Sooooo... Hi? It's been quite a while since I actually posted a fanfic but my Uni course actually had an assignment on it! (Honestly Creative Writing degrees rock) My lecturer has encouraged us to post our work so here I am. I don't know if I'll post again but we'll have to wait and see. Thanks for reading!
Kaminari Denki sighed, resisting the urge to bang his head against his desk. Judging by his latest test result, he couldn't afford to lose any more brain cells.
Why is school so hard?
His eyes burned as he listened to Bakugo yell at Midoriya over getting one more mark than him- a near-perfect score. They never had any issues getting what they needed to down onto their page. Denki would be the first to admit he'd never been the smartest kid but he made it into the top hero academy in Japan! That had to count for something, right?
The bell cut Denki off from his train of thought.
"Class dismissed," Aizawa Sensei said from his yellow cocoon. Sometimes Denki wished he had his own sleeping bag to burrow into. It seemed like the perfect thing to snuggle into and forgot the world around you.
"Kaminari, stay behind."
The electricity that forever buzzed under his skin seemed to stop for a second like someone had flipped the switch. Here it is. He can hear Jirou laughing already about how he must be in trouble over his grades. The other students trickled out leaving Denki to his fate. His fingers crackled with excess electricity, a nervous habit he had never been able to kick. Shuffling up to the front, Denki eyed the grey carpet in front of Aizawa's desk. Better to get this over and done with, right?
Waiting until Aizawa had crawled out of his sleeping bag to join Denki at his desk was excruciating. Sweat pooled in Denki's palms no matter how desperately he was wiping them on his slacks. "Ha-have I done something wrong, Aizawa Sensei?" Denki winced, he was already mortified that he had been singled out and told to stay behind but then he had to go and stutter in front of his intimidating and slightly vindictive homeroom and heroics teacher. The very same teacher who has full permission from the Principe to expel students at the drop of a hat!
One of Aizawa's dark eyebrows was raised. Not surprising considering Denki's confidence mask normal never cracks. "Surprisingly Kaminari, not this time," Aizawa deadpanned.
Denki instantly felt his shoulders relax and he stood a little straighter. If he wasn't in trouble, he wasn't at risk of being expelled.
"While you're not in trouble, we do need to talk about your test results."
And with that statement (still delivered in his teacher's perfect deadpan) any delusion of safety vanished. The fuzzy feeling in his tongue was back and his fingers were twitching with the electricity Denki was desperately trying to maintain control of. "I'm sorry Sensei! I promise I'll try and-"
Aizawa raised a hand to cut off Denki's panicked rambling. "I gave you a different test."
For a second Denki's brain was pure static. "You what?"
He shouldn't be so surprised. His 'logical ruses' were infamous, and despised. Denki resisted the urge to both laugh and cry. Of course, this was happening to him. Of course, Aizawa Sensei chose him as his new victim.
Aizawa shifted so that he was no longer leaning on his desk. Surprisingly, he looked far more uncomfortable then Denki, and terrifyingly, he looked apologetic. "You see, Present Mic told me he had seen a few signs popping up here and there in your work. Your spelling is atrocious, your organisation abysmal and you can't follow instruction," Aizawa paused. He looked as frustrated as Denki felt. He knew all this. Why was Aizawa repeating what he had been told thousands of times over? What Aizawa said next shocked Denki to his core. "But when you give verbal answers you could rival the top in the class. Especially in your science classes."
"What?" Denki couldn't stop himself from blurting out. His breath felt clogged in his chest like it was unable to pass through his lungs properly. "Sensei, what are you getting at? What do mean by signs?"
Aizawa took a deep breath as he rubbed the space between his eyebrows. "According to the results of the test you took, you are dyslexic, Kaminari."
The world stopped. The static was back and louder this time, the buzzing rattled his skull.
All Denki could manage was a small, "Oh." Trust Aizawa Sensei to deliver the news without cushioning it.
Aizawa sighed again before meeting Denki's eyes dead-on. "I don't know how we've missed it for so long and I apologise for not recognising the signs earlier. I have failed you as your teacher, I am deeply sorry." The apology was punctuated with a ninety-degree bow, jolting Denki out of his shock.
"So I'm not just dumb? Or useless?" he asked quietly.
Denki had grown used to his peers and teachers calling him lazy and stupid. He learnt to shrug off the judgemental stares of his classmates when he constantly asked Momo or Bakugo for help with their homework. The insults Bakugo threw at him and Momo's gentle rebukes over his handwriting were laughed off. He was used to the headaches and guilt that followed Momo's rants and lectures on the literature, art and theatre she devoured, the disappointed frown when he admitted he preferred to download comedy podcasts instead or play his guitar always made it worse. Sure some of their preferences were down to their upbringing in opposing classes of society but it always left Denki feeling lacking… useless. It was just his normal life… but here was Aizawa Sensei apologising to him. Saying the top school in all of Japan was at fault.
Aizawa straightened his back and reached over to lift Denki's dropped chin. Blank black eyes met teary electric gold. "No Denki," the man's voice was incredibly soft, dripping in comfort. "You've just got one extra circuit up there." Aizawa paused as he released Denki's chin. With a small smirk, he teased, "Try not to make it worse by blowing another fuse."
Denki laughingly cried, "I'm working on it!"
Aizawa chuckled as he resumed his relaxed lean against his desk. "I know. Now, in order to help you in class, I've spoken to Principle Nezu and arranged for you to get both a recorder and a tablet to help you with your work. I have also spoken to your other teachers and we have all agreed that you will have an extra week to hand in any assignments set. This is no excuse to slack. If you take advantage of this I will expel you."
"Understood!" Denki grinned as he picked up his bag and bounced towards the door. He paused and turned back to his teacher with a happy little grin. "Thank you Aizawa Sensei."
The returning smile would stick with Denki for the rest of his life. Whenever he got frustrated with himself he'd remember the soft upturn of his teacher's lips, encouraging him to continue. Telling him it didn't matter that things were slightly harder for him, he could still succeed.
"It's my job. Now get out of my classroom, problem child."
"Yes Sir!" Denki laughed. As he raced back to the dorms that little world never left his thoughts.
Dyslexic.