Christmas break was over, and a new year had just come, a time of change, resolutions, and the one dreaded word- school. Age was no deterrent, and young and old alike felt the effects. The local college campus had been quite for almost three weeks, the class rooms empty and the lawn quiet and clean. That was all about to change as the new semester rolled around, and students and professors and staff alike prepared themselves for a new semester at Credence Center Community College.
As a small campus Credence Center had a small yet close body of staff and faculty, and had a strong student based population as well. Each semester new students- high school graduates and transfers alike- attended college there. The campus, located conveniently in the middle of town was a popular place fro new graduated to attend on their way to the higher universities. The pride of Credence Center was its arts and humanities classes- offering courses in Painting, literature, history, law, and theater.
On this bright cool morning in late January, the teachers and staff were all gathered together for a final meeting before the official start of the semester the next day. The small board room was full, every seat at the long wood table occupied as an older man stood at the head of the table, a rather somber look on his aged face.
Near him sat a younger woman who was thin and well built, her dark hair almost colored a shade of purple. She had on a jogging outfit, the typical dress of a wellness teacher and avid exerciser, and her hair was pulled back behind her head in a full ponytail.
Across from her was a gentleman with long white hair. He rarely smiled but his eyes were bright and kind, betraying the fact that for years he had been fighting a long battle with cancer. He was a favorite with the students each semester and his class was on of the first to fill each semester.
Further down the table sat a rather stoic man, his shoulder length hair a shade of black that resembled a moonless night. Like his friend, he rarely smiled but his eyes were also as dark as his hair and just as cold as winter night.
A man with thick rimmed glasses leaned back, removing them to carefully clean them with the corner of his shirt. Thick brown hair with a slight curl fell into his eyes as he sat up, pushing his hand through it, smoothing it back into place.
A chuckle escaped the man next to him as he removed his sun glasses. Hooking them on the collar of his bright Hawaiian print shirt, they all but disappeared in the thick matt of chest hair he took pride in showing off. The art teacher on campus, he was a favorite with the students, especially the female student population.
Sitting beside him, pushed back from the table to accommodate his large frame, sat the college's renowned wrestling coach- having taken the college to numerous state and national championships. Short black hair stood up on his head in small spikes, betraying how much time he spent on his hair each day. A thin scar ran down his face- remnants of his service over seas years ago.
Dwarfed by his companion's large frame, the man seated next to him seemed small a quiet. Silvery hair cut short and eyes that were always squinted were his obvious features. A smile was always on his face, even when angered or pushed to the limits by students, which tended to unnerve some of his fellow instructors.
Next to him sat a young man with carefully styled black hair, who was quite focused on cleaning his nails, and was oblivious to the looks he was getting. The narcissists of the college, he was often the talk of the lunch room and break room- among students and staff alike.
The older man at the head of the table cleared his throat as he stood, a stack of papers in his hand. He faced the teachers seated at the table as he started to speak.
"These are all the students who are enrolled on our campus this semester- an increase of 100 students over last semester."
"Amazing that students enroll here and that previous student continue to come back" said the man in the Hawaiian shirt as he chuckled.
"Shunsui, that is not something to joke about!" explained the white haired man with a shocked look on his face. "Credence Center is known for its upstanding graduates and academic credibility."
"Keep your shirt on Jushiro, don't get yourself worked up," he said with a laugh as he tilted his chair back on two legs.
"You both are irritating with your constant bickering," grumbled the dark haired man, his face remaining cold and emotionless. "If one did not know better, they would swear you were enemies rather than best friends."
"Oh Byakuya, lighten up dude," Shunsui said with a loud laugh.
"It's pointless to argue with them Byakuya, everyone knows those two stick by each other no matter what."
Eyes turned to meet the man as he removed his glasses, his hands folding on the table in front of him.
"And your problem with that Aizen is…."
"Nothing Jushiro.. just making an observation."
"Thank you captain obvious" the young lady said as she rolled her eyes. "Why don't you try to make an observation about something we don't already know, Aizen?"
"My, my, my… such harsh words Yourichi-san. It's not even the first day of the semester and already we are fighting? This cant bode well for us.'
"Be quiet Gin," the large man sitting next to him said.
"Ah, as to the point as ever Kenpachi," Gin said with a grin.
The room fell silent for a moment until an ear splitting scream broke through the peace and quiet.
"Oh for the love of God, what is it Yumichika?" Aizen said as he rubbed his temples and winced.
"I broke a nail," he said with all sincerity as he stared in disbelief at his hand.
A collective groan filled the room.
"Here's to a new semester," the older man said with a sigh as the meeting was brought to a close.
The follow day found the campus no longer still and quiet and serene. Quite the opposite in fact. The parking lots were full and students circled desperately looking for places to park. Freshmen with noses to their class schedules searched out their classrooms while seniors waited in the hallway till the last minute to enter their classrooms. Instructors juggled lesson plans, books, class rosters, and handouts as they made their way to their classes. Freshmen banded together to try and find their way around campus with the help of the sophomores who still remember what it was like to be first years. Juniors and seniors kept to their own groups for the most part. The one place where all four groups were forced to interact was in the classroom- Seniors who put off classes till their final semester found themselves in classes which were predominately freshmen and the freshmen who wanted to tackle the hard classes first found themselves to be the oddballs in many of their classes.
One such classroom, without fail, seemed to be the English classes, taught by instructor Aizen Souske. As freshmen scrambled to their seats and the seniors sulked in, Aizen walked in, heading right for his desk, setting down the armload of books and papers he was carrying as he pushed his glasses up in his nose.
On the front row sat a freshman, her long dark hair pulled back in a bun. She wore a simple blue dress with a black shawl draped around her shoulders. Behind her sat a red head sophomore, who was known to be a loud mouthed hot head who had somewhat of a fetish for tribal tattoos. The other students filed in and took their seats.
"Let me extend to you freshmen my sincere welcome to Credence Center. English composition is a common course for first years to take, as well as some second years. The syllabus I am passing out will explain in detail the projects and requires that I will expect from you this semester in my class."
The red leaned back in his seat a book in his hands as he ignored Aizen as he walked up and down the rows.
"Renji Abarai, instead of looking at that swimsuit issue, maybe you would like to pay attention to my class. Maybe then you can actually pass this semester."
The red head muttered a string of profanities under his breath as he took his feet down off the table and put away the shiny paged magazine and set the text book on the table in front of him.
Aizen continued to hand out papers and schedules to the class. Every time he passed by, the young girl on the front row would stare at him as he walked by and advert her eyes quickly when he would smile at her. Stopping in front of her he smiled down at her.
"What is your name?"
Hinamori… Momo" she whispered softly.
"Well, Hinamori, welcome to Credence Center."
Hinamori flushed slightly as she adverted her eyes and the red head behind her laughed.
"This guy is a total pushover," whispered one of the freshmen sitting next to him.
Renji looked at him and laughed as she shook his head.
"Man are you in for a surprise then, just wait and see."
"Alright now, that's enough. This is college, you all are adults now, so I do not plan on babying you along or pampering anyone. Therefore, you will be given your first assignment today and your first test will be a week from today."
Groans and sighs drifted across the room while Renji fought back a laugh, it had only just begun.
