I started to feel more and more depressed that evening. Everyone was talking endlessly about Work Studies. All those great jobs and dreams and adventures that I wouldn't be able to have for months. I was falling behind my classmates, getting left behind in life further and further by the minute.
I didn't want to rub it in to Bakugou that we were the only ones left out, so I had no one to commiserate. I didn't want to get Midoriya and Iida down by reminding them that I'd failed, so I couldn't talk to them either. Everyone else in class was smiling and laughing and getting excited about their next big steps, and I was just…trailing behind, left with nothing.
So I tried not to feel almost happy when Mr. Aizawa told everyone,"Regarding the first years' hero internships, the results of yesterday's conference made it abundantly clear. Plenty of teachers, including the principal, said: Don't even think about it."
"Huh? Even after that whole demonstration we got?" Kirishima protested.
"It makes sense, though, given how we ended up in dorms in the first place," said Kaminari.
"S WHATCHA GET!" cried Bakugou, jumping to his feet.
"Just because you wouldn't be able to," Hagakure pointed out.
"However," Sensei interrupted him. "There were also those of the opinion that the current policy keeping you all constantly under our protection wouldn't raise you into strong heroes. So, we decided that 'if limited to offices that had a good track record when it comes to taking in interns, first years should be allowed to do work studies'. That's the new policy."
I tried to be happy for my classmates…but all I felt was again that sense of depression.
I heard Uraraka saying, "I wonder if Gunhead's place'll be all right." In front, Asui whispered to Ashido. "I suppose I should try to reach out to Selkie."
Next to me, Yaoyorozu started tapping her foot, staring off into the distance. Of course, she's running through her options….
"I suppose you're going to be doing one, Yaoyorozu?"
She jumped and blushed a little. "Oh - yes, I hope so."
"Well, good luck," I mumbled, trying hard to sound supportive.
"I-I'm sorry, Todoroki," she stumbled out. "I forgot."
"It's fine. You don't need to walk on eggshells around me. I'll be getting my license soon enough."
"Right."
She paused for a moment, and then said, "Todoroki…how did you choose your internship?"
"Excuse me?"
"I don't mean to pry, but I wanted to know if you…have any advice for how to choose one."
I thought back to how I'd picked my internship, and then felt a little ashamed.
"Honestly, I ended up choosing my father's agency because…it was the highest ranked agency on the list. Even if he is a - well, regardless of my personal relationship with him, he is the number two hero for a reason. I had to learn first hand exactly what makes him so highly ranked. That's the only reason."
"I see. Indeed, the hero ranking system is hardly arbitrary. It measures the success rates, popularity, and hard work of pro heroes all over the country to calculate mathematically which heroes are truly the best at what they do…that's a perfectly sound reasoning. Just what I'd expect from you."
Huh. That's…nice of her to say. Yaoyorozu, for some reason, seems to find it easy to pay me compliments, even though she considers me as a rival. From Bakugou, of course, it's like pulling teeth, and even from Iida and Midoriya, it's difficult. But for her, it comes quite naturally.
Class started; I was left thinking about my future. What do I do next?
