So! It appears as if a lot of people have read and enjoyed the first chapter so far! And I'm really glad about that!
But there has also been one complaint about how we were portraying the humans as if they were acting unreasonable instead of reasonably being scared of monsters who killed six kids and have magic powers. And, to be honest, humans are stronger than monsters in canon, so it's probably not a thing a lot of them will be concerned about. Not a single human died in the Human-Monster war. However, we will get to the magic powers part eventually.
Meanwhile, I hope everyone enjoys the next segment of the story! I guess this could be considered a late Christmas present to some.
Feel free to like, favorite, or leave constructive criticism! And if you have any suggestions, we might take a few!
-anipwrites
Chapter 2
Frisk woke up to the smell of pancakes and bacon. They smiled and sat up, stretching with a yawn. Light drifted into the darkened room through the blinds, also falling onto Flowey's sleeping form.
"Flowey!" Frisk whispered. The petals seemed to twitch just a moment before he woke up, looking at them.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"You smell that?"
Flowey's face shifted into an irritated glare.
"No, Frisk, I don't. I don't have a nose." He deadpanned.
"Oops. Sorry. Let's go get breakfast. Then I can fix your pot!" At that, Frisk grabbed the flower pot and carried it to the kitchen table.
In the kitchen, Toriel was making chocolate-chip pancakes and bacon for their breakfast. She smiled at the two as they came in and sat down. The pancakes were almost done, she had to remind Frisk several times. They certainly seemed excited today.
"Excited about the first day of school?" She asked. Frisk nodded.
"Wait. School? Am I supposed to attend, too?" Flowey shuddered.
"If you'd like. I won't force you. You would be home alone if you don't go, however."
"... Okay. I'll go."
"Are flowers allowed to go to school?" Frisk wondered aloud, looking down at their breakfast plate in thought.
"Everyone is allowed in my school, Frisk." Toriel answered, smiling at them as she slipped two pancakes and some bacon onto Frisk's plate. Frisk smiled and started eating.
"So, is the school for monsters and humans? I know you said everyone, but most humans have been quite rude to us so far-and that's if they weren't scared of us," Flowey asked.
"Well… Hopefully, me being a monster won't interfere with their education. I'll do the best I can to make sure no one is isolated or scared of me."
"And if their parents pull a stunt like that one lady did yesterday?"
"I…"
"Once they get to know Mom, they'll know she's really, reallynice!" Frisk interjected. Toriel smiled at them, thankful of their answer.
"Fair enough," Flowey concluded.
"Frisk, dear, I'll have to leave for school earlier than you. Would you like to come with me, or stay home and go later?" Toriel asked.
"Can I… Can I go with you until I make some friends?" Frisk murmured. Toriel was curious as to why they answered so quietly, but decided not to push them.
"Of course you can!"
"Thanks, Mom."
"Why don't you go ahead and start getting dressed? Unless you want to add anything- I've already packed your bag for you."
"Alright! Thank you!" Frisk said before they got up from the table to change into a different set of clothes.
It was only then that they realized they had fallen asleep in their clothes from the previous night. Toriel must've carried them back from the pizza parlor without waking them up. How sweet of her! They'd have to thank her later. For now-what to wear? Toriel had taken them shopping for school clothes a few days prior, and they now had several options. Perhaps just a t-shirt and jeans would suffice, and the boots-how could they not wear their favorite pair of boots? Looks like their outfit for today was complete! Now-to upgrade Flowey's pot!
Frisk headed down to the basement of the house to look for something. It was full of things from the previous owners of the house that had been left behind, along with some that Toriel and Frisk had brought with them. There wasn't much, really, but they did manage to find two curved rods of metal and some super glue! That should work just fine, as long as nobody touched the sharp parts. They ran back to the kitchen to start working on Flowey's pot when Toriel came back from her room.
"Frisk? I could finish that for you, if you'd like, while you go brush up," she offered.
Frisk nodded and ran back to the bathroom. They hadn't really had much time to decorate anything, especially the bathroom. It was kind of bland and sad. Granted, it was a bathroom, but it could still be fun! Maybe they could make some flowers to stick on the mirror! That would liven the room up a bit.
They'd have to save that for later. Right now, they had to brush their teeth, wash their face, and get ready for school! They put their shoes on the wrong feet, too. Oh, well. That can be fixed very easily. After that, all they would have to do was brush their hair. Then, they could decorate Flowey's pot with stickers.
Once they finished all of that, Frisk ran to the living room to find Toriel rounding out the sharp parts of the metal rods with some sort of tool. Maybe they should find something else to do until she was done…
By the time Toriel was done with the flowerpot and getting ready, she discovered that Frisk had found some sort of yoga channel on the TV and was following the teacher's movements. The Boss Monster smiled to herself before pulling Frisk out of the lesson to go to school. With a click of the TV and the jingling of a few keys, they were out the door-leaving Flowey on the kitchen table. A few seconds later, Frisk ran inside, grabbed Flowey off the table, and ran back outside.
Once they got back outside, they discovered Sans standing there, talking to Toriel. They were both smiling and laughing about something. Frisk set Flowey down by the door and ran to hug Sans.
"Sans!" they exclaimed, jumping up into his arms. Sans caught them and ruffled their hair.
"Hey, kiddo. I see you're jumping for joy about this whole 'first day of school thing', huh?" He remarked. Toriel and Frisk both giggled.
"Sans…"
"We were just about to head on over to the school. Would you like to come with us?" Toriel offered.
"Yeah, sure, I'd love to come along. Papyrus went to try and sign up for the military earlier this morning, so there's not really anything else to do," the skeleton shrugged.
"Alright! Let's get moving then."
"And don't forget me this time!" Flowey added. Frisk slid down from Sans' arms before going over to pick up his flowerpot. At that, they all started walking towards the school.
It was a ten minute walk, filled with Toriel and Sans exchanging bad knock-knock jokes and Flowey begging for someone to end his suffering. When they finally arrived, they bid each other goodbye before Sans continued walking. He had decided midway through the walk that he was going to explore the rest of the town-he might as well, since he was already out.
The school was impressively large. Apparently, it was also quite old. Toriel had spent quite a few days with some of the other teachers tidying things up and decorating their rooms, but the exterior hadn't been patched up quite yet. The bushes were wild and overgrown, all the flowerbeds dead, and the walls overcome with vines. Nobody knew just how to tackle that mess.
Except for Frisk.
"Why don't you get Dad to fix it! He's a gardener person now that works for some place… No, wait, he owns it! Wait. No, he doesn't. I can't remember what it's called! But, he works there! And he can fix it!" they offered, excited at the thought of seeing Asgore again in such a short period of time. Toriel thought about it a moment. She wasn't much of a fan of Asgore. At all. Still, she had to admit: he was pretty good at gardening…
"You know what? Maybe I will ask him for some help," Toriel said with a nod of finality. "Let's get to our classes. Frisk, would you like me to walk you to your classroom, or would you like to sit outside?"
"Can I just sit outside?" Frisk asked quietly. Toriel nodded and gave them a final kiss on their forehead before going inside.
Frisk waited until Toriel was inside before picking Flowey up and sitting under a tree, leaning against its wide trunk. They sat with a quiet sigh and watched the cars pass by on the road. This was mildly confusing to Flowey. Frisk was usually so upbeat and happy-they were seven years old, after all. What could have brought them down so fast?
"Hey, kid. What's wrong?" the flower asked, looking up at them.
"It's gonna happen again…"
"What's gonna happen again?"
"Everyone's going to be mean to me because I'm not like them. They don't understand that I'm not a boy or a girl, and all of my monster friends are adults, too. Nobody will want to talk to me. I won't have any friends my age. Nobody will like me…" the child started sniffling, wiping their face and looking down at the ground. Flowey leaned over until he was in their line of sight.
"Frisk? You… You've been really nice to me, despite everything I've done to you and your family. So… I'll make sure nobody bullies you, okay? They'll have hell to pay otherwise," he said, glancing around to make sure nobody who could tease him about this was listening. Frisk smiled just barely but sighed.
"Flowey… It's okay. I'm used to it, really. It happens all the time. I don't want you hurting anyone for my sake."
"I won't physically hurt them. Besides, I'm sure someone will be your friend this year other than me! You just wait! You're so nice, I'm sure this year will be great!"
"You really think so…?"
"Yeah!"
It was right then that a large, yellow school bus pulled into the lot. Frisk sat up in anticipation. Maybe someone they knew was being dropped off! If they already knew the person who was going to judge them, it would be easier to ignore them… right?
Luckily, they got something even better! They could see Monster Kid hopping off the bus steps with a messenger bag slung over their shoulder. Then, they noticed that the kid was upset. Frisk jumped to their feet and called out to them, waving their arms and jumping up and down.
"Hey! Kid! It's me, Frisk! Come sit with me!" they called out.
Monster Kid turned around and smiled, running over. They nearly tripped but just barely caught their balance.
"Yo, Frisk! Are you doing okay?" they asked, hopping around excitedly.
"Yeah! How about you?"
"I'm… I don't know. The kids on the bus were really mean to me…"
"Oh… Well… I'm scared the other kids will be mean to me, too…"
"But, why would they? You're the best! You're really nice!"
"That's the problem. But, it's okay! We're friends who have each other, right?"
"Yeah! Who's your teacher?"
"Miss Annie…?"
"Sweet! Mine too!"
They both cheered and talked a bit longer about how excited they were about their first day of school. Frisk managed to properly introduce Flowey to Monster Kid-who didn't seem to remember how Flowey had temporarily taken their soul as well as the souls of almost all of the monsters-and they messed around a bit longer before the bell to begin school rang out loud and clearly in the air.
"Let's go inside and meet the teacher!" Monster Kid said excitedly. Frisk picked up Flowey's pot before stashing it inside their backpack, and they rushed inside.
There were actually a lot of humans at the school. It had been taken over by Toriel after the previous principal quit. Before, it was basically up for grabs. Some people were curious as to how a monster would manage a school of humans; others hadn't even known that a monster was teaching there now, let alone acting as the principal. Several human kids, once they had found out, were calling their parents to let them know-some even begging to be picked up. Frisk sighed. They weren't even going to give Toriel a chance?
Nevertheless, Frisk and Monster Kid got to class and sat down in two seats that were not too far apart but not too close. Other kids were in the class, looking around the room curiously. There were a few monsters, but the humans didn't seem to care much. The teacher, however, seemed thoroughly disgruntled. When the bell rang to begin class, she stood up and paced in the front of a room, a ruler in one hand and a clipboard in the other. Her curly red hair was up in a bun, and she was wearing a red and white polka-dotted dress with her red cat-eye glasses.
"Alright, class! I am Miss Annie. Before we get started, I want to inform you that I won't tolerate any trouble from you monsters who appear to have infested the school," she glared at every single monster in the class individually, her thin, lipstick-covered lips curled into a frown. They squirmed in their seats uncomfortably. Frisk wasn't quite sure what to do. "Now, then… Onto attendance."
As she peered down at her clipboard through her red cat-eye glasses, she started calling out names. A twinge of fear shot up Frisk's spine. Was it going to have their legal name or their chosen name on the clipboard? Had Toriel changed it for them? What would they do if it was their legal name? What would the teacher do if they corrected her? Oh, gee…
"Frisk Dreemurr?"
Frisk hesitated before letting out a sigh of relief and raising their hand. The teacher continued her eternal scowl as she called the rest of the roll. When she was finished, she started walking down the rows of desks.
"Alright, you little twerps. I expect no trouble out of any of you. If nothing else, you will walk out of this room with some manners and a respect for your authority figures. Is that clear?" Everyone nodded. She seemed satisfied with that response and started handing out sheets of paper.
It was a standard "let me get to know you" sheet. Frisk read the paper over a few times, trying to piece everything on it together. There were blank spaces for the students to write in answers.
"My name is _!"
"My hobbies include _, _, and _."
"I love my family! I have a mom named _, a dad named _, and a pet named _."
One of the kids in the classroom raised their hand. Miss Annie, who was now seated at her desk in the front of the class, nodded her head to them.
"What if I don't have a dad, Miss Annie? What if I have two moms? What do I put on the paper?"
Another kid joined in.
"Yeah! I don't have a pet. What should I write?"
Miss Annie sighed, then answered, "Just leave it blank or cross out incorrect words and write the correct ones above them. That should be obvious. I hope you all aren't foolish enough that I have to explain such things."
The children then stayed silent as they finished writing in the information on their papers.
Frisk thought about their own family. Toriel was their mom, and Asgore was their dad, but what about their pet? Could Flowey be considered a pet? It was as close to a pet as Frisk was going to get, so they wrote "Flowey" above the blank for their pet's name. When they reread what they had wrote, they let out a small chuckle. This caught the attention of Miss Annie, who gave Frisk a glare. It made them feel a little bit uncomfortable.
After a few minutes, Miss Annie told the children to raise their hands if they were finished. Most kids did so-except for Monster Kid, who was struggling to write. Because of their lack of arms, they had to use a tool that they held in their mouth which held a pencil on the end. Then, they had to make minute movements with their head in order to write. When Miss Annie saw that they hadn't finished, she rose from her seat and walked over to Monster Kid's desk. The monster was so focused on the task at hand that they only stopped their work when Miss Annie slammed a ruler on their table, causing them to wince and drop the tool out of their mouth.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"I… I was just filling out the paper, Miss Annie."
"Where is your pencil?"
"It's right there," Monster Kid replied, nodding towards the pencil which was now lying inside the writing tool that had fallen onto their desk.
"Why do you have it inside that toy?"
"Toy? It isn't a toy, Miss Annie, it's-"
"Yes, it is. You are wasting time using it. Use your arms."
"Kid doesn't have any arms, Miss Annie," Frisk explained.
Monster Kid gasped, but didn't dare move in case they broke their eye contact with the teacher. The teacher, meanwhile, moved away from their desk and walked over to Frisk.
"Of course that thing has arms. All monsters have arms. They all probably have at least four arms, seeing as they're nothing but mutant freaks."
Frisk felt like the classroom was shrinking. Miss Annie was hunched over them, and her voice rebounded in their mind. A million eyeballs were fixated on them. Nonetheless, they weren't going to let any of those things stop them from defending their friend. Monster Kid had a valid reason to be a bit delayed, and Frisk was going to get that point across no matter what.
"But, Miss Annie, monsters aren't freaks, and Kid really doesn't have arms! Look at them!"
"They're just hiding their arms in their shirt."
"Do… do you see any arms inside their shirt?"
"No, I don't need to. I know that they're hiding their arms."
"But, you can't just say that! You have to have proof, Miss Annie."
"No, I don't. I'm the teacher. Now, shut up, and let me deal with that monster myself."
"Please, Miss Annie. Don't pick on them. They really are trying their best."
"Dreemurr! Silence at once!"
"No!"
All of the children in the classroom gasped, and one kid almost fell out of their seat. Miss Annie's mouth was open in surprise, and her eyes were wide.
"What did you say. brat?"
"I said no! You're picking on Kid because they're not a human. That isn't right, Miss Annie! If you're going to be so mean to them and all of the other monsters for such a bad reason, then I… I… I'm going to have Mom fire you!"
More silence in the classroom. Then, almost disturbingly, Miss Annie cackled and slammed her hands down onto Frisk's desk. She was eye level with them, her pale, wrinkled face taking up their vision. They could smell the cigarettes in her breath, see the coffee staining her teeth. If they felt like it, they could count every wrinkle on her face-the crow's feet, the smile lines…
Smile lines? How did she have smile lines? Frisk couldn't imagine her ever smiling.
That was beside the point. They were being yelled at.
"Your freak of a mother fire me? That's ridiculous! This school is desperate-no, dying for teachers, and I'm only here because it's a lucrative business. Gold doesn't grow on trees, but I can get some for myself by babysitting all of the sorry wretches in this classroom! I may as well try to shape you all into better, more honorable citizens of society by teaching you some etiquette while I'm here, but I see that selfish, unruly children like you are not going to yield so easily. And to think that it was a human that gave me the most trouble first before a monster! This is insufferable. I won't tolerate it."
"What are you going to do about it?" Frisk asked, a sense of confidence rising up within them from somewhere. They knew that talking that way to the teacher was rude, but they had feeling that luck was on their side this time.
"What I am going to do about it? I'll tell you what, twerp. I'm going to make all of the monster pests in this room suffer! They'll be given plenty more work than their human classmates, and they'll blame you for it. How is that, Dreemurr?"
As much as Frisk wanted to cry, they held it in. Miss Annie's face was a bright red, her mouth was curved into a menacing, toothy frown, and she was trembling slightly as if she was going to explode at any minute. Did Frisk let that stop them? Of course not. That confident feeling was growing stronger and stronger. They understood what the feeling was now, because they had felt it many times before. Knowing that they were the only voice for their monster classmates at this moment…
"That is enough, Miss Annie."
Frisk broke their focus on Miss Annie and quickly glanced at the doorway in the front of the classroom. When they recognized who was standing there, they couldn't hold back.
"Mom!"
"What? Miss Dreemurr?!" Miss Annie asked before whirling around to also spot her boss, who first smiled to her child and then frowned at the teacher.
"Miss Annie, I heard that you were planning on discriminating against the monster students in your class. You were talking with such emotion that I heard it very faintly down the hall and decided to listen in with the intercoms. Is this true? Am I mistaken, or is what I heard correct?"
"M-Miss Dreemurr, I assure you that-"
"She was being so mean, Mom! She was picking on Kid for not having arms, and then she was going to give only the monsters extra work!"
Miss Annie shushed them, but Toriel shook her head at her.
"Do not shush the child. This school is supposed to encourage free-thinking and the inner voice of every student through discovery. Besides, I already know how you've intimidated these poor, innocent children, Miss Annie. I'm afraid Frisk is right. I am going to have to have a talk with you in my office."
"A talk with you? You're pulling my leg, Miss Dreemurr."
"I am not. If you will not talk and come to a resolution, I am forced to relieve you of your position here at this school."
After Toriel had finished speaking, Miss Annie's hands were in fists. She stood straight up, bit her lip, and took a deep breath.
"All right. I understand. You monsters think you're entitled to be equal to humans. Well, I won't work in such an environment. I'm not so low-class as to think that I have to cooperate with you. I quit."
The redheaded instructor briskly walked over to her desk, retrieved her bags and other personal belongings, and then promptly left the classroom. Everyone watched nervously. As soon as she was gone and out of earshot, Toriel let out a huge sigh and put out her arms, which Frisk ran into. She also looked over to Monster Kid.
"You want me to come over there too, ma'am?"
"Yes, child."
Monster Kid was a bit hesitant, but then leaped off of their chair and slowly approached Toriel. She smiled at them and placed a gentle hand on their right shoulder as she crouched down to be eye level with both them and Frisk.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, ma'am, now that you're here! You really saved the day! You were awesome!"
"I am glad to hear it."
"Is she gone for good, Mom?"
"Yes, child. It will be a bit difficult making sure I get a new teacher for your class that won't treat you all like she did, but I will try my best."
Toriel then stood up and looked around at the other students. Both humans and monsters alike were staring at her with curiosity. To ease them of any worry or distress they might have gotten from the recent happenings in the classroom, she spoke to everyone.
"Your education is my number one concern. I want you all to reach your highest potential. People like that woman, Miss Annie, who single you out for failure based on who you are, whether you are a human or monster, will not be allowed here. I promise that something like this will not happen again. This school is a safe place."
Some of the students smiled at her, while others clapped and cheered for her for getting rid of Miss Annie.
"Now then, it looks like your teacher is out, so your class is over for today. I suppose that this first day today will be a short one. I shall have a replacement teacher for you all by tomorrow. In the meantime, this class is dismissed. Be good, won't you?"
The children cheered, and then, before Toriel could move out the way, tiny bodies rushed by her feet out of the classroom door. Frisk and Monster Kid were the only ones remaining.
"Ma'am? Thank you very much," Monster Kid sincerely said to Toriel.
"You are always welcome, child. Now then, you should start heading home. I'm sure your parents will be pleased to see you home early."
"Actually, ma'am, I have to wait for my parents to pick me up after their work. They aren't going to be able to pick me up until about 3:00 PM... "
"I see. In that case, would you like to stay here with Frisk and I until your parents get here? We will have to stay here for a while. It would be a pleasure for you to join us."
Monster Kid couldn't believe it. Not only were they saved by both Frisk and the principal lady from that malicious teacher, but now they could play with Frisk for a few hours! What better way was there to start the school year than that? They started to excitedly dance in place, but then lost their balance and fell over. When they got themselves off of the ground, they grinned widely at Toriel and gave an answer.
"That sounds awesome! I would love to stay here with you and Frisk!"
Frisk smiled, and Toriel nodded to Monster Kid again.
"Then, it is settled. We shall all go to the office, and then we can… which expression do you kids you use? I believe it is 'hang out'?"
"Yep!" both the children replied. They hurriedly picked up their things from their seats, then ran back to Toriel.
With this, the three of them exited the classroom and walked to the office together. Frisk and Monster Kid were giggling and skipping gleefully the whole time down the hallway.
When the entourage arrived at the office, both Frisk and Monster Kid took a moment to look around and register what they saw. The reception desk sat in the front of the room, with two seats for two receptionists. Currently, the receptionists were one human and one monster. They waved at the two children and Toriel in greeting, but this was overshadowed by their blank expressions. Frisk assumed that they must have been working hard, and so they were too tired to greet the group energetically. That, or they weren't busy at all and bored because of it. Either way, Frisk secretly made a wish that the two of them would cheer up soon.
Behind the receptionists were filing cabinets, all arranged neatly in a row against the back wall. The cabinets seemed pretty tall to Frisk, and various file folders and papers were poking out from behind their closed drawers. When Frisk asked Toriel why it was so messy, she explained that the school did not have much to get ready for opening once she had taken over, so all of the files had been organized and hurriedly placed into the drawers. When Frisk offered to tidy up the drawers, she assured them that she could do it herself, and that she would do so later. For now, she directed the two students' attention to a hallway that cut into the wall to the left of the bookcases and made a 90 degree turn. Monster Kid spoke first.
"What does that hallway lead to?"
"That leads to my part of the office. It's a small room with a desk and two chairs to sit in. There is only one chair in the room besides the one I sit in behind my desk, but I can give up my seat for a while so that you both may sit down and rest."
Frisk would have none of that. Their mother deserved a rest in a comfortable chair after what she did for the students just now. It must have been difficult for her to keep her poise while Miss Annie looked close to snapping. They would let Monster Kid have the chair that was meant for students, and Toriel could sit in her principal chair.
"Mom, I can sit on the floor, or I can sit against the wall! It's okay with me! I want you to have some time to relax. Kid can sit in the other chair."
Right as Toriel opened her mouth to begin her objection to this idea, Monster Kid again was the first to speak.
"No way, dude! You can sit in the chair. I don't need one."
"Yes, you do, Kid! I want you to relax too! You had a rough time today."
"Hey, it's all gotten a million times better since you and your mother helped me out. I'll be fine, buddy! Trust me."
Frisk knew that Monster Kid was sincere in what they said, but they still felt that the monster deserved to rest in the chair more than they did. The only solution was to compromise.
"How about you take the chair that isn't behind the desk, and I'll sit with my mom in her chair?"
"That's alright with me!"
The children both bumped shoulders-their own version of a high five-and then dashed off towards the hallway in the back. Toriel followed them, delighted to see how well they got along.
In the principal's room, Monster Kid settled into a decently-sized wooden chair, which was for misbehaving students who got sent to the office. Meanwhile, Frisk and Toriel took the larger chair in the room that sat behind the principal's desk. Frisk couldn't help but wonder about the decorations in the room, so they perused their surroundings while Toriel began searching through a notebook on her desk for something.
On the wall on Frisk's right hung a few recent photos of their family and friends. In one photo, Sans was lifting both Frisk and Flowey with his blue magic, Frisk grinning ecstatically while Flowey's mouth was curled into a scowl. In another, Papyrus and Undyne were competing in an eating contest, food flying everywhere in the background and various patches of color staining the two's clothes. On the wall opposite of the desk, various certificates had been placed in frames and hung on the wall. They were too far away for Frisk to read them.
"Mom, what are those papers on the wall over there?" Frisk asked, pointing to them. Monster Kid turned their head to look at the wall behind them.
"Oh, those? They're called 'certificates', Frisk. Those are official papers that the government and the school system gave to me. They show that I own the school, and that it meets the requirements to function well."
"Were they expensive?"
"Well, monsters have a different currency than humans, so our money was worth a lot compared to what the humans use. I only have to pay for the property as well as a few other things, but soon the school system will pay for most things for me. The certificates were given to me by the school system as soon as it was ready to open again."
"That's very kind of them!"
"Yes, it is. Except…"
"What is it?"
"Nothing, child. Do not fret."
"Okay, if you say so."
"Yo, Miss Frisk's Mom! This is a neat room!"
"Why, thank you, Kid."
Monster Kid smiled, then looked at the notebook on Toriel's desk.
"7… 6… 8…"
"That's not how the numbers go, Kid! It's 6, 7, and then 8!"
"Oh, I wasn't counting! I was looking at the numbers inside that notebook. They're written in a weird order. Kind of like… phone numbers! Is that a phonebook, Miss Frisk's Mom?"
Toriel nodded. "Yes, it is. It's a phonebook filled with the phone numbers of all of my friends."
"Why are you looking through your friends' phone numbers, Mom?" Frisk poked the open pages of the phonebook, tracing each name and trying to read them.
"I'm looking for ideas for you and Kid's new teacher. I want to find a replacement as soon as possible…"
Toriel continued to flip through the phonebook. Monster Kid and Frisk watched, eager to read the names before each other. Eventually, one name caught Frisk's eye right after Kid said it.
"Alphys! You could hire Alphys, Mom!"
"Do you think she would make a good teacher? I don't know if she's qualified…"
"Well, I don't know what she would need to do to be qualified, but she could definitely be a teacher! She's smart and nice!"
"You make a point. I suppose I could ask her."
Monster Kid's face lit up.
"Alphys? Do you mean the former Royal Scientist, Alphys? She's my older cousin!"
"Wow, really? I had no idea you two were related, Kid! She's one of my best friends."
"Man, it would be awesome if she could be my teacher! I would feel a lot safer in class if she were there."
"In that case," Toriel said before reaching for her cell phone, "I'll give her a call."
"Great!" Frisk cheered. They reached for their backpack, then retrieved Flowey from inside of it.
"Flowey! Did you hear that? Alphys is going to be my new teacher!"
"I didn't hear that, actually. The inside of your backpack is basically soundproof. All I heard was murmuring. What's going on? Does your class not have a teacher? Is that why you're not in class?" The flower answered before noticing Toriel and Monster Kid sitting around him. "Where are we?"
Toriel took Flowey from Frisk's hands and placed him on her desk in a decorative manner.
"This room is my part of the main office, Flowey. I have brought Frisk and Kid here with me because their class was let out early after their teacher quit. We are trying to find a replacement."
"Golly, the teacher left on the first day? That's rough. And it sure looks like an office in here-bland and full of papers," Flowey snarkily gave his commentary.
"Flowey!"
Frisk reached over to pull at one of Flowey's petals, but Toriel stopped them.
"No, he's right. A teacher leaving so early is bad news for the school, and this office could use a little pizzazz. I was planning on decorating later, but I have no time for it this week."
"I can try decorating for you, Mom!"
"Yeah, me too, Miss!"
"No, it's okay. I shall do it myself Friday afternoon. Now, I am going to call Alphys and offer her the job. You all may stay in here, but it needs to be quiet. Can you manage that for me?"
Frisk and Monster Kid nodded while Flowey rolled his eyes. Toriel grinned at them, then dialed Alphys' number. After a few seconds of waiting while the phone rang, there was an answer.
"Alphys? Are you busy? It's Toriel. Hello to you, too! I was just calling to see if you were interested in taking up a teaching job at my school. Frisk's class needs a new teacher, and I have determined that you are one of the best candidates."
The kids were silently playing hand games to pass the time as Toriel negotiated with Alphys. Flowey let out a chuckle every time one of the children lost their focus or rhythm and stopped the continuous streak of the game. Then, when Frisk saw how left out Flowey was from the games, they pointed to his pot and then to their lap to show that they were offering to move him closer to the action. He shook his head to decline the offer. He wasn't about to be caught under a mess of rapidly-moving hands that could accidentally hit him and knock him out or remove a petal. Besides, even though he didn't want to show it, he was content with seeing Frisk so full of childish joy. Their mood had improved significantly from earlier in the morning. Nobody told him what had caused Frisk to feel better, but Flowey didn't care much about the specifics when he saw Frisk's eyes animated so brightly.
"Okay, then! I'll stop by your house later to drop off the application and the details of your job so that you'll be ready for tomorrow. Thank you so much, Alphys. Have a nice day! Goodbye," Toriel concluded her phone conversation. She sighed and leaned back in her chair before wiping her entire face with her hands.
"Well?" Flowey asked first. "How did it go?"
"She says that she is alright with teaching the class as long as I can offer her a good working schedule and a decent salary. Teachers are usually paid by the school system, but since she isn't properly qualified, I may have to pay her with a large portion of my own salary…"
Frisk raised an eyebrow. "What's a salary?"
"A 'salary' is the money someone gets paid for doing a job."
"Alphys can't get a salary from the school system because she isn't qualified?"
"No, I'm afraid she can't. I'm starting to wonder if I could get in trouble with the law if I let an unqualified teacher teach here…"
"Pfft. Alphys is a genius. I mean, look at me! She gave an inanimate object life. And what about Mettaton? His body is state-of-the-art and functions just like a real one. If that isn't enough proof that Alphys knows enough to teach a class-and a lower level class at that, then the school system is stupid," Flowey asserted.
"Flowey, the school system isn't stupid. But, yes, I do see your points. I suppose I can work out the details later. Honestly," Toriel giggled at what she was about to say next, "the people who make up the system are a bit too lazy to be watchful of anyone. Perhaps we can fit Alphys into the school without anyone taking note of it."
"Coolio! Are we going to go see her right now, Miss Frisk's Mom?" Monster Kid eagerly looked to the door that led back to the front of the main office. They couldn't wait to see their cousin again!
"We can't, Kid! We have to wait for your parents to pick you up, remember?" Frisk reminded them.
"Oh, yeah, you're right…"
"Do you know which parent is picking you up?" Toriel queried. She had an idea about what they could do to make sure it was okay to take Monster Kid with them.
"Well, my mom gets off of work before my dad, so it will probably be her."
"Do you know her phone number?"
"Yeah! Why?"
"We could give her a call and ask her if it is okay to take you over to see your cousin while she is still at work. If she knows that you are going to be under my supervision and that you will be visiting your family, she may be a bit more comfortable with letting you come along."
"That's a great idea!"
"In that case, could you please tell me her phone number?"
Monster Kid slowly recited the number back to Toriel. She started the call, then waited for the phone to stop ringing. When a voice came through the speaker, she and Monster Kid both took turns speaking to the child's mother. After about five minutes, they hung up.
"Alright, let's go!" Monster Kid exclaimed before hopping out of their chair. They walked over to the door of the room and turned back to everyone.
"Yay!" Frisk followed.
Toriel quickly stashed her phonebook into one of the drawers in her desk, then lifted Flowey off of his place and carried him in her arms. Strangely, it was really nice to Flowey whenever Toriel carried him. It reminded him of when he was still a young Boss Monster, when Toriel would carry him from wherever he was playing in New Home to his bedroom so that he could sleep…
When all four parties were ready, they left the room, then headed for the main entrance of the school. As they passed the receptionists, Frisk waved at the two energetically.
Both of them smiled.
Expect more chapters soon! I hope you guys are enjoying the story!
The next chapter will focus a bit more on Sans and Papyrus, if anyone was hoping for that.
Feel free to favorite, follow, like, comment, or review! I hope everyone has a nice day and a happy new year!