Chapter Text
“You’ll be in this classroom for Tuesdays and Thursdays. Then next door Wednesdays and Fridays.” The principal stated as she leaned down to use the keys on her lanyard, still around her neck.
“May I ask how this teacher is?”
“They’re quite the person, might I say. Fact lover, big personality, but very friendly.”
You’re almost the opposite. Timid, quiet, and uncertain.
“Since today is Monday, I advise you to use this time as a head start learning classroom behaviors.”
“Right…” You trail off, staring down at the smooth concrete floor.
“I’ve been fighting to get an Environmental Educator at this school, tuh. We’re glad to have you.” She smiled as the door unlocked. You watched as the principal jostled the handle open and pushed the door in, allowing a decent visual of the class. No one was inside, but you could tell this was an elementary classroom.
“Are they aware I’m here?” You questioned as you followed the principal inside of the classroom. The lights flickered on from the motion activation. “This is their personal classroom afterall…”
“Of course. You get started on looking over lesson planning. You will be meeting them soon…” The principal hummed as her heels clacked on the laminar floors. “Welcome to the life of an educator.” She smiled warmly as she then approached the classroom door and let it close behind her.
“Wait—I forgot, what’s the name—”
She was already gone.
You gripped your messenger bag tightly before sitting down at a table in the back of the classroom. Your first real job of your very personal profession and interest…
You squeal quietly from excitement. All that schooling, all that work had been incredibly difficult. Stress, studying, anxiety, deadlines. None of it anymore! You place your bag on a chair beside your own and fish out your belongings to begin going over lesson plans. The lesson plans were the typical certain subject, then a guideline of how the lesson should plot out. It might seem like this type of thing is simple though, it means you have to adapt each lesson plan as you go…
The classroom unlocked after a few minutes of you looking over your lesson plan. You perk up as you watch the person struggle to open the door, holding what seems to be stacks of textbooks as they tumble inside. There had been a shelf in the way, but you were able to tell that they had kicked the door open to rush inside before it quickly shut from the weight. Their eyes caught sight of you as they struggled to keep everything in their arms.
You only stared back at their disheveled appearance of this mystery person. Bright, but casual clothes, big black glasses on their heart-shaped face, and medium length blonde hair. There was a familiarity to it you couldn't quite place, but it faded away as they spoke.
“Lend me a hand?”
“Sorry!” You flushed as you rushed up from the table to the teacher. They had leaned slightly down so you could take some of the textbooks from the top of their pile. “Y—You’re the homeroom teacher for this class, right?”
“Yeeeep!” They heaved as they clumsily stepped towards the table you had been working on. All of the textbooks landed on an empty space with a loud thud! “Phew! What a workout carrying this from the front office.” They exclaimed as you walked the textbooks to the next empty space on the table. “Good thing I stretched before this. Did you know that warming up your body before any physical activity allows you to go further than what you could if you didn't? And that it lessens the risk of injury?”
“Of course…” You smiled sheepishly as you folded your hands in front of you. “I’m pleased to meet you, Teacher…?”
Their faces dropped. “Oh, no. I didn't realize you're not a student!”
“No, I’m not. My apologies, I didn't—”
“You’re good, you're good! That's honestly my fault. You're the environmental educator aren't you?” They held out their hand before you took it. They then used their other hand to gently hold yours flush against theirs as they gently shook it. “Everyone just calls me Facty. No honorifics needed. You are…?”
“____.” You laughed as Facty smiled back at you. “Wow, I thought my name was unique.”
“Oh, pssh, nah. It’s just a nickname everyone has caught onto. They like doing that here. My actual name is ___.” They let go of your hands before resting theirs on their hips. “Sorry again for mistaking you as a student! I’m typically better at being non-judgmental.”
“No! No, you didn't do anything wrong, really. I—I thought you were made aware I’m only shadowing you for today.”
“Oh, I was. You just look like a student..”
You flushed again as you tucked your hair behind your ear in embarrassment. Facty might've noticed this as they had turned to the textbooks they carried in and frantically found words to explain what they had meant. .
“I MEAN—I wasn't fully paying attention!! If you weren't here, I would’ve dropped everything before I made it to the table! It’s not bad or anything, that… you were here…”
You weren't entirely sure what to say. Facty had been exactly as described the moment you met them, so it felt a little good that there wasn’t anything unexpected. You merely nodded…
This person is kinda familiar.
You weren’t sure what exactly was making you recognize this person, but surely it wasn't from your personal life. You didn't know them personally, you would remember if someone chose to go by “Facty.” Then, on top of that, they were still awkwardly standing there while you were staring at the floor.
“Is everything okay, ____?”
“Hmm? Oh, absolutely… I’m just wondering…”
“Yeah?”
It was on the tip of your tongue.
“You… run a social media account, don't you?” You asked shyly as your fingertips pressed to your lips. “I apologize if this is inappropriate, by you are Fact Attack Adventures?”
“Woah! Amazing! I’m still quite small, but you’re a fan, huh? That’s amazing…” They trailed off, seemingly proud of themself as they poked at their cheek. “Y’know, fun fact; I made that account because of how much I enjoy education. I love combining my personality and antics into educating young audiences of simple things. I thought it’d be fun and—” They waved their arms. “—here we are! I met a fan in the wild for the first time.”
You let out a breath. All the tension, you forgot to breathe. “You’re incredibly dedicated! I admire that.” You cleared your throat as you moved to pick up all the stuff from the table. “Is there anything I could help you with?”
“I’ll need some help with just labeling the textbooks out on this table after you move all your stuff to the desk.” They gestured towards it. “You can use it during school hours. I like being up by the projector anyway.”
“Oh.” You hummed as you gathered everything into a pile. “Is that okay?”
“Of course! Why wouldn't it be? I just said so.” They let out a giggle and began unstacking the textbooks as you swept your belongings into your arms and walked towards the desk in the corner. “I have 20 students total, so we really only need to label 20 of them at the moment.”
Facty brushed past you quickly to pull something from their desk. A label maker appeared in their hands.
“Did you know most label makers don't require ink, but use thermal technology to print the labels?” Facty stated as they absentmindedly clicked on the buttons on the label-maker.
“Like receipts, right?”
Their faces lit up. “I was just about to reference that! You're right on.”
You snicker as you walk back to the table with Facty to begin assisting with the labels. They would print one out, then you’d stick in on the spine. “You’re very knowledgeable. No wonder they call you Facty.”
“Heh. I know.” They smiled as they ripped off another label to hand you.
“You already printed number 7.”
Facty looked down at the label between your fingers and quickly snatched it from you and shoved it into their pant pocket.
“Whoopsies…” They deleted the number on the screen and entered the next one. A small glance darted your way as the label printed out. They found your presence very lively, despite the softness of your voice. On another hand, maybe it’s just how they are, since they haven't really encountered anything different with anyone else. There was just something about your presence that felt so healing. They blushed a little more redder at their thoughts.
“So! Tell me, ____. Why education?”
They watched as you flushed once more from the shyness. Part of you didn't like the spotlight all that much. “Well. Teachers had been such an impactful part of my childhood… I just want to take the opportunity to give back on that part of childhood development. They were an impact of getting me here! So… I’ll be impactful too.”
You listened as a label slowly printed out. You waited for Facty to hand it to you as you stared down at the books on the table. It took a few seconds before you looked back up at them expectantly. Instead, they just stared at you with wide eyes and an agape mouth.
“That is literally the sweetest thing ever.” It finally clicked with them. It radiated off of you; your passion to develop.
You blushed. “Ah—well, I mean, it’s not anything special. I, I mean you know, lots of people had the same aspirations when I was getting my certificate, so—”
“That doesn't make you any less of an amazing person!!”
You stare up at Facty, seriously taking in what’s in front of you. This is both a 5th grade elementary school teacher, a social media creator, and the kindest person you have met in a while. You watch as they rip off another label and hand it to you. As you take it, a small smile appears on your lips as you place another label on a book.
“You’re pretty amazing too.”
Facty turned their head to smile at you. “Wow. You flatter me.” They said in a goofier voice, followed with a genuine snicker. “I’m blushin’.” You begin to smile harder as the labelling process continues.
This was just as fun as you thought.
It didn’t take as long as you thought to label all the textbooks on the desk. Though, that didn’t include everything else that needed to be done around the classroom. The two of you spent a good hour or so cleaning the classroom in silence, with Facty lightly humming what you make out to be the background music in their videos. It was a bit odd how quickly you made that realization, but, in all fairness, it was a little difficult to dismiss the slight eeriness that music was in the videos that paired from the music. At this point of time, you were standing on the countertops moving materials onto the shelf above the cabinets, while Facty was beginning to place name tags on the desks while also removing the chairs from them at the same time. You glanced back at his work while your arms were still sliding a storage box slowly onto the shelf.
They immediately noticed and smiled towards you. “I actually figured out a pretty sweet way to prevent the students from ruining the name tags if they were just laminated onto the desk like usual. Wanna see…?” Their tone had been drawn out as they waved around one of the wobbly nametags, a smile plastered on their face with a slightly smug look.
“Sure—!” You gave the storage box one big push into the shelf. Actually, you used the momentum meant to hop off the counter to push yourself backward from the shelf. Still standing. Knees locked. You quietly attempted to find your balance, throwing your arms around like crazy as your torso bent back and fourth as Facty watched. You heard him quickly mutter something, then the desks and chairs clatter to the floor and or move against it.
You fell backward. For a moment, you braced for the impact of your head or back or whatever against the desks behind you, but you didn’t. Instead, you were being clutched onto. You were being held against Facty’s left waist, his left arm holding your upper back, his right awkwardly wedged between your knees. As you opened your eyes, you saw the classroom upside down. All the desks and chairs leading from where Facty once was and where you were either pushed aside or on the floor.
“Are you okay!?” Facty said frantically as they readjusted their right hand to slowly put you back down onto the floor. “That was… close…” They heaved lightly as they drooped down and rested their hands on their knees.
“Oh my god.” Your timid demeanor dropped completely from embarrassment. “I…I’m so sorry!!”
How they caught you in that short span of time was unbeknownst to you.
“You’re totally fine!!" They said as they whipped their head up to look up at you. “I think I rushed you. You didn't hurt yourself or anything right?”
You shook your head. “Did you get hurt??” As you gaze back at the mess behind you two.
“No… I think the adrenaline got to me. Welp, I guess I’ll feel it later…” Facty laughed nervously as they stood straight and rubbed the side of their thigh. “Or right now… yeah… that—feels great.” Their voice hitched a bit as they grumbled in pain. You approached them with your hands out.
“Maybe let’s get you to sit down?” You chuckled nervously. They graciously took your hands as they steadied themselves and exhaled heavily.
“That’s a fantastic idea.”
You pull a chair that conveniently landed right side up closer to Facty as they took a few steps towards it and sat down.
“I would rather me fall than you bruising yourself on the desks in an attempt to catch me…” You muttered as you began to push all the desks into place.
“Heh… well…” They exhaled sharply. “Couldn’t let you get concussed on the first day now.”
“You got hurt though!” Your voice was muffled out a but from the screech of a desk.
Facty hummed uncomfortably from the noise. “Yikes, those are loud.”
“Did you not hear them when you barreled through them all?!” You snapped back as you annoyedly pushed a few more into place.
“Well I’m not the clumsy one!”
You snickered as you quickly picked up a chair from the floor and tucked it under a desk. You glanced back at Facty as they looked back at you with a cheeky smile.
This banter was kinda cute.
“Well, could you do a solid and make sure you didn't make a giant hemorrhage on your leg?”
“I didn't hit the desks that hard, now…” They trailed off as they slowly lifted their pant leg to check, almost secretly as they glanced at you.
You shake your head as you very quickly put all the desks back into place. You come across one with a thin magnet strip attached to where the name tag would be. Was this what they were trying to show you? Your eyes dart to the floor and find an empty name tag with another magnet strip attached to the backside.
“Pretty inventive, riiight?? No more fingers scratching at laminate. They just attach the tag to the table and BAM! Lasts allll year.”
Okay, that was a pretty smug idea.
You sigh with a smile. “My teacher would just bribe us and say if we ever have to change our name tags that we don't get a special surprise at the end of the year.” You look back at the person who was now sitting with their arms crossed.
“Yeah… but for this one you never need a back up plan.” Facty spoke in a heavily matter of factly way, that it made you chuckle once more at their wittiness. They clear their throat. “But um. It’s chill, right?”
“Yes. It is.” You sigh as you rearrange the last fallen chair.
They got up and hobbled to you before patting you on the back. “Facty, one. ____, zilch.”
“What are you keeping score of??”