Controlee

19. The Locket

Rule 76: Focus on the now, let the past be nothing but a guide, and the future be something to worry about later.

It wasn't even nine in the morning yet, and Otsuka was already having the worst day of her life. Well, maybe not quite the worst, but it was certainly up there.

First, the tablets had made her oversleep and since Yamada and Aizawa had no idea that oversleeping wasn't completely unusual for her, they didn't check to see if she was awake.

Second, all of that meant she hadn't had the chance to grab breakfast and while she'd live without the most important meal of the day, she wasn't happy with the idea after she lost her entire stomach last night.

Third, the place where Otsuka kept her locket was currently empty space, which meant she was back to fiddling with her wrist to keep from reaching up to it when she was nervous. And she actually didn't know where she'd put it. Her heart plummeted every time she questioned whether or not she'd picked it up after the festival. She was sure she'd taken it out of her locker, but she couldn't remember wearing it or putting it anywhere after that.

The day took a turn however when it came to their hero informatics lesson.

"The choice you make today will have a huge effect on the rest of your life."

The class held their breath as excitement and anxiousness filled the air— Otsuka was going to rub her wrist raw at this rate.

"Today, you'll choose your hero names."

Relief broke the nervousness and the excitement tripled. The class cheered loud enough to make her ears ring but even she couldn't help a smile. She'd had her hero name picked out for years and she was sure some of her classmates had too.

"You'll need these code names for the hero internships. You may still have a chance to change them but be careful, once the public hears a name you're stuck with it."

These names would be their futures if all went well, it was both incredible and terrifying. One wrong choice could seriously affect their careers.

Aizawa continued to drone on about something or other but Otsuka was more focused on a screen he'd pulled up, showing the pro hero drafts for the whole class. Only a few people were up there, including Otsuka. Considering how few people had made it on there, it didn't make sense that Otsuka was seeing herself on the list. Yeah, there were only twenty people who'd sent offers her way compared to Todoroki's thousands, but that was still twenty more than a lot of her classmates. When she'd pulled out before the one-on-one matches, she'd assumed any chance of shining out to the pros was lost. She'd barely shown her skills in either of the first rounds. So who the hell were the twenty people who'd decided she was worth an internship when she'd done so little?

"Now, because of the importance, you'll be getting some help to approve your names." Otsuka's focus snapped back to Aizawa. She really needed to snap out of whatever bad day trance she was in, she was missing out on important information from her teacher! "Remember, if you choose poorly-"

Speak of the devil and she shall appear. Likely hearing him through the door, Midnight swung open the tall entrance and cracked her whip deafeningly against the ground. "You'll have hell to pay later," she finished for him. A terrifying grin on her face. "Good morning, kiddies. Let's get choosing."

White boards were handed out, along with pens and rubbers and the basic idea for the lesson was explained: they'd come up with a name, step in front of the class, show their board and announce what they would be called from now on. Midnight would then either give them a green light or not, leaving them to go right back and try again. The idea of standing up and announcing her name in front of the class honestly had Otsuka a little freaked, plus she didn't know what she'd do if her name got rejected, she'd had it planned for years, she wouldn't be able to just come up with a new one.