First Class

Mr. Daisy meets the class he will be substituting for a year. Though a group of kids called The Three Terrors want to drive him away

“I think you’re going to be a perfect fit for this classroom.”

          Two figures walked side by side in a school hallway, one was slightly slouched while the other towered over passersby, perfect posture, loud to the eyes.

          The one who suddenly spoke up was an elderly woman in her late fifties. Agatha Reed: elementary school principal.

          Agatha had grey, proper hair wrapped in a knot bun. The rectangle rimless glasses gave a boost of wisdom, complimenting the years of experience that displayed on her wrinkled face. She wore a long, puffy, maroon dress, dotted all over with black, beetle-like buttons. The dress that was free of dirt and dust traveled down to her ankles, nearly meeting her black oxfords.

          The larger-than-life man she was referring to sported a navy-blue, button-up, flannel shirt. Around his legs, blue jeans, and at his feet were red and white sneakers. Underneath his flannel shirt was a plain white tea that peaked out at his collar. His sleeves were rolled up past his elbows, his shirts formed tightly around his torso and arms.

          The bald man’s emerald eyes were sunken in the shadows of his face, the look of a mob boss. Below his wide nose was a thick, auburn mustache. The width of his shoulders could be compared to two men standing side-by-side. Every muscle bulged, a shaved gorilla. The man’s structure and size looked too large to be natural as if his body were sculpted by an artist trying to make a golem out of muscle and flesh.

          Yes, he was intimidating, but one thing stood out from this behemoth of a human. On the top of his bald head, around the center of it, was a flower. The stem of this flower grew directly out of his skin. The delicate, yellow petals folded to the shape of a tulip.

          “Most of the children are well behaved... but we do have a trio that us faculty members like to refer to as ‘The Three Terrors.’ They love to get into a lot of trouble with those schemes and pranks of theirs.” Agatha laughed, loosely covering her lips with her hand. “Ms. White is not here today due to a family emergency and, as you know, our other kindergarten teacher retired just last week. So, I appreciate you coming in to substitute sooner than intended.”

          The giant listened to her closely, absorbing every word without saying a single one himself. He replied to her with a glace and a small nod.

          The building where those two chatted was Blue Diamond Elementary, a public school in the small city of Almond Bay. Almond Bay, a port city, resided on the east coast of the United States. To the northwest of Almond Bay, miles and miles of forest, and to the southeast, the vast ocean where fisherman and boats ventured in and out every day.

          The year: 1992.

          Agatha Reed has been principal here for nearly fifteen years, a true pillar that kept this public school stable and supported for two and a half decades. Her wisdom and extreme confidence left nothing to be desired when looking for a proper leader in academics.

          The giant glanced to either side of the hallway, bouncing his shady eyes back and forth. The white, brick walls had been decorated with drawings that the kindergarten class had made, positioned at random, all were askew. Agatha smelled his curiosity and was eager to enlighten him on these creations.

          “Mmmm, yes, the class had a simple drawing assignment recently. The only criterion was they had to draw how they would see themselves in the future." Grasping one of the drawings, she gently pulled it off the wall to show the giant. A pearl white paper scrawled in colored pencil. "Emily here wants to be president, a basketball player, and a wrestler all at once. Isn't she a go-getter? Kids, so much energy and boundless imagination.”

          The man nodded, the flower swayed with his head movement. He leaned in to get a closer look at the variety of drawings. Football player, doctor, princess, and superhero; all standard stuff that kids imagine to be. Three unique pictures caught the substitute teacher's eyes. Zombie apocalypse, nuclear warfare, and a giant killer robot being piloted by a mad scientist.

          “I bet you can guess who drew those,” Agatha chortled.

         

***

 

          In the classroom, the children had just entered and are storing away their bags, lunch boxes, and shoes. Under normal circumstances, they would be greeted by Ms. White with a cheery, warm smile as they passed through the doorway. But this time, was no greeting, nor a teacher for that matter.

          One of the last students to enter the classroom was a girl with crimson, messy hair down to her shoulders. Her porcelain cheeks were lightly dotted with freckles, soaring above those were two green eyes.

          Kari: leader of the Three Terrors; kindergartener. An energetic lass who can be stubborn to a fault. A trickster that has made adults watch their backs since she was able to waddle on her own two feet.

          When she saw the room filled with only children, such as herself, her tired face morphed into a sinister smile, as if she were a wild beast who just caught the scent of blood in the air.

          We have a substitute today. I can feel it, she thought to herself. Her mind filled immediately with a list of sinister pranks the Terrors could deploy on the unfortunate substitute. Pranking Ms. White was against the Three Terror’s rules; in fact, it was their only rule. She was much too kind, Kari would feel guilty upon making her upset. All the other teachers were fair game.

          Especially, the substitutes.

          Blue Diamond Elementary was infamous in the substitute teacher community. The school was often called a beast, chewing up and spitting out unprepared substitutes. The severity of pranks grew the longer they stayed. Beginning with a simple water bucket above the doorway trick then slowly increasing in creativity and malice. One such teacher ran away screaming when she discovered her car filled with frogs.

          “Hehehe.” Kari rubbed her hands together. “I’ve thought of a great one to start with, a classic!”

          The crimson-haired girl scanned the room for her usual partners in crime. They were certainly already in the classroom�"Kari was “last one in, first one out” when it came to attending class.

          Quickly locating her friends, she approached their backs, placed her small hands on either of their equally small shoulders, and forced herself between them. The boy and girl turned towards Kira’s uncomfortably close face, easily able to count every freckle on her cheeks.

          “Substitute,” She whispered, bouncing her leer evenly between the two. “We are launching project ‘foot disintegration.’”

          The girl, Diya, was dark-skinned with ivory, white hair. Her eyes were a rustic red, face like a doll, unwavering in expression. She was intelligent and spoke logically for a six-year-old.

          The boy, Troy, had a peach hue with cobalt hair. His eyes were dark blue, harmonized with the tint of his hair. An artistic boy who always kept his cool.

          Diya and Troy nodded in sync, more than prepared to follow their leader's command. They dispersed like soldiers on a mission. Troy took out the backpack he had just stored minutes before, unzipped it, and after a bit of rummaging produced a bottle of glue. Diya beelined to where the toy bins were shelved, grabbing a bin that contained plastic building blocks.

          The soldiers returned to their respected commander who was doodling on a white sheet of paper, drawing up the plan of attack. The Three Terrors were ready for war.

 

***

 

          Agatha and the ogre-like substitute reached the closed door of the classroom. Class started several minutes ago but the actual teaching was delayed. Agatha was often thorough when it came to introducing the ins and outs of Blue Diamond Elementary. Also, whether it was a test, or she had a much more sadistic side, she knew that the Three Terrors were going to set up a trap for the green substitute and she was curious about his response.

          Kari’s trap was one the Terrors have implemented numerous times. “Foot disintegration,” as Kari deemed it, was quite simple. First, the fast-acting glue stuck the victim’s shoes to the ground. During this, the victim must remove their shoes if they wish to escape, or they would simply walk out of them if they were not tied tight enough. In the second phase the victim steps on plastic clear bricks that were strategically planted in front of the glue. A sharp, agonizing pain would shoot up from the bottoms of the feet. The clear portion is something Kari came up with all on her own recently. It made it more difficult to see these bricks if someone were to take just a glance.

          With both the glue and the bricks being harder to see, this trap is a thousand times better, she snickered to herself. Kari was not the most brilliant when it came to academics, but her creativity was second-to-none.

          The rest of the classroom was expectant of how this would all turn out. The Three Terrors kept the mundane classroom entertaining with their infamous plots and schemes. Even those who were normally opposed to such behavior could not help but watch, if purely out of curiosity.

          As the handle of the door turned, the class leaned forward. They all sat cross-legged on the floor, comforted by a large, soft mat.

          Will the teacher scream in pain? Maybe they will even cry. One tough-looking boy imagined. He wore clothing with many tears in them.

          I hope I don’t get in trouble, a worrywart girl thought to herself. She had no part of this but often believed bad events were her fault.

          The door opened slowly, Kari’s heart pounded.

          Then... nothing.

          The next thing she knew the new substitute, as well as the principal, was standing in front of the chalkboard. Her mind was blank, quickly followed by a state of confusion. Looking towards the front of the door to investigate, she saw that the floor was bare. It was sparkling, freshly mopped. Plastic blocks were nowhere to be seen.

          What happened? Did I blackout from the pure awesomeness of my trap? Kari grabbed her head and looked down at her lap. Everyone else was just as baffled as the leader of the Terrors.

          The large man, followed by Mrs. Reed, walked in without incident.

          As Agatha stood beside the man, she wondered to herself, Nothing today? Are the Three Terrors sick? No, they are right there. Huh. Maybe they are plotting something for later.

          Little did anyone know that as soon as the mysterious, large man entered the door he saw the trap set for him and cleaned it up in less than three blinks.

          Agatha took a professional demeanor, clearing her throat and waving her hand toward the man standing beside her.

          “Class, this will your substitute teacher. He will be teaching here for a while along with Ms. White once she has returned. I will let him introduce himself.”

          The giant turned around and pinched a piece of chalk. It was a white speck in comparison to his massive fingers. On the board, he wrote “M-R-D-A-I-S-Y,” before gently setting the chalk back down. On completion, he faced the class once again at an at-ease military stance, statuesque.

          The children were silent as they looked at the name on the chalkboard then back at the man. They did this several times, soaking in the man and his ill-fitted name. Then, all at once, they looked upon the man’s bald head to see the tulip growing from his skin, listlessly swaying. Their leers were numb.

          Agatha observed the room of slack-jawed kids, moments away from drooling on themselves. “So, if anyone has any questions for Mr. Daisy before we begin you may ask away.” Mrs. Reed’s professional voice snapped the children out of their daze.

          Mr. Daisy scanned the classroom with his dark, sunken eyes. His glare alone felt like it could kill-on-sight, on the inside though, he was nervous being in the limelight. All lips were sealed, you could hear a needle drop, it seemed nobody was going to ask a question. That was until an arm was raised weakly to the sky. A jittering arm that belonged to the worrywart girl with long, blonde hair, Ana-Lee.

          “Are... are you going to eat us?” She asked nervously, tears building up in those blue eyes of hers.

          Mr. Daisy paused, staring into her very soul. The young child felt like she would die if he kept staring.  But before that happened...

          “Oh ho ho ho ho!” Mr. Daisy let out a booming laugh, the seated butts of the onlookers shot into the air for a second. His thick mustache, as well as the flower on his head, bounced up and down. Even the ever-hardened veteran, Mrs. Reed, jumped a bit, grasping at her heart. She had never heard such a jolly, genuine laugh from a real-life person before. Mr. Daisy shook his head as he softened his laughter.

          Ana-Lee’s trembling frown could not help but form a smirk. He sounds like Santa! She thought as those worrisome feelings left her body.

          The collective fear for the rest of her classmates melted away with hers. The intimidating size of Mr. Daisy swiftly became an afterthought while the children whispered carefree amongst themselves.

          “Oh my,” Mrs. Reed chuckled “Mr. Daisy is not a monster, Ana-Lee, he’s just an exceptionally large person. Do we have­�"yes Diya?”

          Diya had her arm raised straight into the air, completely stiff and calm. She stared atop the head of Mr. Daisy, looking at the flower that grew there. The tulip on Mr. Daisy’s bald head closely resembled a lonely tree living on a hill.

          “Mr. Daisy. Are you aware that there is a flower growing out of your crown?” She had a tiny, monotone voice. “Is it perhaps a parasite that is slowing taking over your brain?”

          “Now Diya. That question may be a bit too personal for Mr. Daisy to answer,” Mrs. Reed replied. Earlier, she wanted to ask about the flower on the man’s head, but as an adult, it was none of her business to ask such a thing. Strangely enough, she had forgotten about it until Diya brought attention to the odd flower as if she had gotten used to it already.

          Diya's peers were just as curious as she was, leaning in, waiting for an answer that would satisfy their hungry curiosity.

          Agatha was thinking quickly about how to draw attention away from the flower, but that was unnecessary as Quincy responded before her.

          “This is no ordinary flower, nor is it a parasite,” Quincy explained, humoring the children. “It happens to be a magic flower. Observe.”

          He gripped the flower’s stem and plucked the tulip off his head. From behind his back, Mr. Daisy produced a clay pot with dirt in it, placing it gently on the desk before him. Nearly all the children instantly were enchanted by the giant’s actions, leaning forward, twinkling gazes.

          Kari was the sole kid not paying attention. She stared off, arms crossed, still confused about how her trap had failed. She barely had noticed the flower.

          Mr. Daisy buried the freshly plucked tulip in the dirt. From behind his back, he produced another object, a watering can. It was an average-sized watering can but looked minuscule when Mr. Daisy held it with just two fingers.

          He watered the flower delicately and evenly. The dew on the petals and the droplets poured from the watering can refracted the sunlight coming from a window nearby. It looked as though he had sprinkled a magical potion all over the plant. The tulip sparkled, emitting a warm, happy aura throughout the classroom.

          The young girls in the class all gushed about the flower together, “It’s so pretty!”

          “It is quite beautiful,” Diya added. She was just as taken as the other girls but had a much different way of showing it. She was much stiffer in her facial and physical expressions.

          Pop!

          Suddenly, on the teacher’s head, a green bulb sprouted up right where the tulip had been. Within a few seconds, it had fully grown into a new flower. Instead of a tulip, this time the flower on his head was a yellow buttercup.

          Bewilderment filled the room. The kids could not help but clap at the incredible trick they’d just seen. Mr. Daisy had grown a new flower out of his head.

          He gave no proper explanation of the flower, but everyone seemed satisfied regardless. After that, the flower was quickly forgotten about.

          A girl with hair as dark as space and skin frighteningly white jolted up with her hand raised. “Mr. Daisy! Are you married!?” She asked.

          This was Emily, the one who wanted to be a mishmash of professions in the future. Her clothing just screamed tomboy.

          The giant showed both of his hands to display that he had no wedding ring on either of his sausage-sized ring fingers. He shook his head with a grin that suggested that he’d never see himself a married man.

          Now all the girls, aside from Kari, were squawking at the substitute, asking questions about his romantic life. Childish questions as the children knew nothing about relationships other than what they had seen from their parents. Mr. Daisy no longer looked like a monster to them.

          A boy was gritting his teeth, vein bulging on his head out of annoyance. The tough-looking boy slammed his feet on the floor, this made Ana-Lee who was sitting right next to him jump a bit and the chattering girls were silenced.

          A bandage held to the center of his nose, torn pants, a white shirt with a skull, and a denim jacket. His hair was shaggy and the color of root beer. Desmond considered himself a punk in every right and assumed the look to boot.

          “These questions are dumb,” Desmond said. He had become sick of all the girly questions the substitute had been asked. “I have a real question, a manly question.”

          Mrs. Reed smiled nervously, knowing well that whatever Desmond was going to ask it wasn’t going to be good. After overhearing too many action movies he tended to ask, “How many fights have you won?” or, “Have you ever killed a man?” to people he’d just met. Mr. Daisy’s appearance led Mrs. Reed to believe that Quincy Daisy could have had a bout of delinquency in his youth. One that he did not want to share.

          Please do not ask him such questions! Make it something normal for the love of it all!

          “Yes, Desmond? What is your question?” She held tightly on to a smile, it was a facade.

          Desmond scratched at the bandage on his nose, it loosened a bit and he reapplied it. “How much... can you bench?”

          Mrs. Reed sighed to herself in relief, relatively normal.

Desmond jabbed his thumb at his chest, pumping his bicep with his other arm, "My old man can bench his body weight easy. Maybe even double that, or triple!”

          I have seen your father, Diya thought, picturing a scrawny, blonde, pretty-boy working in a cubicle, I highly doubt he has lifted anything over twenty pounds.

          Mr. Daisy was silent, the smile disappeared into his mustache, eyes reverted into the darkness. Even the flower that bloomed on his head looked like it was about to get serious.

          “Well? How much? Can you at least bench your body weight, old man?”

          The giant answered with a low rumbling voice, “Yes, and even more.” He flexed his biceps with raw power, horribly embarrassed after doing so, but his expression remained stone-like.

          Every boy in the class felt a surge of adrenaline shooting down their spine. Even Troy, a Terror, could not help but feel unyielding respect towards the substitute. They looked upon him as a general in an army, wanting to salute. Desmond looked in awe, falling on his butt, recoiling as if he was about to be struck.

          It seemed that Mr. Daisy had won everyone’s hearts; the boys and the girls. Agatha was grinning ear to ear, having full confidence that this teacher had full control over the flesh-colored goblins.

          “Alright children.” Mrs. Reed said. “I will take my leave. Mr. Daisy is going to start with some mathematics, followed by history lessons, lectures, and science.”

          The aura of the classroom became cold, the brimming youth soured. They leered down at their laps.

          “I am only joking, hohoho,” chortled Mrs. Reed.

          Yes, Mr. Daisy had won over everyone in the class; everyone, except Kari.

 

***

 

          Mr. Daisy had drawn several animals on the chalkboard. All had been very well drawn with a realism style. He would point at the drawing and ask what animal it was. Upon getting it right they would be rewarded a sticker of their choosing.

          One after another the children would answer happily, competing amongst themselves on who would get the most stickers in the end. A U-shaped table had been brought out, a table at a comfortable height for the little ones, and the piles of stickers grew in front of where each kid sat.

          Kari recovered from her first loss and went on to her next scheme. In her mouth was a wad of shredded paper. Next to her, Troy had a similar mass in his mouth. They both wielded straws in their hands

          Spit wads are a classic one, not a trap, but a full-on assault, she thought, chewing cud, but with Diya’s design, our shots will be beyond accurate.

          The straws were indeed no ordinary straws, they were modified. The inner parts of the straws were much slicker to reduce friction and the tops were mounted with a hinged scope. The plastic they were made from was a lot thicker and of much higher quality than those made for drinking. They had a telescoping feature as well for those long-range snipes.

          “Wen he tuns awound we aim fo hes head," Kari ordered Troy. She could hardly speak with the number of paper pellets in her mouth. Troy had even more in his mouth than Kari so all he could respond with was just a strained nod.

          “Um... armadillo?” Ana-Lee identified one of Mr. Daisy’s drawings. Nodding and smiling, he waved for Ana-Lee to come up to the front desk and pick out a sticker. “Yay!” She squeaked while obtaining a sticker of a pink teddy bear with a heart planted on its stomach.

          A soon as the sub turned back towards the chalkboard, Troy shot a spit wad. It flew lightning-fast and deadly accurate towards the back of the bald giant's head, but before it hit, Mr. Daisy swiftly caught it with his hand and gently threw it in a trashcan next to him, all without even turning around. His reaction time was inhuman.

          Quincy Daisy proceeded to draw a peacock, even swapping out chalk colors with the variety he cradled between his fingers. Most of the participants had not even noticed what had taken place.

          Kari was stunned, then annoyed, “Shoo mor thes tim.” Her incoherent words translated to 'Shoot more this time,' at least that is what Troy could decipher.

          The pair were well trained in the ancient art of spit wad. They had even mastered a dangerous and forbidden technique: the Gatling. Shooting faster rather than accurately, it would have been impossible for Mr. Daisy to stop them all. That is what the Terrors believed.

          As soon as Mr. Daisy was vulnerable, the barrage was launched at the sub. At least forty or fifty paper bullets flew every-which-way, no longer just concentrated on the shiny dome. Mr. Daisy sensed the onslaught approaching from his rear, breaking from his artistic whiles, he had a twinkle in his eye.

          Pap pap pap pap. A bit of smoke came from Mr. Daisy’s clenched fists after catching every spit-covered, paper bullet that came his way. Even the flower on his head had caught a few in its petals. Once again he casually hucked the projectiles into a wastebasket.

          Kari was so dumbstruck she couldn’t even respond, just make an odd, crackling moan with her mouth agape. The rest of the class applauded, savoring the hypnotic catching dance they witnessed, in full, with their peepers. Troy patted Kari on the shoulder, a sign that he recognized their utter defeat.

          “Maybe... we should try a different approach.” His comforting smile had not healed Kari’s utter frustration.

          “Grrr...”

          A bit later it was time for a cooperative building exercise. Deep, blue, plastic bins filled with wooden blocks took up the center of the classroom and the U-shaped desk was folded up and put out of the way.

          The classroom would be divided up into groups of two to make the tallest and most stable block tower, after which the winner would be rewarded. A ring made up of pairs of builders would encircle the open bins of lumber.

          Mr. Daisy pulled out a black top hat. It was filled with rectangular bits of paper, each one had a child's name on it. Before even entering the classroom, Quincy had memorized the names of his students. The pairs would be picked at random through the draws of the top hat.

          Kari and Desmond had been paired together. She was not thrilled to work with Desmond. She considered him, “Dumb and stinky.”

          Troy and Ana-Lee were together, willed from the pulls from the hat. Troy walked over to his partner. When he was at arm’s length, she rapidly bowed. This made him felt uneasy and embarrassed.

          “I-I will do my best,” She said in a panic. Her tiny fists were shaking.

          “Uh, yeah, sure, Al,” Troy was often a calm person, but her nervous personality had passed on to him at that moment.

          One after another, names were pulled, teams were made, until there was only one more name in the hat, laying there, lonely. This particular class had an odd number of children, so the odd one out would have to work alongside the teacher. The paper was pulled but it had been unnecessary to do so as it was obvious who had no one beside them. Diya was alone thus she would be with Mr. Daisy.

          Before Diya could even attempt to join her towering building partner, Kari grabbed her by the arm. Diya faced the red-haired lass, perplexed. A small object was forced into her palm. Diya examined the object she had been given, a rectangular, mint-green pack of chewing gum.

          “Diya, I want you to offer Mr. Daisy this.”

          “Why do you want me to offer the teacher gum? Have you gone soft Kari?”

          Kari presented a little instruction manual for Diya to study. What she had in her possession was not several sticks of mint-flavored gum, it was a shock toy disguised as a pack of gum.

          “Offer this to him and he will get six trillion volts through his body,” Kari whispered at Diya.

          “I do not think that is possi�"” Kari twirled Diya around, pushing her towards the human tower that is their teacher.

          “Don’t. Think. Just. Do. And try to do it at the most inconvenient time. Maybe he’ll even fall on the tower.” The lass had a burning inferno in her eyes, unable to listen to reason. All Diya could do was sigh.

          Diya took her place beside Mr. Daisy, nearly falling over or breaking her neck peering up at his face. When their gazes finally met they exchanged a single, firm nod.

          “We will stop when the hourglass runs out. Begin.” Quincy flipped over the said hourglass minding its own business on the front desk. White, sparkling sand started to fall.

          “Hey, Kari,” Desmond tried to grab the fiery-haired girl’s attention.

          “Hmm? Yeah, what?” She glanced over at him with displeasure, making her expression sour.

          “We’re going to win this, hands-down. With this, our tower will never fall no matter how we built it." A dopey grin swallowed his mug as he flashed a clear, plastic tube containing a viscous, blue liquid. It had a rectangular sticker on it. "Not glue" was scribbled on it with a fine, black marker.

          “Do what you want, I don’t care,” Kari scoffed. Lethargically, she placed block after block, her attention more focused on Mr. Daisy and Diya. Des joined her building, lining each block thinly with his secret weapon.

          On the other side of the room, Troy and Ana-Lee's tower was already up to their waists. Troy was building it at his own, swift pace while all Ana-Lee had done since the beginning was stare at the block of wood in her hand, sweating and shaking. She had not placed a single block yet.

          “I’m sorry. I just don’t want to ruin your tower,” Ana-Lee spouted. She had often felt edgier when interacting with Troy, her heart beating widely. She was too young to understand why, but an adult could see it was because she had a little crush on Troy.

          “Don’t worry about it,” Troy responded. He presented his open palm to Al, short for Ana-Lee, with his eyes focused on the project at hand. “You can just hand me the blocks and I can place them. I have a vision.”

          Al grew a little smile on her face and handed the cobalt-haired boy the block she had been clinging to. Sweat had seeped into the lumber. “You’re so cool Troy,” She whispered unrestrained.

          “Hmm? What was that?”

          “Oh, nothing,” She panicked. She ran over to the bins and scooped up as many wooden blocks as she could into her arms. A mess followed as she dumped them all into Troy’s open hand.

          “Sorry, sorry, sorry�"” Ana-Lee repeated, bowing over and over again. Troy responded with a sigh and a scratch of his scalp.

          Diya and Mr. Daisy’s block tower was well beyond the highest in the class. The two worked like a well-oiled machine, even with Mr. Daisy holding back to make it fair for the other children. Diya was having so much fun she had completely forgotten about the shock prank.

          Suddenly, she felt something bounce off the back of her head. She picked up the rubber eraser that hit her and looked in the direction that it had come from. Kari was standing there across the room mouthing undecipherable words and pointing at Mr. Daisy. Diya finally remembered the plan.

          Mr. Daisy was placing a block in a sensitive spot in the tower, an opportune time for the girl to act.

          “Mr. Daisy, would you like some gum?” Diya asked dryly, offering up the rectangular device.

          “Hmm? Sure. Thank you,” He responded.

          Kari watched the distance between the sub's fingers and the shock toy shrink. The closer the two got the faster her heart would beat until contact was made.

          “I’ve got you now!”

          The giant paused when he touched the pack. For a few seconds, he appeared paralyzed.

          He’s being shocked so bad he can’t even move! Kari thought.

          Mr. Daisy's pulled an aluminum-wrapped piece of gum from the supposed shocker. He unwrapped it, tossing the mint gum into his maw. He gently patted Diya on the head as a thank you.

          Diya surprised herself upon giving a sigh of relief. She pocketed the shocker�"which seemed to just be a regular pack of gum�"and continued to work on their block tower. As Mr. Daisy chewed the gum, the flower on his head swayed left and right, as if it were dancing rhythmically with each chew.

          “What!?” Kari shouted, her cunning silence was forcibly broken.

          Everyone halted their projects and looked over to the red-headed girl’s outburst. She quickly thought up an excuse.

          “Mr. Daisy. I have to use the potty. I can get there myself.”

          Mr. Daisy nodded and Kari ran out into the hallway in the blink of an eye. She burst through the bathroom doors that were not too far from the classroom and went into the closest stall. She started talking to herself like a madman.

          “How did he do that? Diya wouldn’t switch out the shocker with gum, so it had to be him, just like the other times,” She tucked on her crimson hair and bit her bottom lip. “Who is this... beast!?” She imagined the sub as a giant gorilla wearing magician's clothing. This imaginary gorilla cast spells that made all her traps disappear, all while giving a sinister smile.

          Kari thought about her failed tricks for several minutes before giving up. She decided to just take the loss and move on to the next prank. Upon returning to the classroom she saw that everyone’s towers had grown, and the hourglass’s sand had nearly run out. Only two or three could have been called "impressive" while the others were obviously built by children of their age.

          Kari and Desmond's tower was a mess. You could see the blueish paste between each brick. The firebrand rolled her eyes at the sight of such monstrosity.

          The hourglass ran out, but without even looking at it Mr. Daisy said, “Times up.” The classroom instantly came to a standstill.

          “A little competition like this needs a judge. May I present you ours.” Mr. Daisy announced as he made a dramatic pose that drew attention towards the doorway. The children became excited that a mystery person was going to appraise their hard work.

          A woman made an entrance�"one that had been a familiar face to the students. She had a long black ponytail and wore sporty clothing�"a black tank top and sweatpants, both had thin, white lines at the seams. Her body was very tone, olive skin smooth, and her brown eyes beamed with life. If seen at the right angle her ever exposed stomach had a very subtle sixpack. Her full lips carried a goofy smile wherever she went.

          “Ms. Watson!” Several children boasted.

          Raven Watson: P.E. teacher for Blue Diamond Elementary. She was all about living a healthy lifestyle and fitness; she displayed that in her teaching. Almost every student loved her for her high charisma and “can-do” attitude.

          “Yo, how’s it going?” Ms. Watson greeted with a chipper tone, giving a small wave to the room.

          She was here for multiple reasons. The main reason was to help the sub, Mr. Daisy, with the class’s recess that would be coming up shortly. It was preferred to have two teachers present during that time. With Ms. White absent and the other kindergarten teacher recently retired, Raven Watson volunteered her time to help.

          The second reason was out of pure curiosity for the new, and mysterious, substitute. She had heard the man was a specimen to behold, info she had pulled out of Mrs. Reed. Upon entering the classroom, she shrewdly scanned Quincy up and down, confirming, indeed, that he was “larger than life,” as Mrs. Reed had put it. The P.E. teacher wanted to see the man that would be working alongside her best friend, Leena White, and more importantly who he was as a person.

          The third reason, to rate the towers the children had built of course. Raven loved competitions, so this was right up her alley. She was not going to harshly critique them. They were only children. It was a team-building exercise more than it was an actual block tower building contest. But she had planned a reward at the end�"a simple one at that.

           “Alright!” Ms. Watson pumped her fist, a glint shined from her eyes. “It’s time so see those buildings you youngins were working on.”

          Ms. Watson paced around the circle of block toy buildings. She would stop in front of each one, commenting and complimenting the little one’s creations, even offering advice on how to improve their structure.

          Raven stood in front of Kari and Desmond’s project. Kari had not been involved with the process that much, she only made the base of the tower. She had been distracted with pranking Mr. Daisy too much. So, Desmond was left with the responsibility; the results spoke for themselves.

          Raven looked upon the mound of wooden blocks and blue paste. The tube that Desmond had was a small one, but it seemed like a gallon had been mixed in with the toys. The pile oozed a blue, viscous liquid, and being this close to it gave off an unexpected smell, it did not smell like glue, rather, it smelled like peppermint.

          Ms. Watson switched her glances a couple of times, saying nothing all the while. The athletic woman looked at the mess, then Desmond, then Kari. She knelt, becoming face to face with Desmond, knowing it had been his idea to use what he thought was an adhesive.

          “Desmond...” Her voice sounded sweet and caring but the tone made Desmond feel unease. It was the same tone his mother would occasionally use before scolding the boy. “Did you attempt to glue your tower together?”

          Desmond stiffly pointed at Kari, who was standing beside him. “It was Kari, she made me do it!”

          “He’s a liar!” Kari immediately defended herself, returning the accusatory pointing at Desmond. "He has a tube of glue in his pocket. Well, he said it’s glue but it's not.”

          Desmond became flustered, “Th-that’s not true, and I couldn’t find the glue so I improv�"” He shut himself up and looked sheepishly at the floor.

          “All I did was make the bottom of it. Desmond did the rest.” Kari crossed her arms, fiery hair swayed as she shook her head.

          “Calm down you two,” Ms. Watson placed her hands on either of their heads. They both dropped their arms back to their sides. “Desmond, lying is a bad thing. Even worse is blaming your partner for something you did.”

          The Three Terrors were pranksters, yes, but cheaters, not so much. Diya and Troy were never ones to take shortcuts in their education. And Kari, well, she was much too lazy to even cheat. This was common knowledge of those who knew the Terrors.

          Desmond debated doubling down on blaming Kari, but ultimately he did not. That was the best choice. It may have helped that Ms. Watson, who was bubbly and carefree, could also be scary when appropriate.

          “...I-I’m sorry,” Desmond finally spouted after a long pause. “The glue was my idea.” He pulled out of his pocket the oddly labeled tube and presented it to Ms. Watson. She took it, trying to avoid getting her hands messy from the residue that was on the outside of the tube, but that attempt was in vain.

          “You shouldn’t be apologizing to me,” Ms. Watson retorted, grabbing a nearby tissue to wrap around the tube and to clean off her hands.

          The self-imposed punk faced Kari, his eyes shifted to the side, “I’m sorry Kari...”

          Kari could have easily belittled Desmond at this moment, but she did not for the constant failures of her pranks have taken up her mind. She just smirked and said, “Yeah, it’s whatever,” and held out her hand. Desmond reacted by shaking her hand sheepishly.

          “And Kari,” Raven added, “do not just force your partner to do all of the work. You have to be involved as well. It is a team effort.”

          "Yes, Ms. Watson. I'm sorry. I will try harder next time." The way Kari apologized seemed scripted, evident that she was used to apologizing for being lazy.

          Across the classroom, Mr. Daisy was content with the turnout of these events. He knew about the attempted cheating but wanted to see how Ms. Watson would handle it. Ms. Watson had been curious about the new substitute, but he was just as curious about her and the other faculty in kind.

          How an adult interacted with a child said a lot about them.

          Mr. Daisy crossed his hairy arms and nodded, the buttercup seemed to do a similar action. Diya watched Mr. Daisy and copied him.

          Ms. Watson moved on to the next duo, Troy, and his partner Ana-Lee. She was pleasantly surprised to find that the pair had made a sophisticated mansion out of the wooden blocks. It wasn’t very tall but for something made entirely out of a basic building toy, it was detailed, ripe with care and attention to detail.

          The previous abomination just enhanced the beauty of the architecture.

          At least this building does not smell of mint. A thought that Raven never imagined she would have today; or ever for that matter.

          “Well, well. This is quite amazing,” Ms. Watson praised. “How did you both come up with something so original?”

          Al was twiddling her thumbs and dancing her feet back and forth, while Troy, on the other hand, was standing beside the mansion in a presenting pose. Both his arms were outstretched with open palms, he looked like a painter trying to sell his latest masterpiece to observers.

          “Well, Troy did most of it,” Ana-Lee said honestly. “All I did was pass him the blocks, he built it with his own two hands.”

          “Masterpiece," Troy interjected. Along with his arms, he had also brought up one leg to further present his artwork, he had an amazing sense of balance while using his leg as a third arm. It reminded Ms. Watson of the yoga classes she used to take.

          The cobalt-haired boy enjoyed drawing and creating. At home he would make several toy models for fun, mixing and matching parts from other models. His room was covered in these pristine models that he had made. His favorite ones were put on a display shelf, the ones he made with his father on his seldom time-off.

          “It’s pretty dope Troy,” Ms. Watson chuckled. “I’m quite impressed. Though, Ana-Lee, don’t you think it would have been more fun if you built with Troy rather than handing him the blocks.”

          “I’m not very good at building, Troy is much better at it than me,” Al rubbed her eye sheepishly.

           “I see, well, what you two did was still teamwork. But next time you should be more involved with the building process. Practice makes perfect, Ana-Lee,” Ms. Watson chimed.

          “Okay... I will,” Ana-Lee replied.

          Ms. Watson judged her way through the rest of the children. She gave her unique uplifting advice to each-and-every one of them, and finally, she arrived at the last pair; Diya and Mr. Daisy.

          Their tower was the tallest in the classroom, and just by looking at it the most stable. It was very rectangular and reached up to Mr. Daisy’s chest.  Though it was not very pretty to look at, it had been built to be efficient. The opposite of what Troy and Al had created.

          Though Mr. Daisy helped build the toy tower, he gave as little input as possible, a way to force Diya to be creative. This was no issue as Diya was cold and calculated, she took command without her teacher's guidance. All he had mostly done was place the blocks wherever Diya told him to.

          “Well, well, Diya. It appears that you made the highest tower. I hope it wasn’t because you let the new teacher do everything,” Raven placed her hands on her hips and smirked.

          “No,” Diya replied instantly. “Mr. Daisy was merely my obedient servant which I commanded to do my bidding. The design was entirely mine.” Mr. Daisy nodded along with her reply.

          Raven lingered and was silent. She did not expect such an intelligent form of speaking from a kindergarten student. Her best friend, Leena White, had mentioned that one of the children in her class happened to be a prodigy and often spoke as well as an adult. Raven had to remind herself that she was talking to a six-year-old.

          “He’s your servant huh?” 

          “Yes.”

          That’s super adorable! In a strange way. Raven thought.

          Diya rubbed her hand together menacingly, “And the next step with my giant puppet is complete world domination and enslavement of mankind.”

          Much less adorable...

          “Well, it is a very impressive tower, it could use a bit more flair, but you won Diya. You have made the highest tower in the class. And now, for an award.”

          “What is my reward?” Diya demanded, outstretching her tiny fingers.

          Ms. Watson held up her pointer finger in front of the young girl and crouched. "For the rest of the day, you will be granted royalty to this classroom. Your title until the end of class will be ‘Princess Diya.’ Isn’t that right class?”

          The entirety of the class agreed with this. They clapped without any sort of rhythm.

          Raven pulled a handmade, paper crown out of the khaki backpack she brought in with her, placing it on Diya’s head. “Every princess needs a crown,” she said as she wrote the name “Diya” on the silver, glittering crown.

          “I’d prefer to be called Master Diya or Lord Diya... but princess will suffice,” Diya replied, fixing the crown that was placed upon her ivory head.

          Ms. Watson blasted the room with laughter.

          The bell in the classroom rang, signifying that recess had begun.

          “Alright children, time to play outside. We will get this cleaned up afterward!” Ms. Watson clasped her hands near her face.

          “Okay!” All the kindergarteners responded in harmony.