Teaching at such a young age, fresh out of college, would not be the perfect and exemplary way to go around getting respect within a high school. Most of the students that would be taught were, at the least, six years younger than you are - given that your age be 24 years old. Kiku Honda, a brand-new teacher brought in to teach Senior maths class, was exactly that age and had an excessive amount of difficulty bridling his students.

Most reasoning behind not listening to a younger teacher is that they're practically still kids themselves, so why should they heed him?

Adjusting his glasses over his nose, Kiku stared down at the mound of papers he had to grade over the weekend. It was only a Friday morning and there was another day load of homework most of the students would be turning in for the day. Honestly, it was starting to deteriorate the little sliver of a social life he had already - he more or less wished he didn't assign so much homework.

The bell rung for first period to begin and some last minute stragglers shuffled through the door; one of them being a small [h/c]-haired senior, grinning behind her as she waved her friends off. Kiku furrowed his browns and set his mouth straight before adjusting his shirt collar. It was starting to get a little hot, he duely noted while loosening his tie just a tad, as well.

He's been keeping an eye on [Name] for a while, taking in how much more lethargic and sluggish she's been as the months of school drug on and on. The thought of Senior-itis poked at his brain as the cause, but it occurred to him that [Name] would never...

As his students were concentrated on completing the few problems on the previous night's assignment, Kiku caught that [h/c] head slumped down against her desk and her arms folded like a cushion against it. Inwardly, he chuckled to himself and rose from his seat at the front of the room at his desk. Polished black shoes slid against the carpet as he approached her seat in the front corner of the room and tapped two fingers to her shoulder.

"[Name], wake up. No sleeping in class, please."

"Hrgnnaaa..."

She moaned and smacked her lips. Blushing a tinge of pink, Kiku cleared his throat and shoved her a bit harder. Earning a slightly louder groan, [Name] stirred and lifted her head; [e/c] eyes ridden with sleep and purple bruises hung in her skin. She looked like death.

"I'm going to need to talk with you after class, [Name]. Is that okay?"

Long, dark eye-lashes fluttered and her brows scrunched together in order to comprehend the complete sentence her teacher was attempting to convey to her.

"Uh, yeah...okay. I guess that'd be fine."

= = = =

First period was over and every student was quick about leaving the boringly decorated classroom, snickering to their friends and glancing back at [Name], whom was trying to get all of her stuff thrown in her backpack in one fatal swoop of her arm. Her pencil pouched clattered to the floor and from her lips flew a mild 'fuck'. Kiku's eye twitched at the use of such vulgar language.

Once all her items were collected, [Name] approached her teacher's desk with a very tired and worn-out expression drooping her features.

"So, what's up, Mister Honda?"

"[Name], as you know, your grades aren't...well, they are not as good as they could be but-"

"Really, I can explain all that if you would just give me more time to do my work I could-"

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. That would be favoritism and as a teacher, I can't do that. I have to be fair to all my other students, [Name]."

No matter how much he preferred her over the other nut-jobs in his class.

She closed her eyes and slumped her shoulders, sighing deeply. She knew how deep her pit of shit was, but she was just not having enough time for homework once she got home. She was too busy not caring enough to do any, along with attempting at a social life.

"You have a lot of potential, I'm just confused as to why you're not letting yourself try to show it."

Kiku wheeled his chair out from behind his desk and leaned his forearms on his knees, interlacing his fingers. His brown gaze caught hers from under his glasses. She held a slight frown and her eyes dropped to his shoes, a bit of guilt clenching her by the shoulders.

"I've just got a lot of stuff going on is all; plus all this stuff I don't get."

"If that's it, [Name], I'd be more than happy to help you with whatever you need. Uhm...here."

Again, he kicked himself behind his desk and surfed around for a pen and paper. Once the crucial objects were located, he begun to scrawl out a series of numbers and an email address. Kiku handed the slip of paper to her and lifted his lips in a kind smile.

"If you ever need any help, math wise or no, you can contact me, okay?"

[Name]'s eyes widened and darted from him to the paper she was just given. The look on her face could be described as 'oh-my-god-did-my-teacher-just-give-me-his-email-and-phone-number'. He laughed and itched his cheek out of a nervous habit; he could plainly see that maybe it might not have been such a good idea.

"Oh...okay, Mister Honda...bye. And thank you, I guess."

He smiled and waved her out the door as his second period filed in. Damn, it's been six years since he's been in high school and he still acts the same around girls. It's probably about time he got back out on the dating scene instead of chasing around school-girls like a perverted old fart.

Really, he just needed to get a girlfriend. He was twenty-four for Christ's Sake! Though, he had to admit that [Name] was quite the looker - you know, for a seventeen year old.