"It's the only way to get the best seats," Neptune argued, Sun trailing behind him as they arrived at their first class at Beacon Academy nearly ten minutes early.
"Whatever, dude," Sun groaned, shrugging tiredly as the boy tried to explain himself. It was his last class of the day and he was too tired to put up much of a fight. They took seats in the third row- not too far or close to the board and waited for the rest of their classmates to arrive. It was their last class of the day, and they were exhausted after meeting their new professors. Dr. Oobleck was so intense keeping up with him was difficult even while he was simply doing roll call. And while Professor Port was much more relaxed, the long-winded way he lectured was a style the two knew would become tiring to within the week. Their last class of the day was taught by Professor Goodwitch.
"Goodwitch… isn't that the professor with the riding crop?" Sun had seen her around campus a few times before, but he was terrible with names.
"No idea. Wait a minute you've been here for weeks, how don't you know this?" Neptune teased, still a little bitter that his friend had stowed away on a boat to Vale without him or the rest of their team.
"Stop whining you nerd," Sun smirked and playfully punched Neptune's shoulder. Their light-hearted banter carried on for almost ten minutes. Neither of them realized Professor Goodwitch had entered the room five minutes before class. Students trickled in, one by one or in groups of two or three. She watched them all as they took their seats, and started her lecture the moment her watch struck the hour. Students always respond best to structure and discipline, and Glynda excelled at both.
"Good afternoon, class. My name is Professor Goodwitch." Neptune turned away from his conversation with Sun, looking to their professor. Glynda Goodwitch was tall, lithe, and commanding. Loosely twirling her riding crop between manicured fingers, she paced the front of the classroom with authority, confidence, and an even stride.
"In this class, we'll be learning about Dust's applications as a weapon, as well as Dust's history on the battlefield." Glynda looked around the room, meeting the gaze of dozens of students. She could easily identify the soon-to-be problem students, the A students, and the students that'd beg for extra credit at the last possible moment. Nearly two decades of teaching had given her the experience to pick these students out with ease. A bright young girl in the front row who she was sure would fight for every point of her grade. Two boys from Team CRDL who she was certain would withdraw from the class by the end of the week. And an eager, azure-haired exchange student in the third row. The blond boy next to him, with his loose tie and improperly buttoned blazer spelled trouble, but the blue-eyed young man whom he was clearly friends with seemed to be one of the few students alert during her lecture. She paused for just a heartbeat, making eye contact with the boy before continuing her introduction.
Professor Goodwitch taught her class with an peremptory rule. So many students walked through her doors each year; she estimated she'd fostered a few thousand different minds by now. Most of them would call her 'strict' or 'uptight' to be assigning classwork on the first day. Say what they might, she was positive she taking the best steps she could to prepare her students for the coming battles they'd face. When defending oneself and others from Grimm, quick and appropriate command over Dust was a one of the only advantages they'd have over the soulless beasts. After teaching for so long she'd learned to disregard her student's involuntary groans to the announcement of homework, pop quizzes, or projects. If a pop quiz was the difference between life and death for a single one of them, she'll assign thirty. It might've been more work than Dr. Oobleck or her other peers assigned, but she'd invested so much time into teaching her students and she wanted to be certain they retained most of the information she'd give them to use during the most crucial of moments.
"During the Faunus War, Captains Lavernius Tucker and David Washington united both armies under…"
Neptune couldn't help but smile as he took his notes. Professor Goodwitch's voice had a melodic ring to it and he could already tell she had a lot to teach. He scribbled away silently into his notepad, weighing each piece of information carefully.
"Are you really taking notes right now? Come on, you know they never teach anything important the first couple of days." Sun was always the class clown but still managed to keep his head above water in terms of grades thanks to Neptune. He was one of the few people who could engage with the blond boy while still focusing on the classwork enough for the both of them.
"Sun, come on. This is a tough class." Neptune quickly hushed his friend, never breaking away from taking notes. He didn't want to leave a bad first impression with this commanding professor.
"Nerd," Sun teased.
"Intellectual!"
"I've got her Monday through Friday." Neptune and the rest of team SSSN were checking their schedules after finally meeting up back in their dorm. Foreign exchange students from Haven and the other academies would only be at Beacon for the semester of the Vytal tournament, so most of them chose elective heavy schedules to avoid getting overworked during the exhausting combat training they'd committed to.
"What?! Dust, I feel sorry for you. She gave us notes, a handout and homework on the first day, Scarlet. The first day! We go to public school," Sun ranted, tossing his papers to the floor.
"Sounds rough, lad," Scarlet shrugged, splitting a candy bar with Sage.
"Nep, you should probably drop those classes if she's such a tough professor. We're here as exchange students. We should just be coasting by on electives right now." Sage posed a good argument, but Neptune wasn't ready to give up just yet.
"Guys, I'm fine. Don't worry about it." He didn't want this to turn into a talk with his team. Both classes were necessary to graduate, and if he took them now as Pass/Fail courses, he wouldn't have to worry about them later on in his education. It was win-win.
"Alright. Your funeral. Anyway, you guys have, you all heard about…"
Neptune allowed his attention to drift from the conversation the rest of his teammates were having, instead busying himself with his notes. Each class already had its separate section in his binder, but so far there was only one section with even a speck of ink in it.
Professor Goodwitch quickly marked the handouts she'd assigned to her students that day. The content was mostly review from prerequisite courses, with only two questions they wouldn't have known the answer to unless they were paying attention to her lecture. Those two questions were more than often left blank. Six similar blank handouts in a row, and the exhaustion finally overcame her with a heavy sigh.
Teaching was her pride. Her passion. Ever since she was a young girl, she'd imagined teaching classes full of eager-minded students. Relaying her wealth of knowledge to the younger generation was an honor and a privilege she desperately wanted. She'd gone through school an eager and willing student; a sponge, absorbing every ounce of information she could. Even after becoming a teacher, she'd worked hard to claim Headmaster Ozpin's right hand as her own. She held the school together with regimented discipline while the esteemed Headmaster burdened himself with the more sensitive and secretive duties behind the scenes. Despite all of her responsibilities to Ozpin and Beacon itself, she never forgot her students. But increasingly, she'd began to feel… unappreciated.
"Good evening, Glynda." Glittering emerald eyes looked up to the tall man in the doorway. It was the General- James. It was James. He smiled at her, a smile she was excessively familiar with and waited for his invitation.
"James." She nodded to him, beckoning him inside despite her reservations. His stride was confident, his uniform freshly pressed, and his shoes well polished. He was strikingly handsome and the atmosphere he brought into the room mirrored his political power and influence. He was so strict and rigid. It was what drove a wedge between them all those years ago.
"I was wondering if I might entertain you tonight. I could have a table for two ready-"
"James. I'm grading papers. And I have lectures early tomorrow morning." She was patient with him- somehow he still managed to make her heart twinge all these years later.
"Right. Of course. My apologies… you do look stunning, tonight," he lamented, unable to allow the opportunity to compliment her pass him by.
Another time she might've welcomed his advances, but everything that had attracted her to him so long ago seemed dull now. He was a strong man, but that was all she could say.
"Thank you, James…" She didn't look back up from her papers.
"Have a good night." James was at her door as he cast a final glance back into her office. He missed her, but he'd forgotten just how long ago he'd lost her. He left the room with a final nod, closing the door behind him.
Glynda sighed and finally looked up again, listening to his footsteps fade away into the hallway. Her stomach grumbled as she returned to grading the last of the papers. A pleasant surprise awaited her on the third to last paper.
"All correct? Neptune Vasilias? Hmm. The exchange student?" She tried to remember his face, but his azure hair and blue eyes were the only traits she could recall.
"Mr. Vasilias just bought himself an extra two points on his next exam."