Title: Kindergarten
Author: trin_chardin
Summary: What if the characters of Reloaded went to kindergarten together?
Categories: AU/Humor
Author's Notes: Sorry for the exceedingly long delay. Life and runaway muses are my only excuses. This comeback is thanks to certain persistent faithful fans, you know who you are. ~_^ No idea credits for this one. But, kudos to those who can connect my last Construct post to who the substitute is. Matter of fact, first one to guess who it is gets the next chapter dedicated to him/her. Sem's almost done and I've time to write! Yeah. ~_~ [Check out the Construct! http://www.constructfic.org/]
Disclaimer: I don't own the Matrix concept or anyone/anything in it.
-----
Kindergarten
Chapter 13 - The Substitute
The last bell rang and the long line of short kindergarteners shuffled into their classroom. With disgruntled looks on their faces and yawns to match, it was clear that a hatred for Monday mornings came that early in life. A stern Niobe was line monitor that day and she shamelessly poked at the twins so they wouldn't wander off. The two simultaneously stuck out their tongues at her, but went along with others. Once inside the room, they were surprised to see that their teacher wasn't at her desk. Usually she stood with them at flag ceremony, but she'd been missing as early as then.
A sleepy Neo buried his head in his arms atop his desk, while Trinity talked to Niobe. If Perse was insulted at being left out of the girl talk, she didn't show it. Instead, she combed her doll's hair and idly watched Mero fiddle with some antique keys. He was trying to get a jewelry box open and she couldn't wait to see what was inside. Just behind them, the twins were trying to flawlessly mirror each other's movments. Two let out an outraged yelp though when One grabbed at a dreadlock.
The three other boys sat at the back, perched dangerously on top of the cubbyholes. A chair had been dragged there as a step up. And now, the trio cheerfully swung their legs as they studied their little "kingdom"...that is, until a fight broke out between Locke and Morpheus over who should be king. All the while, Smith sat at his desk, oblivious to his classmates as he gauged the capabilities of his latest techno-gadget, special issue to Agents only. With extreme care, he pressed each button and carefully noted the responses. And that was how Principal Archie found the class.
The door swung open with a bang, and the man paused in the doorway for dramatic effect. Never miss an opportunity to strike fear into your charges' hearts, that was his motto.
"Good morning, class," he boomed, striding forward to stop and pose at the teacher's desk.
"Good morning, sir," the class chorused after a stunned pause.
"Well, it seems that your teacher, Ms. 'Racle has called in sick today. Something about a...ah..." He arched an eyebrow as he examined a note. "Ah, face change of some sort. Your teacher's assitant, Mr. Seraph, on the other hand..." Here, he paused with a frown. "The man sent in his letter of resignation yesterday. ...I hope it has nothing to do with your class' behavior."
The man gave each one of them a significant look.
"In any case," he continued, "We have no one who can take over your class. Well, there's me," he added thoughtfully. "But, I'm far too busy to attend to such petty matters." The man actually preened at his own words. "So, you're just going to have to share a teacher with another class. At least for today," he finished.
He then looked impatiently at the silent class.
"Well, what are you waiting for then? Run along, little children. Mr. Keynes' class is just across the courtyard."
The class was then herded out the door and through the yard before being unceremoniously dumped in front of a closed classroom door. After the principal had administered a sharp rap at said door, an owlish, bespectacled man peered out.
"Yes?"
"Here's the other class you'll teach."
And with that, the principal was gone.
For a long moment, the short man just blinked at them from behind his glasses.
"Oh...oh...oh! I see. Come in, come in."
The man stepped back into the room and motioned for them to follow. The small group did so awkwardly, all too aware of the curious eyes that watched them. Their substitute teacher scurried - no other word could describe it - to his desk and shuffled through his papers. It was some time before he found what he was looking for.
"Ah...yes. Here is is. Let me check if you're all here and we'll find you seats, hn?"
The man peered kindly at them.
"So...in alphabetical order now. Ghost?"
The Chinese boy raised his hand at which the teacher pointed up front to an empty seat.
"You can sit there, next to Hamann and West, son."
The two boys in question nodded sharply at Ghost, who just smiled nervously as he sat.
"Poor guy gets to sit next to the nerds," someone in the back snickered to his friend.
"That's enough, Link," Teacher Keynes said mildly.
"Can I sit with him, sir?" Morpheus asked eagerly, recognizing his new neighbor.
"Your name, son?"
"Morpheus."
"Alright, go ahead."
The man looked up from checking the class list to see Niobe waving at Link's seatmate.
"Would you like to sit next to Sparks, young lady?"
"Yes, sir." She smiled.
She moved towards the back as Ghost looked enviously at her and their smirking friend.
"Hn...Locke?" The boy raised a hand. "Hn, why don't you sit on the other side of Hamann?" The teacher asked. "And now, Mero, is it?"
The French boy's smile disappeared as his purloined set of keys fell out of his pocket with a clang. At the sight of them, the placid teacher visibly brightened. He picked up the keys and tucked them into his own pocket with a reasurring pat.
"Well...I'll just keep these safe for you, hn? And why don't you sit in that empty row in the middle?"
"Can Perse sit with me?"
"That would be me," the girl smiled sweetly.
"Oh...that's fine, dear."
"Now...Neo?"
The boy waved his hand enthusiastically.
"Sit on the other side of Perse, son. ...Would you like to sit with him, young lady?" The man smiled knowingly at a displeased Trinity.
She gave him one of her subdued smiles and followed Neo, all the while watching Perse out of the corner of her eye. Not to be trusted that one.
"And what of... One...Two...three?" The man squinted at the pair with their matching and seemingly angelic grins. "Ah...twins, I suppose?"
The two nodded at the same time.
"Well, you can sit next to Jackson and Johnson. They are almost twins themselves." The teacher smiled serenely as he gestured to the two.
"And..." He continued. "Ah...Smith?"
"You can sit between Brown and Bane."
That handled, the man smiled absently at his class with students, old and new.
"Now, why don't we talk about what we'll do today, hn?"
Author: trin_chardin
Summary: What if the characters of Reloaded went to kindergarten together?
Categories: AU/Humor
Author's Notes: Sorry for the exceedingly long delay. Life and runaway muses are my only excuses. This comeback is thanks to certain persistent faithful fans, you know who you are. ~_^ No idea credits for this one. But, kudos to those who can connect my last Construct post to who the substitute is. Matter of fact, first one to guess who it is gets the next chapter dedicated to him/her. Sem's almost done and I've time to write! Yeah. ~_~ [Check out the Construct! http://www.constructfic.org/]
Disclaimer: I don't own the Matrix concept or anyone/anything in it.
-----
Kindergarten
Chapter 13 - The Substitute
The last bell rang and the long line of short kindergarteners shuffled into their classroom. With disgruntled looks on their faces and yawns to match, it was clear that a hatred for Monday mornings came that early in life. A stern Niobe was line monitor that day and she shamelessly poked at the twins so they wouldn't wander off. The two simultaneously stuck out their tongues at her, but went along with others. Once inside the room, they were surprised to see that their teacher wasn't at her desk. Usually she stood with them at flag ceremony, but she'd been missing as early as then.
A sleepy Neo buried his head in his arms atop his desk, while Trinity talked to Niobe. If Perse was insulted at being left out of the girl talk, she didn't show it. Instead, she combed her doll's hair and idly watched Mero fiddle with some antique keys. He was trying to get a jewelry box open and she couldn't wait to see what was inside. Just behind them, the twins were trying to flawlessly mirror each other's movments. Two let out an outraged yelp though when One grabbed at a dreadlock.
The three other boys sat at the back, perched dangerously on top of the cubbyholes. A chair had been dragged there as a step up. And now, the trio cheerfully swung their legs as they studied their little "kingdom"...that is, until a fight broke out between Locke and Morpheus over who should be king. All the while, Smith sat at his desk, oblivious to his classmates as he gauged the capabilities of his latest techno-gadget, special issue to Agents only. With extreme care, he pressed each button and carefully noted the responses. And that was how Principal Archie found the class.
The door swung open with a bang, and the man paused in the doorway for dramatic effect. Never miss an opportunity to strike fear into your charges' hearts, that was his motto.
"Good morning, class," he boomed, striding forward to stop and pose at the teacher's desk.
"Good morning, sir," the class chorused after a stunned pause.
"Well, it seems that your teacher, Ms. 'Racle has called in sick today. Something about a...ah..." He arched an eyebrow as he examined a note. "Ah, face change of some sort. Your teacher's assitant, Mr. Seraph, on the other hand..." Here, he paused with a frown. "The man sent in his letter of resignation yesterday. ...I hope it has nothing to do with your class' behavior."
The man gave each one of them a significant look.
"In any case," he continued, "We have no one who can take over your class. Well, there's me," he added thoughtfully. "But, I'm far too busy to attend to such petty matters." The man actually preened at his own words. "So, you're just going to have to share a teacher with another class. At least for today," he finished.
He then looked impatiently at the silent class.
"Well, what are you waiting for then? Run along, little children. Mr. Keynes' class is just across the courtyard."
The class was then herded out the door and through the yard before being unceremoniously dumped in front of a closed classroom door. After the principal had administered a sharp rap at said door, an owlish, bespectacled man peered out.
"Yes?"
"Here's the other class you'll teach."
And with that, the principal was gone.
For a long moment, the short man just blinked at them from behind his glasses.
"Oh...oh...oh! I see. Come in, come in."
The man stepped back into the room and motioned for them to follow. The small group did so awkwardly, all too aware of the curious eyes that watched them. Their substitute teacher scurried - no other word could describe it - to his desk and shuffled through his papers. It was some time before he found what he was looking for.
"Ah...yes. Here is is. Let me check if you're all here and we'll find you seats, hn?"
The man peered kindly at them.
"So...in alphabetical order now. Ghost?"
The Chinese boy raised his hand at which the teacher pointed up front to an empty seat.
"You can sit there, next to Hamann and West, son."
The two boys in question nodded sharply at Ghost, who just smiled nervously as he sat.
"Poor guy gets to sit next to the nerds," someone in the back snickered to his friend.
"That's enough, Link," Teacher Keynes said mildly.
"Can I sit with him, sir?" Morpheus asked eagerly, recognizing his new neighbor.
"Your name, son?"
"Morpheus."
"Alright, go ahead."
The man looked up from checking the class list to see Niobe waving at Link's seatmate.
"Would you like to sit next to Sparks, young lady?"
"Yes, sir." She smiled.
She moved towards the back as Ghost looked enviously at her and their smirking friend.
"Hn...Locke?" The boy raised a hand. "Hn, why don't you sit on the other side of Hamann?" The teacher asked. "And now, Mero, is it?"
The French boy's smile disappeared as his purloined set of keys fell out of his pocket with a clang. At the sight of them, the placid teacher visibly brightened. He picked up the keys and tucked them into his own pocket with a reasurring pat.
"Well...I'll just keep these safe for you, hn? And why don't you sit in that empty row in the middle?"
"Can Perse sit with me?"
"That would be me," the girl smiled sweetly.
"Oh...that's fine, dear."
"Now...Neo?"
The boy waved his hand enthusiastically.
"Sit on the other side of Perse, son. ...Would you like to sit with him, young lady?" The man smiled knowingly at a displeased Trinity.
She gave him one of her subdued smiles and followed Neo, all the while watching Perse out of the corner of her eye. Not to be trusted that one.
"And what of... One...Two...three?" The man squinted at the pair with their matching and seemingly angelic grins. "Ah...twins, I suppose?"
The two nodded at the same time.
"Well, you can sit next to Jackson and Johnson. They are almost twins themselves." The teacher smiled serenely as he gestured to the two.
"And..." He continued. "Ah...Smith?"
"You can sit between Brown and Bane."
That handled, the man smiled absently at his class with students, old and new.
"Now, why don't we talk about what we'll do today, hn?"