deltarune: oneshots & bits

04. Time for class!

Ranking: No restriction
Universe: post-deltarune
Category: General
Theme: Fluff
Words: 2621

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Everyone was doing their own thing, even if Alphys was doing her best to keep their attention on the homework she was trying to assign. It was a real waste of time, really. She just wanted them to do some math exercises to practice... the exam was just around the corner, and she was afraid they still hadn't fully grasped the syllabus.

"And that's why the answer would be negative one point five," she concluded, placing the chalk on the bottom of the blackboard. She turned to her class, where few faces were looking at her with genuine interest in what she had just explained. "A-Any questions?"

She didn't receive any answers; it was even starting to frustrate her. Thank goodness she was paid to talk to the walls.

"Well... then I-I guess you can get on with the exercises... on page one hundred and twelve."
Their attentive heads bowed, reviewing the material in the books in front of them. Alphys sighed mentally, taking a seat at her desk. Sometimes she wished she'd chosen university teaching, so she could have taken a leave of absence for that week... she'd heard from former classmates that they had the option of doing so under any absurd circumstance. But their luck was pitiful, since a high school teacher couldn't take leave unless she was on her deathbed... and even then, they were sometimes asked to explain themselves.
Seeing Toriel's early morning smile, she wondered if she shared her thoughts; even if she was a kindergarten teacher.

She decided to turn on the computer; she preferred the students to believe she was doing something intellectual rather than seeing her slumped in her chair, rotting away from the inside out. However, it was her wallpaper that finally defeated her. Her favorite character from her most recent anime watched posed proudly on the other side of the screen, memories of the previous night returning to the poor woman. The heartbreaking death depicted in the latest episode left a void far greater than any death she had ever known.

She couldn't forget the sacrifice, the smile on their face before it faltered from a lack of vital energy, the heart-rending screams of their partner... It was certainly traumatic.
But then, Alphys woke up that morning, eyes brimming with sleep, head resting on her computer keyboard, said device in save mode with the episode credits paused. With the sunlight peeking through the curtains of her window, she remembered that she had a life she had to live, even after everything she experienced the day before... and all because she was not allowed to take the leave for the deaths of fictional people, unless you're a university professor.

Her head fell back against the desk, instantly snapping out of her thoughts when she heard the surprised gasps of her students. She remembered where she was and why. She mentally sighed, opening something on her computer to lose sight of that heartbreaking image... she had to change it before she fell even further.

Temmie completely ignored the sound of Temmie's teacher sinking into despair. Instead, Temmie stared at the object Temmie was holding joyfully, the only thing on Temmie's desk. Temmie didn't even know what subject Temmie was in, but Temmie didn't care. Now, the most important thing was the egg in Temmie's paws. Temmie stared at it intently, convinced that at any second it would hatch, a baby Temmie being reborn from within it... Temmie eagerly awaited Temmie's new companion to come into Temmie's life, to be with Temmie forever.

Temmie turned a complete deaf ear to the memory of Susie telling Temmie that nothing would ever hatch from that egg, and that if Temmie didn't eat it, she would. It was from that day on that Temmie managed to swap places with Snowy.

Remembering Temmie's beloved egg savior, Temmie gave him a sideways glance, but didn't return it. The blue monster remained focused on the person in front of him, desperately trying to get his attention.
"Hey, MK," he called in not-so-discreet whispers. Luckily for him, it didn't seem like Alphys was going to scold him too much today for distracting others. "Have you heard about the milk that got lost in the woods and fermented?"
The young one was forced to spit out the pen he was trying to use to write his math on the sheet, all to answer the boy. "No, what happened to it?"
"Such natural yogurt."
He began to laugh, covering his mouth with his hand, accomplishing literally nothing about stopping his laughter from disturbing the class. Berdly, on the other end, was no slouch, asking Snowy to be quiet. Snowy apologized, opting to write his jokes on a piece of paper and passing it to MK. Since he wasn't checking it, he used his pencil to tap him on the back.
"Hey, MK... look at the paper I gave you."