Chapter 4: Another lesson - Professor Stein is crazy?
Maka awoke the next morning feeling really odd. She rolled over and looked at her clock.
Well, school time, she thought. Wondering if her partner was awake, she sat up and let her legs dangle off the side of her bed.
I think I might have had a weird dream...
Maka yawned and stood up, rubbing her eyes. The smell of butter and eggs hit her nose and she frowned, hoping she hadn't been sleepwalking. She opened her bedroom door and heard sizzling from the kitchen.
"Soul?"
He was all dressed in a royal blue sweater, a pair of white skinny jeans and a matching blue headband. The color of the sweater showed off his skin so well, and contrasted with his eyes in such a bold way that Maka caught herself holding her breath as she looked at him.
He turned towards her with a pan and spatula in his hands, and he smiled crookedly at her while shaking the eggs around in the pan. The sight was heavenly.
"Morning, Maka. Hungry?" Soul's sexy voice broke through her marvelling. "I've made some eggs and I'm working on the toast. Is that cool?"
Maka shook the stars out of her eyes. "Yeah, of course." She tilted her head to the side, as if a different angle would bring sense to the vision she was seeing. "Soul, what brought you to make this fancy breakfast? Usually we just have cereal or something."
Soul chuckled. "I guess it's payback for the awesome lunch yesterday. Are you planning on getting dressed?"
This distracted Maka from her curiosity, and she looked down at her pink pajamas. "Right. I should do that."
Maka turned back to her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She leaned up against it and breathed in and out slowly. Okay, Maka, just relax.
She walked over to her closet and sighed, opening the door carefully. She thought for a minute before pulling out a simple black miniskirt and baby pink tank top. She grabbed a black choker out of her jewelry box, and let her hair hang loosely in a low ponytail with a pink ribbon.
If Soul's dressing up, I can too, right?
Maka pulled on white thigh high socks with black bows on the tops, a gift from Blair.
Blair...
Where had that kitten gone, anyway? Maka decided not to worry about it. They leave and come back, always finding their way home.
Usually...
She shook the thought from her mind and sighed. She pulled on a pair of black buckle shoes. Giving herself a final look from head to toe, she took a deep breath and walked out.
It was Soul's turn to marvel. Maka looked excellent, and different. Sure, her style was the same, but it wasn't usually on school days that she changed her outfit around. Smiling, Soul popped the toast out of the toaster and buttered it, placing it on Maka's plate next to her eggs.
"Served!" He leaned over the table to lay her plate where she normally sat. As he did so, he turned and winked at her, chuckling.
Maka blushed lightly and walked away from her doorway over to the table. "Thanks, Soul. Smells good."
Soul prepared his plate and sat down across from her, bringing them both forks. "Enjoy."
"Hey, Soul, I was wondering..." Maka started as they finished their breakfast and moved to clean up. "Where has Blair been? I haven't seen her for almost three days."
Soul choked on the last bite he'd taken while standing up to rinse his plate off. "Umm, you know, that's a good question."
Maka frowned at him. "Do you know something?"
Soul didn't answer her at first, rinsing his plate in the sink. He set it down inside the sink carefully, and turned towards Maka, leaning on the counter. "I haven't seen her, either. She's probably got something to do."
"Hmm..." Maka looked at him suspiciously, but shrugged, deciding it wasn't really important. "We'd better go, we don't want to be late."
Soul smiled, relieved Maka had let go of the subject. "Right, I'll race you down to the bike!" Soul winked and bolted out the door.
When they arrived at the DWMA, Maka and Soul realized just how late they were. There were no students lingering outside.
"Crap!" They both yelled, and then they spared an amused side glance at each other before sprinting up the stairs and to their classroom. When they opened the door...
To their horror, (mostly to Soul's) Professor Stein stood at the front of the classroom. He froze and turned towards them.
Maka took note of how uncomfortable the entire class looked, and also noticed that the girls and boys were on opposite sides of the room. Soul groaned out loud, seeing this as well, and they both heard Stein snicker.
"Bad day to be late, eh?" He cocked his head, looking at the two of them. They both looked flush, though neither of them looked pissed. Stein decided they were late because they had had a good morning, not a bad one that involved yelling at each other.
"Sorry. sir." Maka saluted. She took Soul's wrist and pulled him inside. "It won't happen agai-"
Stein cut her off, literally making a slicing motion with his entire hand at his throat. "I don't need to hear it, Maka. Why don't you two wait outside today? You can take your lesson later with Miss Marie and Spirit."
They both just stood there with their jaws hanging open.
Shit.
"Umm, sir-" Maka started, but this time Soul cut her off.
"You're cruel, Stein. Just cruel. Come on, Maka."
Still looking shocked, her jaw dropped even farther than before, Maka turned her head from Soul to Stein. She allowed herself to be led from the room. When Soul closed the door behind them, the heavy noise it made woke her from her shock.
"Soul, what the hell was that! Why did we just get kicked out of class?" Maka leaned against the wall and sank to the floor.
Soul just laughed at how adorable she was. "Come on, Maka, it won't be so bad having lessons alone with Miss Marie, will it?"
Maka grumbled a little and turned her head away, crossing her arms.
"Really, what could be bad about that?" Soul couldn't even imagine how it could compare to solo lessons with Spirit. He shuddered. The man thought he knew how Soul felt, and if he did...
Maka just grumbled again. "You don't really want to know." She added, looking at him sourly.
Soul threw his head back and laughed. "Imagine having lessons alone with your old man, Maka. That's not going to be a party, either. So not cool."
Maka gagged and covered her eyes, shaking her head frantically. "I'm so sorry, Soul!"
"Hey, don't apologize, Maka." Soul went over to the wall and sank down next to her. "It'll be alright."
They looked up suddenly as the door opened and saw Stein directing the boys to the classroom where they had had their lesson two days ago. They all filed out awkwardly, walking down the hall. None of them glanced at Maka or Soul, all most likely too distracted by the weirdness of having Stein as a teacher again. When they had all left, Stein stood holding the door open. Soul decided to antagonize him.
"Haven't seen you in awhile, Prof," Soul began. "What have you been up to?"
Stein's glasses flashed. "Oh, you know, this and that." He smiled, his gray hair and reflective lenses covering his eyes.
"Are you and Miss Marie still living together?" Maka asked, and Soul turned to see a hard
look on her face. He wondered what the accusation in her voice was for.
Stein looked up and they could see his eyes, open wide, for a brief second. Surprise. Then he shielded them again and turned back towards the classroom. "Yes, we are." He replied, and slammed the door behind him.
"What the hell?" Soul asked, confused by the exchange.
Maka sniffed, shrugging. "I think Marie is in love with Stein." She didn't say it with any doubt, just casually.
Soul thought about this. It was common knowledge among students that Stein had been Marie's "first love", and the two of them were living together. Marie had been so persistent about getting Stein back from Medusa when he had been kidnapped. She relaxed his madness. Why not? Maka could be absolutely correct.
"I think I see your point. But why are you angry with him?"
"Soul, haven't you noticed how distant Stein has been since we destroyed the kishin? Something is wrong with him."
Soul shook his head. "He's crazy, Maka. I'm sure he's just trying to get over his madness-"
"But Soul, don't you see?" Maka gave him a look of despair. "Sure, the kishin amplified Stein's madness, but his madness will never go away. He'll always have it, and it's going to be so hard for him to let it go this time. I don't want him to do anything that will hurt Miss Marie."
Soul smiled and took her hand. She's so compassionate. "I wouldn't worry about it too much, Maka. Marie is strong even if it doesn't seem like it. And I'm sure she could kick Stein's sorry ass."
Sighing, Maka nodded. She still didn't look to encouraged, and she hardly felt her hand in Soul's.
Inside the classroom, Stein remained with the girls. They were all talking amongst themselves quietly, and the room sounded like a theater before the opera began. Everyone was questioning why Stein hadn't left with the boys; wasn't that a little peculiar? Shouldn't they be receiving these lessons, from, I don't know, a female?
Stein clapped his hands and spun his classic rolling chair around, then sat down with the back to the front. He wrapped his arms around the chair back and leaned forward slightly, opening one eye to peer out at the girls.
"Alright, now, I'd like to clarify something before we start today's lesson." He paused, started spinning around in his chair, then stopped and spoke again. "Obviously I'm not Spirit, nowhere near. However, Lord Death decided that today's lesson would be more appropriately taught by me rather than that perverted excuse for a Death Scythe." The corner of Stein's mouth turned up slyly, and he did another spin in his chair. "I was available, and it's not like I'm oblivious to the topic of conversation, so Lord Death decided to choose me. He thought Sid would be weird and himself would be too much to handle. So..."
The girls looked a little less confused, but a little more awkward. A few hands went up, but Stein waved them away and spun some more.
"Spirit would definitely be better at answering questions for some circumstances and scenarios... But I would really hope none of you are curious about one night stands, prostitution, and cheating on your spouse. Do you ladies follow?"
A few nodded and snickered. He would never be saying this if Maka were in the room, Tsubaki thought. She put up her hand.
"Tsubaki?" He called on her.
She lowered her hand and tried to keep the anxiety out of her voice. "Um, sir, what are we learning that requires a male teacher today?"
Stein sighed, then threw his head back in laughter. "Don't worry, Tsubaki, you guys basically just have today to ask me any questions you may have about the way men think. There are some people that I really just can't answer for, of course," Stein looked up at Tsubaki, half of his face in shadow, "but I'll do my best."
Tsubaki felt a twinge of annoyance. She knew Stein was talking about Black Star, but really, what questions would she have about him? The two of them had already told each other their feelings.
"Oh, and by the way," Stein added, "Some of you may already have some experience or told that one boy how you feel. But just so you know, men can be just as good at hiding their feelings as women are. Don't get too cocky."
Tsubaki almost growled out loud. Stein was really just trying to make her mad now. Normally she was a softspoken and timid person, but when it came to Black Star, Tsubaki felt very defensive.
"Alright, so! Who has questions?"
"Actually, sir, I have a question about something you said earlier." Kim was raising her hand.
"Yes?"
"You said Maka's dad gets prostitutes, is that actually true? I totally thought it was a rumor." Kim looked rather smug.
"Not that that's exactly relevant, young lady," Stein grinned. "let's just leave that one up for debate."
Jacqueline raised her hand. "Is it true that all boys want is sex?"
Kim snorted, answering before Stein could. "Of course that's true, Jacqueline, what else would they want?"
"Why have you had so many boyfriends then, honey?" Liz asked coolly as she inspected the ends of her hair.
Kim glared at Liz. "At least they're boyfriends and not boy toys-"
Professor Stein interrupted the bickering. "Stop, you two. Jacqueline, to answer your question, I think that at your age most boys think about sex a lot. It surpasses every other desire in their mind, and that desire is like a madness of it's own."
Kanako was next to raise her hand. "Did Asura amplify that madness?"
Stein laughed loudly. "No, no, not really. It's a different kind of madness."
"Professor," Tsubaki waved her hand lightly, "you said 'our age'. Does the 'madness' you're talking about go away when they're older?"
Sighing, Stein smiled at her. "Well, it doesn't go away really. It's always there, just like regular madness. But it's a little easier to control, that's for sure."
None of the girls looked happy about being educated on sexual desires by Professor Stein.
In the spare classroom, the boys had walked in to find Marie awaiting them. On the way there, Ox had pointed out that Stein wasn't following them.
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure, Ox. You never really know with that creepy old man." Black star waved his arms about and made a "whoooo"ing noise. Ox raised an eyebrow at him, but glanced all around them all the same.
"There's always the chance he's watching us, though I doubt that he would conceal himself." Kid pointed out. "Why would he when he could be out in the open making fun of us all?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right, Kid." Black Star mused. "But still... BOO!" He yelled, and Ox jumped a foot off the ground. "HA ha ha ha!"
Marie greeted them casually, her back turned. She was writing a word on the chalkboard: Girls.
"Miss M-Marie?" Everyone turned to look at Crona as he spoke. He'd been brave enough to ask what the hell was happening. "W-What are we doing, having a girl as a teacher for this? Isn't that sort of unusual?" Crona looked around at all the eyes on him and blushed.
Marie turned away from the board and smiled warmly at Crona. "Silly, who would to better to teach you about girls than one of them?"
The guys all had an "oooohhh" moment, and Marie laughed. "Well, good morning, kids. Welcome to my lesson on girls." She winked at them all, then turned back to the chalkboard. Underneath the word Girls she wrote feelings. Then she turned back around to face them and put her hands on the desk.
"Okay, boys. You have today to ask me anything you want to know about girls."
Ox's hand shot up.
Miss Marie smiled again. "Ox?"
"Why do girls hide their feelings so often? It's so frustrating. You can never tell what they're thinking!"
Black Star snickered. "Or, you know, you're just an idiot."
Ox glared at him. "Just because you have the perfect girl who will tell you anything you want-"
"-doesn't mean I know how to get one?" Black Star reached forward and patted Ox's arm. "Don't worry, man. I'm just a Big Star, it did take some hard work to win Tsubaki over, but in the end-"
"Wait, Black Star!" Miss Marie interrupted him. "You 'won Tsubaki over'?" She looked very intrigued.
"Well, yeah! I set up a picnic for us and told her how I feel, of course it went well, a Big Star like me-"
"Where?"
"Did you give her flowers?"
"Black Star and Tsubaki, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-"
"Boys, boys, stop! Congratulations, Black Star. I'm glad that one of you has made progress." Marie gave him an encouraging smile, then gazed sternly at the rest of them. "And what about everyone else?"
"Ma'am, shouldn't we be asking the questions?" Harvar pointed out.
Marie raised her eyebrow. "I think I can ask you questions too. I am the teacher after all." She paused as Harvar nodded. "So? Anyone?"
No way I'm saying anything, Kid thought, smiling to himself. I'm keeping last night between the three of us.
When no one made a notion, Marie shook her head, sighing. "Okay. To answer Ox's question, there are a lot of different reasons. Mostly it's because they don't want anyone to know their weaknesses. Sometimes it's because they don't feel like you tell them your feelings. Maybe they're embarrassed, frightened, they don't want to be judged. Or maybe they're just playing games with you."
She looked up at them, concerned. These boys may be the victims of girls playing severe games.
Crona raised his hand and put it down again. Then he put it up, high.
"Crona?"
"H-How...How do you ask a girl how she feels about you without being crushed to a pulp?" He blushed and hid his face.
"Yeah, like you have to worry about being crushed to a pulp, Crona." Black Star laughed. "Your blood is black!"
Crona's head shot up and a wicked smile grew on his face. "Of course...My blood is black."
Marie shivered. "Black Star, I don't think he meant that it a literal sense." When Black Star looked confused, Marie started over. "I don't think he actually meant that he's worried about being crushed. I think he meant it metaphorically."
"Oh."
Marie shook her head again. She was really starting to worry. "Crona, I don't think you need to be afraid of that. You're automatically thinking worst-case scenario. Just be confident and kind to whoever it is, and you're sure to be treated well also. If you're a cocky jerk, you will be treated poorly."
Is he talking about Maka? She wondered.
"Hey..." Marie looked around. "Where is Soul?"
"Stein told him and Maka to wait outside the classroom 'cause they were around 10 minutes late." Ox reported.
Oh dear.
Maka was resting her head on Soul's shoulder. "I'm so tired, I could just sleep." She sighed.
"Did you sleep okay last night?" Soul asked.
"Hmm..." Maka bit her lip. "I think so. I just know I had some weird dream.
Uh oh. "What was it about?"
"I dunno. I can't really remember."
"Well, I hope it wasn't because of the black blood..." Soul looked worried.
Maka looked up at him. "Soul, have you been having dreams because of that again?"
"No, no, I guess I'm just thinking the worst."
Maka sighed again. "Usually that's me. You okay in there?" She reached up and knocked on his head, and he grabbed her hand swiftly.
"I'm great, actually. Thanks for asking."
Maka stuck her tongue out at him. "I wonder what time it is."
"In the end, does time really matter?" Soul looked up and sighed. "What matters is what we do with our time."
Maka looked at him, surprised at his sudden display of wisdom. He sounded a little like Lord Death.
He took her hand in his, the hand he had been holding by his head, and held it to his face. The gesture made Maka breathless, and she wondered if Soul would notice her reactions to the simplest touch anytime soon.
"Professor Stein, do boys like to play more than one girl at once?"
Kanako Kibuzaki, a weapon wielded by Anacorda the archer, was asking the most questions. All of the other girls were a little miffed by the small notebook Kanako had taken out to record Stein's every word. Rumours had gone around since Stein had arrived that Kanako had a crush on Stein, and her actions were not making any of them less suspicious.
"Well there are men like Spirit, who cheat on their wives. And then there are boys your age who like to play the fields. Really I don't think it matters when you're young, unless you're betraying your partner."
"Did you ever 'play the fields', Stein?" Kim asked, mischief in her voice.
"Again, I don't really see how that's relevant, Kim."
Kim rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. What if the person you're interested in obviously has feelings for someone else, but hasn't admitted it yet?"
Stein considered this. "Well, I guess that depending on the person you're interested in and the person he's interested it, you may be able to change their feelings."
But I wouldn't suggest it.
"What if you think the person is gay?" Jacqueline asked.
Stein paused. "Who do you think is gay, Jacqueline?"
"Uhh..." Her eyes darted back and forth. "I'd rather not say."
Stein smiled crookedly. "I'll guess you'll just have test your theory, then."
"Do girls think about us in the same way we think about them?"
Ox seemed very anxious.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, every day and night, all the time. Whenever you see them your heart just inflates. You want to shout to the sky that you love them. You want to brush their hair away from their face and tell them that they're beautiful. You want to kiss them with every ounce of passion you have in your body...You want to...to..." His voice drifted as he noticed all the other guys giving him an are you serious? look. He looked past them at Marie, who's eyes were huge and lips were smiling.
"Oh, Ox! What a sweet boy. You'll make a great husband for some lucky girl one day!"
"Um, Miss Marie, that doesn't really answer my question." Ox said uncertainly.
"Right, sorry." She took a deep breath. "Yes, to be honest, girls do think that way, although in a more girly way. They want you to do and say all of those things, and they dream about it all the time."
Now all the boys except for Ox and Black Star looked really embarrassed for doubting Ox.
"Anything else? The bell is going to ring soon."
Kid raised his hand. "Miss Marie, what do you do when you're Lord Death's son and have all the weight on your shoulders of choosing the right girl?"
Miss Marie laughed. "Kid, that's one hell of a question that even I can't answer."
The bell rang.
The loud bell scared Maka and Soul, who had been sleeping on the floor of the hallway. They sat up groggily, and Maka blearily saw she had been sleeping with Soul's chest as her pillow. He yawned and watched the girls file out of the classroom. Liz, Pattie, and Tsubaki waved sadly at them. Stein followed them out and saw Maka and Soul on the floor.
"How was the day for you two?" He asked smugly.
Maka glared at him. "It was just great, Professor."
"Ready for your lessons?"
Soul noticed something then. "Stein, why were you in there with the girl class? Shouldn't you be teaching the boys?
Stein laughed manically. "You just now noticed? We did a little switcharoo, boys with Marie and girls with myself. Of course, I won't be here for Maka's lesson."
Soul froze. He remembered Stein saying they had lessons with Spirit and Marie after school.
"You're making Maka go to lessons with her creepy dad?" Soul accused. Maka gasped.
"Solo lessons...with Papa?"
There was a silence, and Maka's body stiffened. She fell to the floor, arms and legs splayed as if she were going to make a snow angel.
"I can't do this. I'm going to die before it's over!"
I know this chapter wasn't exactly exciting, however, I think next chapter is going to be much better. Sorry for the lame chapter guys, hope you still love this story.