"Come in!" she heard from inside.

She then went inside, closed the door behind her, and made her way to the desk.

"...Miss Kiczys..." he said, his tone soft.

"Is everything all right?" he asked.

"I mean in general, and overall. It seems that you are a target for torment and verbal abuse, and you haven't been looking the healthiest as of late." he told her.

"Is something wrong?"

The man was silent, and then sighed.

"All right." he said.

"Madison... I apologize if this brings back some unpleasant memories... but do you remember a time, months ago, being out in a rainstorm?" he asked her.

"Collapsing in the middle of the street, and waking up in a hospital bed?" he asked further.

He knew this was dangerous territory he was treading in, but he had to do this.

It was his responsibility as a teacher, at the very least.

"....." he was silent when she responded, before sighing.

"Hm." he mumbled, a doubtful undertone to his voice.

"Anyway, I remember you. I'd almost run you over that night." he admitted. "I was the one that had taken you to the hospital." he said further.

"...Madison, I'm going to be very blunt here, I'm worried about you." he then told her.

"I know school can be hell for students, but it honestly seems like there's more to your problems than just that." he continued.

"I don't want you to suffer in silence because you feel you cannot open up, or are scared to." he added, his voice sincere.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

It was clear that this girl was an expert at dodging such questions and diverting the topic. Alarmingly so.

But he knew if he kept digging, it could be misconstrued as being TOO interested, and that wouldn't look good on him.

"Of course." he replied.

"My apologies for keeping you back for nothing." he apologized, as he shuffled his papers and straightened them. As he did so, Madison noticed a working title:

Ancient Egyptian Mystical Forces

"Hm?" he muttered.

"Ah, yes." he said.

"Ancient Egypt is fascinating." he told her. "And many believe that they used magic or 'mana' as it is also referred to." he continued.

"Though no clear evidence of this has been found. I'm submitting a paper from my recent excavation trip to be passed around by my peers." he told her further.

"And of course, feel free." he then said, referencing her saying she wished to run her final project by him.

"What are you thinking for it?" he asked.

The man raised an eyebrow.

"Really." he said.

"That's fascinating." he told her sincerely.

"But, in my biased opinion, I would gravitate towards the Egyptian one." he then admitted.

"Most History teachers tend to focus on what we know for sure, or what is proven, but I find exploring other facets of it... those more difficult to prove... fascinating as well." he went on.

"As long as one can back up their point, it is worthy of consideration and praise." he reasoned.

"But that's just me." he told her, neglecting to go into further details.

"Although, a report on Adolph Hitler himself is not something many people do, either." he then admitted.

"Both?" he asked.

"If you manage to do both, and not sacrifice the quality, I will count them both towards your final grade." he told her.

"Which is to say, if you do an excellent job on both... say... at least an 80% on both... then I will give you a perfect grade for the two of them." he said further.

"But only if you feel you CAN do so." he then stressed. "I do NOT want you overworking yourself." he told her, looking her square in the eyes.

"Understand me?" he asked.

The man just smirked in response.

"Well, all right then." he said.

"I look forward to it." he told her.

This was a different side to Madison than he was used to seeing. She was confident, sure of herself, and she honestly seemed like she was a little happy right now.

He liked it.

"Do you have a way home?" he then asked her.

"I can give you a ride, seeing as the weather is oddly nasty for this time of year." he offered.

".......indeed." he replied.

"Have a good break, Miss Kiczys." he told her.

He then sighed internally, and thought to himself.

'...what is this feeling...?' he wondered.

'Does she have mana?' he asked himself.

'And does it relate to the stigma/reputation she has?'

"Hm." he muttered.

'Odd...' he thought.

'I wonder if something's happened...' he thought further.

Using the school's records, he found Madison's address and contact information (her home phone number), and sighed once more. Straight up going to her house would be weird as a first resort, so he decided to try something a little more normal.

So, he dialled the number given, and waited for an answer.