A Fresh Start

Jack Allen was certainly not the first student to stare at UA High like it was a most insurmountable obstacle, nor would he be the last. Moments after he passed through the gates with his freshly issued ID card, his mind began to wander. Jack knew Japan only for their quirky game shows and many fighting styles. Of course, he, like the rest of the world, knew of UA. The school had been famous even before All Might's American debut, but his fame had significantly boosted the school's reputation across the sea.

For Jack to feel dwarfed is no simple feat, seeing as he was six foot six and still growing. While he grew too fast to be a bulky, muscular beast, he was no beanpole. The seventeen year old had short blonde hair with a slight cowlick to the left, dark blue eyes, and light, heavily scarred skin.

He barely noticed the clunky yellow mass that inched across the ground until it nearly wiggled over his feet. Jack took a step back, his brows elevated. "Allen-kun!" Tenya's familiar voice drove befuddled thoughts from the American's head. Jack looked away from the befuddling sight to nod at the class rep. "I got your text and came as soon as I could!"

It hadn't been luck that opened a slot in 2-A, but repeated allegations of sexual harassment. Mineta had been found unattended in girls' rooms one time too many and given the boot. Thanks to a recommendation from Ingenium, Jack had been allowed to participate in the UA enrollment process. Only two minutes had passed since Jack sent his message. He hadn't been exact on his location, but Tenya had found him easily enough.

"I've never been good with maps," Jack admitted without a hint of shame.

"It's no problem, a hero is always happy to-"

The blob from before cut Tenya off. "Any idiot can read a map," it stated in a deadpan voice.

Neither student was sure what to say, Tenya out of respect for his elder, and Jack because he was still trying to decide what he was looking at.

Aizawa seemed not to care. He seemed almost single minded in his task to find a perfect place to sleep. "Curfew starts soon. You two better get to the dorms, or you'll be expelled."

"Of course, Sensei! We'll go right now!" Tenya nearly shouted. His arms jerked robotically, as if he'd been programmed to obey authority. "Come on, Allen-kun."

The transfer student adjusted the shoulder strap of his duffel bag and walked after his guide. "You can call me Jack. There's no need to call me by my last name.

Tenya looked alarmed at first. After a few seconds, he seemed strangely flattered. "Jack it is, then. You can call me by my first name, as well." They didn't have far to go, as Jack's navigational abilities were at least decent. Only a turned a few turns and a cut across a small training field later and they arrived at their destination.

Even though it was eleven at night and the first day of school was tomorrow, the 2-A common room had almost every student up waiting to see the fresh meat. Jack felt like a deer in the headlights when he felt so many eyes boring into him. Many voices cut through the surprise at once

"Whoa, you're huge!" Denki Kaminari said by way of welcome.

"You don't break into rooms, do you?" Hanta Sero teased.

"Come on you guys, back up. Give him some space," Ochaco Uraraka ordered as helpfully as she could.

Thankfully, Tenya intervened. "Everyone get to sleep! Tomorrow is a school day!"

"You're up too, Iida," Mina Ashido teased. She sat with Kyoka Jiro and Ochaco at a table in the corner, where they'd been playing a card game.

Even though Jack was at a loss for words, everyone else was too loud to notice. He stood with an equal measure of impatience and discomfort until a hero came to his rescue. The elevator opened to reveal a blonde male, complete with plus-ultra bedhead.

"Get to bed, you noisy extras!"

Jack wondered if all of Japan was this crazy. He had thought the game-shows were extravagant, but his classmates were well beyond what he expected. Several of the teens stood and headed off to bed. "That's Katsuki Bakugo, our class hot-head. Don't let him bother you," Tenya said with a polite smile. "I know we seem like a lot, but our class really does mean well. Come on, I'll show you around." During the tour, Tenya spoke nonstop of the various amenities the school had to offer, including a pool, gym, training halls, study halls, and specific battle zones.

By the time Jack finally plopped onto his standard-issue, twin mattress, it was midnight. Even though the bed was too small and didn't even have sheets, he drifted off to sleep with ease.

His alarm awakened him five hours later. He silenced his phone and went to get ready for the day. He showered, rushed a towel through his hair, and put on his uniform. As he stared in the mirror, clad in black dress pants and a grey jacket, he felt like a monkey in a clown suit. He'd never given much thought to choosing his clothes, but he found he much preferred more movable and lightweight fabrics in case of a spontaneous emergency.

Jack had only barely passed the written examination. He had been an average student in America, but in Japan he felt as if he was probably one of the dumbest students. While he excelled at everything physical, he knew he would have to work harder than before if he wanted respectable marks on his tests.

He opened one of their assigned textbooks and began to look over the material. Though the common area would have been more comfortable, he sat on the floor of his room, as to not be disturbed. At seven in the morning, when curfew was officially over, Jack slipped his necessary books, pens, gym uniform, phone, and wallet into his backpack. With nothing but clothes remaining in his bag, he looked at the naked dorm room and shrugged.

It was a far cry from his old American home, but at least his mom was happy.

Jack opened his door and headed to the cafeteria. He got lost several times, but managed to get food, as well as a table by a window. After a lifetime of traditional eggs, bacon, and cereal, he found the bowl of steamed rice, miso soup, and grilled salmon to be just as out of his comfort zone as everything else.

"Hey…you!" Mina called as she rounded on the transfer student's table. "Crap, what was his name again?" She asked Tsu, all the while frowning at her memory lapse.

"That's Allen-kun," Tsu said patiently. Ochaco and Izuku walked a short distance from Mina and Tsu. Judging by their faces, they were trapped in a tense topic.

Jack didn't dislike his friendly acquaintances, but he would have appreciated space to get used to his surroundings first. "You can just call me Jack," he said.

Mina found herself entranced by the brazen attitude. She wasn't on a first name basis with many people in the class, let alone a ripped foreigner. To hide her surprise, she made a joke. "More like jacked! Do you have super strength?"

Without asking, Mina took a seat, along with Tsu. Izuku and Ochaco joined their friends, still lost in their conversation, which dominated the table. "Okay, guys, we have a serious question," Ochaco said with a grimly determined face. "If I use my zero-gravity on a kite, would it be impossible to steer?"

In the midst of the debate that ensued, Jack determined he'd become an unwitting part of the nerd table. The teens became so caught up in their discussion that they failed to notice when the first bell rang. Jack stood and went over to a sink, where he disposed of the food on his untouched tray.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you," Tenya said firmly, sounding like a disappointed grandmother. "Come on. We're going to be late for class. We must hurry, but there's to be no running in the halls! To damage school property would be shameful!"

Once they arrived, Jack headed towards the window, only for Tenya to stop him. "You're in seat one, because your last name is at the beginning of the alphabet."

The giant of a teenager felt like he was in the spotlight as his peers filed through. Some introduced themselves, while others sleepily stumbled to their seats without saying a word.

Mina turned her head towards Jack mid-laugh to check for his reaction, only to notice he was gone. Wow. How's such a big guy so light on his feet?

The second bell rang.

Izuku paled. "Oh crap! I'm sorry, guys!"

"We better run for it," Mina squeaked. "Aizawa's going to give us detention!"

Even in their haste, they had enough decency to decently clean up after themselves before running to their new classroom. Since they didn't have granny-Tenya with them, the quartet scrambled through the halls and arrived only a few minutes late.

As luck would have it, their new homeroom teacher was the same as the old one. Aizawa turned his glare to the door, breaking Tsu's frog-leap, Izuku's speed, and Ochaco's floating. "You're late," he said with a red-eyed glower.

"We're sorry," they said in unison. She and her friends sat at the available desks. While she settled, she couldn't help but feel frustrated with Jack for not warning them about the bell.

Inspiration for Alien Fever goes to FeralG3, who approached me with a request for an OC and Mina pairing. They are co-creator to Jack Allen, as they provided the skeleton for his character and was kind enough to let me flesh him out. Thanks for trusting me with your idea, FeralG3. I hope you enjoy it. For this fanfic, I'll mostly be calling characters by their first names. I'm not sorry for writing out Minoru Mineta. Jack needed a spot and Mineta was a sexual harassment case waiting to happen.