Street Fighter

Patience of Teachers

At school the next day I kept my eyes peeled for anybody who I could identify as having the same aura as the stranger had had last night which had made me want to react so strongly.
His scent had been strong and overpowering, but unidentifiable as a particular taste and all that could be felt was his radiating power and confidence.
As I walked through the school corridors I identified many different perfumes of the people walking past and many related to their personalities, it was so vivid I was amazed I had not noticed it before.
This new revelation made me antsy the whole day though and it wasn't until the final bell for the end of the day went that I could relax and clear my head, ready for another brutal training session with Ash.

Dumping my bag in the girls change rooms and strapping my hands as I walked down the now lit and crowded hallway I smiled to myself.
I loved working here when there was a group of people here training as well, because often I was called up to assist Sensei Ash and I would finish my training course shortly.
All I had to do now was take one terms classes and teach whatever I wanted and at the end of that Ash would take me to the council where I would demonstrate my proficiency and then get graded one last time.
You see as a part of keeping cover for the not so legal activities we participated in and in case of an investigation into our facilities we ran a martial arts school during the daylight hours.
Ash was the mother come brutal training instructor who would yell at you in one instant and lovingly patch you up after a fight in the next breath.
I walked into my classroom and was greeted by the sight of at least fifteen youngsters, none of them older than twelve, running around and creating chaos in my once orderly room.
"Silencio" I yelled, putting enough force and power into my voice to cause them to listen and respect my authority. Often I would give commands in my mother tongue of Spanish for no particular reason other than I enjoyed speaking it and it gave some variety in their teaching.
Glaring at a few troublemakers in particular I paced up and down the front of the now frozen class, indicating my displeasure towards their actions.
Coming to a standstill in the middle of the room I stood alert, "form up"I said in a normal voice which echoed throughout the room as the room had previously been so silent that you could have heard a pin drop.
Eventually I had managed to get everybody lined up and organised but by the end of the lesson my patience and my voice were at their limits.

Exiting the classroom after all of my students had left I spotted Ash just leaving her own room and I casually walked over to her, exhausted.
"Hard day was it?" she asked of me sympathetically, I just nodded my head and followed her to the staff room which had recently become a feature in our above ground facade.
But when she stopped just before the door I ran straight into her and bounced back with an 'oof'. "Why did you stop?" I whispered wondering what had caused her to halt right before the doorway.
Turning seriously around to face me and keeping her voice low she replied, "I just thought I had better warn you, you have a visitor so try and be civil."
Without waiting for any further information or for my body to process this information and chicken out I walked inside and was confronted with the back of a tall, skinny person I presumed to be a man.
I recognised his hair cut even though it had been a couple of weeks since his unexpected appearance in my life again.