Disclaimer: I do not own YGO GX or any of its components.
With a barely audible slam, esteemed Professor Stein "sorted" the abysmal exam. It were afternoons like these that made him wish he had never graduated college in the first place and had made such a grave error to have become…an educator.
A long suffering sigh escaped his lips as he prepared to put the red felt tip of the grading pen to the offending paper.
Needs further explanation. D+
And that was the high point.
Resting his head in his hands; the deadly loops of the Ds and knife-slashes that composed the many Fs were virtually swimming in front of him. Failure after failure.
Why do they insist on making me feel like a failure?
Interrupting his train of thought, a lazy shaft of sunlight moved ever closer to the glazed coffee cup that rested on his meticulously polished desk. Numbly, he seized the said coffee cup and took a hearty gulp of the bitter substance that complemented his equally acrid musings.
I should give up grading these test papers—give up on scheduling tests altogether—and read an intelligent book.
In a flurry of movement, he stood. God, he needed some fresh autumn air.
A dying tree with withered branches would have more brains.
Buttoning his flowing coat before retrieving his knit red scarf, Professor Stein went on his merry way to find a bunch of…
Hellions.
Screams and shouts assailed his eardrums as Slifer Reds wrestled in the fallen leaves. Obelisk Blues huddled together in intimate groups; their eyes darting around aimlessly only to land on whatever amused them.
Vagrants.
Out of the corner of his vision, a blue and white form moved with a tinkling of melodious laughter trailing after it. Instinctively, his spectacled eyes moved to what he perceived now as a girl's fantastic face--Alexis Rhodes. Effortlessly, she walked with her two friends in tow. Giggling to themselves.
However, it was not these other females that interested him. Alexis' quick brown eyes stole his full attention as they lit with mischievous merriment. Her smile could melt ice, and her hair reflected the waning September sunlight.
Propping himself against a tree, Professor Stein watched this amazing young intellectual woman.
C+. Not the best, but still at the top of the class.
She could be better. An A++. Still, at least she tried. She didn't fall asleep when he lectured. She rarely shirked on homework.
She's perfect.
An unnamable sensation ripped through his chest. It set his heart aflutter. After a moment's confusion, he zeroed in on what this invader precisely was.
Get a hold of yourself, man! She's 16 and you're 34, for God's sake!
No. This wasn't…that. It was admiration for an exemplarily student—nothing more.
Yet, when she too joined the roving crowd and began to sink in a pool of truancy and failing grape point averages; he felt her absence as keen as any lover's.
Author's Note: Professor Stein is one of my favorite "minor" characters. He should have stayed around more, IMHO. This is one of the more serious introspective pieces. (Which is more time-consuming.) I've never seen this pairing around before but it sure is suggested in the Anime.