{MHA} Curses and Stains

-Expectations-

"I'm sorry but I can't help you."

I stared at the receptionist in shock. I'd found an online pamphlet that advertised a weekend camp for middle schoolers interested in the medical field and I'd walked to the hospital to sign up. "But it said on the pamphlet that the camp was open to anyone of any quirk status."

The receptionist pushed up her glasses and sighed. "Listen kid, I don't think that... someone like you could handle being in the medical field."

I stared at her for a moment before saying, "But I'm smart! I've got decent grades and I work hard and I really like helping people so I don't see the issue-"

"No. I'm sorry kid. Find a more realistic dream to follow."

I swallowed hard and clenched my teeth. "Thanks," I forced out.

I turned to leave the hospital, but something caught my attention. Near the exit door was an in-hospital coffee shop. I hesitated for a moment before turning and walking inside.

It felt like I was being punched in the face by the smell of coffee. The atmosphere of the shop looked almost cheerful considering it was inside a hospital. The sunlight shone through the window and warmed the room. There were a few people sitting at the tables or at the counter and they were quietly drinking their coffee or talking to each other in soft voices.

It was almost peaceful until I noticed that some of the faces were stained with tears while others bore lines of stress.

I stood there, taking in the whole scene before I was shook out of my daze.

"Can I help you?" a man with brown hair called from the counter.

"Uh..."

The man smiled gently and gestured for me to go up to the counter. "Don't worry about it, kid. Sit down and take your time. I'll come back to you, okay?"

I nodded and sat down. I needed time to calm down and recollect myself. The hospital's medical camp was my fourth rejection this week. If I kept looking for a way to go through with a med based track, there'd probably be more rejections on the way.

With a sigh, I pulled my laptop and career search notebook out of my backpack. I was back to square one.

Maybe this time, I should start my search with job opportunities for quirkless people and narrow it down from there.

I scrolled through the links but couldn't find anything helpful. Instead, I found article after article of the quirkless unemployment rate and other problems that were rising because of it.

Was there nothing for me? At all?

Surely there had to be one quirkless police officer in Japan at least, right? Even if I had made a hard pass on it before, I was willing to brave the danger and look into it if it was the only option I had to help people, especially if I didn't have many job chances to begin with.

None. Not a single quirkless police officer in the entirety of Japan.

I felt tears begin to prick at my eyes, and I took a deep breath. Okay... maybe a less noticed type of helping then. Like therapy? I could be a good therapist. At the very least, I could get through the schooling part before dealing with the issue of looking for employment.

Quirkless education rates: 72% don't graduate highschool or meet a GED requirement. No university graduates in the last 23 years.

The tears were starting to leak from my eyes. I probably should have just gone home instead of sitting in the coffee shop. Now I was going to cry in public and cause a huge scene; what had I been thinking?

I felt someone tap my shoulder and I looked up. It was the barista.

"Here, take this," he said gently, holding up a glass of apple juice. I whispered my thanks and shakily accepted the cup. He watched as I took a couple sips and he smiled. "Look, I get that it isn't a school night, but it's getting pretty late. Kids your age don't usually stay in this shop for too long. Do you wanna talk about it?"

I paused before shaking my head.

"That's alright," the man said reassuringly. "But if you're ever back in the shop, I'm always happy to talk to you."

"You're so nice," I said quietly.

He chuckled. "I work in a hospital. I have to be a caring person to be good at my job."

"Oh! I mean, I don't know anyone who's sick or dying. I'm just sad because..." I trailed off hesitantly.

The man smiled. "Don't worry about it kid. I'm always happy to help no matter what's bothering you."

Happy to help.

"I-" I blurted. "Nevermind."

The barista raised an eyebrow with an amused smile as if encouraging me to go on.

"Do you hire middle schoolers?" I asked nervously.

The barista's smile shifted to a confused look. "Well I guess it would depend on the circumstances, but if you really wanted to work here, I could let you volunteer if you had your parents' permission. I couldn't put you on the payroll though, so if money is the issue, there's nothing I can do."

I took a slow breath and nodded. "It's just..." I paused, wondering just how much I should open up to the barista before deciding to just send it. "I'm quirkless," I rushed out.

"Ah," the barista said, nodding. "I was wondering why you would want to work here of all places."

I forced a nervous smile and waited for the boot to drop.

To my surprise, the barista gave me a cheerful grin. "What's your name, kid?"

"Izuku Midoriya."

He looked me up and down and laughed. "Your name is a bit on the nose, innit? Well Midoriya, I want you to go home and think about whether or not you really want to work in a hospital coffee shop. If you ever decide to come back, just ask for me."

I looked at him, scanning for any indication that he could be lying. When I realised he wasn't, I felt tears welling up in my eyes again, this time from joy rather than sadness. "I will," I choked out. "Thank you so much!"

The barista laughed. "You're a real emotional kid." I laughed back through my slowly leaking tears. "Now get out of my shop; I've gotta close up."

"Thank you," I said again. "What's your name?"

The barista chuckled and pointed at his uniform name tag. Jordan Olveira.

I committed his name to memory before thanking him (a third time) and leaving the hospital. The visit hadn't gone exactly the way it was supposed to, but now my life had a sense of direction.

I was going to be a barista.

-A/N-

I think now is as good a time as any to mention that the entire idea for this fic came after a short trip to the hospital and me smelling coffee everywhere because of the in-hospital Starbucks. I don't drink coffee but I thought it would be fun to put a twist on the "coffee shop AU" trope by putting the coffee shop in a hospital.

-CAS-