Disclaimer - I don't own ZOMBIES or any of the characters involved. Copyright to Walt Disney Studios

Another wait, sorry about that...! I was busy with the con and extremely tired after it, so when I actually had time to write I couldn't stay awake to do it. The con was fun, I bought a ton of ZOMBIES art commissions (take a look at my Tumblr to see them~!) but sadly no-one recognised my Addison or zombie cosplays

I've mentioned Mr Zeck, the janitor/zombie teacher, giving Zombie-tongue classes in fics before but I felt like I needed to take a closer look at him and how he adjusts to it. I also wanted to pair him up in a friendship with the coach cuz I love when characters who are such opposites are friends like that. I have one more one-shot planned out then I'll have to start coming up with more ideas, but I'll most likely focus more on either the Bronzo AU or the Big Project, cuz their plots are coming along nicely now. BtB updates could be few and far between, depending on how things go

Lessons Learned

A promotion. An actual, real promotion. Not like when he was practically babysitting Seabrook High's new zombie students down in the basement and calling it "teaching", no, now he really was teaching. And he was no longer the janitor. Although, that job still had gone to another zombie. Baby steps. Progress is progress.

Mr Zeck, as luck would have it, was in fact quite well versed in not only the Zombie language but its history as well, and with the new zombie integration program in place, he could get the basic training he needed to become an actual teacher. He'd never considered the position before but he had to admit, even if he wasn't able to teach them properly, it wasn't all that bad overseeing the zombie class – if he could even call it a class at the time. And for the first time in years, he was feeling hopeful. In the past, Mr Zeck had learned to accept his role in society; a zombie, only good for menial tasks and nothing more. But now, things were looking up. So he was going for it. The school board wanted to introduce a Zombie-tongue class for the human students in order to improve the human-zombie relationships and give them a better understanding of their history and culture. This was his chance, and already being a member of the school's staff, he heard the news fast and was quick to apply.

He was going to teach Zombie-tongue to humans. And he wasn't going to be stuck in the basement anymore. But he was all too aware of the humans who still didn't approve of the integration. He was going to be Seabrook's first zombie teacher and that would inevitably come with an obscene amount of resistance. But he was part of the movement now and he wasn't about to let his cynicism get the better of him.

They weren't all bad, of course. Most of them were certainly making an effort to be more respectful than they may have been before, at the very least. Addison and Bree, in particular, were near model students but he wasn't too surprised about that – he knew about their close relationships with a few zombie students. They had already learned enough from them to know what was and wasn't true. And Bree was quickly reaching the top of the class. He knew he shouldn't play favourites, but if he did, it'd be a solid tie.

There were only a handful of students who weren't so pleased with the change, but they were hard to ignore.

"What do we even need this class for?"

"Yeah, when are we ever gonna talk in Zombie?"

"Talk about a dead language…" Someone snorted at that one. Addison scoffed and Bree rolled her eyes.

Mr Zeck simply folded his arms and gave the kid an unimpressed look.

"Are you finished?"

"I'm just saying, what is the point of learning this? We don't need to speak in Zombie-tongue when you zombies can speak English."

"This class is about more than humans learning to speak the language. It's a matter of understanding zombies," he managed to keep his voice level, "Not just in the sense of understanding what we say, but understanding our history and our culture. Zombie-tongue comes from years of struggle and experimentation after the outbreak. It's a significant part of how we built our society. That is what makes it necessary for you to learn."

Bree's hand shot up and Mr Zeck gestured for her to speak.

"And there's zombies who struggle with English," she said, turning in her seat to address the other student, just barely holding back her anger, "It's only fair we learn their language. We need to be inclusive."

"Thank you, Bree" he gave her a brief smile then turned back to the source of the problem, "And if you don't take this class, I'll have no choice but to fail you. If you have a problem with that, you can take it up with Principal Lee."

"But-"

"Otherwise, I could just give you detention."

"What for?"

"For disrupting the class. Unless we're done here? We've wasted enough time as it is."

The student finally shut up then, looking down at the desk and muttering under their breath. Addison, hoping to diffuse the situation, raised her hand.

"Mr Zeck, is it true there's 23 different words for brains in Zombie-tongue…?"

That got more than a few people's attention, and earned a mumbled "kiss-up" from the other side of the room. Mr Zeck chuckled softly, thankful for the change in subject.

"23 might be exaggerating a little, but there are multiple words for brain. I think it's more like 14 or 15, and most of them are to differentiate between things like age, size, chemical balances, basically things that effect the taste and texture of a human brain…" he trailed off as he noticed the uneasy looks he was getting, "Of course, most of the terms are obsolete now, ever since the invention of the Z-band, since we no longer eat brains."

People visibly relaxed at that and he couldn't help feeling a twinge of sadness at how quick they were to assume the worst at just the slightest mention of the zombies' past diet. He picked up his chalk and began writing on the board.

"Actually, that gives us a perfect path back on track. The most common word for brain you'll hear nowadays would be "garzedd", which also means "head" or "mind". Not a word for food. And most nouns in Zombie-tongue follow the pattern of…"

The rest of the class passed by with only a few minor hitches; the occasional comment muttered under someone's breath or a nervous look when Mr Zeck was walking around the room and perhaps got a bit too close for comfort to the desk of one of the less accepting students. When the bell rang, everyone filtered out, the kid who had started the disruption getting out as quickly as possible. Addison and Bree, however, lingered back, the last ones to leave. They turned to Mr Zeck at the door, both looking sympathetic.

"I'm sorry about all that…" Addison started to say.

"That's not for you to apologise for," he sighed, "Besides, I've been taking this sort of treatment a heck of a lot longer than your friends have. I've heard it all, far worse than that. Nothing surprises me anymore. I'm just grateful things are finally turning around."

"It doesn't make it OK, though."

"You're right about that, but it's getting better. For one thing, I'm not being forced to stay in the basement all day, until someone throws up. And there still isn't a lot of zombies in town who get to work directly with humans, so I'd say I'm pretty lucky to get this position. You two better get going, though, you'll be late for your next class. Good work today, girls."

- BEYOND THE BARRIER -

Despite his efforts to stay hopeful, Mr Zeck's days at Seabrook High didn't get all that much easier. True, this was a vastly better job, and there were other students like Addison and Bree who would at least try to treat him with some respect, and it was great seeing the zombie students who had once been confined to the basement along with him walking around and mingling with the human students. But he couldn't avoid the ones who just wanted him gone, back downstairs or, better yet, back to Zombie Town. Not even in the teachers' lounge.

It was amazing to be allowed in there, but it didn't change the fact that he was the only zombie. He tried to be friendly and interact with the other teachers, but too many of them were unwilling to reciprocate. They at least had the decency to try and hide it, but they didn't do such a good job. He could hear their whispers when he was around.

"It can't be safe to leave him alone with a class. What was she thinking hiring him?"

"What if his Z-band malfunctioned? Especially around the students…!"

"Is he even qualified to teach?"

"He'd barely even be able to think without a Z-band, what makes Principal Lee believe he has the capacity to teach? And teach humans?"

"Zombie or not, he was just a janitor, how did he ever become a teacher?"

He would have said something to them, most likely something sarcastic, scathing and bitter. He would have, if the football team's coach hadn't overheard it all and stepped in before he could.

"He's been working in the school for years, the kids were safe enough around him when he needed to come upstairs before, they're safe with him in the classroom now."

"I think you're getting a little ahead of yourselves. Malfunctions are pretty rare, plus most of the time they only make 'em unstable. They're not all that dangerous like that. Besides, you can't blame him if there's some freak accident."

"He's had the training and he speaks the language, what else do you want him to do, huh?"

"I dunno, what makes her believe you have the capacity to teach? And teach zombies?"

"OK, now y'all are just grasping at straws. People get promoted all the time!"

Every time, the coach wouldn't just shut them down, he'd do it loudly. He'd make it known to the whole room that one among them was a zombiephobe with no clue whatsoever what they were talking about. That he wasn't going to tolerate it. That the rest of them shouldn't, either. Then throw an arm around Mr Zeck's shoulders, ask him if he was good, and remind him he was doing a good job. The man had certainly gotten a confidence boost ever since his team had started climbing up the rankings. He was Mr Zeck's complete opposite – expressive, excitable and, to those who deserved it, friendly. And they got along just fine.