Chapter 42: Looking Forward

Serra Whiter

"I just wanna keep doing what I always do! Have fun with my friends, work to get stronger alongside others, and someday beat my dad in the greatest competition of them all!"

Dissecting Serra Whiter was about as simple as cutting toast. There wasn't much to look at, but it has a decent crunch that you just learn to put up with every day after a while.

Lunalei slowly pulled her paper down and stared at her with a brow steadily raised, the tomboy smiling and already looking off towards the outdoors, anticipating the coming Spring.

"Ahem…!" Lunalei coughed politely to grab her attention.

"What's up Luna?" Serra said with an energetic lean.

Lunalei softly adjusted her glasses and was grateful that this was going to be, shockingly, the simplest portion of this little assignment, "I can't believe I'm saying this sincerely, but…you pass."

"Awesome!" Serra cheered, pumping her fists with extra vigor.

"However, one thing…" Lunalei set the paper down in the completed pile and bridged her fingers, trying OH SO HARD to be patient with her energy, "Do me a favor and just try to think of a back-up plan in case your excess of exercise goes south in the future, ok?"

Lunalei earned that blank, doe-eyed stare from her honestly, "Ehhh? Whaddya mean? Nothing's gonna go wrong! I do my stretches and eat right!"

"T-That's not…" Lunalei took a deep breath through her nostrils and then wagged the back of her fingers out, "Never mind, you're free to go. I got a lot of students to get through."

"You got it! Thanks a bunch for this fun assignment, Luna!" Serra then bolted out the door like a blue whirlwind, giving Lunalei a few seconds to take her coffee out of hiding and gulp it down.

"...NEXT!"

Selina Perlwhite

"'Tis not my want to be a candle, squandering thy light dimly in the darkness. I wish to be a bright and shining star that all can see across the night sky!"

"I seek not to clown around, but to entertain and bring laughter to all! Yes, that would be something I'd love verily much!"

Lunalei stared at this piece of paper and was…mildly impressed with the pink-haired girl's flowery usage of words.

Except for 'verily' which was an ill-fitting 'unword' in an otherwise well put together sentence.

After looking up and down at the paper and it's writer for a few seconds, Lunalei set it down backside facing up and looked the girl in the eyes.

With a slight adjustment of her glasses, the girl started fidgeting her hands against her skirt and blushing, "I-Is something the matter, big si-...teacher! Doh, I keep doing that!"

Lunalei curled her lips slightly and remarked, "I didn't know you liked to write like this, Selina."

"O-Oh, I dabble in my spare time. It's quite embarrassing, but old habits die hard." Selina had to force herself to sound shy around the subject. It was quite clear there was enthusiasm behind the topic of writing.

Lunalei lifted the paper and perused its contents again to be safe, "From the sounds of things though, you want to be an entertainer…?"

"A magician!" Selina politely blurted out, only to snap back and stuttered, "I-I mean, if 'tis that to be my destiny…I…don't feel so confident I am…ready."

Lunalei smiled at her and felt that there was a spirited soul within this girl's bouts of ditziness and anxiety, "You know, my youngest sister wanted to be a great magician too."

Selina turned and her eyes went pure white, "I-Is th-th-that so…?"

"Maybe you think such a dream is ridiculous now, but never deny your own potential or you'll always be stuck to the ground."

Lunalei was then struck by a spark and a mild bit of embarrassment on her face, "...S-Sorry, I don't know what came over me just now."

"You remind me a lot of my sister so I was just…projecting my feelings a bit."

Selina replied, "I…never knew you felt that way…"

"Huh?" Lunalei said with a slight head tilt.

"N-Never mind. I am aghast at myself for even saying such silliness."

"Well, regardless…" Lunalei set the paper aside and smiled, "You've passed. Just please try and be more confident in yourself, ok?"

"I…don't know if I can. I still have a long way to go compared to you, big…" Selina slowly got quieter until swallowing her words with silence and shaking her head, then taking a bow and leaving the room.

Bang

"My grandfather? He was one of the GOATs (That's uhhh, Greatest of All Time). Star Quarterback for five years straight. Made it to the Super Bowl twice, won once. Always smiled for the camera, was willing to train kids at football on his time off.

Even when he wasn't around I always felt him nearby, cause the kids in our hood we're shouting his name. They wanted to BE him.

But ain't nobody wanted to be him more than me.

He wasn't just an icon. He was my blood. He was…my inspiration.

Someday, I'm gonna carry that pigskin all the way to the big screen, and honest to god make my grandpappy proud.

And heck, more than that I…wanna be the fire that kick starts some other kid's dream."

Lunalei put the paper down and her mouth was agape.

The burly quarterback currently sat at one of the closer desks, answering texts on his phone from his friends and teammates.

It felt like she had been given someone else's report by accident, but no, this was the real business.

"...Bang?" When she called his name, he jumped like he was expecting to get marked down for this report.

But it turned out to be quite the opposite, as Lunalei closed her eyes and graced him with the sincerest praise she could muster as his teacher, "I hope you reach your goal someday. Black communities especially need someone out there who can tell them that they're free to live out their dreams."

"...Damn, teach…t-thanks." He replied, rubbing and hanging his head like a praised child.

He then gestured his hands around all over the place in front of his chest, "Y-Y'know, I've been working on my manners. Got a bit of a short fuse, you might've heard."

Lunalei gave him a tiny smile, "I might have heard a thing or two."

It made him blush more, "Whew…well. I can't be looking kids in the eyes if I'm one bad word away from snapping."

He then fixed his posture, took a deep deep breath, and then looked towards the windows, "So I wanna apologize for any joke, comment, or note I may have made regarding your appearance."

Lunalei's heart shivered, "I-I don't know what to say…"

"Heh, I'll be real with ya teach, I've been wanting to faint ten times waiting to say that." Bang said in a joking tone.

"Well, in the future, when you make an apology, look the person in the eyes." Lunalei said.

Bang gestured his hands up and remarked, "S-So we're cool? Awesome! Then…would ya mind if I still made some jokes, in a friendly way?"

Lunalei frowned and let out a light sigh, "Haaa…keep working on it, Bang. For now, you pass."

She then flipped the paper over into the pile and sent him on his way.

Damian

"Honestly, I'm not sure where I'm going. Or where I want to go.

All I know for certain…is I don't want to fall behind."

Lunalei tends to forget about Damian's ties to her family, how he's been friends with Serra ever since they moved their house into the current neighborhood.

But that lack of recollection means he's probably not caused much trouble to her. In fact, he has relatively good grades and only has been tardy once due to being sick.

She wasn't really super satisfied with this report though, "Damian…Am I taking this to mean you don't have any plans for the future?"

Damian nodded sheepishly, "P-Pretty much."

"Ok, fair enough…but then this line about 'not wanting to fall behind' would suggest you want to pursue a similar goal as someone else."

"..." Damian looked the other way and murmured, "You probably already know who I'm thinking about."

"It doesn't take someone of my IQ to piece it together," Lunalei laid the paper down and stared at him until he focused on her, "Look, I may have many…MANY issues with how Serra carries herself. But she's loyal to her friends."

"Pfft, yeah, loyal…" Damian muttered, "You've never been in my house…"

Lunalei raised a brow and sensed an issue behind his timidness that really wasn't her place to discuss, "...I'll pass you on this assignment, but you really need to take a deep long look at yourself and think about where you're going. Two years will pass by before you know it. And I don't intend to let you be left behind."

"Y-Yeah, sure…" Damian limped his way out of the classroom.

Lunalei commented to herself, "This is what happens when you base all your worth on your ties to someone else."

Alex Dark

"Honestly, I don't know what I want to do quite yet.

There's a lot of stuff I feel I could do a good job at. Theater, literature. I probably could play a good guitar thanks to watching mom practice all the time when I was younger.

I KNOW I don't want to be a politician, or a member of the church. I'm sure as hell not going to be anyone's boss, or try to change the world.

I just want to make a decent wage, and keep living a quiet, stress-free life.

…To be perfectly honest though, a lot of this depends on where my sister's planning to go in life."

"So what do you think?" Alex remarked upon recognizing that she was done reviewing his paper.

He tucked his hands into his pockets and gave her a light glare when she chose to do it first.

She checked that last statement one more time and felt a bit of…pity for him. But she wasn't planning on spoiling his determination if it meant risking eating her own foot on Erin's paper later down on the line.

Instead, he looked at her and focused on the rest of the report, "Honestly, your grades are pretty good, Alex. You're still hanging on to your third place spot in the class."

"...History's my weak point. Never really cared about it enough to let it stick in my head." Alex said while scratching the back of his head.

"As long as you care enough to pass the tests, I'm not going to chide you over it. Not every subject is important after leaving school."

Alex sighed, "Hmmm, I just think, despite what some people say, ignorance is good in small doses. History can either be the truth, or what someone wants you to think is the truth."

He then waved his hand out and looked at Lunalei, "Either way, you might start looking at your favorite things in an unsavory light."

"Like, for example…what if it turned out the lead actor in your favorite show was a pedophile? Or the person running the show was hiding his immigrant trafficking crimes?"

Lunalei put her hands under her chin and murmured, "You can't be ignorant to crimes like that."

"I get that, I do. But think about it a little more. Now you know what the person is really like. So it twists the morals they were teaching you into empty words. But if you remained ignorant, you'd still be inspired by their messages."

"...I don't believe that's a good exchange. I'd rather spoil my enjoyment of a product than enable the misdeeds of another." Lunalei said with the utmost sternness.

"..." Alex closed his eyes and sighed, "I guess you're right. But I'd never be able to do it. You got to find happiness wherever you can, even if it means turning a blind eye to the darkness."

Lunalei looked him dead in the eyes and told him with a hint of caution in her voice, "...Maybe you ought to become a politician."

"Nah," Alex rubbed the back of his head, "I ain't planning on wading through that sort of hell."

"...Well, as lovely as this talk was Alex, I do have a schedule to uphold," Lunalei put the paper into the pile and remarked, "You passed, by the way."

"Honestly? Doesn't really feel like I should have. But thanks anyways," Alex started to turn towards the door, then paused and look at her from the corner of his eyes, "By the by…Why…DID you decide to do this assignment all of a sudden?"

"I think…" Lunalei budged a little smugness from her lips, "That's none of your business."

The way Alex glared at her made her suspect he already figured it out, but was too powerless to stop what came next.

And it's true. She was more than halfway through the papers. The anticipation of getting to Erin's made her skin rise with goosebumps.

…But she needed to dial it back, lest she mess it all up at the last minute.

Zelene Whiter

"I don't know what I want to do.

Can we talk about it, sis?"

"..." Lunalei peered up to see her sister looking at her back.

Silence stirred between them, as Lunalei couldn't stop herself from thinking about whether or not Zelene had gotten even bigger lately.

Zelene looked back with a hint of scorn, muttering under her breath, "Are you serious right now?"

"..." Lunalei closed her eyes to clear her head and then put the paper down, "Well, what do you want me to do? If you want guidance, I'm going to need a little more than this."

Zelene curled her fingers into her skirt and turned back and forth, "...I-I don't really have a lot of motivation to do anything, sis. Honestly, sometimes I get up and wonder why I even bother coming to this school."

It felt like she was holding back a swear in that sentence.

Lunalei only felt it was best to pick at something she knew she was good at, "You enjoy making art."

"That's a hobby, sis…" Zelene said with a slight dash of bluntness.

"Ooookay…" Lunalei tried to lean in another direction, but found she was drawing a blank…

Zelene clicked her tongue and muttered, "Figures…"

Lunalei stood up with her hands on the desk and sincerely wondered, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You're the teacher, you're supposed to have the answers." Zelene said, taking on a tone that Lunalei would've expected to come from Erin.

"...Zelene, we can continue this discussion at home." Lunalei said, not wanting to exhaust herself on Zelene's strange behavior at this moment.

"...I doubt it." Zelene muttered, turning her head away sharply and exiting the room, neither caring to confirm nor deny whether she passed.

In all honesty though, Lunalei wasn't sure what to do for her either. This really did just feel like an out-of-the-blue tonal shift coming from her.

"...Whatever, maybe the next person will be more straightforward."

Leo Whiter

"I've been finding myself at a crossroads lately. Doubting whether or not the tunes I've been passionate about hold the key to my future success…and future happiness.

Perhaps I've been denying myself the true love of my life by sticking to this hobby for so long.

But at the same time, my musical tidings have brought happiness to many others.

My future is uncertain, but I think…I just need more time to sort my feelings out, if that's ok with you."

"..." Lunalei furrowed her brows and realized she was a fool for speaking so soon.

She slapped the paper down and legitimately looked at her cousin with concern, "Leo, are you suffering from depression? Because if you are…"

"It's not like that," Leo took out his harmonica and stared at it, lacking some of the love he used to have for it in his eyes, "...It's like I said in my report, I'm simply looking at my life through a different lens lately."

"And more importantly…" Leo edged closer to the desk and leaned in to whisper, "There's something else I want to say, but I didn't want it documented for the school."

With how infrequently he gets a chance to show it, Lunalei forgot that much like his mother, he is an Aurian.

"O-Oh, right, go ahead…Is it related to…'you know'?"

Leo rubbed the spot where his Drive Bracelet was as he commented, "Grandma told me that an Aurian's path is dictated by the Drive they are given. And I was gifted the 'Conductor Drive'."

"But I found my love of music independently from this gift. My father's always had a strong ties to old albums."

"Heh, he does love his pre-2000s era music…" Lunalei said fondly.

"And you also gifted me this harmonica." Leo said, taking her aback.

"H-Huh?" After stuttering, Lunalei adjusted her glasses and remembered, "Oh…right…when I was doing my metalshop class with senpai."

Leo stood up and tucked the harmonica away, "Everything kept aligning to tell me that this was the way my life was meant to be. But now…?"

"Say no more," Lunalei could feel that if left to his own devices, he'd go in circles for a bit, "Look Leo, you've got a good head on your shoulders. Maybe TOO good."

"And your musical talents are pretty strong…" Despite leading him to think she was going in one direction, she had another thing coming, "But you need to do what YOU think is comfortable for you. I mean…sounds to me like the only person forcing you to be a musician is you. Have you ever tried talking to your dad or mom about this?"

"...No, I guess I haven't." Leo remarked, sounding like he should've had this thought sooner.

"Then please do. And uhhh…thanks for holding onto that harmonica after all this time." Lunalei said with a slight blush.

"Anyways, you pass."

Leo left with a smile, but his gaze was deep in concentration.

Violet

"There's a whole lotta things I could accomplish if I put my mind to it.

It's kind of exciting. Kind of scary. Kind of…overwhelming tbh.

Think you could help me narrow down my options a bit, Lunalei?

I mean…teacher.

Best wishes, your best student, Violet!"

By the end of the report, Lunalei felt like she was reading off a letter from a friend. Delighted by the pleasant approach she took, she looked Violet in the eyes and told her, "I-I appreciate the politeness, but I think calling me by my first name is…maybe a little too formal?"

Violet recoiled and threw her hands up, "M-My bad, I thought you'd like it…"

"I do! I do! But I just don't want you getting the wrong impression that that's normal."

"Oh?" Violet eased up a bit, "So it's ok so long as I stick to calling you by your first name?"

"...Let's not get into the semantics of that right now. I still have to get to a few more students before the day is over." Lunalei put her down gently, and she didn't seem to mind.

"Sure! Sooo…" Violet hung on with anticipation and Lunalei was glad to answer it quickly.

"Well, first things first, your grades. You're second only to Erin in the class, only struggling slightly in Biology. Do you want me to help, or…?"

"Eh, I don't want to do anything with biology. But…it's always good to have the knowledge!"

"Oh thank god, cause Biology's my weakest subject too…" After breathing a sigh of relief over that bullet dodging, Lunalei nodded at her out of praise for her line of thinking.

"No wonder you get such good grades. You like to be prepared."

"D'awwww, y-you're too much, Lunalei!" Violet's expression was quickly reduced to a blushing, blubbering mess of happiness, with her rubbing the back of her head quick enough to almost start taking hair off.

"Hard to believe that I was about to suspend her for delinquency…" Lunalei paused for a moment and thought, "Come to think about it, I wonder if I should ask her about that?"

Seeing her shedding off the blush and smile to try and relax around her made Lunalei quickly reconsider that.

"Nah," With a couple coughs to get her focus back in line, Lunalei asked her sincerely, "Have you ever considered becoming a teacher?"

"A-A teacher?" Violet held her hand against her chest and giggled, "ME?"

"Why not?" Lunalei prodded her.

"I think I'd start hating kids if I had to be around them all the time, heh heh! I seriously dunno how you pull it off!"

"Lots of coffee and crime fighting…" Lunalei thought with her eyes closed.

"Alright, that's your choice," She then shrugged, "Have you managed to narrow down some options on your own?"

"Ummm, well, I don't want to be a cop, a swimmer, a circus performer, a cop, a politician, a cop, a gardener, a gym trainer, a cop, or a museum caretaker."

"Good call on the cop thing." She thought, putting Mark into consideration when she did.

"Still that's…a pretty broad selection of stuff you don't want to do. What DO you like to do?"

"Gymnastics, boxing, listening to heavy metal, cuddling-I-I-I mean…collecting bears, making tools, and cooking Mexican food!"

"Geez louise, that's a lot more than I expected. Seriously, what was up with the delinquency if you're so damn multifaceted?" Because as far as she could tell from her best read of Violet, she wasn't a bad girl in the slightest. Maybe a little punkish in terms of looks, but she's got smarts, she's got confidence, and she's not obnoxious about it either.

"Kind of feels like she's only a few extra IQ points off from being in my shoes…" Lunalei's instincts as a teacher were truly being fed with this girl.

"I REALLY want to make sure above anything else that she succeeds in life."

Lunalei patted her paper on top of the pile and then bridged her hands, "I'll tell you what, Violet. We'll pick up this conversation another time. If you want to come in between classes, I'm usually in my office having lunch. I just need a little time to digest everything you said."

"S-Sure…! Absolutely! Thank you Lunalei!" Violet's smile shone in this dismal Winter atmosphere peeking in through the windows.

Blushing herself, Lunalei propped her glasses back up into place and smiled, "J-Just, ease up on my first name for now, ok?"

"A-Alright, sure!" Violet agreed eagerly.

"For now, you pass. Go enjoy the rest of your day."

"I WILL! Later…teach!" Violet then waved her hand and ran out the door, probably having one of the best days of her life.

And Lunalei felt so light in the chest for being the one to give that to her.

And she was about to have one of the best days ever, because soon on the docket was…

Erin Dark

"I plan to be the very best at everything, so no one will be able to ignore me."

This was the easiest call anyone could've made. A vague, generalized "answer" that reeks of a swollen ego, with Erin leaning on the edge of one of the student desk, smug and triumphant prematurely.

Lunalei set the paper down, adjusted her glasses, and prepared for the final showdown between them.

"...This isn't an answer." She stated firmly.

Erin winced and pulled away from the desk asserting boldly, "Of course it is, what do you mean?"

"Being the 'best at everything'? How does that translate to having a job, to supporting yourself? You may have the best grades in class, but does any of those smarts translate to self-sustaining yourself?"

Lunalei looked at the paper without diverting her attention towards her cousin, "Am I to assume that when you say 'no one will be able to ignore me', you think that your 'overwhelming talents' will translate to a cult of loyal followers who will do everything you can't do?"

"That's the entitled mentality of the rich and elite who don't actually contribute anything to the world besides misery and suffering."

Erin grit her teeth and trembled, "No. Seriously. What the hell are you rambling on about?"

"What, did you hit your head and forget what this whole assignment is about, Erin?" Lunalei stood up and wagged the paper out at her, "This is about your FUTURE, and all this answer highlights to me is that you're not ready for what's to come. You just THINK you are."

Erin unfolded her arms from her chest and proclaimed, "I AM ready! And who are you to tell me otherwise?!"

"I am your teacher," Lunalei deepened her tone and started to glare, "And maybe you forgot that from all the time spent making jokes at my expense, or leisurely trotting about the school flaunting your body for all to see."

"But let me make one thing clear…Erin. If you think I'm going to let you take this sort of attitude and squandering of your genius into the real world, then you've got another thing coming."

Erin continued to bite her teeth down harder, a real Hell's fury burning in her eyes, "You're pathetic, Lunalei…"

She slammed her hands down on the edge of the desk, unable to make her cousin flinch, "You made up this bullshit assignment to think you could get one over on me, didn't you?!"

Lunalei wasn't going to hold back a smirk at this point, and after that brief flash of smugness she told her, "I did this to prove a point…"

She put Erin's paper down and then took a swipe at the rest of the pile to spread out all the other papers her students had given her, "Look at all these papers Erin! Everyone either knows what they want to do, or wants to figure it out. YOU…are the only one who asserts vagueness as a genuine answer to this important question, and thought I'd be intimidated enough to let you pass."

"But that's NOT how I operate!" She yelled as Erin's eyes quivered, forced to reconcile the truth laid out in front of her, "I may dislike your ego and your guts, but I AM still your teacher. And I will do my damnedest to make sure you leave this school prepared to tackle the real world and make your dreams a reality."

Erin curled her fingers inward and growled, a flicker of black appearing around her body, "You piece of shit…! Going on and on about egos."

She glared at Lunalei with intense ferocity, "If anyone's got a swollen head bigger than their body, it's YOU!"

Lunalei gladly smirked back at her, not fearing the deathly look in her eyes after the sort of criminals she's gone up against lately, "Think whatever you want of me. It doesn't change the fact that you failed this assignment, Erin. And unless you want to get a streak going by getting suspended, I suggest you don't act on your anger."

Erin punched the desk and then thrust her finger at her, "I EARNED this all on my own! You will NOT take it away from me!"

Lunalei could no longer tolerate her attitude while acting as a teacher. Thus, she shifted priorities, and addressed her as a crime fighter.

"Maybe you don't get it…Erin. You are being given a chance to shape up your act, because ultimately you're still a teenager going through an egotism phase."

"But once you're out of here, once you're an adult, I DON'T need to play with kids gloves. I will not look the other way."

"I will stop you, by any means necessary."

Erin shivered and slowly backed away from the desk, "T-This isn't over…!"

She then exited the room by slamming the door behind her.

"Haaa…" Lunalei breathed in relief, "And that settles that…"

Erin clenched her fists and rampaged through the halls with no end goal in sight.

The students around her backed off and didn't give her the looks she wanted. No, they were seeing her with disdain.

And before she had a chance to throw a punch, she ran into one of the students and knocked them down.

"Ouch!" It was a boy, who responded in a carefree manner, "Well…that's one way to get an introduction."

He quickly stood up, his hair an ashen shade of gray with blue highlights gathered close to the front. He wore a pair of sunglasses and a simple shirt and jeans, and a clean golden watch on his right wrist.

"Out of my way!" Erin tried to shove him into the wall naturally, but the boy grabbed her by the arm and calmly spoke to her.

"Excuse me, before you give me a bruise, could you tell me where the principal's office is? I'm new here, and I'd like to get used to where I'm going to be walking around quickly."

"What the hell…?" Erin muttered before pulling her arm free and choosing to just get him out of the way fast, "Go down the stairs and look around, it's not up here…"

"Ah, I always assumed the bigwigs live on the tallest points of the building. Thank you. I can see why you're the best student in this school, Erin Dark."

Erin slacked her jaw, "Ehh…?"

The boy raised his brows, "Ah, I'm sorry. My name is Nero. I'll be an exchange student in this school for the foreseeable future, so I did my research beforehand. Maybe that was a little forward?"

"Hmph, at least you know who's on top…" Erin then resumed her angry walk with less strength than before, "Weirdo…"

"Hmmm…" Nero smiled and looked at her fondly, before walking down the hall to his destination…

Next Time: A Pair of Young Dreamers