I Became a Kindergarten Teacher for Monster Babies!

Kelpie, who was usually soft-spoken and hesitant to raise his voice, startled everyone when his hands came down on the desk with a sharp splash, droplets scattering over his notebook. "T–take that back, Boo!" he stammered, his cheeks flushing a faint pink as the water rippled across his desk.

"Children, children!" Alina stepped in quickly, lifting her hands in a firm gesture of calm. "This is literature class, not a… smell debate."

But Boo wasn't ready to surrender. He floated lazily over Kelpie's desk, leaned in, and took a loud, exaggerated sniff. "Mmm… fresh seaweed."

Kelpie's lips pressed into a thin line before he muttered something under his breath and flicked his fingers. A small splash of water leapt from his palm, hitting Boo squarely on the forehead. Boo yelped and zipped back to his seat, dripping and indignant.

Rocky, sitting nearby with his pencil poised, peered up at Alina. "Teacher… if I write that Kelpie is very… splashy, will he get mad?"

Kelpie's eyes went wide. "R–Rocky! You traitor!"

Before Rocky could respond, Luna slammed her palm on her desk, making her paper jump. "Both of you be quiet! I'm trying to write my essay about ME, and you're ruining it!"

Vlad Jr., still scribbling in his elegant, looping handwriting, didn't even look up. "Perhaps if you wrote poetry instead of a grocery list of insults, Rocky, we could enjoy some peace."

Alina rubbed her temple, reminding herself that she had, in fact, signed up for this job voluntarily. She patted Rocky's head gently. "Sweetheart, maybe you can write that Kelpie is like water—calm sometimes, strong other times. That way, it's more of a compliment."

Rocky tilted his head thoughtfully. "Oh… like a magical pond?"

Kelpie straightened in his chair, shoulders lifting with shy pride. "Y–yes, exactly like that. Write that, Rocky."

Boo, barely able to contain himself, snickered under his breath. "Magical pond of fish smell."

"B–Boo!" Kelpie blurted, standing halfway out of his seat, his face turning red as the entire class burst into uncontrollable giggles.

Then Alina stood up and quietly made her way to Kelpie's desk. At first glance, she noticed he hadn't exactly… started with sentences. Half the page was dominated by a shy, wobbly drawing of a gray oval with stick arms and a smiling face, the lines a little smudged from damp fingers.

She tilted her head, crouching slightly to meet his gaze. "Kelpie… is this Rocky?"

Kelpie's eyes flicked up to hers for a second before darting back to his paper. He gave a tiny, hesitant nod, his voice barely above a whisper. "Y-yes… my best friend's name is Rocky because… um… he is a rock."

Alina pressed her lips together, fighting a smile. "That… is technically true. But maybe you can write more about why you like him?"

Kelpie tapped his pencil against his chin, brows knitting as if this were the most serious problem in the world. After a moment's thought, he began writing in large, crooked letters, his shoulders hunched over the page as he muttered to himself. Alina leaned in to read and had to hide a laugh behind her hand.

He is rock. He is hard. He is strong. I can sit on him. He never sink. He is best rock.

Rocky, overhearing, slowly turned red. "Kelpie… you sit on me?"

Kelpie's head ducked lower, and he gave the tiniest shrug. "S-sometimes, when you're asleep during break… you're comfy."

Boo, who had been pretending to nap in midair, peeked one eye open before bursting into giggles. "Pfft—best friend AND chair! Now that's friendship!"

Rocky groaned, covering his face. "Teacher, can I please change my best friend to someone else?"

Kelpie's head shot up, eyes wide in wounded disbelief. "W-what?! No! You're my rock! You can't change now!"

Luna slammed her pencil down again. "Both of you be quiet! I'm trying to write about ME and how amazing I am!"

Vlad Jr. gave a dramatic sigh without looking up from his notebook. "Perhaps you should appreciate the depth of your bond. If I had a friend who could double as furniture, I would treasure them forever."

Boo, now floating upside down from laughter, wiped a tear from his eye. "Kelpie, write that down—'I cherish my rock because he makes a good table!'"

Kelpie's lips curled into a shy little smile. "O-okay… good idea." He bent over and began scribbling again, tongue sticking out in deep concentration.

Alina sighed, rubbing her forehead but unable to stop the corner of her mouth from lifting. "Alright, sweetheart, maybe also write something about how Rocky is kind… or how he helps you."

Kelpie paused, tapping the pencil thoughtfully. "Oh… yeah. He does help me. He once… pulled me out when I got stuck in the bucket."

For a moment, the class went utterly silent. Then the room exploded in laughter. Rocky muttered into his hands, "You were the one who climbed in there…"

Kelpie just nodded, smiling cutely like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "See? Best rock ever."

Alina shook her head helplessly, a smile tugging at her lips as she made her way over to Sable's desk. He sat hunched over his paper, ears twitching a little, clearly nervous that she might not like what he'd written.

Her heart melted the moment she saw it. At the top of the page, in his uneven, bumpy handwriting, were the words—though some were wobbly and a few letters backwards—my bestfrend is boo. Beneath it was the simplest, most adorable drawing: a little round ghost shape with two dot eyes and a big smile, floating above what looked like scribbly clouds.

Alina crouched down beside him, running her fingers lightly over the page as if it were a treasure. "Aww… Sable, this is so sweet."

Sable ducked his head, cheeks puffing slightly. "Boo always play with me… even when I'm slow at gamz. And he… he make me laaugh w-hen I'm sad."

Boo, who had been pretending not to listen, immediately brightened. He floated over until he was peeking right at the page, his little round face stretching into the biggest grin. "That's me?! You drew me so cute!"

Sable nodded shyly. "You are cute…"