1…2…breath. 1…2…breath.
The mantra repeated over and over in his mind as Akio stared down at the black line. He continued his smooth movements through the water as he made his way down the length of the pool. One of the perks of being hired at Fujimi academy was that as faculty member, Akio had access to the facilities for personal use when not on school time. He loved the opportunity to get a swim in before class started. It meant that he could get it done early and turn his attention towards his other priorities for the day.
The high school itself was significantly larger than the university he'd attended back in Australia. The campus had several large buildings four stories tall filled with classrooms that were joined by footbridges on the 2nd and 4th levels. Along with the standard blackboard and desk set ups, some rooms were equipped for science, carpentry or metal work classes. The administration building where the teachers met at the beginning and end of the day was located towards at the front of the academy grounds.
There were also dormitories for those students who lived on campus, a gymnasium and pool where Akio currently was as well as a fully equipped astronomy building complete with a large telescope for observations. In all, the collection of buildings within the gated grounds clearly displayed the affluence of both the school and its students.
Seeing the oncoming wall, Akio counted out a final 2 strokes before tumbling forward. His feet connected with the wall as he pushed off powerfully. Butterflying his legs under the water as he held his hands forward for a few moments, he took a breath as he surfaced and continued back the way he came.
The students themselves were on the cusp of young adults, between the ages of 15 and 18. Akio had an interest in focusing on students of this age particularly given the stage of their lives. It was a daunting time, on the cusp of moving on from the school system and out into the wide world. With that though, came a removal of support that had always been provided throughout their years of schooling. In fact, it was withdrawn so quickly that Akio believed in contributed to the lack of direction many people had once they left school.
Some might see his age as a concern, given he only had a handful of years on the eldest students here. However, age truly was only a number. Akio had learned firsthand just how harsh life could be, well beyond the challenges many others experienced in the jump from school to the real world. With that turmoil though, came the acquisition of wisdom and experience. He believed he had something to offer the students here no one else could and was determined to prove it.
He hadn't been provided his own class yet, instead continuing to shadow various faculty members to get an idea of how classes were run. Each teacher had their own home room which several students attended first thing in the morning. From there, four 50-minute classes were held until lunch at around midday. After a short recess, a further two classes occurred before the students returned home at 3:15pm.
Akio had been partial to teaching history himself as there was always something to learn from those who came before you. That said, he also saw merit in teaching English if it was required. With how intertwined the globe was in the 20th century, knowing multiple languages was not just a luxury but a necessity.
His hand slapped into the opposing wall as he looked up at the clock. Slightly disappointed by his time, he glanced at his watch to see it was now 7:45am. The faculty meeting was in 45 minutes so if he was going to make it, he had to call it there.
Reaching up to place his hands on the top of the pool wall, he hoisted himself out and sat on the edge. He'd always loved staying active, mostly through either swimming or running. A lot of his mates had gravitated towards the weights when they hit their teenage years however the bench and the chase of the ever-growing BP numbers but it was not for him. He wasn't a big fan of the proudly proclaimed DOMs, so he chose to focus on standard calisthenics such as push ups and pull ups.
The result had been an athletic build that he was privately proud of achieving, from his broad shoulders to his tapered waste. Removing his cap and goggles, he looked around at the other occupants. Several other lanes were occupied by swimmers while several other students were playing a water polo game at the other end of the pool.
Standing, he walked over to his towel and began drying his hair and face. As he wiped the water from his eyes, he heard a faint giggling coming from behind. Turning towards the source of the noise he saw three young students, likely no older than 16. They were all dressed in the school swimsuit and were nervously looking at him.
One of the young ladies, a girl with bright green hair, waved shyly.
'Never will get used to the hair colour variety' he thought to himself.
"Ohayo Sensei" she said, voice barely above a whisper as she blushed.
Smiling at the young student, he waved his hand in response. "Ohayo" he greeted the students. "Hope you are all well this morning".
The girls blushed a deeper, almost beet red as they ran giggling to the other side of the pool. Akio shook his head with a bemused smile. He might be in another country, but teenagers were still the same bottle of raging hormones here as they were anywhere else.
Wrapping his towel around his waist, Akio grabbed his flippers and board as he headed to the locker room. Quickly showering the chlorine off him, he towelled off once again before opening his garment bag. Extracting his black slacks and white dress shirt, he quickly pulled the plain white t shirt on again before dressing in the ensemble. Completing the look with a plain black belt and shoes, he examined his appearance in the mirror.
He wanted to look professional but not stand out. Just like any other teacher here.
"Perfect".
Combing his hair into an acceptable part, Akio packed his wet gear into his swim bag before heading back across the pool as he headed for the faculty room to review his itinerary for the day as well as attend the morning meeting.
Arriving at the faculty room 10 minutes before the meeting, Akio packed his bag into his designated locker before walking over to collect his itinerary. Looking over his schedule, he raised his eyebrow seeing the teacher he would start the day shadowing.
'Better stay on my toes and not screw up…' he thought, staring at the name. Folding up the paper and placing it in his pocket, he took a seat with the rest of the faculty that were present, waiting for the morning staff briefing to start.
He procured an apple from the central fruit bowl and bit as other teachers entered the room, several greeting him politely as they entered, a gesture he reciprocated back. He'd been warmly received by most the faculty since joining them 2 weeks prior, willing to help him in locating where he needed to go, whom to speak to or how to get there. Most, except for a few individuals.
"Christ my ears are still ringing from her squealing" he overheard nearby. Glancing over he saw a man in a light blue shirt speaking with another in a red vest.
Mr Teshima, one of the gym teachers was again regaling the social studies teacher about his weekend's conquest.
"I've never heard anything like it Takayama. You should hear, the pitch is something else. I'm sure you could take her for a ride if you chased it. She's gotta be as tight as any of these little harlots at this school"
Akio's eyebrow twitched. He couldn't care less about what the man got up to with other, somehow consenting women but the crass comparison irked him.
His reaction did not go unnoticed. Teshima was now looking back at him, a condescending smirk on his face.
"Oh, what's wrong Akio? Haven't got any in a while so getting your rocks off listening in on others?" he sneered.
For whatever reason, the gym teacher had taken an instant disliking to Akio when he first arrived and seemed to have made it his mission to get under the younger man's skin.
"Unfortunately" he said tauntingly. "I don't think Ms Hayashi would provide even a pity fuck to a half breed like you".
Akio had expected this. Despite the millennia, there were still remnants in Japanese society that carried a degree of xenophobia towards perceived outsiders. The fact that his mother had been Japanese didn't matter to pricks like Teshima. To him, Akio wasn't full Japanese, so he was always going to be lesser.
"Whatever mate" said Akio, continuing with his apple. Engaging with this guy wasn't worth it, it would just give him the satisfaction of a reaction.
A look of frustration washed over Teshima's face. "Maybe I should kick your ass for disrespectfully eaves dropping on our conversation?" he whispered menacingly.
Taking another bite Akio sat forward on his chair, placing his feet on the ground. Putting the apple on the table in front of him, he stared silently back at the gym teacher, gaze unblinking. He said nothing, but his eyes made it clear his intention.
Anytime asshole.
Teshima's eyes bulged in anger as he stood quickly. Before anything further could happen, the school president entered the room, her black hair pulled into a high ponytail.
"Ohayo everyone" she greeted. Teshima sat back down but was clearly still furious, grinding his teeth as the group repeated the greeting back.
"Right, so nothing out of the ordinary is scheduled for today. Just a standard day of classes for the students. Several have called in sick so the attendance will be down in classes today but hopefully they will recover and get back to school in the next day or two".
She looked around the room. "Any questions?". Nobody responded.
"Alright everyone, enjoy your day."
With that, the president left with several staff in tow already asking for a moment of her time. Not wanting to delay getting to his class, Akio stood before looking over at the gym teacher whose eyes were still blazing.
Unable to help himself, Akio winked at the man before turning on his heel and walking towards the exit. He wanted to be early to his first class, lest he incur the rath of his mentor for the morning.
"Oh geez, why is this so hard" a high-pitched voice complained, catching his attention.
Akio smiled as he saw the school nurse, Ms Marikawa struggling with a large box of supplies for her medical office. The contents were piled too high and were spilling onto the floor. The young blonde cursed before setting the box down and collecting the items of the floor.
Walking over and picking up one of the bandages, Akio handed it to the nurse and smiled.
"Ohayo Ms Marikawa, would you like a hand?"
The nurse looked up and smiled at him. "Ohayo Pointa-san. That would be helpful thank you".
Grabbing a nearby empty box, Akio transferred several of the items across until both boxes were evenly filled making them easier to carry. He balanced his own books on top of the box before he picked everything up and followed the nurse out of the faculty room towards her office.
"Also Pointa-san, I thought I told you to call me Shizuka. You don't need to keep referring to me by my family name" the nurse explained.
"Sorry Shizuka" he said apologetically. "I'll try to remember that in future. But by that same logic, you can call me Akio. Deal?"
"Deal"
Shizuka had been very welcoming towards Akio when he first started. She had been the school Nurse for the past 2 years whilst she had been studying a degree in medicine to further her career as a doctor. She had an incredible amount of knowledge, both in the physical and mental aspects of medical care which Akio loved to pick her mind over. That said, if the topic was anything other than medical, she could be quite…ditzy at times.
"How has your morning been Akio?" the young woman asked as they turned down the next corridor.
"It's been good" he responded. "Up early, hit the pool for an hour. You know, the usual".
"Well you certainly enjoy your physical fitness" she said cheerfully. "Your definitely in shape compared to many of the other teachers here".
Akio smiled. "I find doing something physical helps wake my mind up. Helps me get ready to be of use for the students".
The blonde smiled as they continued. "So, who are you with first today?" she asked.
Akio frowned slightly, remembering whom he was luckily enough to spend the morning with. "Koichi Shido unfortunately" he said, the distaste clearly audible in his tone.
"Oh, that's a shame" the blonde nurse responded before whispering. "I always thought he was a bit of an asshole myself". Akio laughed at her comment before falling silent again.
He'd had a couple of interactions already with the teacher and they hadn't been pleasant. Akio was reminded of a reptile rather than a man when watching Shido, his eyes watching the students as one would expect a predator observing its prey. But the dislike he had for the man was for more than physical reasons.
The two had clashing ideals on what it meant to be a teacher. Shido clearly relished in the authority his position gave him over the students, often resorting to grandiose performances to convince the young adults he taught of his own power and superiority. Akio grimaced thinking back on some of these instances. They as teachers were responsible for guiding the students, not dominate their thought process.
Arriving at the nurse's office the blonde put her box on the ground as she fished into her coat for the keys. Retrieving them, she stepped forward to unlock the door. Her foot caught under the rug causing her to fall onto her rear. Her incredible bust bounced as she landed with a thud on her rear.
"Oh, I really hate these rugs" she said in dismay. Putting his own box down, Akio helped the nurse to her feet. The nurse unlocked the door which allowed the two of them to enter.
Placing his box on top of a nearby desk, Akio glanced at his watch. It was 8:35am so he had a little more time to make it to his class.
"I need to get going Shizuka. You free for lunch today?" he asked.
The blonde nodded. "Yes, I'll meet you here?"
"Sounds good. I'll see you then. Ja matane"
"Ja Matane Akio" the woman waved as Akio made his way to class.
The hall was filled with students heading to their designated classes with Akio moving around them.
In Japan, students greeted their teachers when they passed them in the hall. Whilst he was still a humble TA, he'd been introduced at the school assembly as a teacher, so he was now on the receiving end of the overwhelming politeness.
Nodding and greeting EVERY student who said hello to him on his way, he continued down the hall, not wanting to be late. Glancing up at the signs to make sure he was going the right way, he took his eyes off where he was going for one moment.
WHUMP!
He collided heavily with one of the female students. He slipped forward and tripped over her leg, sprawling to the floor heavily. The stack of books the girl had been carrying scattered everywhere.
"HEY! Watch where you're going!" shouted the young girl, her amber eyes fixing him with a frustrated glare.
Full of apologies, Akio immediately rose to his knees to collect the girl's books. "I'm so sorry" he hurriedly said. Stacking the books up, he handed them back to the girl. After fixing her pink hair back in place, she took them in a huff.
"Just pay attention" she said dismissively as she continued down the hall.
Still crouched, Akio scratched the back of his head habitually. 'So maybe they aren't all that polite' he thought to himself.
"Are you alright?" asked a soft voice.
Akio looked up and saw another student looking down at him, a small smile on her face. Her blue eyes were filled with both concern and compassion.
Rising to his feet, Akio dusted off his knees. "I'm alright, thanks. Just need to pay more attention. It's not good for me to be ploughing into students"
Realising what he'd just said, Akio's eyes widened in horror. "I…I mean…" he stammered.
The young woman giggled softly. "No, it certainly isn't a good look for teachers to be taking out students" she said with a smile. Her violet hair swayed as she spoke.
Akio laughed nervously. "Maybe just forget what I said. Thank you for your concer…I'm sorry I don't think we've met. I'm…"
"I know who you are Sensei. You're the new Teachers Aid who started here a few weeks ago" the girl explained. She bowed slightly as she introduced herself "My name is Saeko Busujima"
Akio bowed in response. "Nice to meet you Busujima-San and thankyou once again for your concern". He glanced once more at his watch. He had a few more minutes to make it.
"I'm so sorry but I must be getting to my class. I hope you have a great day Busujima-san" he said hurriedly. He began to run down the corridor once more.
"You as well sensei" she called out as he dashed around the corner. After a few more turns, he saw his destination. The last few students were filing into the classroom as their teacher stood at the entrance.
He was dressed in a pinstripe suit which seemed to accentuate his authority. Behind a set of expensive looking frames, his yellow eyes glanced up from his watch. He tapped the expensive time piece as Akio approached him.
"You're late, sensei" the man said simply, the last word uttered with a slight level of condescension.
Akio knew he was exactly on time, but there was little point in arguing with the self important Shido. "My apologies Shido-san" he said through gritted teeth. "It won't happen again".
With a final scowl, Shido turned and entered the class to begin the lesson.
Composing himself, Akio entered the class to begin his observation.
Until next time reader.