Maths

Christian stood at the whiteboard in the front of the classroom with a marker in his right hand and an open textbook in his left. Sure, mathematics tended to be a boring subject to most, but it made sense to Christian. It wasn't something that was subjective, like English or the arts. Formulas always worked the same way, every time. Numbers were absolute. Teaching math classes at the academy was a simple job, but he found that he enjoyed it, all the same.

He finished writing and turned to glance at the clock. "Please copy these problems, they are your homework," he told his class of high school algebra students, watching as they scribbled in their notebooks. "Once you've finished, you're free to go." He headed over to the desk in the front corner of the room and settled down, pulling out his lesson plan book. He traded his marker for a pencil and flipped to the next chapter of the textbook to plan out the next session for his students.

Sure, Christian was pretty young for a teacher. At only 26, he was often closer to his students than to his fellow staff members. It gave him a better relationship with the students, though, he supposed. He just hoped they didn't think he was going to be a pushover or anything. Despite his gentle demeanor, he still held authority in this place. Pushing his hand through his hair, he glanced up as some of the students began to collect their things and depart from the room, offering a small smile and a nod before returning to his work.​

Christian glanced up from his work to see that Elizabeth, one of his top students in the class, had paused on her way out. All of the other students had already left. He chuckled at her words. "I'm afraid your fellow students may not be able to keep up with a higher caliber of work." He reached down and pulled a college algebra textbook from a pile next to his feet. "Here," he set the textbook on the edge of his desk. "If you'd like a challenge, you may borrow this for a while."

He considered for a moment. "You're a very bright student, Elizabeth. Thank you for your dedication to the class. I have to say, I'm impressed with your initiative." She reminded him a bit of himself when he'd been her age. Always looking for the next challenge in academia.​

Christian simply nodded as she thanked him. It was nice to have a few students who wanted to go above and beyond the assigned classwork. His face went blank for a moment...as something stirred inside of him and Cameron pushed to the forefront of his mind, robbing his consciousness from him.

"Though, you know," he smiled, assuming a more relaxed posture in his chair, "there's more to life than just classwork. Make sure you're not drilling yourself too hard, kiddo." The change in his personality wasn't slight enough to not be apparent, but Cameron had tried to keep it subtle so as not to alarm the girl. All work and no play was hella boring. Someone had to make sure that Christian's students weren't just slogging away all the time.​

Cameron gave her an amused look as she spoke to him, then laughed. "Of course I'm social. You think I go home and sit around doing math all day while I'm not here?" Christian and Aiden might have been contented to do that, though Aiden was a nerd and Christian was...not quite as much of a nerd, but too boring for Cameron's tastes.

Leaning back in his chair, he set his shoes up on the edge of his desk, appearing even more relaxed as his arms folded across his chest. "Studies are great, sure, but will they get you anywhere? Even when you start working on your career, knowing people, having the skills to talk to others without it being uncomfortable...it's something that can't be learned from books, kid." A smile pulled at the left corner of his mouth. Cameron loved to impart his wisdom on the impressionable youth in Christian's classes.​

Cameron blinked at her, then chuckled. "All right, all right. I believe you," he nodded, still in his relaxed position on his desk. At least she was being social. Perhaps he'd at least given her something to think about, maybe she would end up studying a little less and socializing a little more, anyways. He could only hope so.

"You're welcome. Don't work too hard, now," he gave a slight wave of his hand and pulled his feet from his desk, turning in his chair and standing up to erase the white board that stood stretched along the wall behind him. All those numbers. Jesus, Christian was such a nerd.​