Chapter Text
You had walked into class. It was your first class of the entire year, and you were in college. Your friend—who was a year above you— always mentioned a hot new STEM teacher who joined last year. STEM had always been the course that you would pick. Perhaps, having a hot teacher or classmate would motivate you.
You waited for your teacher since you arrived an hour early to get to know everybody. Your gaze flicked to a female classmate in a man’s uniform; she looked interesting enough to befriend. Was it appropriate to wear a uniform not designated for you? Maybe she fought for it. It could be interesting to know.
You loved the skirt since it had pockets on each side that came with attached shorts, and it was knee length, designed in a brown, blue, or red plaid pattern (You chose the color). You would’ve purchased it. The color of pants or skirts was chosen based on personality, but you are free to change every year. The number of students in school would always be divisible by three, during sports events they would assign you with that color you have if you participated.
You went to school with your siblings, Reonardo and Red Valerian. Turns out, Reonardo had a girl called Neviah as a teammate for a band competition, and she was your batchmate at the time. Reonardo was a year older than Neviah, who started a conversation very smoothly, wanting to know more.
“How come you all picked the same classes? Is it because you all are close since before?” you observed
“Yeah, our goal has a similarity with it being part of STEM.” She responded.
“Thats cool” You complimented
“What’s your goal?” You asked.
“I aspire to be an engineer since my grandma had been teaching me the skills for it when I was younger” Neviah spoke while smiling.
Neviah suddenly waved to a guy who entered. Probably one of her friends, and their names were Nicotiana and Verbena. They started a conversation about their college goals since Neviah had previously talked about them. Reonardo wants to be a scientist. Nicotiana just wanted to be there since math was a bit complicated over there. Red Valerian is great at technology. Verbena did not wanna feel left out and had planned to go with Neviah & Nicotiana before.
You talked with them for a while until your teacher had entered. He had mint-colored hair tied in a messy layered ponytail. An eyepatch with a golden constellation pattern over one eye, a grey caplet with designs, a blue opened robe with grey sleeves, a corset over the robe, a white under-shirt with a jabot under a dickie, and lastly, grey pants that did not have any small gold design like the other pieces. You cannot even imagine the process of having to wear that every day. He even had red-bottomed Louboutin shoes. What kind of style is this?? He looks deathly pale clearly having been indoors studying for too long. Having style was definitely attractive, despite all those layers, he was handsome.
You could not hold back a small lip bite at first glance. You had a habit of doing that to keep your lips red since your parents denied lipstick; they claimed it would “ruin your natural red lips.” You didn’t want to cause an argument over something so small.
He did not spare a glance at any of the students, knowing that those unfamiliar faces would probably leave after a year of his torturous discussion. From the way he carried himself, it showed that he was prepared and confident in what he does for work.
He introduced himself saying "My name is Anaxagoras, one of the Seven Sages of the Grove of Epiphany, founder of the Nousporists. Now, don't make me repeat the following again. Rule number one: Do not call me Anaxa. Rule number two: Never interrupt me — silence is golden. Remember that.
Neviah nudged you, then whispered “You look in love with the teacher,”
“Shut up…I’m just resting my gaze” you whispered back.
Anaxagoras’ eyes darted toward your conversation, feeling a little annoyed at how fast his rule broke. He immediately discussed, there was no time to waste in his books.
He began discussing the basics. You knew everything he discussed since your teacher back then was a paranoid college student who had to teach the curriculum they studied in college to 8th graders. He discussed the basic units first then eventually went to the cell structure.
It was clear that the students at the back were confused about how fast everything was going. You and your friends managed to keep up with his fast-paced discussion.
Unfortunately, he did not entertain any questions since he was a traditional teacher. You were the rule breaker from a while ago, and you had such a cocky expression on your face, so he targeted you.
“You, what’s your name?” Professor Anaxagoras demanded
“Rudbeckia G.”
“You’re related to two others, right? Reonardo and Red?”
Of course he knew. You looked similar to them since they were your older twin siblings. Red Valerian was known to be a troublemaker while Reonardo was a nerd with a fierce face. None of their personalities were seen as good.
“Answer me this. Does the structure of the rough endoplasmic reticulum help its role in making protein and translocation” Anaxa interrogated
“Yes,” you said proudly
“Explain”
You hesitate for a bit, choosing the right words to say. You have an answer, but the anxiety of having 60-100 eyes staring at you made you freeze. Sometimes, you find it hard to believe that different college years can be classmates. Your own siblings were judging you hard too! You stayed silent for 15 seconds and that was enough.
“Sit.” Anaxagoras ordered.
“Ah! The rough ER is a flattened membranous sac called cisternae. Its surface contains a lot of ribosomes. Those ribosomes are responsible for synthesizing the proteins which are meant for secretion. They are also responsible for insertion into membranes or delivery to different organelles. After being synthesized, they go back to the rough ER where the glycosylation, folding, and quality control happen. Chaperones assist in the process of proper folding in the ER. I forgot to mention that it also has nuclear envelopes to allow direct transfer of ribosome subunits and mRNA. MRNA stands for Messenger ribonucleic acid…” She had a lot of hand motions while doing so that Anaxagoras found it amusing.
“You explained a part that I haven’t reached yet, have you pre-studied?”
“I had a paranoid 8th grade teacher that was in college.” You sighed
“Ah, good memory then. I would like to continue on that topic.” Anaxagoras began explaining her points.
Finally, the bell rang after 1 hour and 30 minutes. Her newfound friend group walked with her to the canteen.
“I didn’t know you were a nerd” Neviah elbowed
“Not a bad thing, most of us are.” Reonardo defended
“Relax, it wasn’t even an insult directed at you.” Red chuckled
“Anyway, how did you manage to be picked by Anaxagoras?” Nicotiana asked
You tilted your head asking “What?” since everyone looked shocked at the time that you were called to answer a question.
“He doesn’t really engage with his students other than providing assignments. I analyze the teachers I work with, you know?” Nicotiana mentioned
“That’s odd, why would you ever do that?”
“When you learn, it is important to have a good teacher that won’t mislead you or make you confused. Some teachers in this school can be lazy sometimes. I’m looking for quality education, so small things like quick research can do so much in the future.” Nicotiana explained
“I see…I don’t know why he picked me then. Maybe my family name. He did mention that he knew my troublesome siblings.” You said while fidgeting. First day and you already had a bad reputation with a teacher just because of your troublesome siblings? You knew college would be difficult but on the first day?? Having a bad reputation with a teacher is worse than with a student since they can be biased with your grades. What is this luck…
“Bae I can reassure you that you defo don't have a bad reputation with him. You got it right after all. Maybe he sees the potential” Neviah said
“Yeah, but what if he thinks I'm like Reonardo, intelligent with a bad personality?“ You muttered nervously.
“I don't have a bad personality, people just lie about me bullying them. I don't do that.” Reo defended
“He looks at you with disdain still.”
“If he looks at you the same way then I promise that I will defend you, little sis. No need to be so worried. It's just the first day” Reonardo shrugged, yet somehow it eased you for a while.
Until, the whole time during snacks, you heard your name whispered three to four times. It made you slightly nervous. The image was very important for connections for future problems. Many people tried their hardest to get Prof Anaxa to notice them, and some muttered how they would bully you for being “his type”. Some plotted a bit too loud on how they would label you as a slut. Do some people have nothing to do with their lives?
News is spreading of you getting called by Anaxagoras on the first day. “He even smiled at her.” Did he actually smile at me? It seems like this fancy teacher had a reputation for barely calling anyone. You overheard some conversation saying “Maybe he’s changing his methods?”, higher grades that said “She’s lucky I wish I was noticed by him for my knowledge…”
Some got jealous and just kept complimenting his face while muttering about him liking nerds.
You raise the question to Nicotiana.
“Nicotiana—“ You were cut off
“Call me Kyanlia. I'm not a drug.” she hissed not liking her second name being used
“Kyannie, how come people really like Prof. Anaxa?”
“He’s truly just around our age being 22. Young, smart, rich, stylish, mature, and beautiful. Many people would die for a man with one attribute. How much more a man with all attributes?” Ruby added many unnecessary words.
“Thanks..” you said munching on the yummy canteen food. Nachos with all the ingredients for snacks?
The bell rang and you split with some members of the group. Kyannie stayed with you.
“You know, I’m never one to trust fast. Unless Neviah folds before me. There’s something about your presence that tells me you’re a good person. I can read people well.”
“Thank you for trusting me…Wait. Why does the sign say Anaxagoras’ math class?”
“He teaches math too. He even teaches a lot of subjects despite having a lot of teachers available for it. His passion is to teach…I feel like it’s overwhelming and draining”
“Right?” You responded
You sat in his class. This time, you were very lost. Science biology was your strength. Math with so many letters was your weakness. You tried to stay organized with your notes but ended up correction taping so much. Anaxagoras looked like he was annoyed at the waste and the sound it made.
“Everyone put down your pens. I want you to pay attention to a very important part”
Nobody listened.
“I can call out names if you want”
A lot of pens were immediately dropped.
He had noticed that nobody in the first-year college batch really caught up with the topic. He began explaining the concept again while visibly annoyed. Meanwhile, your friend was easily learning. She said she didn't go ABM because of math, yet she's good at it. Anaxagoras eventually noticed how she was the only first-year that caught up. He stared at her for a bit before looking at her notes. Kyanlia was visibly startled and froze. Anaxagoras copied the format of it on the board while continuing his discussion. He was still a new teacher, and many complained about his unorganized methods when he did not use a board. Luckily, your friend was good at highlighting key points. You sighed in relief that you and your friend were noticed together on the same day. At least all the attention won't go on you.
After class, you borrowed her notes while she made small talk at lunch. She observed you before asking, “Were you a victim of bullying before? You seem overwhelmed by every talk.”
She was near, but you were just an overthinker who had some friends who gossiped way too much. There is a common saying about that actually, “Whoever gossips to you will gossip about you.” You explained it to her, and she understood fast. She sighed then said, “Don’t let it get to you. Not everything is worth your time, especially in college where your life is significantly harder than before. Focus on something beneficial instead”
She then parted ways with you. Eventually, you met some new teachers who had a modern teaching style. There is this teacher called Aglaea, and she's the prettiest one you’ve seen! She's the home economics teacher. The first class you had with her was demonstrating how to insert a thread into a needle and then sew ripped-up pieces of fabric. She also introduced the plan of what would happen in the next lessons, there was gonna be crochet/ embroidery/ and cooking throughout the year! She might be your favorite teacher even though her subject is just an extra one you picked.
She was very patient and offered a lot of help. She even allowed people to help each other learn, but there was a strict rule about not doing other people's work. Any sort of payment will result in a failing grade for the paying student and passing for the one getting paid.
You were assigned to help others since you had home economics classes before. You met this guy called Phainon, and he was extremely determined. At some point, you couldn't help but admire his face as he worked. He was an angelic and sweet man with a strong body. He had blue eyes and white hair.
You felt more comfortable there with her class since you were able to make friends easily. You opened your phone to chat with Neviah, Verbena, and Kyannie about everything that happened in the other classes. Until you realized that you had forgotten to get any of their phone numbers or even their socials!!—Wait, you could just ask your brother to make a GC.
He made it then you messaged. “Hello.”
The first thing Kyannie sent was the Instagram profile of Professor Anaxagoras.
“He made it a long time ago, and he posts every couple of months. This is one of the reasons why many people love him.” Kyannie messaged.
“How come many people love him from his Insta?” You asked
“Bc he has an amazing style of choice for clothing outside of school grounds, and he seems sweeter there. Sometimes he posts photos of himself” Kyannie said
“He's my type” Verbena texted
“You like men?” Kyannie questioned
“Sometimes” Verbena texted
They continued messaging while you stalked Anaxa.
He is extremely good-looking, you couldn't help but blush a bit. You happened to unconsciously like all his posts even the one from 6 years ago. You closed your phone and went to sleep that night. Resting peacefully as if you hadn't exposed yourself to stalking him.