I Became a Kindergarten Teacher for Monster Babies!

Alina placed both hands on her hips and gave them a look. "So no one here is scared, huh?" she said slowly, with a playful glint in her eyes. "Well then… if worm monsters ever do show up, I'll expect all of you to fight them off instead of hiding."

There was a pause.

Then—

"No, Teacher! I am so scared!" Boo suddenly cried, his eyes widening like saucers as he began floating around the desk in tiny, panicked circles. "They wiggle! And squish! Boo doesn't like wiggly things!"

Drake's eyes widened too. "Wait—what?! No! We're not fighting worm monsters, are we?! I didn't sign up for actual fighting!"

"You said you weren't scared!" Luna said sharply, her arms crossed tighter than ever.

"I thought we were just pretending!" Drake shouted.

"Alright, alright," Alina clapped her hands gently, drawing their attention with a soft smile as she stood near the chalkboard. "Let's begin class," she said, her voice light but firm.

Today, the first class was literature—which could only mean one thing: story time.

As soon as she said it, a long collective groan echoed through the room like a wave of dramatic despair.

Alina rolled her eyes fondly. "Oh hush, you dramatic little beans," she muttered under her breath, walking over to her desk. She pulled out her phone, thumb tapping quickly through a folder of PDFs she'd saved days ago, scanning for something fun but not too long. Her eyes brightened when she found the one she wanted, and she gave a tiny approving nod to herself.

When she glanced up again, she found several pairs of eyes already watching her.

"Story time," she said out loud, raising her brows slightly.

Drake immediately perked up like a puppy who just heard the word 'treat,' bouncing slightly in his seat. Luna, who had been sulking earlier with her arms crossed, let the tension ease from her face, the corner of her mouth twitching like she was trying not to look too pleased. Lucian's eyes, which had been staring blankly ahead, now glowed faintly with curiosity, like someone had finally poked the scholar in him awake. Felix just slouched back in his seat, arms crossed, giving her the same look as a cat forced to take a bath.

Sable's entire face lit up—his fingers fidgeting with excitement as he leaned forward slightly. No one ever told him bedtime stories before, not even once. So whenever Alina read to them, he listened with every inch of his little heart.

And Boo, who had been floating lazily near the ceiling, let out a delighted twirl in the air and drifted down quietly, curling up beside Sable like a sleepy cloud.

Even Vlad Jr., with his usual royal disinterest, was watching her closely now.

Just as Alina was about to clear her throat and begin, Drake suddenly flung both hands into the air like someone had set his chair on fire.

"Teacher! Teacher, wait-wait-wait!!" he shouted, nearly sliding off his seat. "What kinda story is it?! Is there a dragon in it?! A big one?! With big wings and fire from the mouth like fooooshhh!!" He made a dramatic explosion motion with both hands.

Alina blinked, trying not to laugh. "Uhh… I don't think so."

Drake gasped, horrified. "No dragon?! What's the point then?! That's not a real story!!" He collapsed face-down on his desk with a loud groan. "Uggghhh I'm gonna fall asleep and drool on everything."

He liked the story teacher told last time but that didn't mean he liked every story. Especially not the ones Miss Clara used to tell—she always told the same boring story again and again, and it nearly bored them all to death.

Suddenly, a cold voice echoed from under her chair.

"Make the dragon eat everyone," Boo whispered, his head peeking through the floor like a sneaky spirit. "Then it's a good story."

Alina jumped a little. "Boo! Don't pop out like that!"

He floated up slowly like a spooky balloon. "Just saying. No dragon? Boring. Dragon eats everything? Perfect."

Drake nodded with full seriousness. "Yes. Big dragon. With shiny eyes and extra sharp butt—uh, I mean—teeth!"

Boo tilted his head. "Did you say butt?"

"I didn't!" Drake yelled, going red. "I mean teeth!! Big scary teeth!!"

Alina sighed and looked between them. "Anyone else want to redesign the plot before I start reading?"

Vlad Jr. calmly raised one eyebrow. "I'm fine with the original, as long as it has taste."

Drake muttered under his breath, "Bet he just wants vampire kisses and sad poems."

"I heard that," Vlad said, not even looking at him.

Alina clapped once. "Okay! Final warning. One more word and I'm telling a story about a broccoli who becomes president."

They all went silent.

"Yuck! I hate broccoli!" Drake blurted out with a scrunched nose and a full-body shudder, like even hearing the word was an insult to his dragonhood.

Luna, who had been silent till now, nodded furiously from her desk. "Yes! I think so too! Meat is best!" she declared, crossing her arms with pride.

Even Kelpie gave a shy nod, his blue hair falling over his eyes as he mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like agreement. Sable, sitting at the far end of the row, slowly nodded his head once.

Rocky gave the tiniest nod, his chin dipping like a sleepy little pebble. Even Lucien, who always seemed too mature to care about such things, gave a small nod of agreement. Then he quickly glanced around, checking to make sure no one had noticed. When he saw that no one was watching, he let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Felix, meanwhile, licked his lips lazily and leaned back in his seat. His mind had clearly wandered back to the delicious roasted meat he'd eaten last night...

Then Vlad Jr., elegant as ever, lifted one finger, tilted his head, and announced with complete seriousness, "Meat... and blood. That's my favorite."

Alina's eyes widened. "Blood?!"

She blinked at him, stunned for a second before remembering—right. Vampire child.

"Vlad Jr., Luna, Drake," Alina said, putting her hands on her hips, "you can't just say things like that in the middle of storytime! What if someone here is vegan?! We have to be considerate!"

Drake tilted his head. "Teacher… who's vegan?"

Alina crossed her arms. "Raise your hand if you're vegan, sweethearts."