Disclaimer: This chapter will have a lot of disclaimers.

"No!"

"Hey, you said you would give me dorayaki." Steven protested.

"You said I wasn't your favorite teacher." Ms. Happi sulked.

Steven stared. He knew buttery words would not get him the bread, so he had to tread carefully.

"I know," Steven looked down. "but I didn't actually say it. I mouthed it."

Nope, that wasn't the right thing to say.

"I mean, I don't even know if you're a good teacher or not."

Yep, he was on the right track now.

"And I don't want to make you out to be a person you're not."

Ms. Happi didn't know whether or not to laugh or cry.

"But I know that you're a teacher that cares for your students because.... when I was hungry, you threw cookies at me."

The bell rang.

"Ahhhh..." Ms. Happi held her belly as she quaked with laughter. As she wiped away her tears, she responded:

"You're an interesting kid, I can tell you that."

"So..." Steven started.

"Here," Ms. Happi chucked him his treat.

"Tha....mmmh..." Steven chewed. "yu... teacher."

"Hahah, you're welcome."

Steven took out his phone. 'Let's see... next class is math... for two periods. Great.'

He started walking, before being stopped in his tracks.

"Steven," It was Zero. "Hey."

He looked at Steven's phone.

"Hmm, I haven't seen that model before."

"It's... my mom made it," Steven responded.

"That's badbutt."

Disclaimer: Due to the author's wishes to keep a PG rating, substitutes will have to be made at the viewer's discomfort.

"Can you tell me how she made it?" Zero inquired.

Steven paused.

"She... used to be a computer engineer. As a hobby, she made older models... for me, and she bought these parts for cheap. My mom... um, would work on it every night and she usually finished after a couple of weeks."

"Woah." Zero softly responded. "That's amazing."

"Yep," Steven cracked a smile.

"Can it handle newer apps?" Zero, asked, curious. "What's its interface like?"

"I use it... to tell time and listen to music. I... wait, we're going to be late."

"Algebra/Algebra II in room 203," Zero told him. "The school crams both into one course since we have two periods."

After fumbling around in the hallways a bit, they managed to find the room. They walked in, sat down, and were greeted with some familiar faces... some worn-out faces. Steven immediately started diligently studying:

"Zzz..."

"a...haha." Zero laughed uneasily.

The class settled in.

"Class," The man said, "I'm your algebra teacher, Mr. Matika" He pulled it up on the smartboard. "But, you can just call me Mr. M... Since it's your first day, we'll be learning each other's names." He looked around and saw the general excitement in everyone's eyes.

He noted that it was probably not their first time doing such a fun activity.

"Alright then, we can have a fun lecture instead?" He reasoned. "Let's start on shapes and theorems, and work our way to proofs during this unit!"

"Mr. M, today's only the first day though." Call called out. "I don't know what an algebra is."

"Uh..." Mr. M raised one finger as if to inject before he sighed. "Huh..."

If only... he sighed.

"They should standardize the teaching system." He muttered to himself, then to the class: "Well, you'll be able to take your own classes once you're sophomores, but you'll still need to take trigonometry."

"Teach, can I sleep?" Call called out again.

Mr. M sighed. "You're not supposed to ask that. It's easier to sleep when the teacher.... doesn't notice."

"Oh okay. Thanks!" The call went to sleep.

The class muttered to each other before half the class understood and went to sleep.

Mr. M sighed again. He asked himself this many times: why even teach? He could have been a CFO for a global tech company. He could have been developing programs in VR. He could have been creating something greater than what he was now. He breathed in, reminding himself that one upon a time when he was younger, a teacher's smile had kept him awake. A fervor had ignited, and he realized that teaching wasn't empty. Every future drove forward on a road that needed countless generations of grueling construction. Each step before then had exhausted a multitude of lives to make. The roads, overlooked now, once meant insurmountable distance. Even if nobody looks twice, one day, each of them will look back on a paved road and remember. They'll remember the road behind them and the dirt path they had to carve out by themselves and give their gratitude to a road that was already there. The road more taken.

Mr, M, took out crystals that looked like shards of meth and popped them in his mouth. They were sweet, little pieces of sugar that helped him stay sane in hard times.

Disclaimer: Mr. M is eating sugar, but it is not advised to eat sugar cubes, which have a glycemic index of a 100. The sugar quickly spikes blood levels. Please do not eat meth either. It does not taste good.

...

He was in a dimly lit area. The haunted voices of the past whirled around him. And the voice he had wanted to hear for so long, now, he heard once again.

Silence.

A sound rang clear in the darkness. At once, a spotlight shone upon him.

'Who is it?' He called out, using his hand to hide from the suffocating brightness.

A figure appeared. But it had no head. Instead, it had...

Bells.

'I am your greatest threat,' the bell figure said. 'Ignore me, and you shall face great misfortune in your future. For I am the Waker- the timekeeper- the bringer of tardiness. I have arrived to fulfill my task of waking you up.'

'Huh?' Steven thought to himself, before realizing the bell had rung and he needed to head to the next class or else he would be late. He smacked his face, as he pulled himself up.

"Ugh," Steven muttered. "They always assign us so much work, just because I'm on the..."

"Hmm?" Zero leaned in.

Steven jumped.

"I was gonna wake you up," Zero told him. "but you looked tired... How come?"

"Meh, work," Steven answered. "It's the first day, anyway. It's common knowledge that teachers aren't allowed to mark you late on the first day."

Disclaimer: The author does not encourage anyone to be late to class in any way, shape, or form.

"Not sure that's..." Zero pitched. "Nevermind."

"Yep." Steven always made sure his priorities were in check. He looked at his list and crossed out certain tasks. People were either fatigued due to lack of sleep or grades, except grades fatigued them, and sleeping did not.

"We have English for two periods and then lunch... English in room 215." Zero informed him.

Steven sighed... and then started to walk.

The late bell rang right as they stepped in. He took a seat and sat down, along with Zero, who nimbly sat down next to him.

In front of the class, a blonde lady was standing casually, arms under her assets.

Disclaimer: The author does not promote showing off flashy jewelry in front of students. Especially in front of students. They'll tell the truth, but in innocent, disparaging ways that hurt the slightest bit more. They'll say: "I saw my grandma wearing that." or "Oh. That's where you spend your money." They'll use any chance to bluntly humiliate someone even at the expense of their own mental health. That ice on the wrist will not protect you. Not against students who yearn for the day where their oppressors become dry, rotisserie chicken. Their burns will roast each feather more than the flaming hot garbage cooking on Manhattan sidewalks.

The teacher in front of the class had yet to learn her lesson. She waved her hand in poised elegance, looked at the class, and introduced herself.

"Hey, class. My name is Jessica Simpel deVitch, Call me Jessica. And I shall be teaching you simplified English." She paused for a second. "I mean American English. Hohoho, I apologize, I don't really know... the difference." Her voice was sultry as if she was under the influence.

"So, should we call you Ms. SimpeldeVitch?" Call called out.

"Do I look old to you?" She snapped.

'Yes.' Steven thought to himself, but very quietly.

Disclaimer: A teenager's definition of old is not meant to offend anyone else except people who aren't teenagers. This is because they think they are old enough to do things, but not old enough to look old or have responsibilities. Do not fret, age is never worth fretting for. They'll say to you: "Wow, every time you look sad, I can count folds on your forehead," and you'll have to smile your tears away. So please smile, each day passes, and maybe our fibers don't hold up as well as they use to. But, if we worry about each crease, we'll waste our days without a smile and nothing will ever be worthwhile.

The class looked at each other.

As if hearing their thoughts, Ms. SimpeldeVitch exclaimed: "How dare y'all, Imma shocked to be teaching ya bunch of rascals."

Disclaimer: Not all Americans are cowboys. Some Americans are cowgirls. And some choose to be just "cow".

Ms. SimpeldeVich started ranting. Oh, teenagers. As she gritted her teeth, she crushed the ruler in her hand into fine bits of powder. Teenagers, so disrespectful these days. She opened her hand, and the granulated "ruler" fell out. Besides, even if she was 105 now, she was forever 21 in her heart.

But by that point, Steven was putting all his effort into reviewing basic grammar skills using a little blue book of grammar and punctuation. He had brought it from home, and it was a nice book that was a couple of decades old, but nice, soft, and comfortable: 'Zzz...'

Muted snores drizzled out.

"..." Zero couldn't help but say. He looked back at the teacher...

...who was oblivious to it all. Instead, she started ranting about how annoyed she was at them. They should know not to disrespect their elders. Elders! She came from a prestigious family of Simpel deVitch's. DeVitch's! They should grovel under her feet. Feet! She smiled, knowing at any second now, they would apologize for their misconduct. After all, she was Jessica Simpel deVitch!

Her face was beaming with pride.

Zero laughed apprehensively. He observed, and decided on defusing the situation.

"Jessica," He commented with a light smile, "Your black opal necklace is... really nice. Ravishing. Where did you get it?"

"Oh, this?" Ms. deVitch smiled and started explaining.

...

'Wake me up inside,'

"Please don't" Steven murmured, he turned over in his sleep.

'Wake me up inside,'

"No," he muttered out.

'Call my name and save me from the dark.'

"Why rock..." Steven opened his eyes. "...music."

"Hmm?" Zero looked at him.

"Nothing."

"It's lunchtime" Zero informed.

"What?" Steven ran out of class.

"..." Zero said.