"Well then." Headmaster King said, staring at the slip that he drew.
"If things don't work out, I will work something out with the TA's, sir." Amet replied. "I'm sure that some of them will gladly assist the new teachers."
The Headmaster nodded, putting the slip of paper aside. Now that he had the foundation, the rest sorted itself out.
Another busy day for the working adults…
-----
One week later
All was well with the world. No Monster incursion, no terrorist attack, no countries going to war with one another over the pettiest reason, and most importantly, the students have arrived on time.
Returnees and newcomers alike walked through the courtyard of the majestic adventurer school. Idle chitchats and gossips reverberated throughout the courtyard, youngsters frolicking around with nary a care in the world. However, there was an edge in this seemingly ordinary atmosphere, the undercurrent of worry and unease that seemed to seep into a conversation every now and then.
There were dark words flowing about, a foreboding omen to the more superstitious students. Sightings of an unsupervised Monster in the academy.
This tension grew. Hushed whispers and muffled footsteps, talks of Monster infiltrating the campus spread. Of a creature made of putrid, rotten flesh and vile tentacles, loitering by the school's garden.
Words quickly spread, first by a student who came very early to class, then a pair of gossiping girls, to a boy drinking some suspicious liquid, and finally to the students dispersing from the ballroom. The more curious and reckless of the students however took it upon themselves to find out if the rumor was true.
You really don't know what was up with that rumor. Or the concept of rumors actually, now that you think about it. Rumors were a strange alien concept to you. You really don't get why mortals feel the needs to talk about things other people are doing, rather than doing it themselves. But enough of that, you have not fully grasp the subtleties of a conversation, so you were not going to dwell on it.
Instead, you were going to water these beautiful plants before attending the entrance ceremony.
"Holy shit, are you seeing this right now, man?"
"Yeah, what the hell, did Franken let loose one of his creations again?"
"Nah, can't be, dude was fired, remember? "
"Oh yeah, I heard about that. So it was really true that King rooted out a bunch of teachers, huh. Man, what a bummer, Miss Qilin was hot too."
"Yeah… I'm going to miss her. Anyway, looks like that thing doesn't even know that we're here. Let's get a little closer…"
Putting that aside, you were really enjoying being out here in the sunlight. It was not something you could really do these past few...days? Or was it weeks? Maybe even months? Who knows, it was definitely an extended stretch of time. Anyways, Assistant Headmaster Amet had requested that you hid your presence until the time is right. What with your aesthetics, you saw no points in refuting it, so you agreed. Now that it was the start of the semester, you can finally come out of the containment facility.
You noticed that your watering can just went empty. Oh deary, it seemed that you still were not used to this plane. Things were finite around here after all. Look liked it was time for a refill.
"Quick, it's getting away! Take pictures while it hasn't seen us yet!"
Your lower tendrils slithered across the warm green grass, students stepping aside for you as you make your way to the fountain. Such nice and respectful boys and girls. You really did the make right choice to come teach here.
"Oh gods, what is it doing? Is it trying to poison the water supply?"
"Someone, go get Mister Eagle! We have a crisis on our hand!"
"It was the government, I tell you! They're putting chemicals in the water to pollute our minds and bodies. They're going to turn us into Monsters!"
"Shut up, dumbass. And stop hanging around that stupid janitor, only bullshit spews out of that guy's mouth."
Oh, what a lively bunch! Even if they were talking about a bunch of nonsense. You supposed that this was how adolescents communicated with one another. It was somewhat interesting actually. According to your studies, mortals acted like buffoons at a certain age period, but then spontaneously lose most of that trait later in their life. So, in a way, you were observing a sacred ritual that will become obsolete in time.
Looking carefully at the brim of your watering can, you saw that it was full. You poked a finger in. The water moved under your touch, swaying back and forth. Satisfied with the amount of water, you slithered back to the garden.
"Wait, is it just watering plants? Boring."
"Ughh, what a waste of time. I'm leaving."
"Man, we missed it."
"Missed what? We came and saw the walking tentacle thing everyone was talking about. All it did was water some plants. It's actually pretty interesting though, seeing something that looks like an abomination doing menial tasks."
"I get you. But nah, it's something else. Apparently, some chick saw a half-naked werewolf running around, with three other half-dressed dudes trailing him."
"What."
"Yeah, man. Got even more news, get this. Seems like the chick passed out, she said it was because of the overwhelming odor of alcohol on the werewolf."
"Woah. What a legend."
"I know, right? Looks like some dudes were partying hard on campus-ground. The Assistant Headmaster isn't going to be happy about this."
"Shit, do you know who they are?"
"Nope, my source is telling me that they're new around here. Not sure if they're transfer or freshman though. Either way, those guys have got some balls on them."
"Mad respect, yo."
Wow, they were still chattering. Such a lively bunch indeed. You hoped that the students under your care were just as lively. Everyone was so full of energy around here, very different from your home plane. Life here seemed fun!
"Excuse me. May I have a moment of your time?" A smooth, gentlemanly voice called out to you.
"Yes. How can I help you?" You replied, craning your pale, fleshy neck towards the man.
"Ah, such a melodious and lovely voice, there is only one person you can be. Miss Belingula, I would like to introduce myself, I am Niall, I teach the Dungeoneering course in this fine academy." The tall, gaunt man said. Now that you can actually see him, he appeared as what his voice suggested.
A gentleman, even if his limbs were longer and thinner than they should be. Dressed in a high quality suit, the man was the pinnacle of fashion.
However, his most notable feature was not his sense of style. Rather, it was his head.
Or lack of one.
Where his head should be was an elegant treasure chest. A treasure chest with rows of very sharp teeth. A treasure chest that was chomping down on his neck.
You can clearly see the drool dripping down from its mouth.
Must be a fashion statement.
"Oh, thank you. I've been working on my vocal cords. It took quite some tries before I've got it to a satisfactory level." You said, pointing to your neck. "Nice to meet you, Niall. You can call me Gigi. How come I've never seen you around until now?"
"I was unfortunately preoccupied with a task the Headmaster gave me. That was why I wasn't there for the welcoming party for you and the others." Niall said, a shadowy limb crawled out of the treasure's gaping maw, taking a napkin from his breast pocket and dabbed some drools off from his suit. "However, I have heard of you from our fellow colleagues, and I knew that I have to meet you."
"Hm?" You asked, rotating the rest of your body.
"Yes, to finally have someone like myself on the staff. If you need any help adjusting to normal society, you can come to me anytime. You can find me in my classroom, Class 2-B." Once the shadowy limb had finished cleaning up, it retreated back into the treasure chest with a slurp.
"Oh! Thank you for the offer. But I thought I was the only one that came here…" You tilted your head in curiosity. You were quite sure that the others weren't interested in this plane.
"We may not come from the same place, but your situation is quite similar to mine when I first started here." Niall said, voice sombre.
"Ah, I see. You didn't mean it literally." You nodded at this astounding revelation.
"Quite." Niall chuckled. The treasure chest chuckled too. "Although, I did not see you during the entrance ceremony; in fact, I only saw that Yao fellow out of the new hires. Pleasant man, if a bit of a handful."
"Wasn't it supposed to start at 8 o'clock?" You asked, putting down the watering can.
"That was forty minutes ago, Gigi." The dapper man sighed in exasperation.
"But that's...." You looked up to the bright, orange celestial object to determine Nexus's relative position and angle. "Oh! You're right! Sorry, I am still not used to here."
"It's fine. I was like that too once upon a time." Your colleague waved off your concern. "Anyways, it's getting quite late for us teachers to loiter around here. Class is about to start soon. It was nice meeting you, Gigi. I wish you the best of luck."
"You too, Niall."
The Dungeoneering teacher waved farewell, taking his leave. You returned his wave. The treasure chest waved back with its shadowy pseudopod.
What an interesting man.
You pushed the flesh in your back outward. Muscles and tendons pulsing as bones calcified and broke at a rapid pace. Veins and arteries extended into the budding appendages. Flesh molding, keratin overlaying, skin membranes stretching, and boness thickening. Finally, you made yourself a pair of wings!
You stretched them out, flapping as you lift yourself off the ground. Once in the air, you continued to rise. Gaining elevation until you reached a sufficient height. You looked for your assigned classroom, angling your body towards it.
With a resounding crash, you entered the classroom.
And all at once, eyes turned toward you.
And you looked back.
A strange scene greeted you. Actually, it wasn't a scene. It was a multitude of events, all acting in tandem to one another.
A well-dressed boy with glasses was quite close to a pale, fanged girl, teeth and fangs baring as if they're going to bite each other's face off. Three other students was behind the glasses-wearing boy, making exaggerated movements and gestures.
A dangerous delinquent boy was lifting a smiling boy by the collar of his uniform. Two weak looking boys and a mousy girl cower behind the perpetual smiler.
A spiky haired boy playing a card game with another student, a boy who seemed to be made of nothing but muscles.
A handful of students seated in the back row, trying to pretend that none of this was happening. Judgemental glares and looks of contempts were thrown around. An elegant, blonde girl casted the coldest piercing gaze of all.
A shifty-looking boy immersed in his magazine, on its cover was a picture of a crossbow. There was a girl hovering over him. The boy was in his own little world, he didn't even notice that the girl was staring at him intensely.
Huddled together in a group, another set of students were chatting and typing on their mobile handheld devices. They talked rather loudly to drown out the commotion.
An eyepatched girl dressed in a modified uniform stood at the front of the class, on top of your desk no less, about to scream something with her finger pointed towards the ceiling. It seemed that you interrupted what she was going to say.
In this chaotic scenery, everyone stopped what they were doing and gave you their full undivided attention.
You rose to your full height and took in the scene. Everyone was so chock full of energy, you can already tell that it was going to be a great year!
But first, you need to address...
[] The eyepatched girl standing on your desk. From your studies on mortals, you knew that standing on furniture was a rude and bad behavior that should be frowned upon. Proper decorums and socially-accepted behaviors must be enforced, lest your students become lowlife scums!
[] The angry delinquent and his violent impulses. It was in the teacher's manual and school's policy that bullying is prohibited. You need to mete out the proper punishment upon this boy before he starts hanging around the wrong crowd.
[] The argument between the pale girl and the glasses wearing boy. This particular scene seemed familiar to you somehow. Ah yes, it was from your studies on romance. It seemed that this couple was having some issues and decided to air out the dirty laundry in public, so to say. However, you were having none of that, not in your classroom at least. That couple should resolve their issue without dragging everyone along with it.
[] The issue of the students bringing out distracting items, like cards and mobile handheld devices, in the middle of class. As an educator you will not tolerate the students being this disrespectful! Well, that was what the teacher's manual recommended for you to do in this situation.
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And teacher's profile updated~
