Chapter Text
Kris yawned, wide enough to cause tears to prick at the corners of their eyes. They checked their cellphone, waiting for a reply from their groupchat with Noelle and Susie. It has been way too long since they hung out, and high school had been kicking all their asses. Kris sniffled, reaching to rub one of their eyes before yawning again. They huffed and slid their phone back onto their nightstand, trying to get the courage to roll out of bed finally. At the very least, they could look forward to the fact it’s Friday. After school, they hopefully were in for time with friends or a really superb nap.
After quite literally rolling out of bed, their feet hit the floor with a loud thud. Kris couldn’t help but be a little curious as to why their mom didn’t happen to wake them up this morning. Their eyes trailed over to Asriel’s bed, humming as they thought about him visiting once again. He was really taking all this college stuff seriously, he was going on his fourth year. It was impressive. Kris’s attention was then caught by the squeak of something from the foot of their bed.
As they cocked their head around, their eyes landed on SOUL, their pet cardinal they had haphazardly saved from a barbed wire fence a few years back. Kris wasn’t even entirely sure on the specific date they united. SOUL was a little rascal so they were mostly bound to their cage at the foot of Kris’s bed, set nicely in the wheelbarrow that they used to toe Noelle around in as young children. They smiled as they reached a finger in to try and pet the bird, only to be nipped at. Kris yanked their hand back, glaring at the bird, only to receive a coy and innocent look in return. Strange little thing.
Kris threw their belongings together (that of which consisted of a broken pencil, two chewed-up erasers and a pair of earbuds), hastily making their way out of their room and into the long hallway that connected the majority of their house together. There, they found their mother, peacefully getting her things together as well in their living room. Kris’s face soon displayed a small grin, putting their hand up as a way to wave to her. Toriel turned her head and excitedly greeted Kris. “Ah, Kris! Good morning, dear. I am surprised I did not have to wake you up this morning.” Kris stepped closer to her, passing the kitchen as they nodded their head, a proud grin on their face.
“Well then, I suppose we shall be going. Are you ready for today, Kris?” Kris once again nodded, patting their pocket with their Very Valuable™ objects for education. Toriel put her hand over her mouth and giggled before turning to walk towards the door, opening it and stepping aside. Kris’s happy-go-lucky ass quickly walked through it, a small skip in their step as they made their way to the passenger seat of Toriel’s car. That was one of the best parts about growing up, at least now they got to ride shotgun. Their mom was always very insistent they needed to be at least sixteen before they could, which was maybe a rare case of such a rule since even now, they were just barely tall enough to see over the dashboard.
The short drive to their school felt even shorter today, Kris eagerly checking their phone again to see if anyone had responded. Their hopes were unfortunately dashed, but they didn’t really mind all that much, since the next time they lifted their gaze, Toriel had backed into the singular parking lot of their school. Kris hopped out of the car, their headphones now awkwardly dangling out of their pants pockets after being shifted around in there. When they looked around, they saw Susie’s familiar face pressed up against the glass of the school door. When she spotted Kris, she quickly skittered away so as to not embarrass herself in front of Ms. Toriel. Kris giggled, soon feeling the soothing hand of their mother rub their head.
Kris was a big kid now or whatever, so they were now allowed to march into school all on their own. They didn’t really march as much as they ran straight into the door like a bird before pulling back to open it and continuing to run, turning a sharp corner to come into their classroom. Just as everything with their lovely school system put in place by the mayor, Alphys was still standing in her familiar spot. At this point, she was basically like family to Kris. She had been their teacher for, what is it now? Three or four years? It’s kind of weird to think about honestly, but things had never operated differently in the town, so who was Kris to judge?
“Hey! Kris!” Susie excitedly yelled out, getting to the greeting even quicker than Ms. Alphys was able to. “Good morning, Kris.” Alphys soon greeted after. Kris gave the both of them a nod, quickly making their way to sit in the group of desks that are pushed just a little bit closer together. There sat Noelle, already being put to work by Berdly, and next to Noelle was Susie. Kris was happy to see all that their little group was here today, despite being completely ghosted in the cellphone department.
“Hell of a way to show your ass, you got here even later than I did.” Susie mumbled, leaning closer to Kris. They playfully stuck their tongue out at her, earning a small quiet laugh from the reindeer across from them.
“Unfortunately, Susan does have a point. You really have been quite the slacker recently for our number three.” Susie squinted at him, seemingly opening her mouth to say something (probably about the fact Berdly refused to call her anything but “Susan”), but Noelle quickly spoke up before anyone else. “Hey, be nice! If I remember correctly, they stayed up late last night playing video games with a certain someone here…”
Berdly scoffed and rapidly tried to dismiss the teasing. “Nonsense! These accusations are completely fabricated and unfounded!” Though these protests got covered by a gigglefest from the other three small group members. Noelle continued to scrawl on her paper, probably something educational, before once again perking up. “Oh, Kris!” She exclaimed, trying to get their attention. Kris hummed, stopping their rummaging in their pocket for their earbuds. “I got a letter from Dess yesterday. Apparently her and Azzy are going to come visit soon, probably after their current semester.”
Kris’s eyes lit up, even becoming visible under the hood of their bangs. They couldn't help but grin widely, bouncing their right leg up and down as an excited (and a little nervous) tic. “Woah, really?” Susie asked, leaning over to Noelle. Kris got a silent kick out of the way Noelle’s face still seemed flush at their not-so-relative closeness despite the four all becoming very close over the past few years. “Y-Yeah! I’m really excited for you and Berdly to meet Dess. Kris knows what a handful she can be.” Kris nodded their head, leaning their head to the side as they put a single bud in their ear. They then tugged at Susie’s sleeve.
Susie turned to Kris for a moment, confusion on her face. “What do you need, dude?” She asked. Kris huffed and pointed at the pocket of her scuffed-up jeans. Susie let out a knowing “ohhh” before reaching in and plucking out a beat up iPod from her pocket. “Thanks again for lending me that, by the way. I think you are gonna lose your mind at the playlist I made you.” Kris nodded their head, plugging the device into the earbuds and fiddling with it before music started to fill their head. They didn't really pick up on it, but Noelle and Susie were distantly talking about something.
Naturally, it was before Alphys could even start her lesson that Kris ended up passing out on their desk.