Alina took a quiet breath to steady herself. Is he really going to sit here all day? she thought, sneaking a quick glance toward the back where Dante sat like a carved statue—calm, unreadable, and very much there.
She quickly turned back to the board and erased the previous lesson, her fingers trembling ever so slightly as she wrote in big, clear letters: MATH CLASS.
The reaction was imdiate.
Boo, who had just recovered from his earlier tragedy, suddenly swayed dramatically in midair as if struck by an invisible force. "Uhhh... Boo’s vision... going dark..." he moaned, clutching his chest and spinning slowly like a dying leaf. He even stuck out his tongue for effect.
Normally, Alina would have laughed, but she could feel Dante’s piercing crimson eyes on the back of her head. So she coughed, composing herself, and said sternly, "Boo, please stay conscious at least until the first problem."
Boo floated upright at once, straight as a stick. "Yes, Teacher," he said in the faintest, most pitiful voice, like a soldier accepting his tragic fate.
anwhile, Drake sat slumped over his desk, glaring daggers at his math notebook. The betrayal was too much. First, he had been humiliated by having to write for Luna, and now—now—it was math again. Numbers. The natural enemies of dragons.
He gripped his pencil like a sword and growled under his breath, "Why does every day feel like war?"
Luna, sitting beside him, flicked her tail smugly. "Because you never study," she whispered without even looking up from her page.
Drake’s head snapped toward her, his amber eyes blazing. "You started this war, Wolfie. Don’t forget that."
Alina turned, sensing the energy shift, and gave him the look—the one that said, one more word and no snack ti for you. Drake imdiately straightened up, innocent as an angel, holding his pencil like a halo prop.
Boo leaned over to whisper dramatically to Vlad Jr., "He’s been defeated by Teacher’s stare."
Vlad didn’t even glance up. "A fate worse than being grounded," he murmured dryly.
Alina sighed softly, fighting her smile. The babies had no idea that while she was trying to appear confident in front of them, her mind was still panicking about the powerful demon lord sitting behind her—watching everything.
She picked up the chalk again and said, as brightly as she could manage, "Alright, everyone! Let’s start with sothing simple."
Drake groaned quietly, Boo whimpered, and even Luna pretended to faint this ti, her tail twitching in mock agony.
"Today," Alina said, tapping the board with her chalk, "we’re going to learn about ti. It’s a very important concept that you’ll use for the rest of your lives."
The babies nodded, pretending to understand. So even looked unusually serious, which made Alina slightly suspicious.
"Now," she continued, "who can tell what ti is?"
Lucien, always calm and collected, raised his hand first. "It’s what we use to know when sothing happens," he said confidently.
"Exactly!" Alina said proudly. "Like when to wake up, when to eat, or when school starts."
Boo nodded wisely. "So... ti is what tells when I’m hungry."
Alina chuckled. "Kind of, Boo, but your stomach does that too."
Drake, sitting with his arms folded, raised his hand lazily. "Teacher, I already know ti. Morning ans food, afternoon ans food, and evening ans food. See? I mastered it."
The whole class laughed, and Boo started clapping dramatically. "Drake is a genius!"
Luna rolled her eyes. "You forgot one—nightti ans you snore so loud even ghosts can’t sleep."
"Luna!!" Drake shouted, his face turning red as everyone giggled.
"Alright, alright," Alina said, trying not to laugh. "Let’s focus. Ti is asured with hours and minutes. Look up—see the clock? When the short hand moves, it ans the hour changes, and the long hand moves to show minutes."
Kelpie squinted up at the clock, his head tilting. "So when it spins, that ans class ends?"
"Not yet," Alina said teasingly, and he sighed dramatically.
anwhile, Boo floated up closer to the clock and whispered, "Move faster, please..."
"Boo!" Alina said, trying to sound stern but failing to hide her laughter. "You can’t ask the clock to move faster."
"But Teacher," Boo said, spinning in midair, "it’s so slow! I think ti is lazy!"
Rocky raised his hand shyly. "U-um... what if the clock stops? Does that an ti stops too?"
Alina smiled softly. "No, sweetheart. Ti never stops. It always keeps moving forward."
Drake’s eyes widened. "Even when I sleep?"
"Yes," Alina nodded.
He gasped dramatically. "So I’m losing ti while sleeping?! Nooo! I’ll never nap again!"
"Good," Luna muttered, "then maybe I’ll finally sleep in peace."
The class burst into laughter again, and Alina shook her head, her heart full.
At the back of the classroom, Dante sat silently, his arms folded, eyes glinting with quiet amusent.
Alina smiled patiently at their endless chatter, her chalk tapping rhythmically against the board. "Alright, alright, settle down now," she said softly, her tone kind but firm. "Let’s focus again. Ti helps us organize our day. It tells us when to do sothing and how long it takes."
Boo raised his little ghost hand, his expression serious. "Teacher, I think my ti moves faster than others! Every ti you say, ’just five more minutes,’ it feels like five hours!"
The class burst out laughing, and even Alina giggled, shaking her head. "That’s because you get bored too quickly, Boo."
Drake smirked. "No, it’s because ghosts don’t have patience. They float around too much to count properly."
Boo spun toward him, offended. "Excuse , Mister Fire-Breath! At least I don’t burn Teacher’s chair!"
"Hey! That was one ti!" Drake shouted, slamming his hands on his desk. "And it was an accident!"
Luna sighed dramatically, flicking her tail. "You two argue more than my pack babies. Teacher, can you tell ti to move faster until this class ends?"
"Luna!" Alina said with an amused smile. "You’ll thank later when you learn how important this lesson is. Now—everyone look at the clock again." She drew a simple round clock on the board with big numbers, adding two hands. "This small hand here tells the hour, and the big hand tells the minutes. When both move, ti passes."
Reviews
All reviews (0)