[Author's Announcement: To celebrate the special 100th chapter of BON, I've made a short AU (alternate universe) of Zero and the Great Gods. This is in no way canon and I've received some of your suggestions. Although I'm unable to include everything, I promise that #doctorZero and #worldhoppingZero will be made canon in the coming arcs as pre-planned. With that, please enjoy this chapter.]
It was a day like any other. The sun was shining, the clouds were lazy and the class had full attendance.
Why should Zero be surprised at the shenanigans his kids could pull? The twenty-five-year-old teacher sighed. He really shouldn't be surprised after working for a good number of years in this trade. Yet, these children never failed to surprise him.
Zero had matured quite nicely. He'd gotten a job at Three Sisters Daycare straight after graduation. The owners Murvin, Law and Isaben were kind employers. However, due to their busy careers with Law as a lawyer, no pun intended, Murvin as a business owner of several other cafes and Isaben busy with the administrative matters of Three Sisters Daycare, it was up to Zero, the only teacher for the enrolled preschoolers, to take care of the daily operations.
The other teacher, Mr Zheng, taught older kids but he had a stern feature that scared the younger ones so Zero couldn't possibly ask him for help despite the chaos. Mr Zheng only stood in when Zero called in sick or had to take a day off.
The brunet sighed. With hands on his hips and the strictest expression he could manage, he looked over to the group of still squabbling children.
"Who was it this time?"
It's no surprise that young children created messes. Zero had gotten used to it. However, accidentally creating a mess and deliberately creating one were two very different things. Zero wouldn't be angry over split orange juice if a child tripped. He wouldn't even be mad if they were careless and walked around with a poorly closed bottle cap. It had happened before and Zero never once faulted them for it. However, this was too much! How could Zero ignore the scream of bright colours before him on the wall, floor, furniture and even on all the students in his class?
No, it wasn't orange juice. That would be easy to clean. In fact, it was possible. Zero didn't know if he should start scolding them or crying when he returned only to be greeted by paint on the walls. Someone had the brilliant idea to decorate the plain walls with crayon sketches and then another bright someone suggested painting it. Or that was what Zero gathered from the argument earlier. If Isaben saw this, she would probably faint. Zero didn't want to be the one to break the news to her but he knew he had to. After all, it was his fault for leaving the kids to their own devices for five minutes. He had to answer nature's call badly and trusted that these children knew better than to engage in graffiti. He was sorely mistaken. To think that he thought of them as angels for the past few days for behaving so well too! Zero felt a slap of betrayal but couldn't exactly fault the children. They were young and playful. They couldn't have known better how far their playfulness would turn into harmfulness and it was all Zero's fault. If only he didn't have the bright idea to try adding pepper to pancakes this morning!
"He started it!" a girl with red hair pointed at a bronze-skinned boy with golden hair. Zero looked at Freya's emerald eyes and blinked. He always knew that Freya and Zeus didn't get along particularly well because Zeus didn't allow her to marry his brother Hades when she grew up. They were the class's biggest troublemakers.
Zeus retaliated by pointing a finger back at Freya. "She suggested making the walls look pink! I only coloured them blue after she coloured them pink!"
Zero wanted to cry very badly. Indeed, pink and blue were the colours he saw covering over eighty percent of the vandalism. Knowing how bad Freya and Zeus' fights can get, Zero had to separate them and calmly asked if anyone knew anything else.
Timidly, Sedna raised her hand. Zero couldn't help but feel his anger melt away. Sedna had always been one of the quieter girls. It didn't help that she was also incredibly shy. Whenever Sedna spoke, he had to concentrate very hard to hear what she was saying. The girl had a foreign accent and sometimes it was difficult to understand what she was saying.
"..."
Zero blinked. Turning to her sister with green hair and brown skin, Zero asked Gaia to help with the translation.
"She said that she was sorry for drawing those fishes and painting the floor blue. She only wanted to help make the class prettier and hopes that Teacher Zero isn't mad..."
The twenty-five-year-old daycare teacher didn't know how to respond. On one hand, the children probably meant well and didn't mean to destroy the class. On the other hand, he had to be accountable to the damage done. No amount of denial will fix this.
Isis, a girl with sharp obsidian eyes and olive black hair stood up. Zero pegged her to be the most intelligent student in his class. Isis was always the representative of the class and nominated herself to be the teacher's helper. This time, Isis looked sheepish.
"I'm sorry, Teacher Zero. We were all at fault."
Zero looked at the six students of his class and sighed. The anger left him and now, all that remained was dread. How was he going to tell Isaben about this? It was impossible to hide such a huge incident.
Hades looked at his brother and Freya. Although they didn't show it outwardly, he knew that the two who caused the most damage were extremely remorseful of what they've done. They might argue and fight all the time but if there was a time they didn't, it was when Teacher Zero was involved. Nobody in class wanted to see Teacher Zero angry or sad. They loved seeing a happy Teacher Zero. Recently Teacher Zero seemed slightly sad so they came up with a plan to cheer him up. They wanted to draw many nice things for Teacher Zero but looking at the mess and Teacher Zero's face, they knew they've done just the opposite and made Teacher Zero's day worse.
"Let's help Teacher Zero clean up the mess, shall we?" he spoke up. Immediately, the fire returned to Zeus and Freya's eyes.
"Yes, let's clean up the mess."
For once Zeus and Freya teamed up. Before Zero could stop them, they've dashed off to find buckets and cloth. Isis took it upon herself to distribute cleaning duties to everyone.
"Hades, please check on those two to ensure they do not spill. We also need some soap to get rid of the tougher stains. Gaia, Sedna and I will clean the floor so the three of you will do the walls. Teacher Zero!"
Zero snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Isis. "Yes, Isis?"
"Can you help us with the taller parts of the wall?"
Zero blinked. He didn't know how fast Zeus and Freya were but Isis was already distributing clothes for cleaning. She held out one to him and Zero took it. With a small smile, he nodded his head.
"Sure."
Looking at how earnestly the children were working on the stains, he watched the clean buckets of water turn murky. The smile on his face grew wider. Yes, maybe it was possible after all.
***
Two very long hours later, Zero looked at the walls and the floor. He was surprised they managed to get rid of every single stain despite the few bucket accidents. All the kids had to shower and change into a fresh set of clothes. They were also out like a light at the moment. Zero went to grab some blankets to cover their small and tired bodies. He looked at how all six of them were huddled together and felt himself yawn too. It wasn't long before Zero joined them in dreamland.
That was how Isaben and Truen came to find them. The class had been unexpectedly silent and they decided to check on them when they stumbled upon the adorable sight.
Unknown to Zero, Truen took a secret photograph of Three Sisters Daycare's idol. Ever since Zero arrived, the daycare flourished. Zero wouldn't know that of course. Nobody dared to tell Zero that the daycare was saved from the verge of bankruptcy by the rich parents of these six special children who listened to nobody but Zero.
One day... maybe one day they'll tell him but for now? The duo closed the door gently and allowed Zero to sleep in a little more. After all, Zero worked hard removing the stains from those walls and floor. Isaben could simply claim the renovating fees from the children's parents but since Zero had taken matters into his own hands and taught the children a very important life lesson, she would allow Zero to sleep on the job just this once. It wasn't every day that Zero slacked on his job. In fact, Isaben thinks that he deserved a good break every once in a while.
With all that's said and done, another day came to an end at Three Sisters Daycare just like any other. No signs of destruction remained and the children left with smiles like always. Zero smiled from the bottom of his heart. Every day was like a blessing for him. He wondered what life would be if he hadn't met them.
"Oh well, I guess that's a thought for another day. Now then, what should I have for dinner? mushroom pasta with goat cheese or pizza with peppermint leaves? Decisions... decisions..."