John awoke, yawning. He'd left the mental hospital a month ago, and had decided that chasing after the Illusive Man was a bad idea. Instead, he'd became a teacher. The students loved him, and usually called him Mr. Jack. John, after his usual morning routine, put on black pants with white pinstripes, a white shirt, a red tie, and a solid black vest. His choice in suits was, though counted eccentric by most of the colony, was just his personality, as the others had agreed.
John looked in the mirror. He was the vision of a healthy man, though he still had gray in his hair, it wasn't as much as a few months ago. John remembered it was his birthday, and was surprised at how much he'd changed. John left his apartment, walking to the High School (it was a rather small colony, so nobody had a car.)
"Hey, Mr. Mason!" Hannah shouted, seeing John opening the school door. She had blonde hair down to her shoulders and bright blue eyes. She was the adopted daughter of the nurse John had when he was in the hospital, being from a previous marriage of the asari's wife. Hannah was a bright girl that had, coincidentally, had John's mother's name.
John held the door open for his student, nodding as she walked by.
"So, what are we going to do today?" Hannah asked.
"Oh, you know. Read the boring book, do boring work." Shepard smiled, and Hannah laughed. John hadn't used the book yet, one of the main reasons he was one of the most loved, if not the most loved, teacher.
"Sure, Mr. Jack." Hannah smiled. "I heard we have a new student. I think his last name is Vega, or something."
"Well, if he's in our class, I'll make sure to work him to the bone." John sat down at his desk, putting his feet up and opening his omni-tool.
"You know you're not supposed to check your messages in school, right?" Hannah asked.
"Sue me." John said. "School hasn't started yet."
As soon as he said that, the bell rung.
"Oh, how the time flies. Now we only have an eternity and a half to go." Shepard pulled his feet off the desk and spun around in his chair. "What day is it?"
"Friday."
"Feels like a Monday," John said. "Because I'm sleepy."
"You're always sleepy." Hannah said.
"Once again, sue me and my closet full of weird suits." John watched as all of his students walked into the door, narrowly missing the tardy bell. "Hello, hello. Is there a new kid or was Hannah wrong for once?"
A Hispanic teenager with shaggy black hair and a goofy smile on his face walked in. "Right here, dude."
John held up a finger, then turned his omni-tool on. A holographic board popped up, reading: 'Mr. Jack: 0. Hannah: 12.'
"Add one more to Hannah's score." John said, and Hannah's number changed to thirteen. "Alright. You are..."
"Michael Vega." Michael said.
"Right," John nodded. "Sit behind the blonde girl that's smarter than the goofy teacher and I'll get started."
Michael sat behind Hannah as Shepard stood.
"What were we on yesterday?" John asked.
"First contact." Michael said.
"OMG, the new kid's psychic!" John said, acting terrified. "What to do, what to do?"
"It says on the board." Michael said.
"I was testing you. You passed with flying colors." John smiled. "If this offends you in any way, deal with it."
The class laughed.
"Well, these humans met turians, and they fell in love and had babies. First contact." John smiled. "But seriously, there was a fight between turians and humans. Humans and turians still kinda hate each other for it, but what're ya' gonna do?"
"Most turian and human teenagers get along just fine." A turian teen said.
"That's good. I didn't know that," John shrugged. "Hey, Mike, you're staring pretty hard and it's freakin' me out. What's on your mind?"
"I was just wondering," Michael said. "Who's that lady at the door."
"She's a ghost." John said, and turned to see a small woman...Man?...At the door. (S)he had short brown hair, big, bright eyes, and a tiny nose. "Oh. That still might be a ghost." John took out his cross and held it up to the woman's face.
"Are you okay?" The woman asked.
"Rest easy, children. She's not a ghost." John said. "So, what's up?"
"I'm Ms. Haku Pilgrim." The woman said. "I'm going to help you teach here."
"Gah." John waved his hand. "Freakin' school board. I'm doing fine. My grades are the highest in this hallway, at least."
"This hallway only has lockers in it." Haku noted.
"I know. The lockers have B's and C's, my kids have A's." John said.
"You're different." Haku said.
"Very different. Tell me, what do you know about me?"
"You look like Commander Shepard, you act crazy, and you were in a mental hospital." Haku said.
"Thank you, true, and true." John said.
Michael and Haku looked at each other, confused. Was Shepard, or John, acting, or did he really have two personalities. And, if he did, where was their Commander.