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Post by zuyuri on Jun 4, 2022 0:29:05 GMT
After a tedious orientation for staff, Jack was finally able to get over to the coffee house. To think his spiced coffee this morning finally wore of the charm. He made his way to the counter and massaged his boney temples. Decisions decisions, what to get? A craving for horchata kicked in, but that wasn’t coffee. However, he could improvise. “Yes, make it a medium roast with almond milk and a dash of cinnamon please. Thank you.” The change he handed the barista rusted over slightly, but at least it didn’t turn into dust. After paying, Jack sauntered to a back room and began flipping through the empty journal he carried
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 11, 2022 20:32:08 GMT
Shiro rolled his shoulders backward as he entered the coffee shop. Most of his classes had gone okay today, but one kid had socked him a little harder than intended during a demonstration and he was still feeling it. Granted, it wasn't entirely the kid's fault. He had super strength and sometimes that was a little hard to control when delivering a blow. But Shiro felt like a pick-me-up was in order. After ordering an espresso and a blueberry scone, he saw that it looked like he wasn't the only staff member who needed a break. "Jack!" he called with a smile. "How's it going?"
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Post by zuyuri on Jun 11, 2022 21:45:46 GMT
"Shiro!" His skeletal hand waved with wide enthusiasm. Ever since that awkwardness in the teacher's lounge that week, he had been careful not to talk to John. The other staff, however, were fair game to chat with. Especially the combat teacher, who just from the look in his gray eyes, looked like he needed a coffee as well. "Oh, you know, enjoying some me time before I have to go back and teach children how to locate a getaway." He hated making his class nothing but cold cases and true crime stories. Superheroes needed to know the other things about crime scenes, such as working with the police (no matter how many students complained) and how to tell if a killer or criminal was sloppy in getting away.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 12, 2022 18:34:36 GMT
"Tough life we lead, huh?" Shiro joked. There was a lot to cover in a couple of years. And if superheroes were smart, they treated their job as an ongoing learning process and continued to pick up skills as they went about their job. Like, students learned the basic controls for most vehicles and aircraft, but some chose to get really good with a couple of them after they graduated. "Mind if I join you?" he asked.
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Post by zuyuri on Jun 13, 2022 4:20:08 GMT
"By all means, this seat is available to whomever wants it. Looks like that lucky person is you." Jack beamed with delight. He set aside the journal, which hadn't even been opened yet, so Shiro could have someplace to rest his arms. "And yes, the burden of passing on knowledge is heavy, but there's a reason we returned to continue passing on our skills. Remember back when there was classic curriculum?"
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 14, 2022 1:46:20 GMT
Shiro took the empty seat across from Jack. He felt like he didn't get moments like this of just relaxing quite as much as he used to. Teaching plus doing superhero work was a bit to do at once. He gave a little laugh at Jack's statement about the old curriculum. "I can imagine it being hard to focus on Shakespeare when he's probably not be very helpful in stopping a meteor or a supervillain with a deadly laser," he joked. Granted, there was still some of that taught at Hero High, just not as much as regular public school. It was used more for teaching the kids critical thinking skills than anything else.
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Post by zuyuri on Jun 14, 2022 3:03:18 GMT
“The only good the Bard would do is give us good quotes to use for a eulogy. Something I don’t want to happen any time in the future.” He took a sip of his coffee. Maria’s funeral quickly glimpsed across his mind. The fact that he put her picture on his ofrenda every fall. How he had been so close to marrying her, and tragedy struck. But he shook the thoughts away. He was here to talk with Shiro about the future, not mope about the past.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 15, 2022 0:46:50 GMT
That took a turn. But Jack looked like he wanted to change the subject, and Shiro was all too glad. He knew first-hand how devastating losing a student was. His own father had been incapable of handling it. "Agreed," was all Shior said on the matter before turning to something else. "Seems like we've got a lot of new students this year, and interesting ones too," he said. Some kids had waltzed into the place like they'd been born and bred to be a superhero. Others...well, judging by how they acted, Shiro guessed that their background was less than ideal. He wasn't sure if students like that were showing up more often or if he was just more attuned to it than others.
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Post by zuyuri on Jun 15, 2022 19:07:01 GMT
“I’m surprised by the upperclassman numbers this year,” Jack remarked. The gambit of students varried each year. The freshmen would outweigh the seniors. One year, there was a massive dropout of sophomores leaving a strange hole. There was also the weight of students home lives, and as a teacher, that was the trickiest to gambit. Those with rough upbringings were inconsistent at best, and then the “pure supers” could strut it with high egos. It was also exciting to see students come back as staff, though, just as he had.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 17, 2022 0:08:43 GMT
Jack had a point. Sometimes people had high hopes as freshmen, but just couldn't keep up with everything and dropped out. Or others thought it was all about punching people in the face when being a superhero was about more than that. And this was coming from Shiro, a teacher who specifically taught how to punch people in the face, more or less. "I guess that means either we're doing better or we've got more kids with grit," he commented before taking a bite of his scone.
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Post by zuyuri on Jun 21, 2022 17:14:23 GMT
“Let’s meet in the middle and say it’s both,” Jack took a sip of his latte. The tastes of home with a mix of something else immediately put him at ease. “Any students in particular that you’re interested in getting to know better this year?” It was wrong to pick favorite students, but the truth was, the beginning of every year resulted in teachers being excited to work with a particular batch. Or heck, there was always the one student all teachers hated.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 22, 2022 0:07:40 GMT
"Agreed," Shiro said. Sometimes, there was only so much a teacher could do and if a student wasn't cut out to be a superhero, they just weren't. Luckily, there were plenty of regular jobs where a superpower could still be useful. Firefighters always considered it a bonus if you could control water, or you could use earth manipulation for construction work. Jack asked if there were any students of particular interest and one did come to Shiro's mind. "I've got this one kid starting this year, he's already pretty good with fire manipulation and everything. But he's got a pretty bad burn scar on his face. I keep wondering what the heck happened." He sighed. "Probably not my place to ask though," he added. Sure, teachers could listen to a student's problems and offer advice and what-not, but they still had to maintain a professional relationship. After all, once these kids graduated and became superheroes, Shiro and the rest of the teachers would probably be working with them pretty often out in the field.
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Post by zuyuri on Jun 22, 2022 0:44:35 GMT
Jack frowned. “Oh dear…” But that description was familiar. Jack couldn’t put his finger on it, but something from Shiro’s description was ringing close. Wasn’t there a young man with a scar behind the counter the other day. He had a rough voice when calling out names, and had written Jack’s name with an angry looking scrawl. But despite the seeming gruff nature, his hot beverage had somehow been a perfect temperature. So the young man was a student as well? Hopefully, the job and schoolwork wouldn’t cause too much stress. “He’ll tell us when he’s ready. As for me, I’ve been interested by that young redhead. She’s chipper and eager, but something about her eyes says it’s more than simple enthusiasm. She wants to learn.”
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 22, 2022 23:54:56 GMT
Shiro nodded. Best to leave stuff like that alone. He knew what it was like to be bothered about something you really didn't want to talk about. After his father had taken his own life, it was all he and his mother had dealt with for several years. At least now enough time had passed for the whole thing to fade out of most people's memory. Maybe every once in a while, a reporter or journalist would ask something after finding out who Shiro's dad was. Jack mentioned a student of interest, a red-head, and the description jogged her memory. "I think I know which one you're talking about. If she takes to hand-to-hand combat like she does with weapons, she'll go far."
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Post by zuyuri on Jun 22, 2022 23:58:41 GMT
Jack laughed and pressed a hand to his forehead. “Wants to be friends with everyone. I remember being like her when I started Hero High. Of course back then, my Spanglish was a bit of a loco.” As a young man, he was able to communicate, but his mind was constantly turning switched of languages. Spanish brain off, English on. Perhaps this was why he gelled well with Shiro, who was also bilingual.
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