'This should be enough, shouldn't it?'
Celeste walked through the corridor of the teacher's dormitory with a huge platter stacked with more food than someone her size could possibly consume.
And while the sight of her visiting this common accommodation for the lower-rank teachers while being a star teacher herself was already a rare thing to witness, when adding up the platter so stacked it literally bent between her eyes from all the food on it…
To say it was a one-of-a-kind type of sighting would still be a gross underestimation.
It would be too much to assume she was unaware of all the stares she attracted. Thankfully, amidst all the different things she studied and practiced to reach her current position, her learned ability to maintain a perfectly still expression came to pay off in the most unexpected of ways, allowing her to ignore all the teachers she just happened to stumble past.
'Why am I even doing it again?'
Pressured by all the unwanted attention, she ended up asking herself this very question for what felt like the tenth time this morning.
Yet, as the sight of Theo devouring her sandwich as if he was starving for the past few weeks resurfaced before her eyes, she ended up gritting her teeth and just moving ahead.
It didn't matter if he really was the trash of the academy, something that she already came to suspect to be nothing more than a vicious rumor; to see a fellow teacher starve like that?
Something like this simply didn't sit well with her.
'All I'm doing is what I would want others to do for me if I was in a situation like this,' she ended up thinking, easily justifying her excessive and unwarranted care with such simple reasoning.
A reasoning that she could easily vibe with, given how easily one's fate could change within this academy, how easily she could become the one unable to afford something as simple as a good meal.
All it took was a vendetta of some petty student with a family both powerful and careless enough to pressure her from beyond the academy grounds. And while it would be costly beyond any reason… It wouldn't be the first time something like this happened within the academy grounds.
'Would I still take this job if I knew just how many risky strings came attached to it?' Celeste thought, allowing herself to ponder as she neared her destination, one of the most remote rooms within the whole of the teacher's dormitory.
Yet, rather than reaching the place, leaving the tray of food at Theo's doorstep, and then leaving before her presence could spark any further rumors… By the time she arrived at the last leg of her trip, she had no other choice but to slow down with her path obstructed by a group of teachers gathered only to whisper something among themselves.
And before she could even cross half the length of the last corridor she had to pass, that very group came to notice her.
"Teacher Celeste," one of the middle-ranking teachers stepped away from the group only to perform a restrained yet perfectly elegant bow. "To see you here is certainly a…" He hesitated for a moment as his eyes drew to the platter in her hand, "rare sight."
'Come on, girl,' Celeste thought as she forced herself to put on a kind, relaxed smile on her face, only to then grow irritated over how this whole encounter made her feel anxious, as if she was here to do something wrong, bad, or outright illegal. 'You knew this kind of thing could happen, so just go through the motions!'
"Teacher Umber," she thankfully could recall the name of this particular colleague, "it's a pleasure to meet you here. As for this?" She openly acknowledged the curious stare the middle-aged man threw towards the tray in her hand by lightly lifting it up before laughing out a little. "I'm just trying to do what I believe is right," she added with a slightly enigmatic smile.
"Oh, then by all means, please, go on," Umber raised his eyebrows a bit before hurriedly pushing his own group aside to open up a room for Celeste to pass through.
"Thank you," Celeste nodded her head, internally thankful for how easy things could sometimes get after she did nothing but just… smiled a little and acted with a modicum of kindness and respect towards others.
A lesson that her own teachers back at her clan's ground failed to ever mention, only ever focused on pushing her to achieve more, faster, and in a more profound way than all the others, shackling her with the immense expectations of being a good fit for a clan's heir. Expectations only increased by her unfortunate gender.
"Oh, on that note," still playing along with the persona she worked long and hard to develop once she used this academy to escape from the harsh reality of her clan, she asked as she passed, "what were you all whispering about?"
Given how openly they discussed something, it would be outright rude not to inquire about it, even if only with fleeting interest and in passing.
"That's…" In an instant, the look on Umber's face changed from gentle and relaxed to tense and worried, if not outright anxious. "You see, just last night…" he started, only for his eyes to dart to the side, momentarily locking on the very door Celeste planned to visit, only for the man to then gulp as a look of uncertainty flashed on his face, making it clear he wasn't sure whether to bring something up or not.
A hesitation that Umber soon chased away with a shake of his head.
"Some of us saw one of the elite students clash with that bastard right here, right at his doorstep," he finally revealed with a shake of his head that only betrayed his own judgment of the situation. "And while that alone wouldn't be that worthy of anyone's attention, teachers clash with students, we all know that, but…"
"But?" With an unpleasant sense of suspicion creeping up her spine like some sort of ugly worm, Celeste asked.
"Not all that long later, the very same student was seen running away from his room," Umber added while lowering his voice and stealing a glance at Theo's door, as if worried it could open at any time and reveal the man in question, "and she had tears all over her face. My fellows," Umber cast a quick glance at the rest of the group, "they said she looked terrified if not straight-out petrified!"
Celeste stopped in her tracks, suddenly finding it increasingly hard to take another step.
"What?"
The thoughts in her head spun, her perception of reality suddenly challenged.
'Was he the kind of trash everyone takes him to be after all?' she thought, only for her eyes to turn down to the plate in her hands, a plate so heavy that even with her cultivation, she was growing tired of carrying it.
With her mind thrown for a spin, Celeste hesitated. And as she processed all that she had just heard…
'Was I wrong to bring it here? Maybe I should just…'
Yet, right as her expression changed, right as she suddenly considered the idea of just taking the food back and forgetting about what she was here to do, the doors to Theo's room spun open, with the man himself, looking all haggard and outright starved, walking out with nothing but his teacher's robe and a massive bottle stinking of strong alcohol in his hand.
"Huh?" Theo stumbled a little when he caught sight of the gathering, only for his eyes to quickly lock in on Celeste's angry face before turning to the platter in her hand.
Instinctively, prompted by what she had just heard about, she took a step back and turned sideways, as if to bring the food she carried all the way over here to gift the man… away from his reach.
"That's one weird place to go to eat your breakfast at," Theo said, one of his eyebrows raising in mild surprise, only to ignore just how impossible of a task it would be for someone Celeste's size to consume the copious amount of food she brought out.
Then, without elaborating any further about the group of his fellow teachers, Celeste, or her food… He just stepped past them before hurrying down the corridor, all the while caring for nothing but the oversized bottle of what smelled like the cheapest vodka he cradled in his arms like one would their newborn child.