"Sir, there is a MASSIVE spider back here, kill it, kill it!"
The teacher looked up from his mark work inquisitively, seeing one of his students stood on her chair and the others surrounding her all having comically retreated to the walls nearest their desks. He shook his head but chuckled, standing up and making his way over to the back of the room where the spider apparently resided.
Using a text book, he lifted it from the floor, the student hissing in fear as she watched it intently, as if expecting it to pounce. Seeing her expression, the teacher chuckled, holding out his hand for the spider to tentatively crawl upon.
"There's no need to kill her. She's far more scared of you than you are of her" He said gently, watching as the tiny creature scuttled about in his palm.
"But it's gross!"
"I'm sure she thinks you're gross too" He replied with a friendly grin, walking toward the nearest window and tilting his hand, allowing the spider to walk free.
There was a simultaneous sigh of relief from the majority of the class room.
"You see? I survived" He said, playfully patting the flustered tadpole on the head, earning a bashful smirk from her.
"You really aren't afraid of anything, are you, Doctor Neroro?"
"I wouldn't go that far" He chuckled "Anyway, it's over now, just get on with your work. I mean, unless you want to be held back this afternoon?
The student pouted, but never the less, she got to work with the assignment that the rest of her class were now way ahead of her with. The teacher shook his head with a tired smile. There was nothing more invigorating to watch than the never ending energy and bubbling personality of youth.
During lunch break, Neroro was once again ambushed by the spiritual education teacher, Kinana.
"The look on your face never gets old. Surely you'd be used to me by now" She purred, tilting her head at him in a provocative manner. Neroro smiled benignly back at her.
"Oh yes, but you hardly have a pattern for me to follow. You do make it hard for me, you know" He grinned.
"Yes, but where's the fun in being predictable? That's not exciting. I want you to think I'm exciting" She retaliated, narrowing her eyes in a challenging way.
"You really are something, that's for sure"
She pouted playfully at him.
"Then why do you have to play hard to get all the time?"
Slinking away slightly so as not to be cornered into the wall, he managed a playful smile of his own.
"Miss Kinana, you know full well that science and spiritual belief don't match"
"You're just old fashioned, Doctor Neroro"
Before Neroro could come up with a witty come back, the head mistress of the school appeared almost undetectably, wielding a set of forms to be handed out to the staff.
"I wondered where you two had gotten to. If only you'd sit still for a moment so I could actually inform you of the important school dates coming up"
With a curt smirk from Kinana, the two of them turned to face their boss, obediently taking the papers and reading them over.
"Now, Doctor; I'm obligated to remind you that it is parents evening this Friday"
He nodded at her. Of course, he was already aware of this. It was always the same date every year.
"Are you sure you're prepared for it? It is your first time actually being able to host one for your class"
"Yes Ma'am"
It was actually true that, despite the three previous years he had spent as a teacher of science and mathematics at Illa Praedicam girl's high school, he had never actually spent enough time with just one class to be an acceptable authority figure for this kind of event. He was the only male teacher at a school staffed entirely with women, many of which were married and just happened to all get pregnant in sequence somehow, so he'd spent his first years there simply covering from teachers on maternity leave. His peers and superiors had often commented on the insane amount of patience and empathy he had for all the students he never really got to know properly. He was fairly popular among the students too, for this reason. He was also the only teacher to have not one doctorate, but two, and so, despite never meeting the parents of any of the students attending the school, he was aware that he had some very high standards to live up to.
Remembering all that brought the nerves on again.
"You've gone all pale, sweetie" Kinana pointed out, her teasing tone replaced with a mildly comforting one.
"I'll be alright. I'm just a little bit nervous"
"We all start somewhere" She reassured him, patting him on the back before leaving the room, most likely to buy an extra can of soda from the vending machines near the cafeteria.
Neroro looked down at the papers with a hard swallow. All of a sudden, he had a bad feeling about this… something told him that something was going to happen on Friday. Something was going to wrong.
He was vaguely aware of the head mistress patting him on the back, before she too left for one reason or another. Neroro didn't have the energy to really wonder.
Eventually, he was broken from his uncertain thoughts by the loud clanging of the bell; a sign that the next class would be starting soon. Seeing his students faces in his mind brushed all the fear and nerves away. He didn't have anything to worry about. His students were doing great with their studies, and he knew that they could always come to him if they ever needed help or encountered a problem. What was there to worry about?
During the afternoon break for classes, Neroro and Kinana were sharing sandwiches on a bench on the quieter side of the school. They ate in companionable silence while Neroro resumed his contemplating about the important date at the end of the week.
Well, it was companionable while it lasted.
"Talk about something. Anything. Just stop staring at the ground like my girls when it's presentation day" Kinana said suddenly, gently nudging her friend with her elbow, breaking him out of his dazed reverie.
"I'm sorry"
"It's alright"
The silence persisted for a few moments more, until Neroro realised that he was just asked to talk about something.
"Well, what do you suggest? Don't put me on the spot like that" He smiled slightly, prompting a light hearted chuckle from the woman next to him.
"You asked for it" She trilled gently before leaning in towards him "How about you tell me what kind of woman is your type, exactly? Give me some clues, Doctor Cold-Shoulder"
He rolled his eyes at her. He'd known her for years and was fond of her as a friend, but sometimes her persistency with this topic was more than a little bit exasperating.
"Will you finally stop asking if I tell you?" He sighed, raising his brows sarcastically when she nodded her head briskly I return, making a show of leaning her head on her hands in a typical 'I'm all ears' kind of position. He sighed.
"Well… I haven't really thought about it, to tell you the truth" He began, genuinely mulling it over in his mind. He hadn't really had much time to think about the fairer sex, or having a general interest in dating as a whole.
"I suppose… she needs to be soft spoken… kind. Elegant, and classy. I don't know"
"Is that all you're going to divulge? You basically want her to be gorgeous?"
"I never said that. Physical beauty doesn't have to be a factor. It's all opinion based anyway. I find the people I'm closest to just be naturally more attractive that other people"
Raising an eyebrow at him, Kinana gave a toothy grin in jest.
"Nice try"
The bell rang again, signalling the start of the final lesson of the day. Deciding to drop the subject, the two teachers returned to their respective classrooms, and remained there planning for the upcoming parents even long after all the students had filtered out.
After a week that went far too quickly for Neroro's taste, the night of the parent's evening was upon him. Despite the kind words of encouragement from his colleagues and a few words of 'wisdom' from Kinana, Neroro felt worse than ever about the night ahead. He really wished he had some sort of excuse to just not turn up, but he wouldn't let his students down.
He decided to get there early that night, so he could make sure everything was absolutely perfect for when the parents showed up. He didn't want to somehow leave any kind of mark that may give them a bad impression.
"Geez, Neroro, you look like you're having some kind of fit. Slow down for a second" Came the voice of Kinana from the doorway.
"Ah…"
Before he could say another word, Kinana was giving the room a once over and adjusting the odd stack of books or student works on the walls before standing before him with her hands on her hips.
"It's just fine Neroro. Cool it down a bit, you're class will be in soon. Remember, the initial presentation only lasts for around ten minutes, after that its smooth sailing, one family at a time"
Neroro nodded at her meaningfully, showing that he understood and was thankful for her input. Giving him a brief hug, Kinana headed back out into the hall as the sounds of the students and their families slowly flowing into the building became obvious.
Sighing to himself, Neroro smiled. He'd been getting worked up for nothing at all. It was just the initial presentation that was spooking him a bit, which was totally natural. Humming to himself, he faced the board and noted down some group targets and notable dates, such as future field trips, on the board as his class and their parents filed into the room. He was ready now. Ten brief minutes and he could cool down.
Pivoting on his heel, his initial expression was confident, until he spotted something at the back of the room that drained all colour from his face.
There were about thirty of them. Their builds and overall demeanour were horrific and wrong, the muttering between them was far too deep and rough, the way the stared at him intently from the very back of the room extremely intimidating. The atmosphere they gave off was uncomfortable and downright scary. They filled him with a fear so strong, so unfamiliar, that he was frozen to the spot. His fight or flight instincts failed to kick in, and he was left staring at the… beasts the loomed behind his class; like a vision of death itself.
When one of them raised a paw towards him, he was only aware that his legs had somehow given way, and that he was falling, falling… he was so numb that he barely registered the corner of his desk colliding with his head, causing a sickening 'clunk' to echo through the room. As some of the parents crowded around him in his fading vision, he made a shocking realisation.
The things at the back of the room weren't monsters, or feral creatures. They were fellow Keronians. They were the fathers of his students.
Bright light, and the familiar smell of the nurse's office was what caused Neroro to awaken, a throbbing pain in his temples becoming painfully obvious – quite literally.
"Agh…" He hissed, feeling a large bump where his head had hit his desk…
That's right, he'd fainted. But he couldn't for the life of him work out why.
"Oh good, you're awake"
Kinana?
Rubbing his eyes, he sat up on the medical bed to look around, and sure enough, Kinana was watching him from a chair by the wall.
"What happened?" Neroro asked her, wincing as the change in his sitting position sent a fresh surge of pain through his cranium.
"You passed out, and gave yourself a nasty bump on your head while you were at it. I didn't know you were that nervous"
"I wasn't. Once I'd remembered I'd only have ten minutes with an audience of only about ninety, all my nervousness was gone"
"Then what was it, exactly?"
Neroro thought hard to himself. He knew that it was his reaction to seeing the fathers of his students that caused him to pass out, but there wasn't really anything particularly remarkable about them. It was just that looking at them made him squeamish and fearful for some reason, causing him to build up this mental image of feral beasts in his mind. He knew for a fact that they were there to listen to him, not to harm him. The one who had raised an arm was not going to attack him, he was going to question if he was alright out of genuine concern when he saw him frozen to the spot.
"It was the dads. Of my students. I panicked when I saw them, and fainted the second one of them moved"
"The dads? What was so unnerving about them?"
"Nothing. That's what I don't understand. The way I reacted to them, despite the fact I knew they wouldn't harm anyone and were only there to listen to me was similar, if not worse than the way my class reacts if they see a spider…"
"What? Like arachnophobia but with dads?" Kinana chuckled. Neroro glared at her.
"I wasn't that they were fathers, that didn't bother me at all. It was just… I don't know"
Kinana looked thoughtful for a little while, before a look of confusion overcame her features.
"Was it because they were dudes?"
Neroro looked at her suddenly, and the look in his eyes told Kinana that that hypothesis may in fact be true. She sat up straighter.
"Neroro this is serious, how could you not tell anyone you were scared of guys?"
"I didn't even know that I was!" He cried, before thinking back through his life up to this point. It was true that he did prefer the company of women, but he'd always thought it was because his personality clashed with others of his gender, not because he had a fear of the gender itself. How could he be scared of males? It was ridiculous, he was a male. He got on well with the males in his family, and he was happy being the gender he was. But his reaction earlier… it couldn't be ignored.
He thought a little harder, and realised that he had indeed spent an alarming amount of his life isolating himself from people of the same sex. He distinctly remembered that he felt unnaturally uncomfortable around them, and that he didn't trust them, and hated if they came into contact with him. Could it really be that he had a genuine phobia of his own gender?
"Do you think… that it's possible to develop a phobia?" He asked quietly.
"I suppose so. I developed an allergy to pollen when I was totally hay fever free as a child, I'm sure it could be the same for phobias. Did you ever have a bad experience involving only males?"
Neroro thought about it briefly before shaking his head.
"That… really is rather peculiar…"
They looked at each other for a moment, as if trying to telepathically come to a decision as to what to do next.
"I reckon you should contact a therapist. If anyone can tell you what's up, it'll be one of those guys"
Neroro nodded. He decided that he would organise to see one first thing the next day.
"I believe that this phobia is a cause for concern, Doctor"
Neroro winced. He had a feeling he'd hear that from his therapy session, but not almost instantly after he'd described what had happened the afternoon prior.
"The sudden emergence of this fear of yours, even after a history of discomfort around males, is rather unusual, and I'm sure you know that it will cause a major problem in your area of work; and in everyday life in general. I think that you may need some long term therapy if the problem is as bad as you describe. Of course, I think we will need to run some initial tests before we jump to any kind of conclusion but I'm afraid that there is a slim chance I can send you away with a few pills and a bit of advice" The therapist explained, her voice and expression showing a subtle, yet recognisable pity.
Neroro nodded numbly, his eyes cast to the floor, his naturally tired looking eyes looking more exhausted than they ever had before. If it really was as bad as it had been explained to him… this fear could change his life forever. Well, for a few years at least, anyway. He would have maybe allowed himself to cry a little bit, but the huge lump in his throat prevented him from doing anything but staring into space, eyes barely focussed.
He decided to let his colleagues know about what was going to happen via email. He couldn't face them now – especially Kinana – and tell them of his pathetic fear… 'androphobia', as his therapist had referred to it. He was going to leave his life at Illa Praedicam silently.
Neroro hung his head bashfully as though trying to shield his face as his guide showed him around the female dorm and therapy rooms. They were where he was going to stay and work towards recovery for the next… however long it would take. The only comfort he took being led around a building full of curious women glancing in his direction was the faint sounds of music as he passed through the halls. He knew that this place was specifically made with the arts in mind as an exclusive form of therapy. It had been recommended for him as he was fairly proficient with several string instruments.
He did have to agree that music and art did have a soothing effect on him, but he didn't really like the idea of attending some kind of class, as it felt like a huge step backwards. He was a teacher, someone whose job it was to help people learn and to generally assist people. He was literally a qualified scientist. In fact, he was experienced enough in his field that he could easily get a job as a doctor or therapist himself.
Oh, wait. Of course he couldn't. He wasn't mentally stable enough for a job like that.
He ground his teeth slightly at that thought. The only qualification you needed to get into this place was mental instability. He had heard it from his therapist and general practitioner themselves. He was mentally unstable, mentally ill. He hated that description with a passion, but deep down, he knew he couldn't argue with it. Something in his head was broken, or wired differently, and in order to fix it, he had to put his life on hold and attend rehab sessions in this place. He felt like he'd been labelled as a common criminal, a drug addict or something to that effect. He didn't want to be here, but he knew damn well that this was where he was going to be staying for a long while.
Trying to be as optimistic as possible, he filtered out the knowledge of what this building was really for, and concentrated on how it appeared.
It was like a hotel crossed with a boarding school, only the atmosphere felt cosier; more homely. The people around him were just normal people like he was, just with a mind that worked differently or was damaged in some way or another. They were all smiling, chatting, and just generally appearing to enjoy being where they were. They seemed like a large family. It didn't look like a prison for psychopaths. It looked like a large group of roommates going about their daily lives, occasionally having to go off to an appointment every so often.
Smiling to himself, he was reminded why he always tried to look on the bright side. Everything is darker if you're a pessimist, and enjoying life was something Neroro had sworn by since… forever, really.
Noting that his guide had stopped, he broke out of his thoughts and faced her politely.
"One last thing, Neroro… do you have any questions or concerns you'd like to voice?"
Despite his now very happy view of the place, Neroro still couldn't make himself enjoy the thought of becoming a student again.
"There is one thing… I really don't like the idea of having to attend classes… not that I'm refusing to do any work, it's just that I love being the teacher, and I feel like I'm being heavily demoted somehow. Is there anything I can do about that? Or should I just stop whining and just accept it?" He said, chuckling with the last sentence. The guide smiled at him warmly.
"I suppose you could do that, but that wouldn't be such a great experience if you want to get better. I've heard that you're pretty with a guitar, however" She said, getting a proud nod in response.
"Yes, I suppose I do have a knack for string instruments. Bass, ukulele and sitar are a few of the other things I can play" He said, before cutting himself off, feeling as though he was bragging.
"That's perfect, then. How would you like to lend a hand with the teaching? Many of the patients have no idea how to use an instrument, so having you as a teacher would be fine… to me, at least. I could put in a word for you, if you want to volunteer?"
Neroro's face lit up considerably.
"Y-Yeah! That would be really great, thank you!" He grinned, causing his guide to chuckle.
"That's that, then! You wouldn't have to attend very many classes if you were to teach fellow patients, however you will still have to attend therapy sessions. They are mandatory"
"As I would have guessed. Thank you again, you have no idea how much I love teaching"
He cut himself off, his face reddening at how overly passionate he was getting. Giving him another bright smile, the guide said her goodbyes and went on her way to wherever her next job may be. Neroro decided that he would return to his allocated room and sort out his things. He probably wouldn't be contacted about his possible teacher work tonight, so all he could do was busy himself with other things until he was told of what he was to do the following day.
For the next year and a half, Neroro acted as a kind of music teacher to some of the less experienced patients in his dormitory. It wasn't really within the realm of expertise, but he was good at improvising and adjusting to each individual 'student', and before long, it was as if it was his actual job, not a voluntary service while he underwent therapy. As he was constantly busy, he never really had time to mingle with the others in his building. Despite this, he was fairly well known by most of them, and he was usually greeted if he ever bumped into anybody. That was good enough for him, really, as long as he was allowed to continue with his passion.
Whenever he was waiting between lessons, Neroro would happily tune and organise the instruments and sheet music (which he himself had had to learn how to read – he got most of his experience with instruments by ear), humming to himself. That little activity was soothing, as it was some alone time he could enjoy without having to sit around with nothing to do.
It was on one of these occasions that he was disturbed from his routine. Rather than a patient turning up early for a lesson however, he was greeted with the sight of a woman he had never seen before. The mere sight of her caused his heart to stop for a moment. She was certainly unusual looking – she had a velvety looking blindfold obscuring the top half of her face – but there was something about her that fascinated him for an entirely different reason.
The way she stood, for starters, was slightly curved, yet with a straight back. She seemed relaxed and poised at the same time. The way she held her head up rather than let it rest on her shoulders provided an air of quiet confidence, while the way she held onto the door as she peered around it gave her a more reserved look. What he found most charming about her is that she looked rather curious, and yet shy at the same time. Finally, in his humble opinion… he thought she was gorgeous.
His cheeks heated up.
"Excuse me" She asked in a calm, mature sounding voice "I'm terribly sorry to bother you, but I could really use some assistance, if you would be so inclined"
He had never heard anyone speak like that before. Right now, she truly held an air of aristocracy, though something told Neroro that it was simply her own kind of speech mannerism. He decided, either way, that he liked it, even though it made him feel the need to somehow match her.
"Not a problem" He managed just before she entered the room completely. Despite the fact that she was clearly blind, she moved with confidence, though she kept an arm out to feel for the walls. There was one word that summed her up perfectly, to him. Elegant.
He was suddenly reminded of the conversation he had with Kinana over a year ago, and blushed a little harder.
Finally being able to ask what she needed, he discovered that she needed help finding her white cane, which she used to help find her way around. After introducing himself to the woman – her name being Shenn - he attempted to exude his own air of confidence, he looped his arm through hers ad began to lead her back to the dorms, where he suggested they check first, just encase she'd somehow misplaced it there without knowing.
Unable to hold back his curiosity about her, Neroro had started asking Shenn many questions about herself as he led her around the building, eventually managing to get her to ask her own questions in return, turning it into a friendly conversation. He noticed that she slowly came out of her shell the more the conversation progressed. He was internally thrilled.
Far too soon, it seemed, they had reached the door to her room, and she had sheepishly discovered that her cane had rolled under her bed without her realising. They shared a short chuckle, before Shenn interrupted with another question.
"Will you be in that break room again tomorrow?"
"Yes, why?"
He watched her thoughtfully bring her hand up to her mouth in a bashful manner, feeling his cheeks heating up again. To him, she looked completely adorable.
"I would… like to talk to you again"
He almost allowed himself to fall into a daze with those words, but he kept himself together, and managed a shy, curt reply.
"I-I'd like that, too"
As Shenn noted the time on her clock, Neroro was bitterly disappointed to learn that Shenn had an appointment of some form or another in a few minutes, so he reluctantly bid her farewell, watching her until she had disappeared around the end of the hallway, and continued to stand there in a daze for a few moments after she was gone.
Shaking his head briskly, he ran a hand over his forehead. What had that all been, just then? He'd never felt or behaved anything like that before in his life. Was this what having a crush was like? He frowned to himself. A crush was something that schoolgirls had, not grown men. But then, he supposed, he'd never had one before, so maybe this was making up for lost time.
Whatever was going on in his head and chest right now, he didn't really care. For the first time since he'd got here, he stopped wondering what could have been if he'd never developed his phobia.
All thoughts were directed to tomorrow's meeting with Shenn, and he couldn't have been happier about it.
A/N
*Doing a jig* I freakin' diiiid it, and I proof reeeead it :3
This is so choppy and weird, and yet it is the longest of my origin stories so far at nearly five thousand words (oh my OwO)
If you read my Shenn origin story, you will have noticed that I accidentally said that Neroro was a music teacher at the girls school rather than a science and maths teacher XD I got confuzzled, ya see XD
Urrggh it's like nearly eleven pm and I have college tomorrow, what am I doing with my life dsjvnavn
A little thing about Kinana – yes, she was kind of thought up on the spot for this story. Having a teacher teasing Neroro was the entirety of my idea for her before I started writing this XD And I made her a 'Spiritual education' teacher, because I feel if Keron did have religion, it wouldn't have quite as much variety as we do on earth, so I included other belief related things that could be considered super natural in some way, eg. Astronomy (which I personally love, but don't really believe in all that much XD). Her class also teaches about the history of spiritual belief and the beliefs of other planets.
Er… I'm too think of anything else halfway decent to add so… hope you enjoy!