Phil Coulson had taught many preschoolers since becoming a teacher at Fury's School for the Gifted and Talented, and he'd had his fair share of trying children - it came with the territory of "gifted and talented." And, after all, with a room full of four-year-olds there were always fights, bathroom accidents, and tantrums. But his current group had proved to be an especial challenge.
The first day of the year had been a disaster. Little Steve had spent almost the entire time crying from the moment his mother left, Clint had climbed up to the top of the supply closet and hidden there for half-an-hour before Phil found him, and Natasha had slipped out the window and made it all the way home (that had been an awkward phone call: "Don't worry Mrs. Romanov, I'll be installing better locks this afternoon."). And then Tony and Bruce had constructed a full blown robot from Legos, wiring from the school's heating system, and clock batteries. Phil had been impressed by their ingenuity until the robot started hurling blocks at an alarming velocity, one of them connecting with Loki's head. As the little guy had started to wail, his brother, Thor, came to his aid with a bolt of lightning. Well, it was more like a spark, but it was enough to turn Bruce into a big green thing with the strength and size of a gorilla.
He'd been warned beforehand about his students' unusual abilities and had tried to prepare, but how does one prepare for kids that can do those sorts of things? He had spent the rest of the day after they went home fortifying the school and coming up with all new lesson plans. The next day had gone better, and by the time October rolled around he'd gotten them pretty much figured out.
Which was why he was very nervous to take a day off and call in a sub. But he couldn't miss his mother's 70th birthday party brunch and the district supervisor, Nick Fury, had assured him that he deserved some time off and that if he left detailed instructions, it would be fine. So Fury was sending in his best sub for the day, Maria Hill. Phil had worked with her before and he had always found her to be competent, if a little stiff for a preschool teacher.
When he told the kids the day before that they were going to have a different teacher, he was met with a chorus of protests. Steve, in fact, burst into tears and wrapped himself around Phil's leg. He patiently explained to them that it was just for a day and they were to be on their best behavior. To his dismay, he caught Clint and Natasha exchanging mischievous looks already.
As he composed his list of instructions for Maria that night, he almost called his mother several times to tell her he would have to come on the weekend, but kept telling himself that his kids would be fine without him for one day. Just fine.
