy, and almost comically frail, it flailed helplessly in the cup of his palms.
“It’s still too young to be down here,” he said matter-of-factly, then turned his attention upward. Soon his eyes widened and he gestured with his chin to one of the top branches of a short nearby tree, spotting the unmistakable mass of twigs and red-white plumage, “There, a Fletchinder’s nest! The fuzzball must have fallen out.”
“And no one’s come down to get it,” She added, “Its parents might be out hunting right now.”
“Well then, we should probably get it back up there before they find us like this,” Jacq smiled, then had to stop himself from smiling wider as her face hardened with newfound urgency.
“Oh, right! Alright, you want to climb?”
“I’d do it, but I didn’t exactly dress for rigorous activity today,” Jacq laughed helplessly, lifting up one of his sandal-covered feet. Though unintentional, his remark seemed to fill the little woman with new resolve, and she sized up the tree before looking back at him, “Okay, I’ll do it.” The conclusion they’d eventually come to was obvious, so maybe it was the nearly melodramatic solemnity with which she said it that left him nodding silently as he stood there watching her begin to roll up her pants.
“Alright, give me the baby,” she finally said, putting out her hand. Jacq furrowed his brow, “How are you gonna do this? Do you think you’ll make it up there with one arm?”
“No. Mr. Jacq, I’m going to need your help,” she said bluntly, and with all the seriousness of this being some sort of preplanned rescue mission. And it was with that that she took hold of the chick and began her ascent up the tree, Jacq finding himself beneath her once she’d gotten high enough to yelp for a boost.
“Here?” He asked, beginning to hoist up one of her feet.
“Yeah, yeah! Now just a bit higher…!”
She stood nearly tip-toed as they wobbled to reach the nest far out on a branch, straining breathlessly as Jacq dodged a close kick to the nose by her other leg when she slipped. He looked up at her simultaneously anxious and delighted face, sweat gathering on her brow, then his eyes wandered down to her bare knees peeking out from under the cuffs of her pants, mottled with scars from a bygone age he knew all too well. A dorky, awed grin spread across his lips as she continued to struggle. From what exactly, he didn’t know.
“Okay, Mr. Jacq? I’m going to need you to give me a big boost and I’m going to hop onto that bough and climb over, okay?”
“Yeah, alright!”
With a heave they made short work of the gap and she straddled the oak. She inched towards the nest, careful not to shake the little thing loose, and Jacq looked on with clenched fists until she finally landed the tiny bird Pokémon in the roost among its startled siblings. Then there, under the canopy of illuminated leaves, to the cheeping of frightened chicks, they found themselves cheering over being two adults who managed to climb a tree.
Continuing your tour after your unscheduled ordeal in the schoolyard, you eventually followed Mr. Jacq down the hallway on the first floor of the last left wing of the building. As you came to a closed door on your left he gestured to it saying, “And this is the biology lab. You’ll find me here most hours of the school day. Well, this and the General Studies track homeroom, no surprise there. So if you ever feel like visiting, you know where to find me.” He then grasped his chin as he thought out loud, “Oh, the Director actually told me your classroom was going to be on this floor. I think he said it was room 2-D, which should be… Huh, yeah, it’s this one right here!” He pointed to the door just right of his and you both looked at it in surprise, then a small laugh escaped him, “I guess you finding me isn’t going to be as hard as we thought. Glad I’ll be seeing more of you.” He said your name so sweetly that the ‘Ms.’ sounded more polite than professional, and you had to suppress a widening smile.
“Same here.”
Mr. Jacq looked up in thought, “A-a-a-nd that actually winds up our tour. Here, let me see you to the entrance hall.”
As you reached the front desk Mr. Jacq waved you goodbye, “Again it was nice meeting you! Be sure to drop by over the next couple of days if you want to decorate your room a bit before school starts. Apart from that, see you then!”
“Alright, muchas gracias.”
You watched him head off towards Clavell’s wing before turning to check out with the receptionist. As you started descending the school courtyard’s unnecessarily large flight of stairs, you found yourself looking down at your hand. Absentmindedly, a little singsong laugh escaped through your nose, and you began to hop like a girl down the steps.
The first day of school came before you knew it and you were elated to have made it through your first class without trouble. The kids were nice and mostly cooperative. They reminded you of your students back in Cascarrafa, who you found yourself missing a bit whenever you looked at them. During your second period you briefly left to print some papers and started reading through them on your way back just to make sure they’d all printed properly. Who knows? Maybe you told the machine to print an image on the wrong page or something.
Suddenly your name rang through the hall, “Is that you!?” You heard a voice behind you exclaim, causing you to jump in surprise and let out an embarrassingly loud yelp. You turned around to see the biology teacher jogging towards you and let out a sigh of both humiliation and relief.
“Mr. Jacq you nearly gave me a heart attack!” You half-joked as you stopped to let him catch up to you. He laughed as he approached and accompanied you while you walked back to your classes.
“So, how’s your first day going? Are those little rascals treating you well?”
“You know, it’s going surprisingly smoothly. They’re behaving as good as they can manage for their age. And they all have so many questions!”
“Happy to hear it.”
You reached your door and started telling him goodbye before he suddenly poked his head in behind you and looked at the class, “Hello, hello you ragamuffins, are things going well in here?” The young students looked up from talking to one another to wave.
“Hey, Mr. Jacq!” Yelled some.
“Yeah, Mr. Jacq!” Shouted others, and the biology teacher laughed under his breath.
“Make sure to be good to our new friend, alright? Try to make her feel welcomed.”
They exclaimed unnecessarily enthusiastic agreements as Mr. Jacq slipped back out the door and waved you goodbye from the hallway before heading off to his class. You smiled as you turned back to your students, “Alright, team, I got your papers.”
You taught two more classes before it was time for what you considered the worst part of any new teaching gig: your lunch break. You were really nervous about having to sit around other faculty members you didn’t know in the staff room. It would be so awkward, but you didn’t have many other options. As you hesitantly walked down the hallway you pondered, Maybe I could just stay in my room? Geez, that sounds lonely. Maybe the library? You then heard the faint, flip-floppy sound of sandals on tile behind you and before you could turn to look, Mr. Jacq had already strolled up to your side. He slowed down to match your speed as he greeted you again, then spotted the lunchbox in your hand and held up his, “Hey, what're the odds? I’m actually on my lunch break too! I’m headed to eat with a few of my friends up in the schoolyard, you’re welcome to join me if you want.” He then caught himself and furrowed his brow in realization, “U-unless, of course, you had other plans.” Suddenly you felt your nerves melt away, and you shook your head, “Uh…no, I don’t have any, thanks. You sure your friends won’t mind?”
“Of course! What are they gonna do, bar you from sitting with us? Come on.”
Once up at the schoolyard’s entrance, Mr. Jacq used his ID to unlock the doors and the two of you stepped inside. You looked around for a moment and breathed in the warm, fresh air as he scanned the area for his friends. Students were running around as they trained with their Pokémon partners under the golden rays of sunlight that were pouring down through the open ceiling, and wild bird Pokémon were perched in the trees growing around the perimeter. The place looked so different from when you’d seen it last. Your sightseeing only lasted a few seconds before you heard Mr. Jacq exclaim, “There they are! Come on!” As you followed behind him you spotted two people seated on one of the bright yellow benches under the shade of the trees straight ahead: a man in a gray all-over-print tux and a woman in a black and gold form-fitting tracksuit. As you drew closer, the pair took notice and waved.
“Osu, Jacq! Hurry up would ya!?” The woman yelled. She then noticed you behind him and her bright orange eyes narrowed into a confused frown, “Is that a student of yours!? Where’s her uniform!?” You were—naturally—unfazed by her questions, but the “uniform” part made you think of analyzing their getup. Seriously, what was the dress code here? You couldn’t tell if you were dressed too formal or not formal enough! Mr. Jacq looked back at you and smiled apologetically, “Heh, sorry, that’s Dendra.” He then turned back as you reached the benches to scold his friend, “D, thanks for your concern but this is actually the new ecology teacher,” he chided before giving your name. The woman looked horrified and clasped a hand over her mouth, “Aw man, I’m like, so sorry! I didn’t know!” You laughed as you reached a hand out for her to shake, “It’s cool, nice to meet you.”
“Same here! Again, I’m so sorry I mistook you for a kid! It’s just your height, and you have such a young-looking face! Though, I guess you probably get that a lot…uh…sorry. I’m gonna…I’m gonna stop talking now.”
You gave her a concerned smile, “No, it’s really fine. Don’t sweat it.” Mr. Jacq then gestured over to the well-dressed man who’d just swallowed a bite of the sandwich he was holding, “And this is Mr. Salvatore.” You again went to shake hands with your new acquaintance, “Hello!”
“Bonjour!”
You two sat down on the adjacent bench and Dendra started mixing her bowl of chicken teriyaki, “I was just telling Salvatore about this game I’d started playing when he told me he, ‘doesn't care much for video games!’” She cried, attempting to mimic his deeper voice as she quoted him.
“Mhm, it’s true. I much rather prefer to read. Wait, is that really what I sound like to you?”
He received nothing but a grin from Dendra as she took a bite of her meal.
Video games, huh? A perfect opportunity to insert yourself into the conversation and make a good first impression!, you thought, Now you just need to produce actual words.
“N-no, I…I get that,” you nodded to Salvatore, “I love video games but sometimes it’s nice to just listen or watch the story unfold instead of playing it yourself. Like, I’ve been watching streams for the new Invaders game lately.” Mr. Jacq sprung up, “Oh! Me too! That franchise has been around for decades, I have no idea how they keep cranking out aliens but I love the designs for all the new ones you fight.”
“Yeah, it’s cool how every little part of their design helps accentuate their theme.”
“And they draw from lots of super cool real life Pokémon and plant adaptations that few people talk about. Like the water level one’s mi—”
“—Mirror scales! Yeah! It’s such a unique method of camouflage! It’s inspired by Latias’ down, right?”
“Yes! I’ve always wanted to see it in action for myself—”
Dendra put her hands out as if she was approaching a wild Pokémon, “Okay, okay, guys! Salvatore’s done his sandwich and neither of you have even touched your lunches! Come on, we’ve only got fifteen more minutes!” Before fear could tell you to do otherwise, you raised an eyebrow to accompany your grin, “Dang, you hate him talking about Pokémon that much?”
“No trust me, if you let him go on like this he won’t stop! It’s for his own good!”
Salvatore covered his mouth as he chewed part of his berry side dish, “D, you've got your work cut out for you. It appears we’ve now got two Jacqs!”
“Hehe, Dendra’s right,” Mr. Jacq said as he rubbed the back of his neck before unzipping his lunchbox and taking out one of two small chocolates he'd packed for dessert, “Anyway I got a little too into the streams. I managed to spoil most of the game for myself and I haven’t even bought it yet.” Upon hearing this, Dendra puffed out her chest, “Ha! Get on my level, losers! I’m already in the postgame!”
“What!? How!?” The two of you yelled in unison. You frowned, “I-it just came out last week!”
“Dendra, how'd you have time for that!?” Mr. Jacq exclaimed, looking somewhat concerned, but the woman simply laughed.
“Look, targeting all your muscles is important if you hope to be fit. On upper body days, ya gotta work your fingers as well as your arms!”
Not long after, the bell rang and it was time for the next period. As you packed up you bid your new coworkers farewell, then accompanied Mr. Jacq to the left door while Salvatore and Dendra headed for the one behind the benches. Once you’d gotten far enough away you turned to him, clutching your lunchbox's handle as you eyed him through your lashes, “Thank you again, for inviting me. I rarely ever expect people to be as nice as they were to a stranger.” Really you knew you were thanking him for something more, for everything that had happened since you'd met, but explaining such a thing seemed both too weird and too difficult of a task. Endeared, the man smiled, “No problem! Most staff at Naranja are super friendly.” He then looked away and scratched his cheek, “…Apart from Raifort, who can seem a bit eccentric or blunt at times, but even she means well. Don't worry so much, not about us." With a little smile, you gave him a humming nod. Soon you reached your wing and readied to part ways as you entered your classrooms. Then he turned to you and waved, "See you soon." He said, and your name, just your name, rolled off his tongue.
Your eyes widened, lips drawing in a tiny gasp you were sure only you could hear. It was such a little thing, and yet it made you beam as you raised a hand to wave him back, "See you, Jacq." You felt enlivened as you walked through the door, and once it shut, giddily squeezed your lunchbox and did a little dance on your way over to your desk before greeting your new class with a big smile and bubbly, “Hello, team!”
“What’s up with the new teacher?” A student whispered to their desk mate.
“What? She’s a teacher?” They muttered back, “I dunno. She seems pretty nice, though.” Giving yourself an affirming huff, you readied to face the rest of the workday ahead of you. Yes, first impressions were key; the way we saw one another could be illogical, sudden…
…and yet curiously exciting.