Chapter Text
“Erukkhh! Gosh… these kids. Always leaving a mess in the bathroom.”
They swing their hand to swipe away at their mop, and they sigh as they clench their nose from a horrible smell seeping through the stalls. They do NOT want to take a step any further into the slimy restroom. Yet that grimy nasty smell catches up to their senses, and they clasp their palms around their mouth. They can feel the warm gushy liquid in their throat, and resist the urge to puke.
“Oh my god. Now what did those nuisances put in there?” they mused, “When I find a better paying job I am quitting this one asap, I can't deal with this no more.”
Working while being a college student wouldn't be so hard… if they weren't at some sort of constant judgemental place 24/7. Kids these days are so honest and straightforward it's even worse than fake compliments from friends. Being yelled at by a Karen (with a horrible bob cut) because they forgot one chicken nugget would have been so much more better than dealing with kids who stare them down like a peasant. They hate it, but it pays the most. When it comes to a college student’s budget, having enough money to afford all basic necessities is a dream.
Slipping blue latex gloves on and wrapping double layers of masks around their face, they grumble while stumbling towards that nauseating smell. Grabbing their cleaning supplies they scrub away at mysterious sludges without question. Rinse, wash, and wipe the bathroom shiny clean, but not as if it was brand new. Just clean enough to get that paycheck.
They exit out of the restroom with their little cleaning trolley, and they start heading towards the janitor's closet. Sweat beads drip from their forehead and they oh-so desperately need water. An aquatic, freezing cold, and fresh water would be awesome after their intense cleanup session with that bathroom.
Soon enough the familiar, light blue, and paper door comes into view, and they jingle with their keys. Successfully finding the right one they bring the silver-colored item to the door handle and—
DINGGG
The school bell. Well yeah no shit sherlock. It just brought them into reality from space, and they recognized how similar it sounds to their college's campus bell. Mindlessly their brain runs through memories of yesterday's extremely confusing mathematics class, and they remember how even more confusing homework was assigned.
Wait, there was homework?
Homework, for math.
Oh.
What excuses do they have? Their dog ate their homework? Pets aren't allowed in dorms. One of their family memories died? The professor will want proof and five star acting of their sorrowful cries. They didn't get the physical copy and there wasn't anything online to print out? They were there in person begging their professor to explain the concept more clearly, and told them to look at the recorded lesson attached to a digital worksheet. Just what could they do?! What what what what what what what—
THAT ONE MATH TEACHER HERE! AT THIS FUNDAMENTAL PAPER EDUCATION SCHOOL! What was her name again? She could help them with their new topic. Her name was… Miss C-ir? No, Miss Circle! The one with the long, spiky, and black hair.
The latest bell chime meant the kids were free to go, so it must mean this is the perfect time to head over to Miss Circle and ask for her help! After they put away the supplies to cleanse this friendly yet suspicious paper school, of course.
They hurriedly place down things and items inside the shelves of the janitor's closet, and they position the trolley into its little cozy corner and slam the door closed. Making sure it's locked before they leave, they can finally dash off to Miss Circle's classroom. Unfortunately no running in the halls, and they are forced to speed walk their way there.
However as they tread faster towards the math teacher's classroom, other teachers for different subjects are already making their way out of school. Miss Bloomie was the first out of here and waved to them goodbye as a friendly gesture. It's been a few weeks since they were first hired, but some of the biggest and scariest rumors have already met their ears.
The one who just walked past their figure was known to be a part of a trio where the three teachers… punish students for failing. Maybe a bit too harsh. However some people say that Miss Bloomie doesn't exactly want to do it, and is forced into the actions. But she could have been a part of the other teachers like Miss Sasha, Mister Demi, and Miss Emily! So it's best to stay away from her for now.
Then there's Miss Thavel. Apparently she becomes some sort of deer figure when she's on her murdering spree. Maybe that's why the pay is so high to be a janitor here, having more than one mentally unstable teacher is most likely dangerous and illegal to the school. Additionally the cleaner would have to wipe away murder scenes.
There's also a third crazy teacher, but who was it..? It was another Miss for sure, so maybe Miss… Oh.
They stop dead in their tracks, and they finally realize who they're going to. The one who is rumored to be the scariest: Miss Circle.
Shark-like teeth ready to pierce through metal, claws grazing at everything it slightly touches, and a child-sized compass frightening to an average height of an adult or below. They stare through Miss Circle's door window, and they catch themself shaking a little. Not a “Shiver me timbers!” type of trembling, but slight ones when goosebumps arise on skin.
Creaakk… The door gently swings open with small noise, but with hearing like Miss Circle she notices immediately.
With an annoyed expression she sneered, “What du we hah here?”
She rises from her seat, and Miss Circle begins sauntering towards them menacingly. “Close ze dour. Walk in completely.” she snarls with her fangs out.
Terrified out of their mind they start to lightly tip-toe inside the classroom. Meeting in front of Miss Circle was like a giant, literally.
Despite all the fearfulness they manage to get their lips moving and speaking, “Hhello Miss Circle!! Uhm… I came over to your classroom cause I need some help with my math homework.”
What the actual fuck was that?! No seriously what did I just blurt out, I need to introduce myself first.
“Ehem, my name is [WHY/EN🗣🗣🔥]. I'm the new janitor here,” they pause, “and a college student. Who struggles with solving simple math problems.”
As if hyperboles were real, there would be sweat pooling down onto the floor and flooding the room. The amount of sweat, eye twitching, and nervous breathing while waiting for her answer doesn't make it any better. She's already scary when talked about, but in person? Oh these poor children.
“Yu stupid? Well, Ai am glad yu came here for help,” Miss Circle giggled while lifting her clawed hand to cover her laughter, “can’t hah an idiuot working for zis sckewl.”
A bit offended by her remarks, all that came down to is at least they know they won't be torn to shreds by those claws… for now. “Oh… haha yeah. Anyway do I just show you the paper and you solve it–”
“Nonsense! Ai will teach yu how to suolve what yu ah learning. Where is ze paper?”
They reached down to their uniform pockets and dug up an extremely crumpled piece of worksheets. From above they could hear a heavy sigh yet filled with laughter. “Messy messy, fufufu!” mocked Miss Circle.
They can feel their cheeks heat up with embarrassment as they sort through the worksheets. Throughout the jumbled mess they managed to find the packet for their mathematics class. Holding out the paper of nightmares they cough, “Here, I found it.”
“Great! Nouw start at question one. Whut dus it say?” she demanded.
The now crumpled up paper being tightly held by their quivering fingers is almost ripped into shreds. Ffs. They just want to get this over with and not be in the presence of a rumored bloodthirsty teacher. Staring at the Times New Roman font, they begin reading off the words, “Um, find X. With Y and Z.”
All of a sudden black sharp claws snatch their worksheet away from them, and Miss Circle intriguingly analyzes the letters. She says, “Zis soy easy! Look at how Ai do it, and yu repeat.”
She lifts her pencil compass hand to the paper and makes sure their eyes are following. With the sharp tip of the pencil she circles the x, and step-by-step shows how to solve x, y, and z. While Miss Circle teaches them math like a toddler they can feel themself becoming nervous.
Not nervous as in worried if they look stupid and dumb, but worried if Miss Circle would do anything harmful if they didn't understand it. Those rumors depict her as an unforgiving and merciless teacher who doesn't care about the law. Even though they are currently understanding the math concept now being taught by Miss Circle, what if in the future their mind just can't focus?
With a smile she wraps up the formula and gleams, “Zats it! Nouw yu can solve ze rest of the questions on yur own.”
“Thank you Miss Circle.” They smile back at her.
She lets out a giggle of amusement as if she watched a pet hamster do something funny and reminds them, “Let me know if yu're stuck again, like Ai said, we can't hah idiuots working for zis sckewl.”
They nod unsure, feeling mixed emotions of confusion and offended. That doesn't matter though as they look at the rest of the packet. It's filled with complicated questions, and they can already guess they'll need loads of help with the rest. “If it's okay, can I stay in your classroom while I solve the problems?”
She points over to a time out chair near her workspace and replies, “Sure, go sit in zat little corner over zhere. Near mah desk so Ai make sure yu aren't douing anyzhing wrong.”
It's like she's lecturing a child, but something just feels off. They can't put their finger on it, yet it felt like there were spiders crawling up their spine. Warm spiders too, it felt as if Miss Circle had developed a special admiration towards them. Though again she could be like this to her students who failed in learning before they went missing.
Treading towards the paper chair, they seat themself down, and sigh as they look at the amount of questions they have to answer. They search through their uniform's pockets, take out their pencil, and start to work away at the problems. Whenever they would get stuck on a question, they would immediately go ask Miss Circle for help. She would always snicker at them in levity, but in the end she helped them answer it.
Minutes pass by in mere seconds as they get closer to the end of the packet. Freedom, at long last! “Just a few more… and I'll be done! Free from this classroom.” They murmur to themself.
“Whut was zat?” Miss Circle sneers, “Yu don't like it here?”
They freeze dead in their tracks, and the sweat on their back even comes to a halt. “Ohh what? Of course I like it here, why would I keep coming back to you for help and listen to every command you bark out?” they reply.
“Zon't act stupid. Zat really hurts my feelings,” She snarls, “Ai know yu're a college student, but zat doesn't mean yu can say rude zhings about mah classroom.”
They shift in their seat, the atmosphere feeling way more intense than it should be. “I'm sorry then. I really didn't mean it, I said that cause I was almost done with my math homework and—”
“Yu know whut you can prove yu're sorry? Buy me a pack of oeros, and come to mah classroom tomorrow afterschool.” Miss Circle interrupts.
Huh? Well alright then.
Puzzled, they answer, “Uhh, sure?”
“Nouw get out.” Miss Circle growls.
Jumping to their feet, they quickly scatter to the classroom door and jitter with the doorknob. Whenever they asked the students attending this paper school, they always said to listen to every demand Miss Circle states. Or else they wouldn't see another day.
It was like a spring breeze when they swung the door open. A breath of fresh air after being stuck with an extremely passive-aggressive teacher. They step out into the familiar paper hallways of the school, and give one last thanks towards Miss Circle to calm her down. Hopefully she'll feel better tomorrow..!
Strolling through the endless hallways, they come to a stop when they reach the exit. They walk through the doors and notice how dark the sky got. Maybe it would be better to learn the next mathematics topic at their dorm, and instead of a constant mood changing teacher.
Oh well, who else could they have to help them with their math subjects?
[✎]
Neon and flashing colors shine from their phone screen as they slowly lose consciousness from reality. They're lying on their dorm bed, cuddling with their favorite plushie, and comfortably drowning in their gifted fluffy blanket. It has been a long day for them, and they almost fell asleep in the shower due to how tired they are.
As they drift off into dreamland their mind goes through today’s events. First was the nasty bathroom cleaning, and they immediately tossed that out of their memory. Second was their math homework, and the amount of stress caused to get it done. It took awhile, but they met someone new to converse and talk with about math! How nice, but third is Miss Circle being so confusing. She's mean yet playful, kind and helpful, then goes sad and threatening! Urgh, this is just all too confusing. They should just go to sleep already.
Placing their phone down beside their tableside, they pull the string attached to their lamp and the room goes dark. They stuff their head below their fuzzy blanket, and let their eyelids take control. Blackness consumes their vision as they finally get their much-needed rest.
Their mathematics homework is fully completed, and that's all that matters. For now, probably.