I Became a Kindergarten Teacher for Monster Babies!

"I am not absent," Vlad Jr. said with icy dignity, appearing from behind his desk with his tiny embroidered handkerchief in hand. "I was simply… preserving my elegance." He dusted imaginary specks off his uniform and gave Boo a pointed glare.

"See? Absent!!" Boo teased, giggling loudly.

Luna growled under her breath, already annoyed. "Boo, stop being stupid. Teacher didn't mean that kind of absent."

Alina couldn't help it—she laughed, shaking her head. "Alright, alright, enough. Boo, stop making everyone 'absent.' Vlad Jr. is here. Drake is here. Everyone is here."

"Even Boo?" Boo asked with innocent eyes, tilting his head dramatically.

"Yes, even Boo," Alina said with a sigh, though her lips twitched with amusement. "Now, can we please start attendance properly?"

The babies nodded, though Drake was still mumbling about being falsely accused.

***

"First class—Math time!!" Alina said cheerfully, tapping the chalk against the board.

A chorus of groans filled the classroom immediately.

"Teacher!! No one likes math here, can you change it!!!" Drake said pitifully, his big amber eyes sparkling dramatically. He even held his chubby cheeks in both hands and leaned on his desk like a painting of pure misery.

Cuteness attack, Alina thought, pressing her lips together to stop a smile. But nope, that wasn't going to work on her. "Nice try, Drake. But no! Everyone take out your notebook and pencil."

The room filled with tiny sighs and reluctant shuffles as notebooks opened and pencils were picked up. Boo floated lazily above his desk and let his notebook flop onto it with exaggerated effort. "Boo's arms are tired already! Too much writing yesterday!" he wailed.

"Then float less and write more," Alina said, chuckling as she wrote a few problems on the board: 5 + 2, 1 + 5, 5 – 4…

Felix peeked at the board, ears twitching nervously, before burying his face in his notebook. "If I write this down… my mom better not eat it this time," he muttered so seriously that Alina almost burst out laughing.

Rocky carefully picked up his pencil, holding it stiffly in both hands as if it were a sword. "I will… defeat these numbers," he whispered.

"Rocky, sweetheart, it's just subtraction," Alina encouraged gently.

Meanwhile, Vlad Jr. sighed, flipping open his pristine notebook like a true aristocrat. "Simple arithmetic… beneath me. But fine. I shall indulge." His little fangs poked out as he pouted but still began scribbling neatly.

On the other side, Luna had already shifted to wolf form and was poking the notebook with her nose. "How do I write like this, teacher?!" she growled, then turned back into her human self, cheeks puffed up. "It's unfair!"

Alina chuckled, crouching by her. "Hands work better than paws, sweetheart. Try again."

Then Alina made a slow round around the classroom, bending beside each tiny desk. She peeked into notebooks, her heart melting at their crooked numbers and shaky little sums. To her delight, most of them had actually gotten their answers right.

"Very good, Felix!" she said warmly, tapping his page with her finger. Felix's red eyes lit up instantly. That small praise made him glow brighter than glitter.

Sable quickly ducked his head down, pretending not to want praise, but he peeked up hopefully through his fringe of hair. Boo leaned sideways over him, whispering dramatically, "Don't worry, teacher will call your name too… unless she forgets you forever!"

"Boo!" Alina scolded with a laugh, shaking her head.

Once she returned to her desk, she let them keep working quietly. Pencils scratched, pages flipped, and little sighs escaped here and there. But by halfway through the class, she could see their faces drooping—Luna was tapping her pencil against her cheek with a scowl, Drake was sprawled dramatically across his desk groaning "too many numbers," and Kelpie was absentmindedly drawing tiny fishes in the corner of his page instead of solving.

Alina bit her lip to hide a smile. They were trying, but the boredom was real.

So she clasped her hands together and raised her voice just enough to make them all perk up. "Alright! Anyone who solves all the problems correctly will get…" She paused for effect, eyes twinkling. "…Sweets!"

The reaction was instant.

Drake shot upright so fast his chair nearly tipped. "SWEETS?!" His voice rose in excitement.

"Boo wants ALL the sweets!!" Boo declared, spinning in circles mid-air and almost knocking Rocky's pencil from his hand.

"My handwriting just improved by fifty percent," Vlad Jr. muttered seriously, already writing faster, his aristocratic pride not allowing him to lose.

Luna's golden-brown eyes lit up like fireflies, and she slammed her tiny fist on the desk. "I WILL WIN!!" she growled, scribbling furiously, her pencil squeaking across the page.

Kelpie stopped drawing fishes, gasping softly. "Sweet… sugar… candy?" He blinked dreamily, then immediately got back to solving with renewed determination.

Even shy Rocky, still halfway a pebble, wiggled enough to jot down his sums quickly.

Alina leaned back in her chair, lips curved into a smile as she watched the sudden spark of energy ignite the whole class. Nothing worked quite like the magic word: sweets.

And as she looked around the classroom, Alina couldn't help but smile. Every child had their head bent over their books, faces scrunched up in determination. It was as if they had all been electrocuted with sudden energy.

The sight was both adorable and amusing.

"Alright," she said warmly, clapping her hands once for attention, "one by one, each of you will come here and show Teacher your book. Whoever has tried to solve all the questions will get a sweet!"

The class instantly buzzed with excitement. Boo raised both hands dramatically like he had already won, Luna muttered something about proving she was smarter than Drake, and Felix hugged his notebook tightly to his chest as if someone might steal his answers.

"Starting from Drake," Alina announced with a chuckle.

Drake shot up from his seat, his amber eyes sparkling as he bounced forward. "Teacher, teacher! Look, I finished all of it!" he said eagerly, clutching his little notebook like it was treasure. His steps were so hurried that he nearly tripped, but he caught himself, cheeks flushing red before quickly handing the book over to her.

Alina took the notebook carefully, her lips curving as she flipped through the pages. His handwriting was messy, numbers sprawling like they were running off the lines, but the effort was all there. He had tried every single question, even the tricky ones. A few answers were wrong, but she could see the energy and focus in each attempt.