Airwaves Unscripted (PapaMic)

The school day droned on with an almost mocking normalcy.

English class came and went. Math blurred past. Lunchtime was a flurry of chaotic students and the occasional explosion from Bakugo's table.

And I was barely holding it together.

Every time my phone buzzed, my hand twitched towards it. But I couldn't check it. Not here. Not when any sign of nerves would send a ripple of concern through the kids.

Aizawa's eyes cut to me more than once. Always quick, always subtle. The way he did when he was reading the room. I shot him a grin every time. A little too wide. A little too bright.

He saw right through it.

But he didn't push. Just gave a slight nod and turned back to Hitoshi, who was trying and failing to convince Kaminari to not eat lunch on the roof again.

At least someone's having a normal day.

Meanwhile, I was vibrating with every bit of energy I had, pretending I wasn't one wrong move away from screaming into the intercom system.

Present Mic can't have a bad day.
Heroes can't have bad days.

The kids looked to us like we had it all together—like we knew what we were doing.

I couldn't crack, or they would.

So, I put on the act. Louder, brighter, jokes a little too forced but no one seemed to notice.

Except one.

Izuku's eyes caught mine across the cafeteria. Wide and worried, but trying to look anything but. The kid laughed at Kirishima's joke a beat too late, smile strained.

And I hated it.

Hated that he was pretending too.

His eyes darted to his phone every few minutes. Never opened it. Just stared like he was begging it to light up with good news.

I knew the feeling.

I ran a hand through my hair, forcing a laugh as Snipe made some joke about radio frequencies I couldn't even process.

It was fine. It had to be.

Then the phone in my pocket buzzed again.

I fought the urge to flinch.

Aizawa's eyes flickered, but he kept his attention on Hitoshi and Kaminari's argument about whether pigeons or crows were better survivors in urban environments.

(Aizawa's never gonna let that die, is he?)

I excused myself with a laugh, making some joke about caffeine and no one questioned it.

Slipped out into the hall, back pressed against the wall, and pulled my phone out with hands that shouldn't have been shaking.

One new message.

Tsukauchi:
Update soon. Hold tight.

I exhaled, shoulders sagging.

That wasn't... bad. Not good either, but no news meant things hadn't gotten worse.

We can work with this.

I rubbed at my temple, letting my head knock back against the wall.

"God, I need more coffee."

But I couldn't just stay here. I forced a breath, pushed off the wall, and slid my phone back into my pocket.

By the time I was back in the teacher's lounge, the grin was plastered on my face again.