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The sounds of muffled giggles and hushed murmurs could be heard throughout the small classroom as the children watched their normally playful teacher suddenly grow flustered over the corded phone in his hand. By this point in the year, they’d long since come to understand that the only thing, or person, in this case, that could cause such a reaction was none other than a pretty administrator who would occasionally visit their school and roam around for observations.
Although he initially came across as scary, it didn’t take the children very long to realize he was actually quite kind and happy to entertain their questions. Their own curiosity aside, however, these younglings were more perceptive than they let on, and they also managed to catch on to the way their teacher’s demeanor would change entirely around this particular administrator. After all, they were at the age where the term “crush” had gained a well-recognized meaning, so they were prone to being watchful over one another’s subtle telltale signs, and their teacher was no exception.
With that said, Phainon never stood a chance against their observant nature that he himself had played a role in strengthening over the months he’d spent with them, and it wasn’t only his students who were aware of the emotions he always tried to cover up around Anaxa. The only difference was that, while the kids would openly ask questions regarding the matter (much to his embarrassment), his coworkers could only sigh from a distance and watch the two of them make fools of themselves.
The two of them?
Yes, the two of them. Because Anaxa was no better at disguising his blatant preference for always coming to their school and being assigned to Phainon’s classroom, or as close to it as possible, for anything he was tasked to do. With how often they were “coincidentally” near each other, you would think one or the other would take the opportunity to make a move, but one preferred subtle probes and hints while the other was too oblivious and hesitant to believe the situation wasn’t one-sided.
Now, as Phainon thanked the person on the other end of the line and hung up, he could once again see his students, who all looked giddy with excitement while on the verge of exploding with questions about Anaxa that he could already hear coming from a mile away. They were always quick to ask about him even when he wasn’t relevant to the conversation whatsoever… Phainon truly didn’t understand where it came from.
Not wanting to give them that opportunity, he clapped once, and in turn, the children immediately straightened up in their seats and looked towards the front of the classroom, where Phainon was now standing after rounding his desk.
“Bunch of little eavesdroppers you all are,” he began, eliciting even more giggles from the nosy bunch before he continued.
“But you know the drill for having guests in our classroom, right?” he asked, and watched as hands flew up into the air with an eagerness to respond. Pointing at a little girl on the far right, he gave her the all-clear to answer.
With permission granted, she recited the expectations that had long been established. “We stay on our best behavior and pretend the guest isn’t here.”
“That’s right, Serena,” he said with a smile. “What else?”
The little girl, Serena, suddenly blanked. “Um..”
Noting her inability to respond, another classmate quickly raised his hand and waved it around to call for Phainon’s attention.
“Yes, Niko, what’s the third expectation?”
“We make Mr. Khaslana look good for his crush!”
…
Phainon’s smile faltered momentarily before awkwardly laughing. “Well, you got the first half right, so I’ll accept that part of your answer.”
“Anyway,” he immediately rushed to move onto the next announcement, not giving them a chance to chime in with any further comments. “A familiar face will be coming in to observe us for the next week, so let’s not fool around too much, okay? We can be as silly as we want again once it’s over.”
At the use of the word “silly,” his students once again laughed as they nodded along and gave an “okay!” in unison.
Satisfied with their compliance, Phainon resumed their day’s lectures, which had been interrupted moments earlier to inform him of his upcoming evaluation. The reason for his apparent sheepishness? Well, it seemed he was going to be in the presence of Anaxa for one whole week, and although this wouldn’t be the first time he’s been observed by him, it had usually only been for about an hour at a time every few months. He figured the district must be trying to gather more information this time around.
As for how the two had gotten to know each other, their first encounter took place 4 years ago, when Phainon had first become a 2nd grade teacher at this school — he’d attended a PD meeting with the rest of the teachers, and although Anaxa did not teach students of his own, he was an administrator who was responsible for overseeing that everyone within the district did their part in achieving commendable student progress, so he was often in attendance as a speaker at these meetings, including Phainon’s first.
From the very moment he laid eyes on Anaxa while he was up on the podium sharing his own insight and expectations, Phainon had grown interested in getting to know him, and despite the fact that he carried himself in such a way that left the hearts of many trembling with anxiety, Phainon found his own racing for a completely different reason. As such, he was quick to introduce himself after the meeting’s conclusion, and to his surprise, Anaxa was actually quite easy to talk to, so they’d been on friendly enough terms ever since.
But that wasn’t enough.
His excuse for keeping his pining to himself had always been that he wanted to keep things professional, but the truth was that he just couldn’t imagine someone like Anaxa actually being open to a relationship — especially not with Phainon himself.
Thus, he kept their encounters appropriate and within bounds, never once crossing the line that would put him in a more love-starved zone with Anaxa's name written all over it. Besides, if he did have a chance, then wouldn’t it have been made obvious by now?
He fell into thought once more after another long day now that the children had all been dismissed and gone home. Before he could clock out, Phainon first had to make sure he had everything printed and ready for tomorrow, so as to not be in a rush in the morning should Anaxa decide to come in early.
Suddenly, a light knock was heard at his door, and he turned his attention over, only to see the familiar face of his neighboring teacher.
“Come in,” he called out.
Upon entering, Cyrene couldn’t contain her soft laugh as she approached his desk. “Can I have a guess at who’s been assigned to observe you?”
“...Did you make a bet with Mydeimos again?”
“Guilty.”
Phainon sat back on his chair and rolled slightly away from the computer screen he’d been engrossed in before placing his forehead against the desk’s surface. “How am I supposed to survive this whole week when my kids are too curious and honest for their own good.”
Cyrene giggled in response, already claiming her victory in the bet. “You said they listen well, didn’t you? I’m sure they’ll know to hold back while he’s here… not that he’d be bothered by them, anyway.”
“The last time he was here, one of them whispered into his ear that I’m single and available,” he said as he lifted his head. “I never even told them that!”
“Isn’t that a good thing for you? Now he knows you’re on the market~” she joked, causing Phainon to groan as he covered his face with both hands.
“I don’t know how I always happen to find myself in this situation every year with each new batch of 2nd graders.”
“Well… can I be honest, Phai?”
Already dreading whatever he was about to hear, he slightly parted the palms over his face as he nodded at her to continue.
“You have a very puppylove way of handling yourself around him,” she began. “You’re a playful and high-spirited person in general, but you practically grow a tail that wags nonstop when Anaxa is nearby,” she finished off, her words laced with a lighthearted and teasing tone.
Thunk!
That was the sound of Phainon slamming his head back against the flat of the desk in embarrassment as a loud, defeated sigh escaped him.
“I’m calling in tomorrow and submitting a request to transfer schools. No, to switch districts.”
“You wouldn’t leave your friends behind~”
“...Ugh.”
Cyrene reached over to give his shoulder a pat as she spoke in a gentle tone. “You worry too much. Anaxa’s not the type to stay quiet if he feels uncomfortable, you know? And he’s familiar with how kids are, so don’t worry so much, hm?”
Well… that much was true. Phainon had seen it firsthand multiple times — sometimes one of his kids would share an embarrassing fact or moment they’d witnessed while he taught, and Anaxa would simply offer a smile, a pat on the head, and a simple, “Is that so?”
Right… right. He’d be okay, then!
“You have a point,” he finally responded, perking up. “And if I get nervous… ah… what is it that people advise you to do? Imagine him in his underwear?”
...
“Phai… just try to avoid looking in his general direction instead.”
“Got it.”
With his nerves at ease, Phainon was able to finish his tasks and go home, ready to tackle the beginning of his observations the following day. Besides, it’s not like his own students would suddenly turn against him or anything…..
Or so he thought.
What he didn’t realize that next morning was that, while he was out of the classroom printing out his worksheets, his kids had all huddled close together to discuss their course of action for the day.
Among them, Niko spoke first.
“Pythia, did you bring the stickers?”
In turn, Pythia rummaged through her backpack before nodding as she pulled out a new sheet of stickers. “It’s here.”
"Why do we need these anyway?" one of them asked.
"I've seen Mr. Anaxa doodle dromases before, and when he saw a dromas lunchbox, he said he really likes them."
At this, they all hummed in understanding. This was a good plan, indeed.
Then, they glanced behind their shoulders to make sure the teacher watching over them while Phainon was out wasn’t looking.
“Okay, pass them over. I know where he keeps his sheets,” Niko said, grabbing hold of the replacements. Then, he quietly snuck over to Phainon’s desk, opened its upper drawer, and hid the usual stickers he used during class at the very bottom so that only the new dromas ones were within immediate view.
After doing that, he made his way back to their little group, where their discussion proceeded as their roles for the day were assigned.
“What else are we doing?” another one of them asked.
“When Mr. Anaxa comes, we’ll make Mr. Khaslana look good like we promised.”
“Didn’t he say to pretend he’s not here?”
“We can do it when he’s not looking.”
“Who’s gonna write the invitation letter?”
“Who has the best handwriting?”
“Serena.”
“Okay, just try to sound like him as much as possible.”
Their suspicious murmuring continued, and eventually, the teacher at the door took notice and called out to them, his voice deep.
“What are you all doing over there? Have your seats.”
“Yes, Mr. De,” they all said in response, scurrying to settle down. It was no matter — they were all now on the same page.
Moments later, Phainon’s familiar figure rushed through the classroom’s entrance with a giant stack of papers in his hands.
“Thank you, Mydei, I hope they weren’t being little troublemakers.”
Mydei glanced over the seated children, who all looked back at him with expressions that practically pleaded for him to not say anything. With a quiet chuckle, he responded, “Not at all. Good luck today,” and stepped out.
After Phainon finished sorting the worksheets into neat stacks, he let out a sigh of relief for having finished his preparations before Anaxa’s arrival. Now, he could have one final pep talk with his kids before putting his trust into them and the bond they’ve built up over the school year.
As he gave another clap of his hands, all attention was once again on his smiling face.
“Alright, you know the drill for today, yes?”
“Yes!” they all replied.
"Okay~ And you all promise to be good, right?"
"Yes~" they repeated once more.
“Good, good. The best behaved will get an extra sticker on their daily calendar, okay~?”
At this, his students grew giddy and excited — more stickers meant more chances at getting prizes at the end of the month. At that moment, it didn’t matter that they were secretly plotting against their teacher… or was it in his favor? Who knows! They just wanted to see him happy with his crush!
Amidst their growing enthusiasm, there was a knock at the door, and it all immediately came to a halt. In response to this, Phainon placed his hands together and mouthed a silent “thank you” and a thumbs up before opening the door, revealing the fair, lovely face of the administrator they’d all come to know by now. As he stood on the other side, they could see he was holding a clipboard, which he’d been scribbling at before pausing to look up at Phainon as he made way for him to enter.
Now face-to-face with him again, Phainon couldn’t help but grow a little nervous… he didn’t think it was possible to ever get used to how much prettier he looked in person.
With a quick clear of his throat, he allowed Anaxa to have a seat at the back of the classroom and then proceeded to introduce their morning bell work before transitioning into the opener for their first subjects of the day. Thankfully, his students seemed to be doing well as promised, so things were going smoothly for the first two hours as he went over new material and walked them through both their guided and independent practice.
So far so good…
Throughout all of this, he continued sneaking glances at the man sitting on the other side of the room, and each time he looked at him, he was writing away at his notes, but Phainon couldn’t afford to stare for too long.
Finally, it was time for their first break so that the kids could eat their snacks from home, so Phainon put their current lesson on pause and ensured they got up from their desks in an orderly manner to grab what they needed before sitting back down.
Taking his own seat, he remained oblivious to the schemes that were occurring right before his eyes as he got everything set up for their next subjects, which would be reading and writing.
“Psst. Mr. Anaxa,” one of them whispered. In turn, Anaxa looked up from his clipboard and hummed.
“Did you know…” the child made sure Phainon wasn’t listening before turning back to face Anaxa. “Mr. Khaslana saved me from drowning in shark infested waters.”
Anaxa held back a laugh. “Is that so?”
Another child chimed in, taking a bite of a cookie before having his turn at speaking. “Yes! He also bought my grandpa a really expensive car!” he proudly announced in a hushed whisper, causing bits of crumbs to fly out of his mouth.
Another girl added on, “I saw Mr. Khaslana teach my mama how to tie her shoes.”
“He babysat my dad when he was younger!” another voice stated.
Lie after lie after lie after lie, yet Anaxa was happily amused by this — in these children’s eyes, these were all likely quite believable tales. He looked at Phainon, who was still at his own desk, scratching his head while loading his materials up onto his computer monitor.
“...He’s quite busy, isn’t he?” he asked, deciding to entertain them as a small crowd gathered around him.
“He’s the bestest!”
“Sophia, didn’t he call Mr. Anaxa the most beautifulest one time?” one of them suddenly asked.
“He did!”
Oh..?
In truth, Phainon had never said such a thing to them, but they could all tell that’s what he thought anyway, so it wasn’t technically a lie, was it?
Finally noticing the way they were circling Anaxa, Phainon was quick to redirect them back to their seats while masking his internal panic as he realized he didn’t know what they’d been saying to him back there, and Anaxa’s face wasn’t revealing anything. For now, he could only hope it hadn’t been anything embarrassing.
“Okay, make sure you pick up all of your trash and dispose of it one by one,” he ordered, guiding them through the clean-up process.
Once that was done, he displayed the next lesson up on the smart board.
“Before anything, does anyone know what an adjective is?” he asked, and once again, many hands shot up into the air. He thought for a moment before selecting a student.
“Pythia, what do you think?”
“Des…describtion?” she attempted to recall.
With a smile, Phainon beamed at her proudly. “That’s right~ they’re words used to describe nouns, which can be people, places, or things. Good job, Pythia. You get to have a sticker for that~”
At his words, many of his students sat up in anticipation — now was the time he’d finally see the stickers they’d left in his drawer.
Phainon was, as expected, quite surprised upon opening it to reach for his stash, but he recovered quickly as he pulled out one of the sheets.
“Hm. I guess you’ll be getting a dromas sticker today, Pythia.”
Hearing this, Anaxa’s head snapped to attention a little too quickly, and his gaze immediately zoned in on the sheet Phainon was holding. When Phainon glanced at him, they made eye contact for a brief moment, during which Anaxa seemed to nod approvingly before making a quick comment on his clipboard notes.
Wha…
No, whatever. He’d think about it later. He placed a cute dromas sticker in Pythia’s hands and moved on with the lesson, where he then asked them to pick a subject so that they could describe it together as a class.
As soon as the instructions left his lips, Niko raised his hand with a little too much enthusiasm.
“Yes, Niko?”
With an almost mischievous smile, he asked, “Can we describe Mr. Anaxa?”
…
“Aha…” he looked towards the back of the room, where Anaxa was currently paying them his full attention.
“Ahem, I’m not sure he’d be okay with that, so let’s pick something else, hm?”
Much to his dismay, however, Anaxa spoke up. “It’s no matter. Feel free to use me as a subject.”
…Haha… great…
And so, that’s how Phainon ended up writing adjectives such as small, beautiful, handsome, lovely, pretty, cute, and smart up on the board, all meant to describe the administrator bearing witness to this immense amount of flattery.
With every stroke of his marker, he felt his ears reddening further and further, and he had to fight to not turn around to face his class until he was sure the color had faded completely. How could he explain being a blushing mess simply because he’d been indirectly showering the other man in compliments he definitely believed applied to him?
Meanwhile, although Anaxa couldn’t help but be curious about the root cause of all of this praise he seemed to be garnering, he continued his note-taking as usual, completely unbothered.
It’s not like this was anything new to him, anyway. Time and time again, year after year, Phainon’s students always seemed to be interested in putting Anaxa in the spotlight, so he’d grown used to the attention by now… as peculiar as it may be.
But Phainon’s torment didn’t end there, of course! While he was facing away, Serena had begun writing out the invitation as promised, making sure to summon her inner Mr. Khaslana to make it as convincing as possible!
As the lesson proceeded, she would sneak the letter out and continue polishing it to the best of her ability while he wasn’t paying attention, but the assignment itself consisted of writing practice, so she was able to play it off with ease even when he did look in her direction.
A little white later, the bell rang, signaling to them that it was now time to head over to the cafeteria for lunch, so Phainon began to line them all up so that he could escort them. When it was Serena’s turn to get out of her seat, she made sure to walk over to him first to quietly hand him the folded letter.
“Could you pass this to Mr. Anaxa?” she asked before quickly scurrying away to the back of the line.
Unaware of what the letter contained, Phainon accepted it and informed Anaxa that he’d be back in a moment, then left the classroom to drop them off at the cafeteria.
On his way back, curiosity got the best of him, so he unfolded the sheet of paper and was met by the sight of the messy scribbling one would expect from a typical 2nd grader, though he had to admit there was some notable effort in keeping it as neat as possible.
However… as he began reading it, he stopped walking completely and froze in shock.
hi anaksa i think your realy pretty and want to be frends. Your also my crush but dont tell anyone ok? If you want we can have a playdeit at my house. Just check yes or no at the botom and give me (mr kaslana) the paper back. Ok bye!
…There was no way he was handing this letter over to Anaxa.
Without hesitation, Phainon quickly folded the letter back up and continued walking over to his classroom, where Anaxa was currently gathering his things, likely ready to depart soon since he was only scheduled to observe for about 4-5 hours per day.
Seeing him return, he glanced at the paper Phainon was gripping in his hand.
“A note?” he asked.
“Ah… it’s nothing,” Phainon lied, tucking it away into the pocket of his pants. “But I hope they weren’t bothering you earlier.”
Anaxa huffed out a laugh. “Children always have the most interesting insight to share.”
Growing nervous, he hesitated between asking what he meant by that or simply letting it end there — ultimately, he gave in. “Really? Haha, I normally don’t pay them any mind when they start talking silly.”
“Hm… silly, you say.”
…
“Do you perhaps have a hobby of swimming in shark infested waters?” Anaxa suddenly asked.
Huh?
“I… not that I’m aware of?”
“I see.”
Phainon scratched his head awkwardly, still standing on the other side of the room.
“Then, do you buy grandparents expensive cars for a living?”
At that, realization set upon Phainon, and he placed a hand over his forehead and tilted his head upwards with a heavy sigh. “...So they did break their promise to me after all.”
“Ah, so you had secret promises going on behind my back, is what I’m understanding.”
“No, no! Not like that!” he immediately tried to defend himself, but Anaxa was already walking over to him, and Phainon took a sharp intake of breath as he watched him bring his hand down to the pocket of his pants to pull the discarded letter out, then slowly unfold it.
“Heh,” was all Anaxa said as his eyes finished scanning over the letter, glancing up at Phainon through lashes with a smirk on his face. “You should work on your handwriting,” he teased before placing it on the flat of his clipboard and making a quick scribble.
“Look, I really didn’t plan for any of whatever went on today-”
“Is that how it is?”
“Yes! Yes, you know I’ve always kept everything professional!” he couldn’t believe this conversation was even happening, but Phainon couldn’t afford to give him the wrong idea after everything his little hatchlings had set up for him.
“Indeed. It’s quite a pity.”
“Exactly! So- Wait, what?”
“What?” Anaxa asked, feigning obliviousness.
But Phainon didn’t get a chance to respond as a timer suddenly went off on Anaxa’s phone, causing him to pull it out and glance at the time before stopping it. He looked back at Phainon and patted the side of his face.
“I’m done here for today. Better luck tomorrow, hm? If there’s anything you wished to say or do yourself, that is.” Anaxa handed the letter, which now had a check mark next to the “Yes” box, back to him, then headed for the door.
Before he could walk away, though, Phainon gently grabbed hold of his arm to stop him, which seemed to please the administrator as he turned back to look at him again expectantly.
“Could we bump it up to today? After school?”
Anaxa thought for a moment. “On one condition.”
“Yes?”
His eyes glanced over to the sheet of dromas stickers still on Phainon’s desk. “Give those to me.”
With that, although Phainon’s students didn’t know what had occurred during the time they were out of the classroom for lunch, they could only guess that their efforts had paid off, because their teacher was the happiest they’d ever seen him, and that’s saying a lot considering his usual cheerful nature.
The rest of the week passed by smoothly, and Phainon was relieved to receive positive evaluation results despite the fact that the first day had strayed far, far from what he’d originally planned. In the best way possible, of course.
Finally, all of his coworkers could catch a break from his blatant yearning and moping around in the teacher’s lounge, and his students no longer had to witness his poor attempts at trying to act nonchalant.