"Alright, everyone! Let's move on to the new subject. Today we're in a rush because we're behind schedule..."
"Which is entirely all your fault..."
"Aww. But I didn't do anything!"
The next class started too harshly. The teacher was scolding everyone for being too slow in his session, just like Ms. Thorn, but more evil if I had to say. Doorwell would never do such a wrong thing in the class, especially since she had always yearned for perfection.
"Poof! Be happy! Be lovely!"
To make everyone happy, I decided to rain glitter above their heads. But surprisingly, nobody was paying attention to my decoration, nor did they seem happier than before. Instead, the teacher came to me with an angry face and scolded me for throwing the glitter.
"Aww..."
Another failed attempt, and I had a slip of pink paper. Beautiful colour! But not beautiful content. On it, there's a second warning for me, and one more would've led me to a place called 'principal' room. I did not want to wonder what could have been waiting there. But my hope to repel hatred from this school never ceases. No matter the cost.
Doorwell could only sit here and wonder what to do with her friends when she's not allowed to even be happy. This reminds her of a Frowling who would be so miserable that she'll punish for being happy. Though she didn't remember the name because she was busy crying.
"Pink paper beauty...but not beauty inside..."
"Huhuhu..."
"Hey, can you keep it down? Someone's trying to collect in peace here."
Everything suddenly gets too noisy in here, and I couldn't bear to see children in a place so strict. Yet if I break the law again, I would be in trouble again. But I never said I couldn't just play with papers, considering how good I am at writing.
I started sending messages to children with compliments and support from a star like me. Each wrapper goes one by one, with each name and words to make their days. Some had received it so well that they smiled and thanked me for the noon.
"Huh? Sure..."
"Thank you, I guess..."
"Did I get anything, then?"
The class felt different now, with everyone talking and no one lamenting over the green board again. I see a lot of them mumbling around with others, like friends are. It felt as if spring had come over the class again after a long winter.
"Haah...that feels better..."
"And now...huh?"
"Get that thing off me."
The last person who received my paper did not look inside. Maybe he wasn't too happy to see it. But he doesn't look too satisfied to read it.
In front of me was a boy named Stan, staring with such mockery in his face. Such heartlessness, even for Doorwell's unlucky day. He was sorting his favourite coins on the table again, which reminded me of the day when I used to collect caramel tokens in the studio, too. Seeing those days reflected in these humans made me feel even happier here.
"Hey, who scratched my precious 17th coin...? If I had my hands on you, then you're dead!"
"Calm down, Midas. Nobody's touching your ugly coin, anyway..."
Something that interested me about his collective habit is that he was very organised with his table. I've seen no mess around his desk, unlike some of the students here who had collected dust beside their pencils and books. I've never been quite organised with my belongings before, but I can tell a bright human by the look of their table.
He seems to be a good pincher with coins, judging by the marks left on his fingers. He had quite a lot of them, and it's all bandaged down to a thick white glove for himself. His glasses, remind me of Graham and his ingenuity. If only he weren't so greedy and heartless.
"Hm..."
I moved on to my next catch of the eye. This time, I see the unsettling looks of a joyous girl playing with her pencil. She seems excited, and I couldn't be happy for her not to smile too scarily at me.
*Stab* *Stab* *Stab* *Stab* *Stab*
I really like this lady, if it wasn't for her void gaze on me. Her smile doesn't seem very attractive. She called herself Calista, but I think of a name more fitting like Iris! They are hazardous to your skin and can cause itching when you touch them. But they are also beautiful to look at.
"What are you looking at? Hm?" She glanced eerily towards another human. "Want to be a part of my rubber friend?"
"N-no..."
For someone so beautiful and adoring, she does have an appearance which I couldn't say is too safe to approach. The messy hairs and the bracelets tells me that she has a lot of friends, but she doesn't seem to have them all here.
"What are you looking at, new student? Or should I call you 'sweet-heart'? You know, cause that's what you are here..." She compliments me. "Or maybe you're just a toothache to my eye."
The third student was a human named Anna, a girl with a gift of strength! Those arms were filled with something more than just writing. Yet from her face, she looked like a shy and unbloomed flower, still new to the world. I was pitiful to her for the lack of bravery, but that's when I was judging her too quickly.
"Hey, Anna. Mind giving me a pencil? I'm out of one now..."
"Huh? Oh, uhm...please don't. I'm busy here..." She hides her pencil away with a shy, weakened face. Yet the boy was asking nicely to her.
"Or what? You're going to shove me off with that horse face—umph!"
"What...?" She glance. "What did you just call me?"
The blushing and scared face turned into a red fury of a mad Frowling, powering herself to a punch on a face. I watched the boy fly up into the ceiling and fall into the board, right where the teacher was busy scribbling an important equation on the table. I was sure that I heard a crack before, but I didn't see the board or the ceiling in a crack.
"Ugh...umph..."
"Ms. Swiftson. What did I tell you about hurting
"He's threatening me first, sir. Why don't you ask him instead?"
"*Sigh* Get to the infirmary, now..."
That boy was surely hurt, yet he still could walk off from a punch like that. If I were him, I would've shattered into many pieces in her hand. Anna was a dangerous girl, even compared to some of these people beside me. But there was something I could find out more about her than just a muscle.
From her table, I see a collection of things themed with horses. Her book cover, her bag, her pencil, her little toy that seems more of a swatter than a horse, and her gloves. I couldn't tell if she was obsessed with something. But I know she was kind-hearted to have these beautiful creatures around her.
"What's the matter? Does my face look like a horse to you, too?"
"No, you're just beautiful as you always are! Keep it up!"
"Whatever!"
I have made a shocking realisation that I am not in a place of heartful creatures. The children, whom I thought would be kind-hearted and love-bringers, had a dampened hatred lying within a childish face. Some of them looked like they had never fallen in love or eaten something as sweet as a cookie. And yet I am in here, wondering how I survive.
"Oh...oh well..." I muttered with a smile. Yet my heart knew I was in trouble.
———————————————————————————————————
To Doorwell's surprise, the teachers had already gathered around her class, watching her pretty face among the humans. They had never seen a student like her before, and they wondered with horror at how joyful and charismatic she was to be there alone, unharmed.
"See? I told you she was here. Oh, my class is about to have a lot of attention for the rest of the semester." Bernard was staring sharply at Doorwell with concern by the doorframe.
'Hey, at least you got an amazing student. Just think of how much she could advertise this school for us. Doorwell Lovemore is a star of a show, and girls would like to know her."
Teachers are standing by the doorway, mesmerized by the view of a cookie like me. I choose not to care for them being there, since I was drawn to Stan's conversation about his collections of stones and something he called 'antique coins'.
———————————————————————————————————
"Hey, Cookie! Why are you so quiet? I thought you are jolly!"
The collector kid was approaching me with an obsessive gaze, as if he wanted to collect me as his prize, too. I can see clearly from the inside of his sleeve—a set of coins scattered in a line and taped to his wrist. Did he make it into a bracelet? Because that's beautiful.
"Oh, forgive me! I was just looking around and observing for a new friend! Wanna be my friend?"
"Me? Your friend? Haha!"
The second kid came to me with her sweet smile, passing right through my cotton hair like a breeze—a cold, sharp breeze. She almost stabbed my fingers with her pencil. But I would forgive her clumsiness, given how similar our experiences have been.
"Hey...? Want to be friends?"
"Friends? Of course! But are you going to tell me your secret first? What's that thing on your face? And why are you talking like that?"
"Like what?"
An apple leftover was thrown at me by the third kid. It was bitten ferociously to the core, leaving only the stem for me to notice. The third kid called me, but not to wave at me. She was asking me to throw the apple. I couldn't be rude and refuse that! The human was kind enough to ask for my help.
"And don't forget about giving me water, too! I'm thirsty!"
"Okay!"
She was asking for my help so much, even though she didn't seem to know me. She must have known to trust me just by the looks, which is why she lent me this duty. There's no other reason for her to ask for my help other than that, right?
"I'll be back!" I left the class with a wave.
"Yeah, you will. Wow, that was easy..."
"Heh, what do you expect? She's a gullible child." Calista uttered.
"We're a child, too." Stan interjects.
"Yeah, but we're not gullible."
So I went outside as she asked me, wandering through an empty hallway with an empty bottle from my new friend to fill.
But walking too long in this hallway tires me. Before I could even reach a place to find a fountain, I was shaking from exhaustion and ready to fall. I couldn't let the children see me here in such a shameful stance. But I also could not force myself to walk further, knowing how it would only worsen.
Moreover, Doorwell couldn't disappoint her new friends at the table. She was asking for her help, and she was so thirsty that she couldn't walk out of the class.
"Aww, this is too tiring!" I stand up. "Alright, time to make this easier!"
"Wings out!"
Luckily, I didn't always need to walk around when I have two perfect wings that could lift me everywhere without an effort. I began to stretch them out of my uniform, which is difficult to do with double clothes.
Pwoof!
The wings are out of my body, and I could finally fly! I took my first leap in this school and dived into the air without any problem. I feel like the old me, swimming in the studio like a free spirit again.
"Hey, what is that?"
"Is that kid...flying?"
"Who's that girl? Is that a new student?"
I passed through classes around this school, and caught many children's eyes as I soared free. Sprinkles of sugar fell from my wings as I wandered further to the outside, where I could see the fountain. But the humans were focused on what lay on the floor.
"What's that on the floor?"
"It sparkles! It's like....sugar?"
"What? What is a girl like that doing here?"
It didn't take me more than a minute to find a fountain and return with a bottle full of water. Before the humans could even comprehend what they were seeing, I was flying past their heads to the class, sprinkling more sugars into their heads. They were surprised, but they were dazzled in awe.
"Excuse me! Excuse me!"
"Woah! She's back!"
"What even is that thing??"
I managed to return to the class, delivering Anna her favourite drink as she wished. But instead of being grateful and joyous, she was surprised and confused. The water bottle I gave to her was not something she wanted, and she was even confused about how I got one in this place.
I told her it was from the fountain, and she immediately spilt the water out into the window. She didn't say thank you to me, either. I thought to myself that I might have made a mess of her quest. Anna didn't speak with me again after that. I feel frowned.
"Aww..."
"Nice job, new student. You killed the mood, now..."
The others were growing cold on me, which made me even sadder. The chair was cold, too. Doorwell had to sit with sadness.
———————————————————————————————————
The teacher returned right after his mysterious absence—strange. I was sure he was here for a moment, teaching about 'algebra' or something on the board. But then he was here suspiciously with a sweat. Nevertheless, he didn't say anything and returned to his teaching.
"Teacher? Where have you been?"
"Sorry, kids. I was outside for a teacher's errand. Let's go back to the class, shall we?"
Nobody said anything after, and we were all obedient students on a bright day. The happiness in the children's faces hasn't yet ceased because of the lesson, and I see more talking than I could see statues here. That's the benefit of being a good charmer for the children.
"Hehehe..." I chuckled.
I might have disappointed my human friends, but at least I have shown something good around the class to make up for my mistake. I wonder if Anna will hold a grudge on that like Pearl did, and I hope she didn't. I didn't want to make a misunderstanding here.