Potential

[Aura]

(Hirono Shimizu Memories: Begin)

"Shimizu, could you wait up a moment?"

Shit. The end-of-class bell was one of the sweetest sounds that Hirono heard every day. Getting out of class to run wild with Mitsuko and Yoshimi was the highlight of her high school life, and she had to slog through class after class in order to get there. This was her reward at the end of the day, and now it was being dangled just out of her reach. With a resigned sigh, she hung back while she watched all of her classmates walk out that door to freedom. The dorks, the gangsters, the rich kids... everyone but Hirono.

The room emptied out until only Hirono and Mr. Hayashida remained. The situation reminded her of a video that she had watched, but she shook that thought right out of her head. Get your mind out of the fuckin' gutter, Hiro. Hayashida was a good guy as far as she could tell, and almost superhumanly patient considering the pack of assholes that were jammed into his classroom every day. If pressed, Hirono would honestly say that he was one of the few figures of authority that she actually held some respect for. Even so, that didn't make the fact that she was being held after class any easier to swallow. There was not a single time in her life where a teacher had asked to talk to her specifically that didn't turn out badly.

She mentally ran through everything that she had done on campus recently, ordering them in her mind in terms of how fucked-up each specific incident could be considered. She tried to keep a strong poker face, but there were a lot of things that she really, really did not want to talk to him about. She was pretty sure that he already knew she was a delinquent, but she didn't want him going into details. If she had to hear him say "Shimizu, I'm disappointed in you", that would probably sting worse than her own parents saying it. At least she was pretty sure that Hayashida cared.

She rested her hands on the front of his desk. "You wanted to talk?" She asked in a rather casual tone. She didn't want to tip him off to anything in case he was suspicious of something. Was someone cheating on tests? Did they steal something from his desk? Either way, she wasn't gonna give him any reason to suspect her.

"Shimizu, I wanted to talk to you about your grades."

And so it began. Although Hayashida's tone was even and nonthreatening, she was analyzing his words to try to figure out what angle he was going to take with it. Was he going to accuse her of slacking on her studies for one reason or another? Perhaps argue that her choice of company was holding her back. Maybe he would even bring out that old classic "Are you having problems at home?" that she would hear in elementary and middle school. Whatever he was playing at, she didn't want him prying into her life.

Hirono shrugged. "What about them?"

That's it Hirono, just play it cool. Don't show your cards until he shows his.

"Well, for the most part, I've noticed that your grades have been consistent, although not consistently high." His voice showed some concern. "You have been passing your classes, but often just barely."

There it was, time for him to start digging into all of the potential reasons why her grades have been low. So she wasn't a brainiac, who cares? She wasn't failing, and that's all that should matter. She wanted to walk away, but her only real option was biting her tongue.

"I know." She did her best to keep any emotion from entering her voice. She just wanted to go home, not have yet another teacher interrogate her.

Hayashida reached into a drawer in his desk, causing Hirono to raise an eyebrow. "I wanted to draw your attention to this." He pulled out an assignment that Hirono had handed in last week, a nature essay. Closer inspection showed a near-perfect score, complete with a "Good Work!" message written at the top.

Hirono was pretty sure that she knew where he was going with this, and she felt sick. He thought that she cheated, or plagiarized the essay. The one time she basically aces something in class, and this is how it goes. She knew that there had to be some kind of catch.

"Yeah, that was my report about aquatic life on the coast of Greater East Asia." She stated matter-of-factly. She was just waiting for the hammer to come down at this point, and trying to steel herself for the impact.

"Hirono, this is the best work I've seen from you all semester. I'm impressed." Hayashida's voice sounded optimistic, not carrying any of the judgmental tones that she had expected. "I'm really glad to see you take charge of the assignment like this."

"Wow... thanks." She was honestly a little stunned by the feedback. "What does this have to do with my other grades, though?"

Hayashida lays the essay back on the table and taps it with his fingers while he speaks. "You have a lot of potential, Shimizu. I want you to keep showing that. When you graduate, I want you to have the world at your fingertips. Essays like this can help you there."

Hirono wasn't sure what to say in return. Hayashida saw her good grade and didn't get suspicious. He really thought that she was smart. She felt flattered, even though she was still expecting it to be a trick of some kind.

"Thanks. So... you're saying you want me to apply myself more?" She took a guess at what he was going to say next.

Hayashida nodded. "You could say that. I want to see my students succeed, and I know that you have the potential to do so." He returns the essay to his desk along with the rest of his papers. "I apologize for taking up so much of your time. You can go now, Shimizu."

Taking a step back from the teacher's desk, Hirono feels a wave of relief wash over her. Nothing was wrong, just a little teacherly advice. Now she felt silly for getting herself all worked up over it. She gathered her things from her desk and headed out the door, but not before giving Mr. Hayashida a quick salute.

"See you tomorrow."

The halls were quiet and almost barren as Hirono left the school, but she didn't mind. Mitsuko would probably ask her where the hell she's been once she met up with the rest of the gang, but she'd cross that bridge once she came to it. Hirono was feeling pretty damn fine right now, and she didn't feel like spoiling that.

(Hirono Shimizu continued elsewhere...)