It was the first day Mona's pre-school opened in the New Year. She was in quite the god mood today, as her staff noticed. Her pleased disposition was still on-going from the fun she'd had over the holidays; and it wasn't just from the children's touching Christmas present, if you get my meaning. Nudge nudge, wink wink.
Mona thought back to how she started the New Year with a blush. She was so caught up in her memories, she almost missed the time.
"Oh wonderful." She sighs, "They're about due to arrive. Wait till they see the special thing I have planned!"
As if summoned up by magic, the first one comes. The giggly baby Amelia Wil Tesla Seylunn, being toted bouncily by her busty older sister.
"Hello Mom! Happy New Year!" the brunette cries, followed by a coo of greeting from her sibling.
"Please don't... oh forget it. Just, fro the love of all things Naga, don't laugh." Mona replies.
"Ah, okay mom. Well here's Amelia. I've got to run, so bye bye sissy! Bye mom!" Naga waved and hurried off.
Mona called one of her other sitters to her side. "Listen Kate, I need you to care for Amelia today. I'll be far too busy with the others, so she's all your responsibility."
Kate nodded and took the baby from Mona. This shouldn't be too hard. Right? she thought and left her to deal with the other arrivals.
As soon as Kate and Amelia walked off, the Metalliums and Radas arrived.
"Hello Mrs. Metallium! Hello Mr. Rada!" she greeted the parents, while silently musing how alike their offspring looked. "And hello to you too Sylphiel and Xellos!"
"Hi mom!" Xellos smiles, whilst Sylphiel waves shyly. "Where's..."
"Miss Inverse isn't here yet Xellos." Mona butt in, not wanting to start the New Year with THAT question again.
Shrugging, the young demon boy wanders off, the quiet Sylphiel following like a lost lamb.
"Hello Mrs. Gabriev!" Mona greeted the next arrivals. "Hello Gourry!"
"Hi MoM!" Gourry smiled grandly and giving Mona a quick hug, skips off to join the others.
"Ah, H... hello Ms. Inverse."
"Hi Mom." The purple haired waitress answered. "Quite the New Years Bash huh? Lina behave..." she turned her eyes towards the energetic red head, "and take care of your cousin."
Lina gulped and waited for yet another red haired girl to join her. Lina's little cousin, Liny, was dressed in a cute little canary yellow dress, with a cream lace trim and matching hair ribbon. Aside from their outfits, and personalities, the two could've been identical twins.
"Ah Hello Garv! Welcome Back Val!" Mona said, a bright pink tinge streaking its way across her slightly middle aged cheeks.
Val looked at his sitter curiously for a while before joining his peers. His father whispered a few things into Mona's ear, causing her to titter like a school girl. Something that did not go unnoticed by young Val and friends.
Mona sighed as the deliciously naughty Mr. Garv departed and Rezo the red priest, with his charge, Zelgadis, took his place.
"Hello Mr. Rezo. Hello Zelgadis." Mona said, recovering herself.
"Hi mom..." Zel began before being dragged off by Lina.
"Well that's everyone." Mona announced. Herding all her charges together, she decided to share her plans. "Okay kids. Today I've decided that since its your first day back, we'll do a special activity!" The scamps were all intrigued. One: because their Mom was acting extremely cheerful, and two: because activities were fun.
"Today... I'm going to teach you all how to cook!" and there was much rejoicing.
Soon she had all the eager younglings seated at the long low table, bowls and ingredients piled before them. They were going to attempt to make pudding. Mona passed a rather beaten looking cardboard box around and everyone chose a pudding flavor packet.
Sylphiel chose first and simpered. "I got Chocolate."
Liny chose next and smiled. "I got vanilla!"
Val dug into the box and smirked. "Heh, strawberry."
Zel took his and said. "I've got chocolate."
Lina snatched hers and beamed. "Vanilla! Yummy!"
Xellos chose next and grinned. "Strawberry."
Gourry sighed and took the last one.
The kids got to work, attempting to follow Mona's, and the packet's, instructions. Having such short attention spans, they soon turned to chatting instead, except for Gourry who began snacking on his ingredients.
"Val? How come you keep looking at Mom like that?" Liny asked.
"Huh? Oh... it's just... well..." Val stuttered to his long time crush, absently tossing in some pop rockets into his pudding.
"Come on spill!!" Lina encouraged and soon they all were huddled rather lose.
"You see... I think mom and my dad had a sleepover party." He confessed. "Cause when I got up to watch cartoons, after the big New Years party, I swear I saw her car still parked out front. It was gone, though, by the time I got hungry enough for some cereal. There was only dad humming to himself as he rinsed some cup out in the sink."
The children chewed this bit of info over in their young heads, wondering at its implications.
"Umm... so does this mean Mom's gonna be you new mom?" Gourry asked confused, and it began.
"Wow! Mom is going to be your mom!"
"Will we be allowed to call her Mom still? Or only Val?"
"I think we'd have to call her Val's Mom."
"So... what do you think about all this Val?"
"I dunno." Val answered. "Kinda okay with me. Cuz Mom's cool and stuff."
The discussion aside, they went back to work.
Mona hung up the phone, where'd she'd been having quite the interesting conversation with her close friend Ellen. She walked back to the table, feeling as if she'd just missed something. They are all looking waay too innocent.
"Alright. When you're done, you can put your candy on top, then stick them in the fridge. Later you can all have pudding at lunch time!"
The kids all enjoyed the rest of their time, as their treats chilled to perfection. Time seemed to fly as soon enough, the lunch hour arrived.
Sucking it in, the sitter bravely announced, "Okay Kids! Lunch Time!"
Frightening enough, chaos did not ensue. The children did not race over each other to eat their lunches, but walked calmly and politely to their seats. They did not tear into their meals like scavenging crows, but ate and chewed slowly and interacted with each other, without a fuss, resulting in some sitters fainting from the shock. Mona only watched, mouth gaping, occasionally rubbing her eyes and wondering, What the Hell?
Eventually lunch was over and the toddlers, after each having been checked over for any form of injury or illness, were grouped together, eagerly awaiting Mona's pudding verdict.
Sylphiel's pudding was perfect, and decorated lovingly with marshmallows.
Liny's pudding was also perfect and beautifully covered in smarties.
Lina's pudding was good but hard to find under the mountain of gummy bears.
Zel's pudding was also good, but he had decided to not decorate it and kept it plain.
Val's pudding was okay though his pop rockets kept exploding.
Gourry no longer had his pudding as he already ate it, but Sylphiel offered to share.
Xellos' pudding was down right un-edible.
"Xellos... what did you put IN there?"
"That... is a secret!' he grinned.
Mon poked at the pudding and eeped as it poked right back. She decided that That was positively one secret she did NOT want to know.
The study of Xellos' deranged, and what seemed like crayon encrusted, desert was brought to a halt when someone screamed...
"AHHHH!!! BABY AMELIA!!! NOO!!!"
Kate dashed across the room to catch her charge but, horror of horrors, she tripped and fell. There was no way Kate could save the falling infant in time.
"Oh NO!" Mona gasped.
"I'll Save Her Mom!" Val proclaimed and kicked Xellos' pudding into Amelia's drop zone.
Baby Amelia hit the pudding and bounced partially, until said pudding grabbed her back down into its mysterious strawberry depths, burying her up to her neck.
"Val! You're a Hero!" Liny cried and glomped the horned boy, much to his delight.
Val's face glowed at the attention. He saw his beloved rewarding him with a kiss from her sweet rosebud lips and promising to love him forever and ever. The closeness of his love and his over active imagination sent the blood rushing to his head, and caused him to faint at Liny's feet.
"Oh no. There he goes." Lina pointed out.
"Ah! Val-chan! Are you Dead!?" Liny squealed in fright.
"Nope. But when he comes too..." Lina and Zel sighed simultaneously.
And like clockwork, the young dragon boy twitched, sat up, eyes popping open, and horn catching on the yellow skirt of Liny's dress.
Val awoke to the sight of Dear Liny Inverse's undies, little white bunnies and all.
With a happy groan, and a small stream of blood trickling down his nose, Val collapsed in a swoon, once more.
"IIIEEEE!!!!" Liny squealed.
"Mom!" Lina yelled, though she was standing right there. "Val fainted and his bleeding!"
"Oh poor Val." Mona tuttered and tended to the boy.
Eventually the sitters managed to putt the hellions down for their naps. Mona enjoyed a nice hot cup of hot chocolate and helped Kate try to free the dozing baby from the pudding's grip. A quart of turpentine and two pry bars later, they were successful.
The minutes flew by and the parents finally came to retrieve their half asleep offspring.
The pre-school was nearly empty of charges, only the Inverse girls were left.
"Liny! Lina! Luna's here!" Mona called and the two girls scurried over.
"Rough day?" Luna asked.
"More like bizarre. Kinda like a twilight zone episode or something." Mona shrugged.
The two girls waved at Mona as they left, singing a cheer-filled 'Bye Mom! See You Next Time!" behind them.
"One of these days, I'll figure out the mystery behind WHY they call me that." Mona sighed. "oh well."
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