So this is the beginning of RWBY Reads Professor Arc. Before we begin I would like to state that I will most likely not include more characters to read alongside Team RWBY and Team JNPR. However, that is only in the long term. Considering how involved a multitude of characters gets within Coeur Al'Aran's stories I might have to work in visitations from other characters who stop by for a chapter or two before heading out.

For example, Glynda might appear for a chapter or two before heading out to grade some papers. She might return at a later chapter or she may not, I'm not sure how I want to handle that part so far.

(BREAK)

Fox coughed once in order to gain the two teams' attention "Well it's all well and good if we have decided on what to read. But because this was unplanned initially I'm suddenly aware that I'd be keeping you with me a lot longer than anticipated." That said he clapped his hands twice in quick succession as a door appeared behind the teams. "I've created a doorway from this realm to yours, you may come and go as you please. Do try to stay alive though, I'm not sure if I can pull in a ghost to read."

Phyrra shivered as feeling as if that statement was aimed directly at her. "What happens if only a few of us step out the door?" she asked recalling an explanation when they first arrived in this room. "Doesn't time stop if key members of the world disappear without cause?"

"My dear…I've never thought of that," Fox admitted with a tilt of his head. "Why don't we experiment, one of you should step through the door, wait one minute and come back in." he looked around the assembled teens. "If you do not return after one minute we'll have to send the other seven of you out to fetch them."

Ren hummed intrigued despite himself. "I'll do it." He stated simply. "We were all in our rooms correct? Therefore this door should be in our room right now."

"Not wrong, but not right either," Fox informed them. "if you would, please pull out your invitations." Waiting for the teens to do so he nodded when they all began examining them more closely. "I sent out invitations to Team RWBY and Team JNPR, not Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaune, Nora, Phyrra, and Ren. This doorway will appear wherever the team last accepted the invitation." He walked up and grasped the two invitations and suddenly each teen had a piece of paper in their hands

Nora's head spun as she tried to follow the explanation. "Huh?" she wondered as she held her head in her hands.

"Simply put, now that you've all accepted the invitation, and I modified the door to allow you entrance as long as the four members of each team hold their invitations together."

Weiss narrowed her eyes. "What happens if someone follows us in?" she asked seriously.

Fox hummed as he scratched his neck. "Well, the only way that happens is if you invite them in since the door will only open to those with an invitation. Which I might add you have the only ones." He smiled as he folded his arms over his chest. "If you want to update the location of a door you'll have to get together with three other people currently in this room and hold four of those personal invitations together.

"And if we lose one?" Yang asked lightly "We're not exactly in a safe profession you know."

"Then you better group up with someone who hasn't lost their invite and have them open a door for you" Fox shrugged his shoulders. "If someone else finds or steals your invitation, manage to find one of your doors and enters before all of you do, then they can read along with you." He sighed "But we're getting off track. Ren if you would."

Ren nodded his head and stepped out of the door. "Interesting." He murmured once the door closed behind him. "I can still move around normally." He noted as he walked over to the door leading into the hallway, giving the door a try he hummed. "Can't open the door though." Walking over to the shared bookshelf he pulled out a book and tried to open it. "I'm surprised I can open this normally as well." He admitted to himself as he glanced at the clock between his own bed and Jaune's. "No change." He noted, "It's been about a minute." He estimated as he headed back towards the door which had appeared on the empty wall that would have led to the room next door.

Upon entering the room Nora quickly latched onto him. "What happened?" she asked cheerfully. With an amused sigh, Ren explained everything he noted to the seven others.

Fox nodded his head thoughtfully as he began rubbing his chin. "Well, there you have it. If you need a break from reading or simply want to live your life feel free to do so.

"I kind of want to read now though…" Ruby muttered shyly as the others made nominal sounds of agreement. Fox blinked in surprise before he smiled and held the book out to Ruby.

"My apologies, please begin,"

Jaune Arc was in trouble.

"What a wonderful way to start the story off Jaune." Blake teased as Jaune just covered his face and groaned.

Serious trouble, in fact. He was probably going to jail… or maybe worse... Fraud, deceit? Other allegations he didn't know the name of, but was sure existed? Once again Lady Luck had taken one good look at Jaune Arc and thrown up all over him.

It had all seemed like such a fantastic idea at first too. Beacon Academy was the premier school for hunters, the best of the best went there, and those that graduated went on to be successful and famous hunters – and then became heroes.

"I know we went over the whole 'Why would you do something this stupid' schtick before…" Yang began as she and the others turned towards Jaune who only sank further into his seat. "But seriously what the actual fuck Vomit boy."

"SWEAR JAR!" Ruby shouted pointing an accusing finger at Yang who rolled her eyes but produced a single lien to hand to Ruby.

"Please stop I get it, I get it…" Jaune moaned as he tried to disappear into his chair.

He'd always wanted to become a hero, but like most children he'd whittled away his younger years dreaming and playing, only to find that he wasn't fit enough to enter Signal. And now, because he didn't have the training from Signal – he wasn't skilled enough to enter Beacon. It was such an unfair conspiracy!

It wasn't that he wasn't intelligent, or hard-working. He was willing to train for hours if need be… the problem was that he had started too late in his life. Deciding he wanted to become a hunter at the age of twelve that had left around six months for him to train for the Signal entrance exams. Of course, he hadn't been fit enough… even with a grueling regime, what could be achieved in just six months!?

He hadn't given up though, he'd trained hard, studied even harder. But there was no real substitute for four years intense training at a combat school, and it showed. When it had come to the time to send his credentials in for the Beacon admission he hadn't even hesitated.

To cheat.

"You're lucky we know all this already Arc." Weiss pointed out with only a little venom in her tone.

"Weiss, we already gave him a month's worth of cold shoulder for this. Please don't start it up again." Ruby pleaded not wanting to strain their friendship again so soon after everyone finally made amends with each other.

Weiss rolled her eyes "Don't overreact Ruby, I'm merely stating facts."

Oh, he'd learned his lesson from Signal alright, better to seek forgiveness than ask permission, there was no way he would get into Beacon without a formal education in combat so he'd saved up some money and sought out the aid of a… well… a less than reputable individual, who was skilled in forgery. And Gods, it had been expensive too!

The documents were brilliant though, painting a believable and impressive history that was enough to make him stand out, but not too much. He'd even tested it at a Bank, and been able to open an account using it – so he knew it was good.

He could still remember the advice the guy had given him as well. Remember kid, the best lies have a grain of truth in them – but if you can't use the truth, just tell so many lies that they can only dig through the top layer.Hide lies under more lies.

"I did wonder how you managed to get those transcripts, now that I think about it," Pyhrra admitted with a small apologetic smile on her face.

"Actually… I kind of…found them?" Jaune questioned as he recalled the situation. "Now that you mention it…I was just walking around Vale after running away from home and found the transcripts just laying on the ground near the inn I was staying at."

"And you never thought to question that?" Ren asked in disbelief.

"Renny! If Jaune was thinking properly he wouldn't be here!" Nora chimed in while Jaune rubbed the back of his head as he normally did when embarrassed.

He'd been so damn confident this would work…

Which was why his world had come crashing down when he had received a personal invitation for an interview with the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, Headmaster Ozpin.

I'm screwed. Of course, he saw through it, and now he wants to ask why I did this before he arrests me.

"Did he invite you for an interview?" Blake questioned as she glanced at the Knight.

"No, I just got a letter of acceptance," Jaune stated now thoroughly confused as the whole situation stopped making sense to him due to the benefit of hindsight.

In fact, he was so sick with worry that he had unintentionally managed to survive the Bullhead trip to the Academy itself without vomiting. That might have also had something to do with the fact that he hadn't eaten in over sixteen hours as well…

Nervously he tugged at the collar of his hoodie and readjusted his armor. He wasn't sure why he had come armed to the teeth to this meeting, he certainly wouldn't be able to fight his way out of this. But the clothing did provide him some small level of confidence. He could at least look the part.

Confidence… that's all I can rely on right now. But Dad did always say that confidence can be all you need in some situations.

Yang huffed as she stared at Jaune "Are you sure you weren't missing something when you told us your dad said confidence was all you needed?"

"I'm sure." Jaune nodded his head. "Dad said all you need is confidence."

"And that's him not leaving things out or meaning something other than what you tried?"

"I…think so?" Jaune scratched his head. "I mean, he married Mom and convinced her to give birth to eight kids."

"Isn't that just your Mother being a Nymphomaniac and your Father a Satyriasis?" Weiss pointed out unable, or perhaps unwilling, to believe that confidence was the only bit of advice Jaune's Father had ever given to him.

"Nympho what now? Satyr?" Ruby asked confusion clear in her voice.

Phyrra sighed and accepted her role as the tainter of innocent minds "Nymphomaniac refers to a woman with uncontrollable sexual urges. Satyriasis is the same thing for men."

"Like Yang and Uncle Qrow?"

"Absolutely not!" Yang shouted as she slammed her fist into Ruby's head. "I'll have you know that I can control my urges and Uncle Qrow may be a skirt chaser, but it's a conscious choice on his part, not an impulse!"

Ruby whimpered in pain as she turned back to the book.

That advice was all he had to trust, as the door to the Bullhead slowly groaned open, revealing the tall spires of Beacon Academy to his eyes. It was beautiful… Everything he had imagined it to be when he had dreamed of attending when he was younger. He savored the sight before letting out the sigh of the damned and walking purposefully down the ramp towards the blonde figure waiting for him.

It was a woman of indiscernible age, with blonde hair and stern expression that screamed disciplinarian. One arm was held at her side, pinning a number of books to her hip, while her other hand held what appeared to be a riding crop.

"I'm sorry, did I keep you waiting?" Jaune greeted in as calm a voice as he could, making sure to keep his eyes fixed on her green orbs as he held a single hand out in greeting. Internally his mind was screaming at him to run, but he stuck to the confident and self-assured persona his forged records suggested he had. Time to go down fighting!

"Miss Goodwitch," Blake noted simply. "I suppose we'll get to have a better look at Miss Goodwitch as a person because of this story."

"Only if she's remotely close to this in real life." Ren pointed out.

The woman nodded back once, reaching forward to shake his hand briefly still keeping the crop in hand as she did so. She didn't smile at him, but her green eyes didn't show any anger either – which was probably a good sign.

"Indeed, thank you for coming Mr. Arc. I am Glynda Goodwitch, Deputy Headmistress and a teacher here. I hope Professor Ozpin's summons was not too sudden."

"Of course not, I was happy to have a chance to see Beacon in person," Jaune replied easily as he offered the woman a smile. He had to resist the urge to let it die an ugly death when she stared back at him, simply quirking an eyebrow. "If you're to escort me to meet the Professor, will you let me help you with those books?"

Fox smiled slightly. "This is how you flirt Jaune." He noted happily. "Smile, be kind, helpful, understanding, and maintain eye contact." Humming he tapped chin with a finger. "I'm probably forgetting something…" he admitted

"Oh. Yes, thank you, Mr. Arc." The woman accepted with a slightly surprised expression before she could hide it. Jaune took half of the books with a hidden grin, glad that his attempt to distract her had worked. Only a few books, but a gentleman was always polite with ladies, no matter their station. "If you will follow me, I will show you to Ozpin." She turned away from him as he quickly stepped in to walk beside her.

"Thank you Mrs. Goodwitch."

"Miss, actually." She corrected as the two of them passed under a stone arch and into what looked to be a large round plaza with a fountain in the center.

"Laying it on kind of thick aren't you?" Ruby asked looking at Jaune who blushed. "ugh I should be happy you weren't like this when we first met." She muttered with a small blush. "Talk about awkward."

"I'm sorry?" Jaune muttered not quite sure if she was happy or not.

"Really? Oh, I mean - sorry!" Jaune apologized, making sure to add a little fake surprise to his voice. He wasn't surprised at all she wasn't married since she looked too damn scary and unapproachable for most men. Even if he was closer to her age he didn't think he would have the stones to talk to her. "I didn't mean to assume."

"Don't worry about it, Mr. Arc." The woman urged with what actually looked to be the slightest beginnings of a smile on her face. Barely there for a moment before she mercilessly killed it. Still, it was a start.

Okay – okay, think Jaune. Disciplinarian, apparently strict and is a headmistress. So be polite, formal, flattering – but don't even think about flirting. She helps run a school for young adults, no doubt she gets way too much of that attention as it is…

"Does she?" Nora asked looking up in thought. "I mean I know she has a smoking hot body, but I don't think I've seen anyone get too big for their britches and actually try to flirt with her."

"I'm certain she's had to deal with her fair share of unwanted attention," Ren added in with his matter of fact manner of speaking.

"Speaking of…I never hear any rumors about miss G's love life. Think she even has one?" Yang asked as she stretched her arms over her head.

"Doubtful considering how much she puts into her work on a daily basis." Blake denied with a simple shrug of her shoulders.

It was definitely important to stay on the good side of anyone here.

"If I might ask, Miss Goodwitch? Do you know why Professor Ozpin wants to meet with me? I'm afraid he didn't explain very much when he called me."

And what a harrowing call it had been. Completely out of the blue, and he'd been too damn scared to ask many questions of the white-haired man. He'd been able to only just get out that he would be able to make the appointment and confirm the Bullhead arrival time. He'd then spent the next week in a panicked agony… and now here he was.

"I'm pretty sure that's normal." Jaune pointed out as his cheeks burned in embarrassment.

"Only if you have something to hide." Weiss countered mercilessly.

"I do know Mr. Arc, but I'm not at liberty to tell you just yet. I believe Ozpin would like to meet with you first. I am sorry." No real expression on her face beyond the stern expression he was beginning to believe was standard for her, but the inflection she put on her apology suggested she was, in fact, a little sorry she could not tell him. At the very least it provided a little more confidence for him.

If this was to throw the evidence of his forgery in his face, then she certainly wouldn't be this polite with him – and definitely wouldn't apologize for keeping things secret from him. If she was as stern as her expression, dress, and mannerisms suggested… and Jaune was very sure of his first impressions here. Then she would be furious if she knew he had forged his documents.

Did this mean they didn't know they were fake!?

Was he going to get away with this?

Seven pairs of eyes drifted towards Jaune "Are you that good a judge of character Jaune?" Phyrra asked curiously.

"I thought Miss Goodwitch was fairly obvious though." Jaune waved it off.

The others thought a bit about it before shrugging their shoulders. "Eh fair point." Yang vocalized their collective thoughts.

"Don't worry about it then." He laughed, waving off the issue as he tugged at his jeans. "I'm just worried that I'm a little under-dressed for the occasion."

"Not to worry Mr. Arc, we understand that for a person of your caliber, you would come to such a meeting armed. It can be difficult to put hunting the Grimm aside, even for more experienced people."

His caliber… yeah. But at least his records had proven themselves it seems, if she honestly believed was some kind of hotshot hunter-in-training. That took a lot of the stress off his shoulders, especially if this was just some kind of acceptance interview, or maybe they interviewed all the students before deciding to accept them? Had he panicked over nothing?

Weiss raised an eyebrow "Now I'm curious." She admitted plainly. "What exactly did your transcripts say?"

"Hopefully we'll find out this chapter," Blake added in heading off any further conversation.

"Ah, here we are. Professor Ozpin is awaiting us inside." Two large doors opened slowly as the woman walked into the room, letting Jaune follow behind her as he admired the decor. From the view through the huge windows he would tell this was the central spire of the academy, apparently the Headmaster's personal office.

Apart from a large desk and a few bookcases, the room was rather bare. He had honestly imagined something more from a man as powerful, and no doubt wealth, as the headmaster of Beacon. But perhaps this was just to create an image, the man's personal quarters could be lavish.

"Greetings Mr. Arc." The man stood behind the desk commented, dressed in an immaculate green suit, and sipping on a large mug of some hot beverage. Even if Jaune had not recognized him as the man who had called him recently, he would have known Ozpin by his fame and distinctive white hair. Swallowing his nervousness, Jaune strode towards the desk and held his hand out over the polished wood, his blue eyes staring into brown. A hysterical part of Jaune's mind commented that Ozpin's hair seemed quite similar in design to his own.

"Wait, is Professor Ozpin wealthy?" Nora asked curiously. "I honestly never thought about it, but the teachers have to be paid right?" the others shrugged their shoulders. "Do you think it pays well?"

"I'm sure it does Nora," Ruby stated with a grin. "Teaching the next generation of heroes? Definitely a good paycheck for that."

"Maybe not as good as a running the biggest Dust company on the planet though." Blake submitted her own input as she sent a teasing look towards Weiss.

"I do not run the SDC" she pointed out with a huff.

"A pleasure headmaster." He kept his hand steady, waiting as the man seemed to take a long sip of his drink, before putting it down and grasping Jaune's hand in a firm shake. Glynda stepped forwards to take the books Jaune was carrying from him, as he sat down across from the headmaster. The woman then walked around the desk to stand beside, but slightly behind, the headmaster. Jaune waited for them to speak, not saying anything as the man took another long drink of what Jaune could now identify as coffee.

"Well then Mr. Arc, thank you for coming to this meeting." Jaune nodded but didn't say anything. This man was definitely far above himself in terms of experience and knowledge, and Jaune knew about dealing with people like that, if you didn't know the correct response – then stay quiet.

"I received your application for entrance as a student of Beacon Academy, and have had some time to look over your records." Once more he paused here as he fished out some pieces of paper from a drawer in his desk, taking another long drink. Jaune schooled his expression into a calm facade, despite the frantic hammering of his heart in his chest.

"What do you guys think?" Jaune asked as he folded his arms. "Is Professor Ozpin really drinking anything or is he just messing with me?"

"I mean…it is a big cup," Ruby muttered not quite sure.

"He must be a very slow drinker if he still has liquid after three long sips even with a mug that size," Ren commented simply as he folded his arms expression unreadable as ever.

"Quite the glowing recommendations you come with Mr. Arc. Trained for four years at the Vacuo Academy for Gifted Youths, before staying on to begin your formal Hunter Education. You would be 20 years old now, correct?"

"That's right." Jaune lied, trusting the forged documents with all his heart. It had been an important move to have him listed as three years older than he was so that he could fit in. The various hunter academies kept in close contact, so it would be clearly obvious if he claimed to be from one and they checked the records against their database… All except for one school… since it had been destroyed by the Grimm three years ago.

"I've heard of many survivors of the attack there… most did not continue their career as Hunters." The Vacuo Academy for the Gifted had been a famous school, and one of the only schools that could train hunters from their first entry at 13, right through to their graduation at 21. It had been attacked and destroyed by the Grimm three years ago though, and most of the records had been lost with it. The fraudster had made sure to explain that to Jaune, along with the importance of sticking with the story.

"Is that a real place?" Ruby asked Weiss who blinked in surprise.

"Why would I know that?" she asked in return.

"Cause you always seem to know things I don't?"

"Only because you keep asking me things about Dust and Atlas!"

"Are they dating or something?" Jaune asked Yang with a whisper.

"Or something," Yang responded in kind as she smirked. "But definitely something we like to tease them about." Looking to Phyrra Yang raised her voice to be heard over the bickering red white duo. "So P-money, know anything about this school?"

"I don't know much, but I read in the news once that a school in Vacuo was destroyed by the Grimm, no survivors." The Spartan answered dutifully

"Oh,"

"I can understand why. It took me over two years to recover from that. I am hoping you will not let my age work against me in this regard." That had been one of his main concerns, that they would refuse him because his records now said he was 20, above the usual starting age.

"Of course not Mr. Arc." The man replied back with a small smile. "Three years is not so much time in the grand scheme of things, and it would be a shame to see such talent wasted. My concern is quite the opposite, in fact, Mr. Arc." At this he pushed across some of the papers to Jaune, showing him statistics he had long since memorized.

Valedictorian, skilled fighter, excellent tactical skills and a strong grasp of theory. A team leader with unparalleled empathy for his team, able to motivate people to work as cohesive groups, even in the worst of situations. His records even claimed he had a few missions under his belt. Some taken during his time in Vacuo, others during the three-year break afterwards.

Jaune could feel the stares, hell he could hear them "It's not me, it's this version of me please stop." He moaned pitifully

He couldn't claim he'd just sat around for three years, so his records painted a picture of a man who had done his best to evacuate the other students and fought to protect them. He'd also done some freelance work for villages that could not afford a hunter, or who needed help immediately.

All falsified.

"If I may be frank Mr. Arc." The man spoke, as a grin formed on his features. Meanwhile, Jaune's spirits fell in sudden terror. "I think you're too qualified to be a student here."

Huh!?

"They believe all of that bullshit?" Yang asked already fishing out a lien for Ruby's swear jar.

"Well, …he hasn't exactly done anything to disprove it yet." Blake pointed out hesitantly. "Think about it. His records show him to be extremely competent and well-mannered right? He's been cordial with Miss Goodwitch, he hasn't shown any outward signs of incompetence or weakness."

"But still… look at him does that look like the body of a man who survived the fall of his school? Or even the body of an active student?" Yang asked pointing at the picture of Jaune within the book.

"Hey…" Jaune whined

"You have the skills and credentials to be a hunter right now, so might I ask why you wish to be a student once more?"

Oh, Gods, he hadn't expected this… that they might reject him for being too good. Or that they might think it's too suspicious for such a skilled man to want to lower himself to the level of a student.

"I… need the qualification." Jaune tried as he slumped in his seat. "Skills aside, a lot of doors are closed to a person who has not graduated from a school for hunters. I want to prove to myself, and others, that I deserve to be a hunter."

"I can see how he becomes a teacher now too," Weiss noted with a crinkling of her nose. "I hope our version of Professor Ozpin is a little more aware than this one seems to be."

"A worthy goal indeed, and I would never consider denying a hunter his dues. But here in Beacon, we assign students into teams of four. You must understand Mr. Arc, that someone of your ability would overshadow his team and might lead to them not developing into proud hunters as they should…"

Jaune couldn't help but feel a small thrill of panic shoot through him, not out of fear that he would be rejected. In fact, the man had as clear as said he would help Jaune get into Beacon… but what if he was assigned to no team, and instead left on his own!? That would be a disaster! He didn't have the skills to survive as a one-man team and would be publically humiliated and ridiculed in front of the entire student body… If he didn't just die first.

"At least this Jaune seems realistic in his expectations," Weiss muttered with a small sigh.

"Weiss…that actually hurts," Jaune muttered softly.

"Did you not think what would happen if your lie got out to the teachers before you told Phyrra?"

"I have…"

"If you think it stops at expulsion your really Naïve."

"Urk…"

"If I might ask, and I do not wish to bring back difficult memories. But how did you cope with the grief of losing people in Vacuo?"

"It's difficult." Jaune hedged, delaying so he could think of a story to tell, while the two teachers waited patiently. "My team was killed and there was nothing I could do to prevent it. Beyond that, many of our friends and colleagues were dying as well."

The two adults seemed sympathetic as he paused to think of more excuses. He couldn't afford to paint himself as a traumatized youth, or they might ask him to undertake counseling. At the same time to suggest he was just over it would come across as incredibly convenient.

"I honestly can't imagine what that would be like," Phyrra muttered softly as her hands instinctive sought Jaune's for comfort and confirmation that he was still there with her.

Ren and Nora shared a look before intertwining their hands together which did not go unnoticed but was ultimately left alone.

"Those of us who survived banded together though. People are stronger together and we helped each other when we felt down. I'd had two years to come to terms with what happened and I want to move on if you'll let me."

Put the onus for the decision in their hands, use guilt! Underhanded though it might be, he'd come too far to back out now, this was all or nothing.

"Wise words indeed. What do you think Glynda?" The Headmaster asked as he leaned back in his seat with a wide smile on his face. Jaune turned to look at the woman who had escorted him here, noticing the sad look on her face which she quickly hid.

"I wish I had that level of emotional control," Weiss muttered almost jealously.

"I think I like it better this way," Ruby mentioned while wiping her brow. "One Miss Goodwitch is enough thank you very much."

"Here, here!" Yang echoed the sentiment.

"I think I agree with your decision Headmaster. Mr. Arc will be good for the students here."

He was in!? He'd done it?

"I think we'll be happy to welcome you to Beacon Academy, Mr. Arc." Professor Ozpin congratulated, pushing a sheet of paper and pen across to Jaune, which he picked up to inspect.

"A contract for employment?" He blurted out with some confusion, as he flicked through the various pages, seeing nothing but huge amounts of text and regulations.

Someone snorted which soon led to all the others following suit. As everyone else laughed Jaune just sighed and placed his face within the palm of his hands.

"You're too qualified to be a student here Mr. Arc, but you have just what we need for a Support Teacher at Beacon Academy." Jaune barely heard the man, his eyes flicking over the front page. A teacher, him!? Oh, Gods, this was a disaster. Forget forging his way as a student, this was about ten times worse. He was going to be forging his way into employment!

And he didn't know enough about being a hunter! He could barely fight, Good Gods, his students would be able to beat him up! He was going to be roughed up by his own students… in front of everyone!

"I have no experience teaching…" He couldn't help but stammer out, only for his new hope to be crushed as the blonde deputy stepped forwards.

"Oof shot down immediately." Nora made a big show of wincing as if watching a particularly nasty fight. Jaune groaned.

"Ha, ha, laugh it up Nora," the blonde knight grumbled as Nora did just that.

"I will be helping you with that Mr. Arc." She replied as she nodded to him. "You will have your own classes, but we will do some training a few days before the term starts, and you can sit in on some of my lessons as well. You will be up to standard for this, don't worry."

Oh, that wasn't his worry at all. His worry was more along the lines of humiliation, followed by an inquiry – maybe finished up with a lengthy jail term.

"Your responsibilities would be helping other teachers with their workload, monitoring some lessons. Perhaps in some advanced cases shadowing teams on missions as well. You might have your own classes in a few months, but they would be irregular subjects."

"Oh, good, he's more of T.A. than an actual teacher," Blake muttered softly. "That actually makes more logical sense considering the age they think he is, even if he was as skilled as those transcripts said he was."

"Can you give me an example of what subjects you might be thinking?" Jaune asked, half to give him more time to think up excuses, but also so that he could get some bloody studying in on whatever subjects those were!

"I have long wanted to offer a course for those who have experienced a loss or difficult missions. Perhaps on coping in stressful situations, or simply camping. They would be optional courses, and you wouldn't be required to grade or offer exams."

Okay, that didn't sound so bad… if they weren't graded then arguably there was no way to prove he couldn't do the job, was there?

"How wonderfully naïve of you." Ren smiled softly despite the barb at his friend's expense.

"Ren~!"

He wanted to refuse. To explain that he had applied as a student and wanted to become one, be a part of a team… but that wasn't what Jaune Arc, a survivor of Vacuo, would do… he was a leader, a man with standards and confidence, who had survived where others had died. Anything else could reveal him as a fraudster.

"I suppose I don't really have a choice do I?" Jaune joked to the two, while internally his mind screamed in agonized pain.

"Welcome to Beacon, Professor Arc."

Fuck my life.

"Got caught in your lies, now suffer the consequences." Yang grinned as she slapped Jaune on the back. "Great going, Vomit Boy."

"Please stop calling me that."

"Nope!" she popped the P as usual when she was teasing someone else.

Fox coughed once into his hands. "Well, if anyone desires to exit the room for something, now is your chance." He explained kindly. "We may read some more once everyone is ready."

(TO BE CONTINUED)

next chapter will be May 6th