"So it seems just about everybody got this question wrong on last week's test. Can anyone answer it now?"

Sebastian clicked his mouse and sent a new slide onto the projector. His classroom sat in silence, and he was already anticipating going home for a drink. Of the thirty-nine students in his religious studies class, fourteen were obviously hungover, three seemed to still be drunk, two were asleep (or very close to being asleep), eight were on their cell phones, and the rest were...well, he wasn't sure. Smiling even though he was dead inside, newly-appointed Professor Michaelis stood up and stepped to his podium.
"Anybody? Does anyone even care, come on now I know that at least two of you are just pretending to be hungover this is an afternoon class and you are not exactly theater majors."
The only one to react was a blonde girl he had long forgotten the name of, who glanced up from her not-so-discreet tweeting under her desk.
"Alois, please, at least give it a shot."
The young man he selected looked up from his phone and crossed his legs the other way. He squinted at the question on the slide before looking to the exasperated professor who stared desperately, a few strands of usually sleek black hair loose and frazzled. He rested a hand over his collarbone innocently.
"I'm afraid I'm not sure. I must have gotten that question wrong."
His voice was singsong, like he had forgotten he was no longer at his retail job.
Somebody sneezed.
Alois turned his phone back on, and shifted back in his seat. Sebastian could feel his nails digging into the wood of the podium, and released it with a sigh.
"Look, I know angels are really boring. Trust me, I do know. You all only have to take this class once, I have to live it until I retire or get switched to another course. Angels suck. But we can't move on to demons until we understand angels, and I promise demons are way cooler to talk about. There's all that gore and trickery and people getting their faces burnt off and whatever else it is kids are being normalized to nowadays, but we need to get through angels first." One of the clearly drunk students looked up at the board and actually read the question, but Sebastian could see that he had no intention of answering, so he turned to his foolproof option. "Ciel, please. Which of these angels does not belong with the others, and why? And don't tell me you don't know because you got a perfect score on this test."
The boy he called out glanced up and slowly straightened in his seat, reading the board over with his exposed eye. Without a doubt, this was Sebastian's favorite student, not because he cared about the class- it was clear to anyone he had less than zero fucks to give- but because he did all of his assignments in a manner anyone could understand while still being intelligent. He had the best scores in the class, and could probably have directly rivaled his professor in knowledge of the superstitious world. Plus, he was really cute.
"Oh, uh... Sariel. He doesn't belong because he isn't an archangel- he isn't even a monotheistic angel, actually. He's a Grecian one...a cherub, I think."
"Absolutely correct! Wonderful!" Professor Michaelis almost cried in relief, though he knew Ciel would answer beautifully. The boy nodded his head, already moving back to carelessness as he began to doodle idly in his notebook once more, his grayish hair hiding his face. He didn't see his professor's slightly disappointed look; though Ciel may have been the best student in his class, he was probably the least interactive. Which was a shame in his professor's eyes, too, as Ciel really was exceptionally attractive, in spite of having an eyepatch that was poorly hidden beneath his uneven hair. He didn't know a thing about Ciel except what he had told the class on the first day, when Sebastian had gone around the room and called people out to learn their names and something to remember them by.
He had liked Ciel almost on contact, even though he didn't even look like he was paying attention. He sat with a notebook in his lap, writing furiously with his left hand, his right holding his hair away from the left side of his face so he could see better. He'd stiffened, when his name had been called, and threw a wary glance around the room before standing obediently. It was the only time he had actually looked at his professor; stared right through him and answered each question Sebastian had been planning to ask, and in perfect order.
"My name is Ciel Phantomhive, I'm studying for a major in human history, I transferred to America from Britain, where I've spent the last two years. Yes, I'm wearing my private school uniform, I put in on out of habit and realized my mistake when I got to class, no I'm not always dressed up."
He sat back down and pulled his notebook into his lap. Sebastian opened his mouth, and Ciel responded before he had even asked. "I was in London, when in Britain, and it's about as interesting as its stereotype." Sebastian had stood in stunned silence for a moment before calling on the next student, but missed what she said anyway. He kept glancing back to the previous one, who had lost interest in what was happening around him. Seeing an eyepatch wasn't common and was cause for enough interest, but he didn't address it himself at all. His skin was pale, to be expected from living somewhere like London, and he had a fairly strong accent, but Sebastian had no idea where he would have studied from to have a uniform like the one he wore. He didn't wear it again, but he never dressed casually. Sebastian wished some of his other students could have the same level of professionalism; if he had to see Alois' booty shorts and high heels for the rest of the course, suicide wouldn't be a coward's option.
From then on, it never seemed like Ciel was listening at all in class, and his professor was inclined to believe he wasn't, but he completed every assignment perfectly and on time, literally the only one in his class. It wasn't like Sebastian was a bad teacher, it was that nobody liked religious studies.
That class dragged on and on. Sebastian hated himself for giving his students a test they almost all failed; he hated his students for not studying. By the time they were dismissed, four had fallen asleep, woken by the stirring of the students around them. Sebastian sat at his desk with pen in hand, noting the nature of the questions so many students had gotten wrong. He glanced up when he heard a hush in what he had assumed was an empty room. Ciel was sitting primly, hands together in front of him, and another student was standing over him. Sebastian didn't recognize the back of the person's head, but they were leaned over Ciel, whispering furiously and swiftly to him. Sebastian was about to intervene when the unknown student straightened, took Ciel's notebook, and left, keeping their head down and closing the door with a snap. Ciel watched them go, and then stood. Was he shaking? He pulled his bag over his shoulder silently, and headed out of the room.
"Is everything alright?" Professor Michaelis asked primly to Ciel's back, his hand on the door.
He paused, and his head raised.
"Just fine." His voice was curt, as it was none of his business. He opened the door and had stepped out before he paused again.
"Thank you." The door clicked shut. Sebastian stared at it for a moment, before turning back to his work. He went home not long after, and almost forgot the ordeal entirely.