"Are you ready for Life Science, Marinette? I hear that this year our assignment's going to be awful."
"It couldn't be as bad as our last assignment, Alya. Remember all those... pictures ."
"Don't remind me, please. God, I thought I was scarred for life when I saw my siblings being born, but that lesson was the worst!"
It was around that time of year when all the students in their grade had to learn life sciences, or specifically, human relations and sexual reproduction. Overall, it was the one class that everyone was afraid of attending.
After everyone sat down in their assigned seats, Ms. Mendeleiev reached under the desk, picked up a bag of flour, and sat it on the counter.
"You learned about sexual reproduction," She started, waiting for them all to cringe at the memory before continuing, "so now I find it only logical to teach you all what it is like to raise and take care of a child."
Immediately, everyone knew what she meant.
"Two students will be paired up together for one week and take care of a child together. These pairs will be chosen at random by the father. Now, the first to choose will be...Nino."
As the teacher took out a small bag with names on small strips of paper inside of it, the boy stood from his seat and approached it. Being the first to choose was either a good thing or a bad thing.
"The mother of your daughter for the remainder of the week is...Alya."
He could have sworn he heard the girl mumble "Oh God…" under her breath, but instead of worrying, flashed her a smile and sat back down with his sack.
Up next was Ivan who looked positively frightened at the thought of being paired with most the girls in his class. However, for some odd stroke of luck, he ended up picking Mylène.
"Here is your….son, Ivan. Be careful with it."
"Y-Yes, Ma'am."
As the list of girls got smaller, Kim was called on next and Alix could only hope that she wouldn't be stuck with him and a sack of wheat for a whole week. The skater couldn't have been more crushed when he turned around and winked at her.
"Take your son and sit, Kim. Because we all know you and Alix are not particularly...the safest of people, I advise you not to do any 'dares' for the remainder of this assignment. Do you understand?"
"I swear! This sack of flour is gonna be the coole-I mean, the safest kid ever."
Well, I'm getting insuffisant on this assignment… , Alix thought, awaiting her father's scorn.
"Max, come choose."
As the nerdy teen got up from his seat, he feared for his choices. Who was there left that was nice to him? Maybe Marinette…
"Your partner for this project is...Sabrina. Knowing both of your grades, I expect you to do exceedingly well on this. Here is your daughter, Max."
"Thank you, Ms."
"Don't drop it or you fail. Next! Nathanaël!"
Walking slowly down the steps to the desk, it was obvious that the redhead was going to make either the best or worst choice of his entire school life. It was like cutting either the red or blue wire.
The only girls left were Marinette, Juleka, Rose, and... her .
"Nathanaël, the whole class will not stop because you decide to leave Earth for a minute. Either pick a name or I will pi-"
"C-Coming!" He rushed, almost tripping over his own feet, "I can choose, Ms. Mendeleiev."
Reaching into the bag with his other fingers crossed, he hoped that it wasn't them. He'd surely die and most definitely fail if it was.
"Your assigned partner for the week is Chloé. Take your son and sit."
Before he could even move to his chair, the blonde's hand shot up in the air like a rocket.
"Um, excuse me. Ms. Mendeleiev? Is there the option to pick again? There must have been some sort of mista-"
"There are no mistakes in the conception of a child unless you are reckless. Do we need to review last week's lesson on repro-"
"No! I mean, uh, no, Ma'am."
"Good. Adrien Agreste, choose a slip of paper from the bag," She ordered, mixing up a few names as the model stood up.
Please be me, please be me, please be me, Marinette kept repeating in her head. There was only two other girls and if there was one time where her Ladybug luck had to kick in, it would be now.
"Your partner for the week is Marinette. Take your daughter and sit," She directed, handing the boy a sack, leaving one left on the counter, "I guess I miscalculated. Seeing as how there are no more boys in the classroom, the last pair will be Juleka and Rose. You two have no problem with this, correct?"
Both girls shook their heads happily, eager to be working together. Juleka wondered if somewhere out there, someone heard her prayers and answered them.
"Now that everyone has a partner, I will give you a sheet of requirements for this project," Ms. Mendeleiev instructed as she picked up sheets and handed them out to the girl of each pair, well, excluding Juleka and Rose who both received one.
"Each day, one of you will fill out this chart telling me where the child was, what they were doing with you, who was taking care of them, and for how long. You will have points deducted for any forms of abuse, those being emotional, physical, and simple neglection. You are allowed to dress up your sack, but be careful. Once again, breaking the sack results in an immediate insuffisant. Make an effort to bond with your partner after school for an hour."
And with that explanation, the bell rung and each of the pairs met up when the day was over.