What If...
"Kris!"
Kris was awake but his eyes didn't open. He didn't want to open them yet. Just five more minutes, he thought to himself.
"Kris, it's time to get up," A familiar voice said in a doting tone. "You don't want to be late for school."
There was the sound of shuffling footsteps and a sudden brightness filled the void behind his eyes. He theorized that the familiar voice had opened his blinds to let the sun in.
"I'll be waiting outside." The voice said in a more stern tone. "Please don't take too long."
He heard more shuffling and a door closing and Kris decided it was better to not upset his mother this morning. He threw the covers back, opened his eyes, and looked into the brightly lit room. Across from his drab, gray bed was a brightly colored, striped bed with shelves of awards sitting above it. Kris had shelves too but they were empty. He never did try too hard. The brighter bed, awards and all around more stuff in the room belonged to Kris' brother, Asriel. It had been some time since Asriel went off to college, but he'd be visiting soon and Kris was actually looking forward to it.
Kris pulled himself from his bed and stretched. Another day, another class. He changed into a simple outfit, a green and yellow striped shirt and off-black pants, then he made his way out through his bedroom door. He meandered in the hallway for a while before moving into the kitchen then the living room to meander in each area respectively. Finally, deciding he had done enough to prolong going to school Kris stepped through his front door and met his mother outside.
Standing tall, at least to Kris, and dressed in a simple purple dress was Kris' adopted mother, Toriel. A caring and religious woman, Toriel was known to dote on Kris and his brother throughout their life and was somewhat overprotective to the point of annoyance. This clashed somewhat with their father's rather liberal policy regarding raising them and was one of many conflict points between him and Toriel. But he was out of the picture now, lost to the confines of both memory and his flower shop.
"Kris. Come, we're already late." Toriel said as she moved gently into the driver's seat. Kris opened the passenger side door and hopped in. Once the doors were closed and the seatbelts were fastened Toriel smiled as she turned the van around. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" Being met with silence, Toriel continued. "Your brother should be coming home soon. I wonder if he'll enjoy coming home to such a small town after the excitement of university."
As they drove, Kris spotted familiar places; the Catt residence, the hospital, the library with the incorrect sign. All sights well known to him by now. He spotted a few of his fellow townsfolk wave to his mother as they drove past. She was well liked and few ever spoke ill of her. Of note among the waving townsfolk was Officer Undyne who Kris was certain was supposed to be directing traffic.
As the van pulled into its usual parking spot, Kris looked at the looming school with dread. He didn't hate everything about school. Alphys, his teacher, was usually such a pushover that kids could get away with just about anything. Noelle was there, who was a friend of his since childhood. There was Monster Kid, Snowy, Catti, Temmie, and Jockington as well. There was also Berdly but he was more of a nuisance than a reason to go to school. No, the one thing that made him dread it, the one person that stopped him from enjoying himself too much, the head monster of the classroom, was the one and only Susie.
A perfect tormentor, Susie was so feared that no one in their right mind would mess with her. Even Alphys seemed to roll over at the thought of getting into conflict with her. And of course, Susie was situated right behind Kris in class. The constant kicking of his chair, the random objects thrown at his head, the spitballs, all of it was just a daily routine for him Monday to Friday. He was used to it, sort of, and had learned to just ignore it to the best of his ability. She would only get worse if he reacted, his mother had told him. So he sat through it day after day.
Kris stepped out of the car and waited for his mother. She came around the drivers side of the car, took Kris' hand and together they walked into school. Toriel only walked Kris to the vestibule of the school, where she gave him a quick hug and watched as Kris made his way to his classroom. Thankfully his classroom was on the first floor, so he didn't need to climb stairs to get to it. As he opened the door he heard the distinctive, nasally voice of his teacher.
"So, does everyone have a-" Alphys stopped to look at who just walked in. "Oh, Kris! We thought you weren't coming in today." The short yellow lizard smiled nervously. "We're doing group projects this week, so, uh, feel free to go around the class and find a partner."
Kris, dreading what he knew was coming, went around the classroom and checked with each student. Monster Kid and Snowy, Jockington and Catti, Temmie and … her egg. That left only Berdly and Noelle, who were undoubtedly paired together. After confirming with Berdly, Kris approached Noelle, hoping beyond hope she would be interested in dropping Berdly for him.
"Oh, hey Kris. Did you forget your pencil again?" Noelle asked innocently, not realizing the consequences of his coming question, "I can spare one for you. Do you want the striped one or the one with the lights on it?" Kris asked his question, and Noelle got a bit nervous. "You want to partner with me? Sorry, Kris, Berdly already asked me. But I can see if Miss Alphys will let us be a group of three!"
She raised her hand dutifully, and Alphys noticed immediately.
"Yes, Noelle? Did you have a question?"
"Yes I was wondering if it was possible to have a group of three..." Noelle asked timidly.
Berdly, who already guessed her intentions, spoke up. "What!? I did not agree to that! Abort!"
"B-But, Kris needs a… a…" Noelle couldn't get the words out she was so nervous.
"What was that Noelle? You have to speak up." Alphys asked, a little concerned.
"I was just wondering if we could…" As Noelle tried to ask again, she began slumping in her seat as she failed to raise her voice to an appropriate level.
"She was saying we're fine being alone." Berdly said smugly.
Suddenly, the classroom door crashed open and a familiar figure stood in the doorway.
"Am I late?" Susie said lazily. She didn't seem particularly bothered if she was or not.
"N-No, no, it's fine. It's just, uhm..." Alphys was again stumbling over her words, not for the first time when she was forced to interact with Susie. "W-we're doing group projects this week and, uh, well, Susie you're with Kris."
A heavy silence hung over the room before Susie finally spoke.
"Great." Her tone only revealed that she was not too enthused by the idea.
"G-Good." Alphys said, sweating nervously. "Now let me write the assignment on the chalkboard for everyone."
Alphys moved to where she usually left the chalk, but found none there. She looked around for a moment before addressing the class.
"Um, who took the chalk? You know I can't start class without it." She looked around the room, and saw no one admitting to the act. "How about this? If no one fesses up, everyone gets in trouble!" Still no response from the class. "A-Anyone?" She got out after a moment of silence.
"There may be some chalk in the storage closet." Noelle offered politely. "If you want, Susie and I could-"
"That's a great idea!" Alphys said before turning to Susie. "Susie, since you were the last one to class today, you have to go get the chalk."
"Whatever." Susie replied after a short silence before slamming the door shut behind her.
The classroom was once again quiet for the releasing of held breaths before Alphys turned to Kris. "And Kris, you go with Susie. To make sure she stays out of trouble." Alphys face turned to one of weary acceptance. "And, you know, to make sure she actually gets the chalk."
Kris externally didn't seem to react, but internally he was screaming. He was no match for Susie of all people. She'd wipe the floor with him and then some. As Monster Kid would probably put it, she'd smash him into pieces and then kick the butts of all those little pieces. Resigned to his fate, Kris made his way to the door and stepped out into the hallway.
Waiting for him, though she certainly didn't plan it, was Susie. She was just finishing a piece of chalk. And by finishing it clearly meant eating as she was scarfing it down and crunching through it. After finishing the piece and clearly satisfied to have done so, Susie turned to return to class only to be met with Kris. Susie was at first a little surprised, then she smiled casually.
"Hey, Kris." She said as she slowly approached. "Didn't see ya there." She continued to approach and Kris began to instinctively move backwards. "Ya know Kris," she continued as Kris' back hit the lockers behind him. When she was directly in front of him, she placed a clawed hand on his shoulder. "Let me tell you a secret." She then lifted Kris and slammed him into the lockers. "Quiet people really piss me off."
Kris knew this was it. This is how he would die, killed by the meanest monster in school. It wouldn't be peaceful, it wouldn't be quick. And he could do nothing about it.
You know, there's that pencil in your pocket.
'So?' Kris thought to himself.
Use it. Before she ends her speech, grab the pencil and shove it-
'Not gonna happen.' Kris went through his usual process when this voice came up. He thought of shutting a giant door, using all his strength to seal it up. He didn't know where he came up with the design for the door. It was tall, black surrounded by a faint blue highlight. The symbol on the door when it closed was an odd one too. It was three triangles on the bottom, two right side up on either end and one upside down. Above them was a circle with wings. He had no name for this symbol, it just came to him one day.
He shut the door, and tuned back in to hear Susie speaking still, most likely just wrapping up. "How do you feel..." she said casually, before flexing back her lips to reveal her pointed teeth, "About losing your face?"
As Susie opened her mouth and brought him closer to her maw, Kris considered if this could have been avoided. If he had refused to go with her, if he had come to school earlier, if he had not gotten out of bed, even if he had never been born. All futile now, he considered, as this was the day he would lose his face.
Suddenly, Susie's mouth shut, and not on Kris' face. She dropped him to the floor and turned away from him. "Nah." She looked at the ceiling for a moment. "You got a good mother. I'd hate to have to make her bury her child." She brought her head back down to earth and smiled coldly. "C'mon, let's get this over with. And when we're done, Kris? You'll be doing our project. Got it?" Kris didn't even bother to raise his head. She looked back at him, still with that cold smile but there was something behind her eyes. Kris couldn't get a good look before she turned back around. "Good. Let's go, freak." Susie said before she hurried off.
Kris pulled himself up, not really sweating from the encounter but certainly very uncomfortable. He briefly considered turning back and telling Alphys that Susie had ditched the assignment, but if she showed up alone with chalk not only would Susie kill him but his mother would kill him too. Defeated, he trudged down the hallway and after Susie. She waited at the main junction of the school, stopping before the hallway leading to the storage closet. As he approached she smirked at him.
"God, you're slow." She commented, before taking on a faux baby-voiced tone. "What's the matter, need someone to hold your hand everywhere you go?" She chuckled and turned to move down the hall to the storage closet. "Hurry up, already."
Kris followed quietly, allowing himself the faint hope that the assignment would be an easy one to do alone. Maybe it would be something creative, one where he could at least mooch off the ideas that Noelle had. Or, he feared, it would actually be a more fact-based assignment. One where you would need the time and brain power of two people to reach a passing quality of research. He sighed inwardly as it didn't matter much now. He would have to do it himself, one way or another.
They arrived at the closet where Susie and Kris stood side by side and waited for the other to open the door. After a moment of silence, Susie looked at Kris but before she could bark a command the doors flew open to reveal a pitchblack closet. Both Kris and Susie took a step back.
"W-well, what are you waiting for?" Susie asked Kris, "Aren't you gonna to go in?" Kris took a half step back, and Susie sputtered, "Fine, if you won't go then I'll-" She took another look at the open closet, "We'll go in together." She grabbed Kris by the collar of his shirt and dragged him into the darkness.
Inside was as dark as both feared, but the light from the hallway illuminated some of the floor. Old papers covered the ground and the distinct smell of mold and disinfectant filled their nostrils.
"See, there's nothing in here." Susie stated matter-of-factly. "Just these old papers. C'mon, let's find a lightswitch." Susie felt around her as Kris followed quietly behind. They walked deeper and deeper into the closet, until Susie felt something and jumped back. "The hell?!" She yelled before turning to Kris, who could barely see her in the darkness of the closet. "There was something wet and cold over there!"
Kris simply shrugged and reached out towards where Susie's hand had been. He didn't find the wet and cold thing, but he did find a wall, and on that wall was a light switch. He flipped it on, and the closet was illuminated in light. Now that it was much easier to see it was clear that, while the closet was a bit spacious, it was cluttered with boxes and shelves of supplies any school would need. However, there was nothing wet or cold looking anywhere near Susie or Kris. As Susie looked around, confused, Kris spotted a box of chalk laying on the floor. He picked it up and examined the pieces, all of which were still intact.
"Well, we got the dumb chalk." Susie said simply, "Let's get back to Alphys-" Before she could finish her sentence a black blob rushed Kris and knocked him over before it ran full speed past Susie and out the door. Shocked and confused, the two looked out the door at where the blob had fled before Susie looked back at Kris and noticed something. "Kris, you dumbass!" Susie said loud enough to ring his ears in the confined closet, "You let that guy get the chalk!"
Kris looked down at his hands and realized it had indeed taken the chalk from him, though what an inky black blob would want with chalk Kris had no idea. He pulled himself up from the ground and had time to recognize that he was on his feet before Susie grabbed him by the arm with quite a grip. "C'mon Kris. We need to get that chalk for Alphys, and I'll be damned if some closet dwelling weirdo is gonna steal it away from me."
So, with enough time to breathe in and not much else, Kris was dragged once again by Susie out of the closet and down the hall. They even made it out of the school without being stopped by anyone. Kris couldn't help but consider how lax the security at school was. Though to be fair nothing happened in this town to begin with.
