"Science?????" all the babies echoed together, their little faces scrunching up in identical confusion.
Alina chuckled, resting the chalk on the ledge of the board. She caught sight of Drake’s round cheeks puffing as he looked around at everyone with his big innocent eyes, utterly baffled. "What’s this class? When did we have this??" he muttered, as though she had just invented a brand-new subject out of thin air.
"Teacher, I think you’re mistaken!" Boo suddenly declared, floating dramatically in front of her like a tiny lawyer defending his case. "Maybe it’s Play Ti!!!" His eyes sparkled, waiting for her to admit she was wrong.
Even Lucien tilted his head, frowning slightly as though checking his mory. "...We never had science before," he said softly, almost like he was doubting whether he had accidentally skipped a day.
Vlad Jr. adjusted his tiny cape and sniffed, "Science sounds boring. Are you sure this isn’t a prank?"
And Luna narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the word Science on the board, as though it might jump off and bite her.
Alina pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh at their outrage. "No, no, little ones—it really is science class."
"Impossible!!" Boo cried, spinning upside down. His little voice echoed dramatically as he raised his tiny hands. "We never had science class before! Teacher, let Boo tell you the truth!! If it’s play ti, then let us play!!"
"Yes, yes!! We deserve play ti after writing too much!!" Luna chid in, her cheeks puffed angrily. She stomped her little foot for emphasis and crossed her arms.
"Teacher, you can’t fool us!!" Drake said with his chubby cheeks red from outrage. He slapped both his little palms on the desk and gave her the most serious dragon glare he could manage—though the effect was ruined when his nose wrinkled like a pouting puppy.
Kelpie, who had been silently hugging his fish-shaped sponge, gave an eager nod, his big watery eyes wide with determination. "Yes... play..." he said softly, as if he was standing up for the entire water kingdom.
Rocky, sitting stiffly with his hands folded on his desk, nodded too. "I want... pebbles," he muttered shyly. The idea of science sounded far less appealing than playing with his little stone collection.
Even Sable raised his head from his shadows, blinking his big eyes. He nodded once, very solemnly, as if to say, Yes. Teacher is being unfair.
And Felix spoke in the most grown-up voice he could muster. "Teacher, this feels like cheating. My mom says changing the rules without warning is bad manners."
Alina pressed her hand to her forehead, trying not to laugh at their miniature rebellion. She let them grumble for a mont before clapping her hands together. "Enough, little ones! It is not play ti—it’s science ti."
A collective gasp filled the room. Boo clutched his chest and wobbled in midair as though about to faint. "Betrayal!!" he wailed.
Drake looked around at everyone, his lips wobbling. "But... but science sounds scary! Is it like math??"
Alina crouched down to his level, a smile tugging at her lips. "No, sweetheart. Science just ans learning about the world. It’s fun. You’ll see."
"Fun??" Luna squinted at her suspiciously.
"Yes," Alina said patiently. "We’ll ask questions, look at things, and discover how they work. No scary numbers today."
Boo crossed his arms, floating upside down again. "Hmph. Boo doesn’t believe it. If there are numbers hiding in this science, Boo will haunt you."
Alina chuckled, shaking her head. "No, Boo, you don’t need to haunt teacher," she said warmly, then turned to look at all the babies. "But... teacher is a little disappointed. No one noticed the schedule had changed?"
They all blinked back at her in perfect unison, like a row of wide-eyed baby owls caught in the lantern light.
"Really? Not one of you?" Alina pressed, lifting her brows in mock seriousness. "I thought soone would at least say, ’Oh teacher, we have new classes now!’ But instead..." she sighed dramatically, "...all of you were doubting poor teacher, saying I was cheating you out of playti!"
Boo imdiately gasped and pointed a ghostly finger at her. "Teacher admits it!! She says it herself—CHEATING!!" he declared like a lawyer in court, spinning upside down for emphasis.
Drake slamd his chubby hands on his desk. "Yes! Teacher, we trusted you!" His cheeks puffed like an offended little dragon, making Rocky flinch.
Lucien tilted his head, blinking slowly. "...I didn’t doubt teacher," he said softly.
Felix raised his paw-like hand. " neither... but... maybe just a little?"
"See!!" Boo shouted, "the betrayal is real!! Even fox boy agrees!"
Luna growled. "I KNEW teacher was hiding sothing. I sniffed it. I sniff everything."
Alina laughed so hard she had to hide her face behind her hand. "Oh my goodness, you dramatic little ones. Alright, fine—teacher confesses. I changed the schedule. But it’s not cheating. It’s making you all smarter!"
"Smarter?" Vlad Jr. squinted suspiciously, his little princely nose wrinkling. "Smarter at... science? What even is that?"
Boo crossed his arms, floating upside down. "If it doesn’t co with glitter or snacks, Boo refuses to believe in it."
Alina nearly burst out laughing again. These babies...
Alina clapped her hands, straightening her back. "Alright! First of all—teacher did NOT cheat play ti!!"
All the babies froze. Boo gasped dramatically, spinning mid-air. "SHE SAID IT AGAIN!!" he shouted, pointing his ghostly finger at her.
Alina chuckled. "No no no, listen carefully, Boo. Play ti is still there. But now... we also have science ti!"
"Science ti??" Drake repeated suspiciously, his chubby arms crossed. "Sounds boring. Can it breathe fire?"
"No, sweetheart," Alina said with a patient smile. "Science is about learning how the world works. It can be fun. You’ll see."
The babies exchanged doubtful looks. Luna narrowed her eyes. Vlad Jr. sighed dramatically like a little prince forced to eat peas.
Alina reached for two clear cups she had brought from the supply shelf. One was filled with plain water, the other with sugar. She set them on the table, and all the little heads craned forward.
"Now, watch carefully," she said, stirring the sugar into the water. Slowly, the grains disappeared.
"Whaaat?" Kelpie gasped, his watery hair dripping excitedly. "It’s gone!!"
"Exactly!" Alina grinned. "This is science. The sugar didn’t vanish—it mixed with the water."
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