Work Text:
Hurry Up Tomorrow
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Sam hurries back as fast as their limbs can carry them. Of all the days to forget their satchel in the classroom this might be the worst. If tomorrow had been a school day like any other they might have taken the risk and just left it there overnight. Unfortunately the next two days are ‘rest days’ and on ‘rest days’ the classroom is strictly taboo for the pebbles.
Teacher Grace calls it a weekend. It is a human thing and even though the pebbles assured him that they don’t need it, Teacher Grace says that it is important to take breaks from learning every once in a while.
Teacher Grace is the smartest person Sam has ever known. He is right about everything and Sam is convinced that there is nothing he doesn't know. Teacher Grace can do no wrong and Sam loves loves loves Teacher Grace.
But they hate hate hate weekends.
At first the whole class tried to sneak back in anyway in hopes of catching a glimpse of Teacher Grace and wheedling an extra lesson out of him with a calculated sad note and sheepish warble. Unfortunately Savior Rocky and Honorable Adrian caught them on the very first try and put a stop to that immediately. They banned everyone from coming back on these so-called weekends.
“Not just pebbles need a break,” Honorable Arian had said, gentle and compassionate. “Teacher Grace needs it as well.”
“Do not bother Grace on a weekend,” Savior Rocky had added, sounding a lot less understanding. “Or I will tell your parents.”
The weekend started over an hour ago and there is no reason for pebbles to still be in the building. But Sam needs that satchel! It belongs to their oldest hatch mate. They might have been able to hide its disappearance for one night but not a whole weekend. If that satchel isn’t back where it belongs by the end of the day cycle, Sam’s hatch mate will kill them because they are unfair and mean and a bully! Sam only borrowed it!
Should they have asked first? Well, maybe, but still!
Sam huffs and puffs through their vents. No matter how fast they run, they can’t shake their pursuers.
“I can go by myself! Go away!”
Quinn, Len and Tori all protest loudly. The moment they noticed Sam double back they all followed without even asking.
“You only want to spend more time with Teacher Grace alone,” Quinn accuses.
Sam scoffs. That is not a secret, they always want more one-on-one time with Teacher Grace and everyone knows it. They like the other students and learning in a group is a lot of fun. But sometimes Sam remembers that afternoon when it was just the two of them. They didn’t know how nice it felt to have Teacher Grace’s complete attention all for themselves until they had to share it with others. If only they had been a bit more egoistic and kept Teacher Grace to themselves. At least for a little while longer. But then again, Teacher Grace always seems so happy when he steps into the classroom every morning to greet everyone. Egoistic or not, Sam wants what is best for their favorite human and a big class with lots of pebbles seems to be it.
“I told you I forgot something,” Sam groans. They can hear Tori falling behind a little, whining low in their carapace with exhaustion, and slow down. “Teacher Grace won’t even be there anymore. It is the weekend.”
They put a lot of emphasis on the last word. There is a silent agreement between all the pebbles to not let Teacher Grace know how much they all hate the weekend because they don’t want their teacher to get sad and cancel it for their sake. Honorable Adrian is right, the human gets tired quicker than an Eridian and he is far far away from his own home and comforts. He deserves all the rest he can get, doesn’t he? But Teacher Grace isn’t here right now so Sam is free to vent their anger and disgust for those two days without their beloved teacher. They feel vindicated when their unwanted entourage echoes them wholeheartedly. It is nice to know that they are all on the same page.
They finally reach the classroom and Sam carefully nudges the door open. The satchel is right where they left it and Sam chirps in relief before they scuttle over to grab it. They are so focused on retrieving their lost property that it takes Tori suddenly jumping with a squeak for them to notice the slumped human on the other side of the xenonite barrier.
Sam and the others immediately wave their little limbs around, apologies merging together into an uncoordinated racket. Savior Rocky does not issue empty threats when it comes to protecting the peace of their human. Maybe Teacher Grace won’t tell on them if they are remorseful enough. None of them want to get in trouble with their parents.
All of a sudden Len stops chirping and holds up a claw instead. It is something Teacher Grace does all the time during lessons to get their attention and the group instinctively falls silent at the sign.
It’s only then that they notice it.
The silence.
Teacher Grace hasn’t moved at all.
Sam cautiously creeps closer to the barrier and taps their claw against it to get a better read.
Their teacher is sitting on the contraption that he calls a chair. He is not sitting on it like he usually does, upper body straight and with one of his leg-limbs crossed over the other. This time he has slid down low until his sit-muscles are barely on the seat anymore. His leg-limbs are sprawled out in front of him and his arm-limbs loosely crossed on top of his stomach. His head is hanging low, the lower part of his face resting on his chest. Teacher Grace’s hair has fallen over his face but the pebbles can hear that his eyes are closed and that his breathing hole hangs slightly open. Teacher Grace’s seeing-glasses are dangling from the human's lax fingers.
Sam and the others observe their teacher for merely a second before Quinn whisper-shouts.
“Panic button!”
They are already on the move when Len, the most studious and rule-loving and responsible of them all, smacks them so hard that they crash to the ground.
“What was that for?” Quinn splutters, limbs waving frantically.
Tori’s voice is quivering. “Is Teacher Grace… dead?”
An unimaginable wave of fear crashes over Sam. Teacher Grace is never still. He is always moving, always laughing, always baring his teeth-bones at them in what he calls a smile.
Why is Teacher Grace so still?
Quinn is shaking all over, mumbling something about the panic button again. Len basically steps on their carapace to keep them from getting up and making a run for it but they are oddly gentle about it. Their voice cuts through the mutterings of the others and it sounds very calm. Not at all like their whole world is ending. It helps Sam wrestle the panic back and actually listen to what they have to say.
“Teacher Grace is sleeping. Look.” They point at the immobile human that has become as important to them all as their own cluster. “His oxygen intake and output is slow and steady. His heart is beating at a regular rhythm. His eyes are closed but moving slightly. All signs of a sleeping human. Teacher Grace taught us about that, remember?”
As a rule, Eridians don’t forget but schock and fear can do a number on small pebbles. Now that the panic is fading, Sam does remember the lesson Len is talking about. They take a second to verify and the last bit of tension leaves their carapace. Len is right. This is exactly how Teacher Grace described the sleep cycle for humans.
They think back on earlier. Teacher Grace mentioned being more tired than usual. He’d been doing that horrific yawning thing he does sometimes and which had scared the pebbles half to death the first time he did it. When the students left at the end of the day, Teacher Grace had been sitting on that exact chair, a bit more slumped than usual, waving them off with a tired smile.
Seems like he never really left it.
“Teacher Grace must have fallen asleep,” Len concludes. Then they flinch and lower their voice considerably. “Remember what else he told us? Humans can wake up from loud noises. So quiet, everyone!”
Sam usually doesn’t like being told what to do but the relief makes them soft and agreeable. They are also pretty impressed with Len for staying calm when everyone else was busy losing their minds. That was… kinda cool.
Not like Quinn, who is still squirming under Len’s claw, trying to reach the button. At least they are keeping their voice down. “But maybe we should still press it? Just in case?”
It’s Tori who slaps the claw away this time. “Teacher Grace must be very very tired. Leave it. You just want to press the button.”
“Whaaaat? Nooooo?”
Sam tunes out their bickering. They fiddle with the satchel and hone in on the rise and fall of Teacher Grace’s chest and the way his eyes flicker back and forth under his eyelids.
“Teacher Grace is alone,” they say when there is a lull in the whispered fighting next to them. “No one is watching him sleep.”
“Humans don’t need it,” Len reminds them. They consider themselves a bit of a human expert in training. They have decided that they want to become a doctor and specialize in human medicine so that they can be responsible for Teacher Grace’s health one day. Teacher Grace got all leaky when Len told him about it and it made Sam jealous enough to tease them about their dream. They won’t ever do that again after today. Len’s knowledge saved them from waking Teacher Grace and making a mess of things.
Sam knows that watching each other sleep is not something humans typically do. Rumor has it that Teacher Grace is even trying to limit the nights when Savior Rocky and Honorable Adrian are allowed to watch him sleep to a few times a week. Rumor also has it that it’s not going so well.
Is that why their human is so tired? Because he had no one to watch him sleep last night? Sam knows they would never get a single second of rest if they didn’t have their hatch mates watching them. Even the idea is unimaginable. Having no one to watch you sleep sounds horrible.
Cultural differences aside, it feels wrong to leave Teacher Grace alone right now. Sam knows that they should get out of here before they are discovered but they can’t make themselves leave Teacher Grace like this. So vulnerable.
Without another word they put the satchel aside and loaf down in front of the barrier to take up watch. Quinn, Len and Tori hesitate only a second before they follow suit, gathering around Sam.
“We’ll get in so much trouble,” Tori whispers worriedly but presses against Sam's side anyway. Quinn fidgets with his claws until Len reaches out and stills them with a firm pat.
Then they all wait.
Sam knows that sooner or later Teacher Grace will wake up. When he spots the pebbles he will probably scold them which is the worst feeling in the world. There is not a lot you can do to make Teacher Grace angry at you so when you do it’s already the worst punishment in itself. They should tell the others that only one of them needs to watch the human and since it was Sam who forgot their satchel it’s only fair that they are the only one who gets in trouble. But something tells Sam that the others won’t leave regardless.
Sam didn’t have many friends before school. Not good friends, at least. None that would have stuck around for them in a situation like this.
This is nice.
Another thing they have to thank Teacher Grace for.
Of course they will watch him sleep. They will watch forever if necessary.
In the end they didn’t have to worry about Teacher Grace waking up and catching them. Barely twenty human minutes have passed before two figures draw closer along the beach. Sam debates jumping up and making a run for it but it would be kind of pointless. The pebbles were too focused on their teacher to notice the two Eridians coming closer but they must have spotted the children ages ago.
Honorable Adrian and Savior Rocky take their sweet time which does not help the spike of anxiety Sam is experiencing. When they finally reach the school area they don’t pay any attention to the huddled pebbles which only makes it worse. This is torture!
The pebbles stay where they are and watch silently as Honorable Adrian leans over Teacher Grace. They are not touching the human, merely checking him over carefully. Savior Rocky clicks a discontent melody.
“Stupid Grace,” they grumble. “I told him not to take naps in that chair. He’ll wake up grumpy again.”
Honorable Adrian hums. “It does not look comfortable.”
Savior Rocky is still grumbling in a low frequency when they finally acknowledge their audience. They slowly walk to where the pebbles are still waiting, like a predator almost, and although they tap the barrier twice it is not a question when they speak: “You are not supposed to be here.”
“We know. I forgot something.” Sam lifts the satchel a little as proof.
“We watched Teacher Grace sleep,” Quinn barrels on before Savior Rocky can react. They point at the panic button. “I wanted to call someone but the others wouldn’t let me.”
Len and Sam push them over at the exact same time which is pretty impressive.
Savior Rocky makes a weird sound deep in their carapace. If Sam didn’t know better, they’d say it was a laugh. “Good thing you didn’t. That alarm would have made Grace jump like small scared earth animal.”
Len wiggles in a way that screams ‘I told you so’ and Quinn sulks. Sam is about to ask if they are in big trouble when Honorable Adrian starts to slip their claws beneath Teacher Grace and slowly lift him out of the chair.
Teacher Grace immediately starts to mumble and shift. His eyes blink open but it’s obvious that he is not taking in his surroundings just yet.
The pebbles start to panic anyway. They don’t want their teacher to see them and get angry.
Or worse, disappointed.
Savior Rocky exhales heavily through their vents and waves them off. “Go,” they order quietly. “Just this once! Don’t let it happen again.”
The others immediately scramble for the dark parts of the classroom but Sam lingers just a second longer. “You will watch Teacher Grace sleep now?”
Savior Rocky doesn’t even deign that question with an answer and merely rejoins their mate and human.
Sam follows their classmates and hides in the shadows with them as Teacher Grace rubs a hand over his eyes and then over his neck. His face does the weird thing it does when he is in pain.
“Ouch.”
“It’s your own fault.” Savior Rocky sounds harsh but their claw is gentle as they run it over Teacher Grace’s head when Honorable Adrian leans down a little so their mate can reach the human cradled against their body.
“Mean,” Teacher Grace mumbles and yawns again. Sam shudders. That still freaks them out. Their beloved teacher closes his eyes and pats Honorable Adrian’s carapace. “Thanks big guy. I got it.”
Contrary to his words he shows no intention of getting down and on his own two feet. Instead he sighs and melts into the hold, leaning even more heavily against the big Eridian. His face is squished against the xenonite suit.
Honorable Adrian trills quietly with amusement. “It is no problem, Dearest Grace.”
“No, no really. I can walk.” Except by the time the last slurred word leaves his lips he already seems to be asleep again, softly purring against Honorable Adrian’s body.
Savior Rocky grabs the seeing-glasses that have slipped from Teacher Grace’s hand at one point and climbs up to perch on top of Honorable Adrian. They hunker down with a small huff. “I will keep teasing him later.”
“I have no doubt you will,” Honorable Adrian agrees and then they slowly and carefully proceed to carry their precious cargo back home.
Sam and the others watch them go. They are all giddy about breaking the rules and getting away with it. But even more satisfying is the sense of accomplishment for successfully watching over Teacher Grace’s sleep and keeping him safe.
As they all turn to leave, Quinn sighs longingly.
“Do you think I could-”
“NO!”