Yo! Hikou no Kokoro here again! Sorry for another late update. Kept forgetting. But don't worry. Updates will be regular. I'll get in one of those weeks with two updates. Sometime.
Special thanks to Avengewholocked for subscribing and favouriting!
Disclaimer: I don't own Axis Powers: Hetalia. It rightfully belongs to Himaruya Hidekaz. I merely own the AU plot. Additionally, I am no expert of blindness or teaching. Most things are all speculations, so do not use the information as a reference.
Enjoy!
Nihilism
"The visionary lies to himself, the liar only to others."
―Friedrich Nietzsche
The first day of school slowly rolled in. With all the hype only a few days in anticipation, the first day was quite anti-climactic. It was quite a bore, in actuality. Majority of the time was spent explaining the classroom rules and syllabi for the new and frightened students. Nothing was taught, like most first days, and nothing substantial was said except words of common sense.
Arthur wasn't the type to break such a tradition. After all the students filed into his classroom and took seats arranged into an arc, he began the class with his name, the general guidelines of the music room, and the lessons taught, like he always did. He tried his best to sound animated, as if everything was new to him, but even he wasn't oblivious to the bored looks on his students faces, especially those whom he knew before, like the band members.
At first, Francis sat behind Arthur quietly, his hands folded on his lap and his legs crossed over. He only stood up to speak when Arthur turned and introduced Francis as the new arts teacher, who was currently only assisting Arthur's music class. When he heard one of the girls noting to her companion how hot the new teacher was, Francis threw a thank you and a compliment, and blew a kiss in her general direction. That didn't particularly bother Arthur at first.
Arthur would have liked if such a situation didn't change. But it did on the third period of the day. Francis lost his "prime and proper" posture for a more relaxed position, spreading his legs out and slouching in his chair. He started tapping his cane against the ground in an obscure beat, turning his head back and forth as if he were glancing around the room. Eventually, he scooted his chair to join the arc of students, leaning over with his arms folded across his chest, and spoke with the students, each one in turn.
"How are you doing today?"
"Good…?"
"Oh, that's good," Francis whispered, smiling. "Enjoyed your summer?"
Most of the time, the student would give him a thin smile, nod, and tell him, "Yeah." In that case, he would nod and move on. But occasionally, more outgoing students would have a full-blown conversation with him. One told him how she went to Disney World with her friends, another complained how she didn't want the vacation to end, and one of the boys began to rant about his summer adventures and escapades. Francis seemed rather intent on the conversation, and eventually the statements turned into the crude.
"What the bloody hell are you doing, Bonnefoy?" Arthur snapped, starting onto his feet.
"Why, I'm conversing with the wonderful students here. They have some interesting stories to tell."
"You're interrupting my class."
"So? It's just an introductory class. It's not like you're saying anything interesting except some droning about rules. Even you must know that it gets boring."
Arthur couldn't believe that he was reprimanding a man only a few years younger than he was. Nevertheless, he continued, pointing out the door. "You're setting a terrible example for my students! Now get out!"
"But, mon ami, no need to be snappish! I'm just saying that you should do something except repeat yourself over and over again. Maybe start teaching something? This is the music theory class, right?"
Scowling, Arthur took his seat again. "Fine. Just—just—just move back here, Bonnefoy."
"Move back where?"
"Here—" Arthur stopped himself, slapping himself in the forehead. Then he waved the comment off. "Nevermind, nevermind. Just stay there."
"Okay." Francis didn't move, giving Arthur a smile.
Arthur turned, hoping that Francis would be quiet from then on and wouldn't act like an immature high schooler, and retrieved tomorrow's lesson about reading music. But just as he drew the staffs on the board, he could hear Francis lean over again and say, "Stick-up-his-butt seems moody, d'accord?"
"You have no idea. He's always like this."