Alright, let's try this again.
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Having given up on the idea of finding anything resembling a proper parking space for the time being, you pull your car over in front of the building, rolling up the windows before opening the door and stepping outside. A pleasant, warm breeze gently caresses the side of your face, and the crunching sound of fresh grass under your shoe really emphasizes the fact that you're not in the city anymore.
Shielding your eyes from the morning sun with your hand, you gaze around the landscape with a smile on your face - not a cloud in the sky, green and untainted nature as far as the eye can see, scenic mountains in the distance (how you managed to miss those in the distance during the trip here is anyone's guess), and a quaint village where you'll be residing for the next few years, assuming miss Kamishirasawa and her colleagues are satisfied with your work. Feeling a little nervous yet again, you habitually straighten your tie for the umpteenth time today.
That's right. After struggling with unemployment for a good year and a half, you finally managed to land a job as an English teacher. Honestly, you had just about given up hope and were on the verge of accepting a friend's offer to work under him at the local Burger King, but fortune eventually smiled upon you in the form of a woman with a peculiar taste in hats and hair dye. Well, you're not one to judge, especially as long as said woman is interested in employing you. Curiously enough, during the interview she seemed to express a deep interest in your personal hobbies and the like, producing much awkwardness as you detailed to her your interests in asian folklore, cryptozoology and the like. She did seem genuinely delighted to hear about it, at least...
Maybe you got hired because she thinks you're an interesting person.
Well, best not to worry about such trifling matters now. Whatever it is that she saw in you, it must've been quite impressive, to say the least - not only did she offer to help pay for your travel expenses, as the school is located near a village named Gensokyo (or was that the name of the general area?) on the border between Nagano Prefecture and Yamanashi Prefecture on the island of Honshū, Japan; the school you're going to be teaching in just so happens to be an all-girls' school. Not that it's unusual for a male teacher to be teaching in a girls' school, but you'd think they'd run background checks or something to verify that you can be trusted in such a position... Well, guess that means you look trustworthy enough.
Now, how about that parking space...
In hindsight, you probably could've just walked from your new residence - also provided by miss Kamishirasawa, free of charge - to the school in no time at all. That being said, it's not like there's any real place to park it in the village, either. Based on how interested the local children seemed to be in your reasonably priced yet not at all extravagant vehicle, you presume you're likely one of the only people in the village, if not in fact the only one, to actually own a car. Well, you suppose this means you're also unlikely to get a ticket or anything... Giving up for the time being, you simply decide to leave your car a short distance from the school building itself. After removing the car radio and slipping it into the glove compartment - more out of habit than any distrust for the locals, who so far have been nothing but welcoming and hospitable - you exit the car and gaze up the hill at your new place of work.
Gensokyo High.
It's not quite 8AM just yet, so you settle on a casual pace, strolling upwards along the beaten dirt path and taking in the view. Before you're allowed to lose yourself completely, though, you hear the sound of small feet dashing along the road from behind you; turning to look over your shoulder, you catch a brief glimpse of a pair of girls sprinting for the school right as they zoom past you, kicking up clouds of dry dust in their wake. You find yourself idly pondering if those are some of yours. Hm, something about them distracts your attention, but you can't quite put your finger on it...
Oh, yes, of course. Miss Kamishirasawa mentioned this, albeit in a much briefer manner than you'd have been comfortable with. The girls rushing for the building up ahead, while wearing matching school uniforms, also have odd decorations on their backs, resembling bat wings and... a dried-up Christmas tree, you suppose? Not to mention one of them having blue hair... You stop mid-stride for a moment, blinking in mild confusion. Well, your employer told you not to pay any attention to such things, so it's probably some sort of local festivity or tradition you're not quite familiar with just yet. How odd, yet also interesting in its own way. Perhaps you should speak to miss Kamishirasawa about it later, or perhaps even ask your students about it? Shrugging to yourself with a mild smirk and a shake of the head, you continue your stroll.
The school building itself looks quite modern, in stark contrast with the rest of the village - it doesn't take a genius to figure that it was probably the most recent construction in the village by quite a few years, at the very least. Where these people got the funding for such a project from, though, is anyone's guess. Probably some sort of government initiative or whatnot. As you enter the building itself, though, it readily becomes apparent that some finishing touches are still in progress, as far as construction is concerned. Several of the classrooms are barred with colorful tape to keep students from poking their noses inside while the workers are off duty. Through one of the doors of the presumably-finished classrooms, the voices of chattering girls can be heard.
B2... That's your first class today. Well, first of two - first day of the school year combined with your first day at a new workplace, so apparently they decided to go easy on you. Not that you'd have asked for such treatment, but in a way you feel relieved. After all, even the most confident person has to worry about leaving good first impressions in such situations, no? Granted, you think, as you peel off a small green sticky-note on the door, you hadn't expected to go in there all alone today.
"Sorry! Something came up. I'm sure you'll do just fine!
-Keine"
So much for the original plan, then. Guess you'll just have to do the introducing for yourself! Ah well, you're a big boy, you can handle yourself in front of a crowd of young women who will probably be criticizing your every move and gossiping about any mistakes or oddities you pull off today for the rest of their time in this highschool.
Yup, no big deal.
Feeling... reassured, you knock on the door, not interrupting the loud chatter in the slightest, and let yourself in, trying to maintain a professional gait as you approach the teacher's desk in front of the classroom. Glancing across the classroom, you can't help but reflexively cock an eyebrow - it's like some sort of cosplay party. Bat wings, some weird twigs on one girl's back with dangling crystal-things, various outlandish hair colors ranging from pure white to green of all things, even a girl with what appear to be Playboy bunny ears. This is... quite a collection of characters that you've been assigned to, isn't it? Unfortunately, they seem to not have reacted to your entrance in the slightest. You cough, as if clearing your throat.
Nothing. They just keep talking to one another about this and that as if you weren't even there. You cough a second time, louder, and they seem to finally take notice of your existence, thank god. Not that this makes them much quieter right off the bat, but the noise level settles down at least a little bit for the time being - enough to speak over, you think. You cross your arms behind your back, wait for the majority of their eyes to turn to you, and speak to your future pupils for the first time.
"<...Thank you,>" you begin in English, switching over to Japanese for the time being, "I do apologize for interrupting your various ongoing conversations, ladies, but I'm afraid we have some education scheduled for today. I'll let you get right back to things if you're willing to put up with me for forty-five minutes, deal?" Finishing off with a light smile, you settle back to gauge the reaction of the class. Some amused-sounding whispering, but at least you're not being laughed out of the room. That's good. Gotta work on that confidence, though. In any case, not wasting time, you turn to the whiteboard behind you and grab the marker, proceedng to write your name down - in Latin letters at first, with Japanese pronunciation aids written below. You manage to stain your fingertips while corking the marker again, pulling your handkerchief out of your pocket and trying to clean them as you turn back to the classroom.
"I'm very pleased to meet you all, and I hope we can have a pleasant two years together." That's right, these are the second-year group... You still have a lesson today with a first-year group later on.
"Now," you continue, deciding to keep up the pace before the girls can get back to their gossiping, "before we begin... I'm sorry to do this so soon after meeting you, but I'd like for you to write a little something for me."
"Ehhh!?" A resouding cry of great displeasure, your students sinking back into their seats with disgruntled expressions replacing their previous looks of amusement or indifference. At least you got some sort of response out of them, you think to yourself in an attempt to make yourself feel better...
"Now, now, it's not a test or anything, you won't be graded." Picking up a conveniently placed stack of papers, you glance at your students for a brief moment, in thought.
"...Do you have a class representative?"
There's more silence for a brief moment, before everyone in the class turns to face a girl sitting right about in the middle of the room. She's one of the few girls in here that actually looks... normal.
Dark eyes and hair as is usual for a Japanese girl, with a large and frilly red ribbon decorating her head, and an increasingly annoyed expression on her face. With her head resting on her hand, she furrows her eyebrows in the general direction of her classmates - who, surprisingly enough, recoil as if in fright - before turning her attention to you.
"I guess I'm the closest thing we have," she mutters tiredly.
"Good! You can help me pass these out." You hold out a handful of paper to her, which is a bit of a gambit; the girl seems far more interested in just plain getting up and going home, rather than helping anyone out with anything. Still, grudgingly or not, she gets up from her seat and walks over to you. You offer a smile, which is not returned, and she grabs on to the blank sheets of paper in your hand.
"...You have no idea what you've gotten yourself involved in, do you?" The way she's looking at you, it almost seems like her eyes are full of... pity?
"...I'm sorry? What did you-..." You reflexively adjust your tie for a moment.
"Oh, nevermind." Before you're able to ask what she meant with that, she yanks the papers from your hand and proceeds to walk along one side of the classroom, handing them out to others; you proceed to do the same on the other side, moderately perplexed about what just happened. Well, you're a young man - maybe she just doesn't trust a teacher who doesn't look like an old fart of a professor. You'll have to do your best to change her mind, then.
"Thank you, ah... What did you say your name was?"
Sitting back at her desk, a sheet of paper in hand for herself as well as one for her blonde deskmate, the girl responds without even looking back in your direction this time.
"Reimu. Reimu Hakurei."
"Thank you, Reimu. And the rest of you, don't forget to sign your names on your sheets. It'll probably take me a while to learn to associate names with faces, but please, bear with me, alright? Anyway..."
Sitting down at your desk, you tent your fingers and smile at the girls once more.
"...write to me about whatever it is you're thinking of. Whatever you have on your mind right now. There's no required length, just write for about five to ten minutes. <In English, of course.>" Since everyone is looking at one another in what appears to be mild confusion, you feel the need to elaborate on the purpose behind this little exercise.
"This is just to give me an idea of what level we're at right now, for future reference. As I said, you won't be graded, so... take it easy."
While there's still some hesitation lingering in the air, one by one the girls get to writing, the sound of scribbling pens against paper the only noise audible in the otherwise-silent classroom for quite some time. Suddenly, a pale, slender arm is raised, seeking your attention.
"Yes, ah...?"
"Remilia," the blue-haired girl with bat wings from earlier responds with a charming grin, pronouncing her name with a rather noticeable flavor of pride in her voice, "Remilia Scarlet." She continues in English, albeit with a French accent that your ears detect right away. An exchange student, then? "<Well, I was just wondering...>"
"<Yes?>"
"<Well, it's not that I don't know, or that I'm unsure - of course not! - but I just felt like double-checking...>"
"<...Yes?>"
"<You see, I figured I might as well make sure what your personal views and expectations are, as you're going to be our teacher, and so-...>"
"<Please, do get on with it already...>" Even your patience has its limits.
"<...How do you spell 'professional'?>"
"<One 'f'.>"
She promptly mumbles a quiet, muffled something that you think might have been a 'thank you' and returns to her writing task, earning a soft chuckle from her deskmate, the blonde girl with the strange jeweled branches on her back. You smirk to yourself as well, sitting back in the chair and observing your students, now all focused on their task. A few minutes later, you spring back onto your feet, clapping your hands to draw their attention once again.
"Alright, time's up! Don't worry about it if you didn't finish, this is just something for me, not for your grade." You make a trip around the classroom, collecting everyone's papers - some handed over willingly, some more grudgingly. Some, like the rabbit-eared girl, simply left it on the corner of her desk while idly gazing out of the window.
"Right," you continue, neatly putting the papers into a single pile and moving them aside for the time being, "I'll read these later today. Well now, you gave me a piece of your mind just now... I guess it's only fair if I give you some of mine in exchange, no? After all, I'd like to get to know you all better, so... feel free to ask anything you want from me, today."
While they seem hesitant at first, the girls gradually begin to ask you this-and-that, one by one, little things ranging from the usual 'Where are you from?' and the like, to random oddities like your shoe size, provoking giggles from all. Well, at least they're entertained for today...
"So, teach," Reimu's blonde deskmate speaks up all of a sudden, "you got anyone waiting on ya back home? Or were ya planning on settling down here?" There's something wily about that smirk of hers...
"Maybe start a family with one of the lady teachers, hmm?"
Before you can embarrass yourself with some manner of awkward response to dodge the question with, the bell rings, the laughing girls nigh-instantly flowing out of the classroom, leaving you alone for the time being. Phew, what a bunch of characters, indeed... In any case, while you're here and there's time until your next lesson, you might as well go through some of these writings. Let's see... Reimu Hakurei.
"<I'm hungry.>"
That's it. Well, she's... blunt. That's about all you can say about this. Unfortunately, it doesn't give you a good idea about her English skills. Next up... Remilia Scarlet. Hers seems to be a long lament about the difficulties of finding good help to work in her mansion these days. A mansion? Does such a thing exist in Gensokyo? In any case, while her ego seems like it may become problematic in the future, her English is at a pretty good level, from what you can tell. And next is... Youmu Konpaku.
A lengthy, extremely formal apology written entirely in somewhat archaic Japanese. So, zero here, huh? How'd she get past her first year without being able to speak a bit of English?
Oh boy. You've certainly got your hands full, here. Deciding to read the rest of these later, when you get back home, you stuff them in your desk drawer for the time being and head for the teachers' lounge, to kill time until the next lesson and perhaps talk to miss Kamishirasawa, if you happen to bump into her. In any case, you figure you handled yourself pretty well, there... You kept your cool, you got them to listen to you, even took the first step towards getting to know one of them on a more personal level - it always pays to be friends with your students, you think. Coming up to the door of the teachers' lounge, you knock out of a mix of politeness and reflex, but to no answer. Figuring nobody else must be in there, you figure you'll pop inside and chill for the time being anyway.
It's quite nice, actually. A nice view behind the windows, comfy looking sofa in the middle of the room, tasteful furniture... Deciding to kick back and relax, you walk up to the sofa, turn yourself around and allow yourself to fall back onto it, with a soft thud.
Followed by a high-pitched yelp from behind the sofa.
Springing up to your feet, you glance around for the source of this unexpected noise, anxiously adjusting your tie yet again. Your eyes stop upon a blue head of hair tied into two pigtails, peeking out from behind the sofa. A few seconds later, a pair of matching blue eyes becomes visible, staring in your direction cautiously.
"...Ah, hello there!" You think to break the awkwardness by introducing yourself by name.
"And you are...?"
"Oh, I'm, ah, Nitori. Nitori Kawashiro, science teacher..." So, a colleague. Looking at her, you'd have guessed her to be a student at first glance, to be honest...
"Is there a problem, miss Kawashiro?"
"I... I have a lesson, coming up." She's avoiding eye contact.
"Yes, and...?"
"Um... That's about it, really."
"Not good with being in front of an audience, I take it?" Hm, so you're not the only new one here...
"Well... No." She shuffles about a bit, pondering her words before speaking further. Her voice is kind of soft and whispery, to the point where you need to divert all of your focus on reading her lips while listening to her speak.
"Actually, I'm not good at talking to people, period."
"Well, you're talking to me just fine, aren't you?" You offer her a reassuring smile, to which she responds with a look of abject horror on her face - a look of realization.
"...A-aah... Oh...!"
...And with that, the springs forth from behind the sofa and dashes out of the room. What a peculiar encounter. Along the way, she passes by another woman presently entering the lounge, clad in what appears to be some manner of light-violet mantle-slash-robe, with long
purple hair. Does everyone here look like a cartoon character? In any case, this new person glances after Nitori with only mild interest, before shrugging to herself and closing the door behind herself. Spotting you, lying there on the couch while feeling strangely drained from this day already, she approaches you and sits down on the other side of the half-circle shaped sofa, producing a small paperback book seemingly out of nowhere. You can't read the title, whatever language that's in.
"I see you are already making acquaintances."
"Ah, y-yes, well... Hello, there." Standing up briefly and taking a bow, you sit down once again after giving her your name.
"Patchouli Knowledge," she responds dryly, her voice a strange monotone, lacking in any and all signs of human emotion. A little disturbing, that. Her half-closed eyes, as vibrantly purple as her hair, dart swiftly to and fro along the pages of the book in her hand, even as she speaks to you.
"Miss Kamishirasawa has asked me to inform you that she will be preoccupied for the rest of the day. She wishes you luck, though." Raising her gaze from the book briefly, she gives you a bit of a judgmental stare.
"I trust you have not had difficulties so far?"
"Ah, well... I decided to spend the first lesson getting acquainted with the students, and trying to figure out their average level of ability, so..."
"Indeed? And how, based on your results, do you plan to approach the task of further educating them?"
"...Pardon me?"
She almost seems to grimace for a moment, but her face instantly regains its previous emotionless, almost stone-like appearance, before you even notice it.
"Miss Kamishirasawa has given you a certain degree of freedom in your methods, you see. You are to proceed according to whatever plan you like, as long as your results are satisfactory." She turns her gaze back to her book, as if gradually losing interest in you.
"You will, of course, be judged harshly by your peers during your first few weeks here... Do try not to be a disappointment."
Pressure. Pressure always works. Anyway... Freedom, huh? Well, from what you've gathered so far, there's a wild gap in skill level within your class at the moment - from those who speak almost fluently, to those who barely know a single word in English. How best to approach this situation? On the one hand, you can't just leave the weaker students trailing behind, but on the other hand, making things too easy for the more gifted students will likely result in them losing focus and interest towards your subject.
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[] Start off at a medium level, paying extra attention to those less skillful to help them catch up.
[] Start off at an easier level, but give the more skilled students some additional tasks to keep them from getting bored.
