"Okay now, who can tell me the first stage of cellular respiration?" Alfred F. Jones, known as just Mr. Jones to his students, asked during his first period, which was lab biology for Sophomores. The young and energetic teacher scanned the classroom, chuckling at all of the tired faces.

"Come on, not one answer? I know it's a Monday, but at least give me something!" He fake begged, clasping his hands together in a pleading motion. His face brightened when he saw one of his smarter students raise his hand. "Way to go Kiku! What do you got for me?"

"I believe the first stage would be glycolysis," The Japanese student answered quietly.

"Yes, yes!" Alfred praised him. "And we all know what happens during glycolysis right? Glucose is broken down into 2 molecules of pyruvate. We also have a net gain of two ATP molecules, and then two NADH are formed as well."

Science was something that Alfred loved dearly. He taught Both Lab Biology for Sophomores, and also AP Physics for Juniors and Seniors. Though many students detested these type of sciences, labeling them a boring, most students still enjoyed his classes (except for on Mondays).

He was able to make most of his classes exciting. He was one of the younger teachers, at 24, and was able to relate to the 'young crowd' quite well. For some reason a lot of the girl students would blush and giggle whenever talking to him, probably because Alfred was quite a good looking young man. He was also very passionate about being able to relate to all of his students, and made his classroom a fun learning environment.

His classroom was one of the brightest in the school (Hetalia High). The walls were covered with posters, but humorously none of them related to science. They were all posters of super heroes, like the Avengers, Superman, Spiderman, you get the picture. It was also very common to see horribly hidden comic books on his desk, which he would read whenever a test or quiz was given out.

"To help those brains wake up, I have a worksheet all about glycolysis!" Alfred said brightly, as if he were telling them that they'd all won the lottery. Most of the class groaned. "Oh don't be like that! It's actually extremely easy, so long as you've been listening during the past few classes. Plus most of the answers are on on page 208 in your textbook. If you're stuck, I'm happy to help. Once you finish this you can have the rest of the period to chill."

This seemed to considerably cheer the class up, seeing at the block was eighty minutes long and they were only twenty minutes into the period.

"Can we work with partners?" One girl asked.

"Absolutely," Alfred replied. "But try to both do the same amount of work."

Once all the worksheets were passed out, the room turned into a calm atmosphere filled with quiet chatter. Some students worked with others, while others just jammed out to their ipods while working alone. Alfred sat at his desk and tried to focus on correcting a quiz that his physics class had taken the other week.

"Excuse me Mr. Jones, sorry to interrupt your class," A voice spoke from the doorway. It was Mr. Edelstein, otherwise known Roderich to the staff. He was one of the two guidance counselors in the school. Though he sometimes came across as having a rather strict demeanor, he really did care for his students. He was married to Elizaveta, who was the other guidance counselor.

"Roderich, come on in! What can I do for 'ya?" Alfred greeted, standing up from his seat. He had a good idea what the Austrian's visit was for though, due to the teenager who was standing slightly behind him.

"Good morning Mr Jones," Roderich greeted him smoothly. "I'm just here to return Arthur to class. I'm afraid he was rather intent on skipping today. Do see that he gets some work done."

Arthur Kirkland. Fierce, defensive, brilliant, lonely...so many words to describe him. He was fifteen years old, just a Sophomore. More importantly, he was Alfred's student. Arthur was a terribly misunderstood child. He had gone through a lot of traumatic changes this year, ever since the death of his mother.

Alfred knew from other teachers that Arthur had been one of the best students around before then. He was a straight A student, hardworking, polite, and very helpful to peers. So gentlemen-like. Not anymore though. He had just given up with schooling. He would sit there and stare at any paper given out, when he was in class that is. Often he would try to skip, but the teachers were getting very good at finding him, especially Roderich.

Arthur lived with his older brothers now. Apparently his dad had abandoned their family long before their mother's death, when Arthur had just been small. Miss Kirkland had been a strong woman though; she still managed to work a steady job to support her four boys, and also have the time to volunteer with many school things.

Unfortunately towards the end of last school year, she had been in a terribly car wreck and died instantly. Arthur's oldest brother, who was 22, managed to gain custody of his brother's. Alfred wasn't sure, but he believed that Arthur might not get along with his family very well. Though he never mentioned it aloud, sometimes Arthur would show up to class with his eyes red and puffy from crying. On those days he would only sit in his seat with his head down, completely oblivious to Alfred's teaching.

Back to the present, Alfred glanced at Roderich with a knowing look before turning his gaze to Arthur, giving him a bright smile.

"Hi there Artie, glad you could join us!" He greeted him. He was answered by the teen rolling his eyes and stomping over towards his seat, which was in the very back corner. Other students nearby scooted away a bit. He'd used to have a lot of friends, but he'd pushed them all away and now many students didn't even try anymore. Some even feared him because of his rather cold attitude, but Alfred knew that it was probably a coverup. Big tragedies, like death, could make people act such a way as a defense.

"Would you mind if we had a word in the hall?" Roderich asked.

"Sure thing," Alfred said, wondering what it could be. Probably something about Arthur. Anyways, he followed the Guidance counselor out into the hallway, gently closing the door behind them.

"I've signed him up for detention with you, three times a week for the next two months starting today. I know it's harsh, but he must learn that this behavior isn't appropriate." Roderich informed him.

"Wha- detention with me?" Alfred asked, a little stunned. He didn't exactly enjoy giving detentions. Besides, usually he never had to, as students rarely acted up in his classroom.

"Yes, seeing as he tries to skip out on your class the most. Don't think of them badly though. While you have him, try to get him caught up in your class. He can also work on things for other classes as well." Roderich said, and then sighed. "I want him to understand that he isn't alone. He was such a remarkable student before this. I don't give up on any student, and I believe that he can change."

"I believe in him too," Alfred said, smiling. "He's a good kid. But wait...what if he skips my detentions?"

"He won't, trust me" Roderich said, "He's already in enough trouble, and it's in school suspension for a week from 7am to 4pm if he tries skipping your detention. I've already had a talk with him about it."

"Oh, alright then," Alfred said, feeling a bit bad for Arthur. He wanted the teen to like him, but he was sure that Arthur wouldn't be too thrilled with him since he had detentions with him.

"Well, I need to go. Gilbert Beilschmidt was skipping with Arthur, so I still need to deal with him." Roderich informed him. "Have a good day Mr. Jones."

Gilbert could supposedly be considered as Arthur's only friend. Or maybe partner in crime was a better word for it. They skipped together, vandalized together, basically just caused trouble. That was why they never had classes together, because if those two were in the same classroom, the teacher would be in hell Gilbert was actually a year older than Arthur, a junior, but he'd stayed back in a lot of classes.

Alfred went back into the classroom, glad to see that his students were all working quietly with one another still. Well, except for one that it. Arthur had his head down on his desk, eyes half closed. The American teacher walked over to his desk and grabbed one of the blank worksheets before heading over to the teenage Brit.

"Okay Art, lemme show you what we're doing today," Alfred said, pulling over an empty chair to sit beside his student. "Do you have your textbook with you?"

"No," Arthur told him, as if that were completely obvious due to his blank desk.

"That's okay, I have an extra," Alfred said, reaching behind them and getting one form the cabinet. "Alrighty then. Now let's get to page 208 and see what we've got here."

"No thanks," Arthur told him. "I'd really rather not."

"Well I'd really rather you do it," Alfred replied. "You haven't been doing much work at all lately. I believe that you have a 23 in my class if I'm not mistaken, so we have to get cracking if you don't want to fail this quarter."

"So what if I fail?" Arthur asked in boredom.

"You don't want to fail Arthur," Alfred told him seriously. "It's really important to graduate. I know it may seem like things suck now, but it'll get better."

"Whatever. You can go now, I don't need your help."

"Nonsense. Now let's get to work! Question number one..."

The rest of the period went by quickly. Arthur really wasn't that enthusiastic about it, but Alfred did manage to get him to finish the whole worksheet. Alfred knew for sure that Arthur wasn't stupid. He was in fact very intelligent. After all, he managed to answer a lot of the questions without even looking in the book. He just wasn't motivated for school anymore, and Alfred wanted to fix that.

"Good job today Artie. I'll see you after school." Alfred said, giving him his best 100 watt smile.

"Unfortunately. And please refrain from calling me that atrocious nickname." Was all Arthur said, and was the first to leave once the bell rang. Alfred had to laugh. Honestly, from the way Arthur sometimes talked he sounded like an old college professor rather than a fifteen year old boy.

Alfred had the next period as his break, so he used the time to first get a cup of coffee, and then work on setting up a wicked cool experiment for his AP physics class, which was dropping eggs down the stairs and measuring the distance, velocity, ect. The janitors even allowed them to do it, so long as they cleaned up afterwards.

Two o'clock came pretty fast for a Monday. Alfred would have Arthur with him until four. The teacher waited for a few minutes, but there was no sign of Arthur as all the students quickly raced to the halls to their busses and cars. Alfred was just about to call Roderich when Arthur came into the room, walking over to his seat and slinging his bag onto the floor.

"Hi Art, glad you could make it!" Alfred said.

"Mhm. Well, what is it I'm to do?" Arthur asked.

"Luckily nothing too bad today. I've decided to go easy on you since it's a Monday," Alfred joked. "Come on up here to my desk."

Arthur gave an annoyed sigh, but came up to his teacher's desk, wondering what he was going to have to do. Surprisingly Alfred began pulling out plastic pots, bags of soil, and seeds."

"Since I know cell respiration can be boring to learn about, I figured that we can do a little side project for fun. The whole class can grow plants and keep a log about them! How much they grow, measurement changes, all that stuff. I need you to help me fill up the pots with soil and sort the seeds so they can be ready for tomorrow. Think you can handle it?"

"Fine," Arthur said. "Is that all?"

"Yup. It probably won't take up the whole detention though, so after that we can try to catch up on some of your other missing work." Alfred told him. Arthur looked like he had just walked into hell, but only nodded and began rolling up his sleeves.

For the next forty minutes they got to work. At first it had been silent, but of course Alfred was never the type of guy for silence.

"So, what are your plans after detention?" He asked.

"What's it to you?" Arthur grumbled.

"I dunno," Alfred shrugged. "When I get home, I think I'm gonna take my brother out to eat. I live with him you know, we share a house. He actually works in an animal clinic. He's still finishing up college though. Someday after he graduates he'll own his very own clinic!"

Arthur didn't look the slightest bit interested in his words, focusing on filling up each pot with an even amount of soil. Alfred's mind reeled for ways to make Arthur talk.

"So what about you? Any pets?" He decided on asking.

"I...I used to have a cat." Arthur answered.

"Wow, really? What happened to him?" Alfred wondered.

"That's none of your concern," Arthur replied sharply. It was silent before Alfred sighed and looked at Arthur with an expression of complete genuine guilt.

"I'm sorry Arthur, I'm just trying to make this fun. I really didn't want to give you these detentions. I know how hard things have been for you recently." He said.

"I don't want your pity." Arthur said, but his tone wasn't at all menacing. It was more like muttered, and his eyes remained on the pot he was filling.

"I know that," Alfred said. "But its okay to reach out to people you know. Roderich is a great guidance counselor. He really cares about you. So do all the other teachers in this school. A lot of students too."

"Um..right then." Arthur said. "Now quit trying to act all caring! I don't need any help, I can handle myself...and I'm finished filling all of these."

"Great job! Now, since you still have an hour, you can work on other things for this class. I made a folder filled with all your missing work. Try to get some of it done, kay? You can sit near my desk up here if you want, in case you have any questions," Alfred told him.

"No thanks," Arthur answered instantly, moving all the way back to his own desk.

The rest of the time passed by sort of slowly, but not really badly. Well, not bad for Alfred at least. He had finished grading all of his quizzes, and now he was working on the lesson plans for tomorrow. Every once and awhile he glanced at Arthur, and was glad to see that the boy seemed to be working on his papers. When it reached four o'clock, Alfred leaned back in his seat and stretched his arms.

"That went pretty well! It's four now, so you're free to leave." Alfred told his student.

"Finally," Arthur said with a relieved sigh. He grabbed his bag and began walking quickly towards the door.
"Wait, hold on a sec!" Alfred stopped him.

"What now?" Arthur grumbled, clearly aggravated.

"What about your work folder? Aren't you going to take it home with you?" Alfred asked, indicating the the folder which the teenager had left still on his desk.

"Um...no. Why would I?" Arthur answered.

"So you can get caught up?" Alfred said, sounding sort of like a question.

"That's what your detentions are for, if I'm not mistaken. Good day Mr. Jones," Arthur said, turning back around to leave.

"Acting like this won't help anything you know," Alfred said, almost coldly if not intimidatingly, causing Arthur to stop dead in his tracks again. "What'll happen when all of your classmates move on ahead and graduate in the next few years, leaving you behind? You won't get a good job...it won't help one bit. You still have a chance to turn away from this behavior...to make something of yourself."

"Nobody understands..." Arthur whispered, and Alfred had to strain his ears to hear him. He took a step closer, wanting to reach a hand out but refraining from doing so. They just needed some sort of breakthrough from him. Alfred knew for a fact that Arthur needed help. He was lonely, scared, lost. Maybe even depressed.

"Then help us understand Arthur. We're not the bad guys here. School is supposed to be fun! Whenever you need to talk, people will listen here. It's what we're all here for. Not just to drill boring facts into your heads, but to guide."

"That's what you say now. Once I'm finally old enough to get out of here, you'll just all be relieved to be rid of me. See you tomorrow sir," Arthur sneered, and finally made it out of the classroom.

Alfred didn't follow him.

The next morning, Alfred was actually at school earlier than he needed to be for once. Matthew's car had gotten a bad coolant leak and was in the shop, and so Alfred had to bring to to work, which was earlier than when Alfred's work started. Instead of going back home after dropping him off though, he had instead drove right to work. Now he had an extra half hour to kill.

"Good morning Alfred!" Tino, an English teacher, greeted him as he came into the room.

"Oh, hey dude," Alfred greeted him back. "Hows it going?"

"Oh just fine! I'm excited today, my juniors are presenting their project's today. After that We're going to have pizza to reward them." Tino told him.

"Wow, that's awesome! Maybe I'll drop by," Alfred joked.

"Go ahead, we'll have plenty I'm sure."

After Alfred and Tino had finished chatting, Alfred refilled his coffee and headed to his own classroom. He decided to relax and just read one of his new comic books until the warning bell rang. Once it did, at seven like always, it didn't take long for student's to come into the classroom.

"Good morning Mr. Jones," A few of the girls greeted him with blushes.

"Morning ladies," He said back with a wink, causing them to all giggle. His attention was drawn away from them when he saw somebody else come into the room.

Surprisingly on time for once, was Arthur. Alfred grinned, but then examined him closer. Arthur' s eyes were red and swollen, indicating that he had been crying. He didn't even glance around him as he hurried toward his desk, putting his head down. Alfred's grin turned into a frown. Uh-oh, looks like today was a bad morning.

"Welcome to my humble abode ladies and gentlemen!" Alfred greeted the whole class very enthusiastically, clasping his hands together. A few people snickered. "I am happy to say that it is no longer a Monday, so everyone can be cheerful once again."

"But it's still nowhere near the end of the week," A random student pointed out.

"That may be true. My worst day is always Wednesday though. It's right in the middle. Not a new start, not a thrilling end. Know what I mean?" Alfred said. A few people mumbled in agreement.

"However, enough of this talk! Let's get to work!"

Alfred ended up introducing the side plant project to them first, and had them all take a pot, choose a seed, plant away. He even managed to go down to Mr. Vargas's art room and get a box of supplies so they could decorate their pots. He knew they were high schoolers, but who didn't love doing stuff like that?

"Kiku, could I speak to you after class?" Alfred asked casually, an idea reeling in his mind.

"Of course Sir," Kiku said, a little uncomfortably.

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble!" Alfred assured him. That seemed to calm down the Japanese boy considerably.

After that he strolled around the classroom, admiring everyone's work. He stopped randomly at people's desks, praising them for planting their seed correctly. He was sort of glad to see that even Arthur had managed to plant a seed, despite not decorating it at all. Today Arthur didn't have a detention with him, seeing as it was only three days a week, and the days were Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Alfred decided not to speak with him, because Arthur really didn't look in the mood to chat.

After class ended, Kiku made his way up to Alfred's desk as the rest of the student's filed out.

"You wanted to speak with me Mr. Jones?"

"Oh yeah! I have a question to ask you." Alfred said, walking over to his door and shutting it once all of the students made it out. "What do you think of Arthur Kirkland?"

"Arthur?" Kiku asked, a little taken aback. "Well...I'm not sure. We used to talk sometimes last year. He was different then though...um, I feel deeply sorry for what has happened to him though."

"Yeah. Well, I have a sort of request for you," Alfred said. "You see, Artie's been having a tough time lately. He really didn't look too happy today. I was thinking maybe if somebody talked to him...it doesn't have to be much. Just a hello, how 'ya doing? That sort of thing. Maybe at lunch, or in the hallway...you know."

"Oh. Alright, I suppose I can do that." Kiku agreed. "Though I'm not sure if he would enjoy talking to me. He's um...not very sociable anymore."

"Well, just see what you can do," Alfred told him. "Anyway, I'd better let you get to class. Want me to write a pass in case you don't make it in time?"

"Yes please."

Alfred really enjoyed teaching AP Physics. Mostly because the people who took that class were very dedicated, and especially loved his teachings. Physics was optional, unlike Biology for Sophomores, so the people who took this class chose it because they liked physics.

Today it was Wednesday, and last period, which was AP Physics. They were taking a test, and then he was allowing him to work on their projects that had been assigned last week. Today he had Arthur for another detention. Once again the boy had shown up to his class on time, but today thankfully he didn't seem very upset like yesterday. Alfred wasn't sure if Kiku had ever talked to him, but hopefully so. Soon enough the bell rang, and he said goodbye to his students.

"Hi there," Alfred greeted Arthur once he arrived for is detention.

"Hello," Arthur responded dully.

"I can give you a choice today. You can work on your folder of stuff for my class, or you can do a geometry packet that your math teacher dropped off." Alfred told him, holding out each of the choices in his hands. Arthur didn't hesitate to take the biology folder from his teacher's hand.

"So did you have a good day?"

"That isn't any of your concern." Arthur said, making his way towards his seat. Alright, obviously he wasn't in a talking mood today. Alfred didn't bother him, and left him to get some of his work done.

"Alright, let's take a short halfway break. Come on up here Arthur," Alfred said an hour later.

"How come?"

"Just come up here dude, and you'll see. Bring up a chair too." Was all Alfred told him. Arthur huffed, but came up to his desk anyway, dragging a chair with him.

"Here pick one," Alfred said once Arthur was seated. He held out two Gatorade, one red bottle, and then a blue one.

"I thought food in drinks weren't allowed in biology classrooms?" Arthur pointed out, and eyebrow raised.

"Well class isn't in session, so whatever. Now choose."

Arthur hesitated, but then grabbed the red one. He didn't open it, and instead just set it down in front of him. Alfred shrugged and opened his own, taking a large gulp.

"So, what was going on yesterday?" Alfred asked casually.

"Nothing," Arthur responded immediately.

"It didn't look like nothing to me. You looked pretty upset. You know I'll always listen if you need to talk." Alfred reminded him gently.

"I don't want to talk about it," Arthur replied softly.

"Okay, then I wont push you anymore," Alfred said. "We'll talk about something else. What's your favorite class this semester? No wait, let me guess! It had to be my class, right?"

"English," Arthur corrected him.

"English huh? Well, I guess not everybody has to love science." Alfred said with a laugh. "What are you guys doing in English right now?"

"Reading Hamlet. It's a tragedy Shakespeare." Arthur told him, and Alfred detected a bit of excitement in his tone. Maybe they were getting somewhere.

"Are you a Shakespeare fan? My brother enjoys his stories. I've never really read much of his stuff, well besides Romeo and Juliet when I was in school."

"We studied that one last year. I had already read it though, so it was easy for me." Arthur told him a little smugly.

"So I guess you don't skip English much huh?" Alfred asked.

"I suppose."

"How come you like missing my class so much? I try to make it fun. Is it just because you dislike science?" Alfred wondered.

"I don't know," Arthur said a little uncomfortably. "I just don't like first period. Ever."

"Too early for you?" Alfred asked good naturdly.

"I guess."

Arthur really didn't want to talk much after that, so Alfred allowed him to get back to work on his papers. When four o'clock came this time around, Alfred couldn't help but notice that Arthur slipped the folder into his backpack, causing the American to smile. Okay, they were definitely making progress for sure.

The next morning for once Arthur actually came into the classroom before the bell even rang! It was shocking. Sadly though, he looked to be in great distress. He'd hurried towards his seat, dropped his bag to the ground, and put his hands to his face. Alfred looked up at him, feeling alarmed when he heard barely concealed sobs.

"Talk to me Arthur. What's wrong." He asked, rushing across the empty classroom towards his student.

"D-don't talk to me," Arthur said, trying to sound tough but failing. "Go away."

"Come here Arthur," Alfred murmured gently, taking the teen's arm and gently pulling him up. Surprisingly he didn't resist, but refused to took his teacher in the face. "You don't have to attend class today. Come on, you need to lie down."

"Stop helping m-me," Arthur ordered, but didn't fight as Alfred led him out of the classroom and down the hall. There was still a few minutes till the bell, and a few students in the hall looked shocked as Alfred led the upset teen down the hall.

"No," Arthur tried to stop when he saw where Alfred was taking him; to the guidance office.

"Shh, it's alright Arthur." Alfred reassured him, leading him inside. The guidance office was a pleasant place, painted bright and cheerful. There was a main desk with a secretary, and two doors which led to Roderich and Elizaveta's offices. Alfred saw Roderich hanging up his jacket on the coat hanging outside the door to his office.

"What on earth?" The Austrian asked, eyed widening when he saw Alfred and Arthur.

"Hiya Roderich!" Alfred greeted him, putting both hands on Arthur's shoulders. "Artie isn't really having a good morning. Is it okay if he goes into Elizaveta's office to lie down? I know she has a couch in there. Arthur can be excused from my class today."

"Of course," Roderich said, putting a hand around Arthur's shoulders. "Come along, let me bring you into Lizzy's office. She's not in there at the moment, but I'll explain the situation to her."

Alfred waited outside for Roderich to get Arthur settled. Once the guidance counselor came back out, he quietly shut Elizaveta's door behind him, turning to face Alfred.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I'm not really sure. I mean, it's not uncommon for him to come to class upset, but it was just really bad today. Look Roderich, I really think he might be having some problems at home." Alfred said.

"I know. Actually I've decided to have his older brother come in for a meeting with me next week. I'd appreciate it if you were present as well."

"Of course, I'd be glad to. Just give me a time." Alfred said. "I should probably get to class though, the bells about to ring."

"Alright. Have a good class Mr. Jones."

As Alfred left the guidance office, he knew that Arthur really needed help. Obviously he was very unhappy, both at home and at school.

He only hoped that they would be able to help him, and that he would accept their help.

a/n:

What do you think? Want some more?

So...um, I know now isn't the time to start a new story since I have others to update, but you know...when you get struck with inspiration, you have to get it out. I really felt the need to write a troubled student Arthur, and an Alfred teacher story. No idea why, it just happened. Sorry if there are any errors...I'll fix them later. Anyway, I should get going, the dogs need to go for a run.

I hope everyone is having a good day!