A.N: Hey guys! What's up? I'm finally back with another chapter of "Masked"! I'm sorry that it took so long once again. Writer's block strikes at absolutely the worst times ever -_- But hey, I've recently had the inspiration come flowing right back; especially with Season 5's finale (P.S I'm glad Nick Lachey (Piglet) won. Jojo (Black Swan) was really great too, but I rooted more for Lachey ^^) So yeah, I've got a lot of different ideas for the story now so hopefully updates will be more common.
Anyways, in the last chapter we saw what was essentially a day in the life of Thingamajig and Whatchamacallit with them going to their job, seeing friends, and so forth. Well, today we're going to see my OC Lamby's first day. Fair warning, this chapter is going to be very 'Lamby-centric' and I apologize if it's boring for you. Don't worry, not all of the chapters will be centered around Lamby, but a few of them throughout the story will. But never fear, other masks will have prominent roles in them too. We're also going to see one of my favorite masks from Season 5 make a debut in this chapter. So, without further ado, enjoy! :)
Two Days Later (Monday):
Lamby woke up to her alarm clock screaming at her and immediately shut it off. She groggily sat up in bed and stared at the wall across from her. Lamby yawned and rubbed her eyes with her arm as she saw her reflection in the mirror hanging above her dresser. That was when it dawned on her. It was Monday; the first day of her new job as a teacher.
The pretty ewe felt a tired smile come to her face. Today was the day. Her dream of being a teacher was about to finally come true.
Lamby always liked the idea of teaching. Something about educating the youth and broadening their knowledge appealed to her greatly. What made it even better was that she was going to be teaching Social Studies; her favorite subject when she was in school. She would educate her students about many different cultures and ancient civilizations from long ago as well as their governments and religious beliefs. It was all so fascinating.
The sheep tiredly tossed her blankets aside and got up from the bed, stretching her limbs out. She looked at her clock.
6:30 a.m.
She heaved a relieved sigh. Classes at Maskglen Junior High usually didn't start until 8:00 a.m, so she had a little bit of time to spare. Putting on her purple robe and tying the sash, she went downstairs and popped some waffles into the toaster; then she brewed some coffee for herself. On her days off, she preferred a more comforting beverage such as her herbal tea. But because she was starting work today, she needed all the energy she could get.
Finally Lamby's waffles were done and the sheep completely doused them with syrup. She filled her mug and added cream and sugar before taking a dainty sip. Suddenly, her ears flicked as she heard distant chatter coming from outside. Although the two female voices were muffled, they sounded very familiar. Now feeling curious, Lamby opened the screen door and headed out onto her back patio. She smiled as soon as she saw the source of the noise.
Butterfly and Flamingo were both eating breakfast out on their respective porches while having one of their morning chats. The dazzling Rhopalocera and the sassy pink bird instantly noticed the pretty sheep step outside.
"Lamby! ¡Buenos días!" Flamingo called out waving,
"Yeah. Good morning, Lamby." Butterfly said politely,
"Flamingo, Butterfly, good morning." Lamby greeted sweetly, "What are you guys up to?"
Butterfly shrugged, "Just talking; we do this sort of thing everyday. Care to join us?"
"Sure." Lamby eagerly agreed, she set her plate of waffles and her mug of coffee on her patio table before sitting down. "So, what are we talking about?"
"Well, I was just telling Butterfly that her party the other night was a hit!" Flamingo said excitedly, she pumped her right arm in the air for emphasis. She then looked over at her sparkly-winged friend. "You need to throw another one real soon, amiga."
Butterfly sipped her fruity tea. "Maybe. We'll have to see."
Lamby gave Butterfly a sincere smile, "You should, it was really fun. I know I had a great time. It was so nice to meet your friends like Kitty, Miss Monster, and Night Angel. I met some other nice people there too."
"Like who?" Butterfly asked curiously,
Lamby stirred her coffee with her spoon as she thought back. "Well, there were these two guys; both monsters. They said that they knew you."
"What did they look like?" Flamingo asked curiously,
"One was really tall with green fur and glasses, and the other one was also kind of tall with long blue, red, and white fur. They said their names were Thingamajig and Whatchamacallit." Lamby replied,
Butterfly's antennae perked up at the mention of the monsters' names. "Oh yeah! Thing and Whatcha! They're pretty cool.
"Sí, they're great guys. Muy dulce." Flamingo agreed,
Lamby nodded, "They are. Whatcha's really funny and Thing is really sweet. Poor guy lost his glasses during the party and I helped him out."
"Aww, well isn't that nice." Butterfly said, putting a hand over her heart.
Then the trio immediately changed the subject.
"So, Flamingo. How's work at the hospital going?" Butterfly spoke up,
The pink bird shrugged, "Meh, the usual same ole' same ole'. How are the rehearsals going?" She asked,
"They're going great! I'm starting to feel a lot more positive about our chances!" Butterfly replied excitedly,
"Rehearsal? For what?" Lamby asked quirking a brow,
"Butterfly and her group are going to perform at a big talent showcase that's being held at The Doghouse this weekend." Flamingo explained, "It's a little performance venue that we have here in town."
"That's where I work." Butterfly added,
The ewe's eyes widened and her ears perked up. "Oh cool! That's awesome, Butterfly. I'm sure you'll be great." She said sweetly, "I can tell that you have an amazing singing voice."
"That's what I keep on telling her, but she won't believe me." Flamingo said rolling her eyes,
"I'm feeling a lot of pressure, guys. This performance could be very crucial for my career as a singer. I haven't performed in a long while and I want to step back into the fray. If I'm going to do this, we need to be perfect." Butterfly said,
"Well, you won't have to worry, amiga. We'll all be right there cheering you on." Flamingo said with a smile,
"And you can count me in too." Lamby said nodding,
The sparkly Rhopalocera beamed at her two friends. Tears began to form in the corners of her emerald compound eyes. She quickly wiped them with the sleeve of her pjs.
"Thanks, guys." She sniffled,
The trio talked for a little while longer and finished their breakfasts until Lamby looked at her phone and saw the time.
7:00 a.m.
Her hazel eyes widened. "Holy crap! I gotta go!" She downed the rest of her coffee while the Butterfly and Flamingo watched her with wide eyes.
"Whoa, take it easy, Lamby. I'm sure if you're a few minutes late, you'll be fine." Butterfly said,
"No no no no! You don't understand. It's my first day of teaching! I can't be late for that!" Lamby said frantically, the ewe was in a frenzy to get her things in order. She grabbed her empty plate and mug scrambling back into the house.
"I'll talk to you guys later, bye!" Lamby waved, she slammed the back door shut making the two winged ladies jump in their seats.
The sheep hustled to get ready. She was glad that she chose to shower the night before so she wouldn't waste any more time. She quickly threw on a nice sweater and long skirt with some flats before fixing her hair into a ponytail and brushing her teeth. Since she didn't have a car, the ewe had to take a bus to get to the school. She felt so uncomfortable being squashed in a small seat between two strangers, so she opted to hold onto the hand railing and stand. She was relieved when she finally arrived at the stop and made a break for the school.
Lamby got to the door that led to the sixth grade hallway. She stopped to check the time on her phone. 7:30 a.m. The sheep heaved a sigh and fixed her hair as some strands had fallen out of place. She then took a deep breath and opened the door entering the hallway. Lamby walked down the mostly empty hall looking for her room number. Finally, she spotted it; Room 199.
Lamby opened the classroom door and entered the room. It was still empty, but she knew the children would be arriving soon. She sat down at her desk and pulled all of her teaching stuff out of her bag. After about five minutes, kids of varying species started trickling in one by one. The kind ewe gave them each a friendly smile as they walked in and took their seats. She already had a good feeling about this.
The bell finally rang signifying the beginning of the school day.
Lamby smiled and stood up from her desk. "Good morning, class! I'm your new Social Studies teacher. My name is Lamby Fleece, but you can refer to me as Miss Fleece."
"Good morning, Miss Fleece." The class said kindly but respectfully,
Lamby beamed at her new students.
"Okay, now I know it might be a little confusing that I started a few weeks after the school year started, but don't worry; we still have plenty of time to learn together and I'm really excited for the year we're going to have."
The students all smiled at the sheep which warmed her heart.
The morning rolled by pretty quickly. Each class Lamby had was great. The students were all super nice and welcomed her for her first day. Instead of spending the first day teaching a normal history lesson, Lamby thought it would be better to get to know all of the students and tell them a little bit about herself as well. Every student seemed to like her which was a good sign. Eventually lunchtime rolled around and the entire 6th grade filed into the cafeteria for their lunch.
Lamby packed her bag and made a beeline for the Teacher's Lounge. Upon entering the ewe was in awe to see that the lounge was a nice space and that a bunch of other teachers were already there as well.
She sat down at one of the tables making herself comfortable. She reached into her bag and pulled out her turkey sandwich as well as a bag of Hot Cheetos and a soda. The sheep began to quietly munch on her sandwich when all of a sudden the doors opened.
"Phew! Man, practice was a real killer today, guys." A voice said, it was obviously male, but it was a little high up.
"Yeah, but the kids are getting better at singing; they're voices have certainly improved since day one." Another voice spoke up, this one was also kind of high but slightly deeper than the first one.
"What song do you think we should bring in tomorrow for them to sing?" A third voice asked, this one was deeper than the other two.
Lamby looked up and turned slightly in her seat to see three figures walk into the lounge. They looked a lot like dolls. They were round and had red and yellow cloaks with blue flowers on the front of their bodies and brown hair. Their eyes were also a pretty blue and both their cheeks and painted lips were a rosy red. Although they had feminine features, they were clearly all males through and through.
Lamby looked at the trio intrigued. They were very reminiscent of those Russian dolls that you could stack inside one another; but they were all the same size.
They walked past her to the coffee machine. Lamby looked away as she didn't want to be rude and stare.
The first doll that spoke up upon entering the room picked up the pitcher of coffee that had been brewing and poured cups for him and the other two. He handed each of them their cups before taking a sip of his own. That's when he noticed the sheep sitting there all by herself.
"Hey, are you new here? We heard about a new teacher joining us this year." He asked,
Lamby looked up at the trio of dolls. She politely smiled and nodded her head. "Yeah, I am. This is my first day, actually. Lamby Fleece, 6th grade Social Studies. So nice to meet you."
The three dolls' smiles widened.
"Hi, we're the Russian Dolls." The first one said, "I'm T, and these are my brothers, Ike and Z."
"So nice to meet you too." The second one known as Z added, "We teach the music class here at the school."
"All three of you teach one class?" Lamby asked quirking a brow, "Most classes I've seen have only one teacher; two at most."
Z nodded chuckling, "You're not the first person to ask that. The school thought each of us would be perfect for the position. They were heckbent on having us teach the students. However, there was only one opening."
Then Ike cut in, "But you see, the three of us stick together. You can't really break us apart. So we told them, 'Hire all of us, or you won't get any of us.' So, they acquiesced and gave all three of us the post."
"Nice." Lamby replied, "Also, forgive me for asking, but is it my imagination or do you three all look exactly alike?"
The three dolls looked at each other before looking back at her. T laughed lightly, "Oh, yeah. We're all brothers."
Lamby giggled as well, "That's really cool."
"So, how do you like it here so far?" Ike asked curiously,
"I really think I'm going to like it here. Teaching has always been my dream; so finally doing it feels great. And the kids are all so nice." Lamby replied,
T nodded, "Yeah, we feel the same way. The three of us, we love to sing."
"Yeah, we were actually a singing group once upon a time. But now, we like sharing what we know to younger generations and helping them unlock their musical potential." Z replied,
"Wait, you guys were a singing group?" Lamby said astonished,
T grinned proudly, "That's right! People said our harmonies were unmatched."
"Would it be too much to hear you guys sing something real quick? Please?" Lamby asked sweetly,
"Sure! Since it's your first day here, we'll sing to you what we always sing to the new hires." Z answered,
T said, "Alright, guys. On three. 1...2...3." Then the three brothers began to sing. T sang the upper note, Z was more in the middle, while Ike's voice got really deep.
"Ooooooohhhhhh!" They sang, their three voices were all in sync and harmonizing beautifully. Lamby was in awe, she couldn't believe how good they all sounded together. Then they continued,
"Welcome! Welcome to our school! We just know you'll find it super cool! We're very happy to have you here! Here's to an amazing year! Welcome!"
"Yeah!" T vocalized to finish it off,
Lamby clapped as she was completely floored by their stunning performance. "Bravo! That was amazing, you guys!"
The three brothers' rosy cheeks grew even rosier at the sheep's compliment.
"Thank you." Z said sheepishly.
"It's good to know that we've still got it." T joked,
The four teachers shared a laugh. Just then, another staff member entered the lounge. This person was a big, cuddly panda bear. She wore blue sweatpants and a fluffy yellow jacket with a pink snow hat.
"Do my ears deceive me, or did I hear the Doll Brothers singing!?" She said gleefully,
The three brothers and Lamby all turned to face her.
"Panda! What a nice surprise!" T said gleaming,
"I haven't heard you guys sing in a long while outside of teaching the students." Panda said,
"Well, Panda. It was a special occasion." Ike said, he gestured to Lamby.
"Oh, are you the new teacher?" Panda said kindly,
"Yeah." Lamby said shyly,
Panda shook her hand. "Welcome aboard. I'm Panda, I coach the girls boxing team."
"That's awesome!" Lamby said her eyes widening a little,
"Yeah, I know. My girls work so hard. I'm proud of them. I hope one of them makes it to finals again this year." Panda said,
"I'm sure they will, Panda. I've seen your practices. They're all really good." Z said,
Panda smiled at Z before they were all startled to hear the bell ring again.
Panda turned to Lamby. "Welcome again. It was nice meeting you."
"Thanks, you too." Lamby said sweetly,
Panda walked out of the lounge.
"Yeah, we'll see you around." Ike said as he and his brothers walked out as well.
Lamby took the last bites of her sandwich before she too left the lounge to get back to her class.
Lamby tiredly trudged through the front door of her home. The rest of the day went very well, but the ewe was exhausted. She quickly fixed herself another sandwich before showering and changing into her pjs. As she fell into bed and shut off the light, she reflected on first day and how amazing it was. Then she proceeded to think back further on the many days before; all that had happened within the past week. Moving to Maskglen, the party, making friends, everything.
Thinking back on it all, the sheep felt a smile come to her face.
'Yep, this is the start of my life.' She thought to herself, it wasn't long after that she drifted off to sleep.
There you have it, folks! Lamby's first day! And we also got to see both Panda and The Russian Dolls! Yay! XD So yeah, I had a hard time creating fun names for the Russian Dolls, so I just went with their first initials instead. T is Taylor, Z is Zac. Isaac was a little hard to work with so I went with the name Ike because that's a nickname for the name Isaac.
But anyway, that's it for now! I'll see you all in the next chapter! Later! :)