.
They Call Us What?
.
Or, Havoc is all about team bonding, Falman is not impressed with the level of maturity of his colleagues, and Mustang's ego really didn't need any more inflating.
Third period. The east wing's teachers' lounge is currently occupied by four male teachers. Jean Havoc, slacking. Heymans Breda, snacking. Vato Falman, (hacking) typing. And Roy Mustang, napping.
"We should play hide and seek," Havoc suggests, in his usual chair(s), lounging with his feet propped on one, and leaning back on the back legs of the other. He's balancing a pencil on his nose.
"What, the teachers hide, and the students come looking for us?" Breda asks from the vending machine, tapping his chin thoughtfully.
"Please, you know as well as I do the state of disaster the entire building would be in if that happened," Havoc grins and his pencil falls. The chair's front legs clack down so he can lean over to pick it up. "And not because they'd be looking for us." He resumes his prior activities.
"Then what? Hide the grading?" Mustang mumbles hopefully.
"Better."
"I give up," Breda finally settles on a bag of Gold Fish.
"Us," Havoc says with glee.
"Us?" Falman says from the vintage desktop. He turns around in the lounge's only spinny chair. "What do you mean, us?"
"I mean we play Hide and Seek." Havoc grins like he's just come up with the greatest idea since sliced bread.
"Ain't nobody got time for that," Mustang quips, now stretching his arms.
"Sure we do! Games are a great activity for improving morale and no one is too old for a game."
"Teachers playing children's games," Falman says slowly, as if clarifying that he's hearing right, "to boost morale."
"You as slow as that computer there, V?"
"I'll have you know that this computer does its job completely adequately, unlike some other history teachers I know."
"Ouch," Breda winces. "Shots fired." He pops a couple fish into his mouth.
In a great demonstration of maturity, Havoc sticks out his tongue. "Stress relief. Relaxation. Bonding. Stronger team mentality." He ticks off his fingers, tapping each with the pencil he has given up on balancing.
"How does Hide and Seek promote a team mentality?" Roy rests his chin on his hand as he flips open a folder of grade work with the other.
"It's the principle of the thing. Games unite people."
Mustang smirks. "Have you seen our girls' volleyball team?"
"Those are high schoolers," Havoc counters with an eye roll.
"I'm sorry, I fail to see how the vast majority of the population that haunts this lounge is any more mature than Coach Curtis' crew," Falman states.
Havoc snorts out a laugh. "Coach Curtis' crew? You come up with that one? The alliteration. It's killin me. You do that with your note sheets, too?"
"I do, in fact," Falman is still typing away. "It helps the kids retain the information better. Anyway, it's better than what the kids call us."
"What? Who calls us what? And who is us?"
"Us. The faculty that usually use this lounge, that generally have breaks together, that are planning on taking over the school together?" Mustang asks with a raised eyebrow.
"Ssshhh, ears everywhere, man," Breda grins. It's a well-known fact that Principal Bradley is a bit of a tyrannical, insane despot who stays awake late at night dreaming of new ways to make his students miserable. So when Roy Mustang had casually joked about overthrowing the corrupted government of Amestris High School one day, Havoc and Breda had immediately voiced their approval. Eventually, due to the nature of the men who find it incredibly difficult to resist sniggering at inside jokes, and the fact that others (mainly, Falman, Fuery, Hawkeye and Hughes) used the same workroom, the circle widened just a bit.
Falman spins around once more and nods. "Yes, that group. Did you know that we have a name?"
Havoc leans forward in his chair, interested. "I didn't. That's interesting. What do they call us?"
"Squad Mustang."
Havoc stares, Breda's jaw drops, and Mustang smirks. With a little chuckle, he says, "Well, then, as head of this squad, I say, no Hide and Seek."
"Aaaaaw man!"
.
A/N: Fret not, Catalina and Hughes to make their debuts soon enough! As well as students! Wait-students in the Teachers' Lounge? How did they get in? What are they doing in there? Will Squad Mustang succeed in overthrowing the tyranny of Principal Bradley? Will Roy ever get to ask Riza on a date? Will Havoc ever get to play a game with his coworkers? What other ridiculous things do teachers do in the Lounge?
A lesson without pain is meaningless. For you cannot gain something without sacrificing something else in return. But once you have recovered it and made it your own…You will gain an irreplaceable Fullmetal heart. -Edward Elric
A story without reviews is meaningless. For you cannot read something without sacrificing a comment in return. But once you have reviewed it and given it your thoughts…You will gain another Teachers' Lounge episode! -Commander Zucchini