DETENTION

I want trees instead of gravestones and nothing to confess. I got a soft spot for ancient books of horror stories. I got music in my ears from long, long ago and far, far away. And I still hum its tune, but how could I ever believe every word it says to me?

Big Houses by Squalloscope

There's not much time left before the school day comes to end and she'll be left overseeing her detentions. If memory serves her right, there will be at least two second years joining in today due to having it for the rest of the week after their disruptive behavior yesterday. She could use the time to just plan out her detention for the day, but instead she finds herself lingering toward the teacher's lounge.

This time, she decides, will be better spent writing down what she will need Nezu to obtain for future classes, notes on the changes for her courses as well as today's own notes on the first years. She already has her eye on a select few that could flourish under her extra classes. She'll wait until next week's class to confirm before she drags them into the extracurricular as well as add in the few that are struggling.

She's not surprised by the amount of staff still lingering in the lounge; Vlad King, Hounddog and Eraserhead being among them. She doesn't know the schedule as well, but she believes the last period is served with the core classes such as English, Art and Math. She wishes that there would have been just a slightly lesser amount of people in the room, but at least All Might isn't present. That beast of a man would have easily made the room feel twice as small. Still, she remains determined to work on her notes at the school, settling down in a chair far away from the rest with her supplies.

"A bit strict for a new teacher," Vlad King opens up the conversation, eying her.

Florence snorts, "I'm hardly new to teaching. I know exactly how to discipline my students in a way that works. Certain students need to know that this isn't a school nor a course to be taken lightly, some need a reminder of who to listen to, and others need to know that certain behavior just won't be tolerated. I have no issue in providing clarity for such students."

Vlad King looks almost like he will back off from the conversation, but he decides to continue.

"A detention for going against your rules, I can both understand and respect. That Bakugou kid looks like he would be a handful otherwise and I'll admit that Monoma needs to learn to be quiet. But you did give detention to that one for being a little girl crazy."

Aizawa spots the moment the air in the room seems to shift, a palpable tension forming between the teachers as Florence looks up sharply. He'll admit that he doesn't quite agree with Vlad's assessment on Mineta, that child by the second day has already shown that he will need to keep close attention due to his behavior. He's not even against Florence's action in giving detention. He almost speaks up against Vlad's statement, in favor of her action, but stops short when he glances toward her.

Florence's eyes are too sharp, clouded by an unreadable emotion as her face seems to become impassive. Her knuckles grip her coffee mug almost too tightly, while her other hand slams down onto the desk with a hard thunk. The look she gives Vlad makes him shift uncomfortably, feeling a chill shoot down his spine. Hound Dog lets out a small noise in warning, but Florence ignores it as she stares down Vlad King harshly.

"Girl crazy-" she spits the words out like a curse, an abomination, "-is a lazy excuse for that type of behavior. No matter what age he is, he has gone through puberty, as has most of his classmates, which means he is fully aware of what he is doing and is doing so for his own sexual gratification against their will. A type of behavior that if left unaddressed by an adult can lead to worse behavior in the future and someone with a pro hero license that behaves like that horrifies me. If it does horrify you, Vlad King, then you need to readdress what you consider to be a hero."

As she speaks, a much deeper emotion starts to cut under her words. Aizawa doesn't know if the others catch it, but he can see the way she starts to subtly shake, her voice wavering as she continues. She looks two seconds away from either punching Vlad or breaking out into tears. Rage, he is sure, is the culprit of the wavering emotion that she is radiating, but the look in her eyes tells him that this is about something more. He's seen that look before. He hates to admit that as an underground hero, he's helped people with that look before, seen it more often than he'd like to admit. He hopes, however, that he is wrong, even though he feels it in his gut that the worst case is true when it comes to their newest staff member.

Florence leaves, distressed, leaving behind not only her supplies but an obviously embarrassed Vlad King, who is too late in trying to apologize.

"If you really want to apologize, give her time to cool off," Aizawa offers the small advice, his voice tired as he gathers up Florence's supplies with the intention of giving them back to her.

He's not sure if she will be up for any sort of conversation or human interaction, with her detention so soon, he imagines that she would rather spend the time trying to cool her head. But he will at least save her the embarrassment of having to return and risk talking to Vlad King again just to get her supplies; he is sure that she will notice that she missed them soon.

When he manages to catch up to her, she's in a secluded area of the school that has already emptied out for the day. Her back against the wall, she sinks down to her knees with a shivering breath before leaning back to rest her head against the cool tile. Judging from the way she is trying to control her breaths and the hand clutched to her chest, as if trying to massage it, he can figure out exactly what state of mind she is in. He waits until her eyes are closed before he slips the supplies beside her, planning on leaving before he is even noticed to give her a moment of privacy.

Florence managed to fight off the panic attack that threatened her after her conversation with Vlad King. It came from more frustration than anything. Frustration over his audacity, frustration at herself for having trouble even explaining why the behavior was wrong. It got worse when she felt the increase of her heart slam against her chest. The moment she felt it coming, she had to leave. She refused to embarrass herself in front of the other staff members.

When she finally calmed herself, she was frustrated that she got that bad to begin with. Something so simple that happened so long ago shouldn't bother her this much centuries upon centuries since it occurred. But even thinking about it makes her head hurt, makes the flame of her quirk quiver. She was surprised to see that her supplies had been delivered to her, the notebooks neatly beside her. She wonders who had delivered them, but she quickly can take a guess considering the few number of staff members involved. She supposes at some point that she may have to thank him, but that will have to be for another day because for now - now she has a detention to serve.

She is pleasantly surprised to see that everyone is in attendance; this means that at least she won't have to hunt down any students herself. The angry blonde seems to be the only reason the grape one even came, the blonde mutters about how if he has to be here then he'll be damn sure that the other one is there too. She takes note of the comments appreciatively, specifically how interesting it is that for someone so angry and clearly having other problems, there still seems to be a strong sense of some sort of strong personal code. Good. Maybe she can use that in her favor.

"What do you expect us to do, sensei?" The grape one is the one to speak up, "Write lines or run laps?"

The second years in attendance look between the grape and Florence nervously, fluttering about as they shift anxiously, the fear clear on their faces. None of them are strangers to what her detentions ensue for them, having already attended one the day previous.

"That's Professor or Professor Talbot." She corrects, her voice cutting through the room. When she smiles at the detention students, it is nothing short of feral and almost cruel, "And no, detention with me will not be something so simple or easily passed."

As the detention began, it became abundantly clear to the first years why detention with Professor Florence should not only be something avoided - but something feared.

As the first years shuffle into their class the next morning, Izuku immediately looks to Bakugo. He never got the chance to ask Kaachan yesterday how the detention had gone; his mom may not like it, but he had spent his free time training as much as he could and then passing out the moment that he had hit the bed.

"So, Bakugo, is detention with Professor Talbot as tough as she makes it sounds," Kaminari teases, lightly bumping against Bakugo's arm.

Izuku knows that Kaachan must be tired considering his insult toward Kaminari falls flat, his voice obviously worn out. He can see the bags under his friend's eyes as Kaachan leans back into his chair with a tired sigh. It must have been pretty bad. I wonder how Mineta took it then if it wore out even Kaachan? Izuku looks, but he can't place Mineta anywhere in the classroom, his seat vacant.

"Did Mineta even come to class today," Izuku asks, his voice curious.

Mina overhears the question, her grin growing as she immediately jumps over, "~Ohh didn't you hear? He dropped out after detention with Professor Talbot."

Izuku's face drops; he's not the only one. At Mina's explanation, most of the class swallow thickly as they all come to the realization that yes - detention with Professor Talbot is indeed that bad.