Chapter 1
"Get down from there, Raven!" Clarke yells at a small wild-haired girl who was sitting on the outside part of a tube slide. "Give me a second, Wells," she said to a dark-skinned boy who had been holding Clarke's hand the whole time they had been outside.
Raven screeched and tried to slide off when she saw Clarke storming towards her.
"Oh no you don't!" Clarke snatches the kid up before she ran away.
Raven's giggles were so cute and adorable that it was impossible for Clarke to be mad at her. All the kids were running and climbing around the jungle gym. Clarke smiled as she saw Bellamy help his little sister Octavia up the stairs. Jasper and Monty were playing in the sandbox. And Harper, Finn and Monroe seemed to be playing tag. But wait, where was Murphy? The teacher whips around trying to find the boy, and spots him crouched down, his back to her. Clarke lets out a sigh of relief, but then sees the kid put something in his mouth.
“Murphy!” She shouts, and the little boy freezes. “Take that out of your mouth! Now!” Clarke jogs to him. “Spit it out. Spit. It. Out.” Clarke had to pry his mouth open. When he finally opened his mouth, pieces of wood chips fall out. “Oh, come on, Murphy. You’re four, you should know not to eat wood chips.”
“I’m sowwy, miss Cwarke.”
Clarke’s biggest weakness is when kids were being unbelievably cute. She let him run off with no problem.
A screamed emerged from probably all the kids as they all ran towards the jungle gym and hid from something.
“What now?” Clarke mumbles to herself as she walks over to see what’s going on.
A tall, brown haired woman, probably around her own age, was standing just outside the building door, holding the hand of a little girl in a cute little dress. Clarke had to take a second to compose herself because wow she was beautiful. Her gaze a little bit too intense, which is probably why the kids screamed. Her kids. Right. Clarke shakes herself out of the haze and approached the woman.
“Hi,” she says, unsure why they were standing there. Clarke also noticed that Well’s didn’t run away, but is standing still when she had left him and is crying. She picks him up and he instantly calmed down. Clarke sighs and turns back to the stranger. “Do you need any help with… anything?”
“Um, the lady in the front desk told me that you were outside? This is Anya, you were supposed to get her next week but I called to see if she can test things out, and the told me to come whenever.”
“Ah,” Clarke nods remembering that she recently got a file for a newcomer. “Well, I’m actually at my limit with the student to teacher ratios, but if you want to stay, then that would be perfectly fine.” For the three to four-year-old kids, teachers were only allowed to look over ten kids at a time.
“Alright, I can do that,” The woman smiled. “I’m Lexa by the way,” she outstretched her arm to shake Clarke’s hand.
“Clarke Griffin.”
“And this little one is my daughter, Anya. Say hi to Mrs. Griffin,” Lexa knelt down to talk to Anya.
“Hi, Mrs. Griffin.”
“It’s miss, you can call me miss Clarke,” the teacher ruffled the little girl’s hair a bit. “Why don’t you go join the kids?” Clarke looks over and sees that the kids were still cowering behind the jungle gym. “It’s okay, kids! Come meet your new classmate!”
Little by little the children walked out from behind the playground. Clarke let Wells down, but he whimpered to be picked back up again. Clarke just held his hand then.
“Don’t worry, they’re not strangers anymore. This is Anya,” She padded the little girl’s shoulder. “And this is Mrs…?”
“It’s miss too.”
“Oh,” Clarke’s heart fluttered in slight nervousness but she ignored it. “This is miss Lexa, kids. She will be helping us today. Everybody say hi to her.”
“Hi,” the children said all at different times.
“Now keep playing! And play nice with Anya,” she announced and everyone ran in different directions. Everyone but Wells. “Go play, Wells!”
Wells shook his head.
“He doesn’t do much, does he?” Lexa asks.
“Not really. He’s perfectly content just sitting with some crayons or something. He doesn’t really like to run around.
Lexa chuckles, “That’s so weird for a kid that age.”
“Yeah,” Clarke nods. “But he normally just walks around. Today he’s been very attached, though.”
“Miss Clarke,” Raven called out from a few yards away.
“Yes, Raven?”
“Could you- could you come here?” Raven shifts her weight from leg to leg.
“Excuse me,” Clarke said to Lexa before walking over to the little girl. Wells followed closely after. “What is it, Raven? Do you need to go potty?”
“That lady looks scary.”
Clarke couldn’t help but snort and laugh. “Is that all you have to say?” Raven nods. “She’s not scary. I know new people can seem scary, but I’m sure she’s very nice. If she wasn’t nice, do you think I would let her be here?” Raven shakes her head. “Do you want to talk to her?” Raven contemplates at the question for a while, but finally nods. “Come on,” Clarke grabs her hand and walks back to Lexa.
“Who’s this cutie?” Lexa asks and Raven instantly has the biggest smile ever.
“Raven!” she giggles.
“Oh, my goodness, she’s so cute,” the brunette adds and the little girl giggles even louder.
“I know right?” Clarke grins. A cry from one of kids comes from the sandbox. “Ugh, I’ll be right back.”
The teacher walked to the sandbox to find a crying Monty and Jasper playing with two plastic shovels.
“Jasper! Share.”
“But miss cwarke! I’m digging the biggest hole ever!”
“Have Monty help you then, but friends don’t take friend’s toys like that.” Jasper pouts and hands the shovel back to Monty. “Now say you’re sorry.”
“I’m sowwy…”
“It okay,” Monty sniffles.
“Good,” Clarke smiles and turns around to find Lexa crowded by the rest of the children.
She was surprised that even Wells was over there as well. Lexa was just spinning the children around and playing silly tricks with them, like trying to high five her hand before she snatches it away. Clarke stood there just looking at Lexa being all cute with the kids. That was her weakness. When someone is being so utterly adorable. And that’s all Lexa was being right now.
“Crap,” Clarke whispered to herself. This girl, Lexa was being too cute.
Clarke let the kids play with Lexa. She was also glad to see that Anya was joining in the crowd very well. Lexa might be a big part to why she’s so comfortable, but by next week, Anya should be accustomed.
The teacher looks at her watch and sees that it was time to head inside. “Monty, Jasper, out of the sandbox! Time to go inside!”
“Awwww,” they both groaned in unison.
“Kids, line up!” Clarke shouts as she heads their way.
All the kids squeal as they lined up behind one another.
“Go get in line too,” Lexa told Anya, to which she nods and stands in line.
“Do you want to lead the line? Our room is Room 5,” Clarke asks Lexa.
“Sure.”
“Where’s Bellamy?” Clarke now asks the whole class.
“Right here, miss Clarke,” he raises the hand that’s not holding Octavia’s hand.
“You’re my door helper today, big man!”
“Yay!” Bellamy shouts and hugs Octavia before running over to open the door.
Lexa led the line of little kids into the building and down the hallway. Once Clarke was inside, she grabbed Bellamy’s hand and kept walking behind the group. Lexa was walking backwards to look at the children, and Clarke and her kept accidentally making eye contact. Clarke would quickly look away and at the children. Why must Lexa have such a nice smile?
They reached the classroom and the kids washed their hands with the help of Lexa as Clarke prepared their lunch. Bellamy helped set the tables like he always does. The kids sat down engulfed in their own loud conversations. Anya seemed to be having fun talking with Raven; Raven was great at making new friends, since she’s not afraid to speak her mind. Clarke told everyone to quiet down once the food was all served and then they began eating.
Soon after it was naptime and Clarke was setting out cots for the kids.
“Anya can sleep in this one,” Clarke set out an extra cot. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah, that’s perfectly fine,” Lexa answers from the sink. She was washing off the dishes.
The door opens and in comes Murphy’s mom.
“Mommy!” the little boy runs to her.
“My baby boy,” the woman kisses Murphy all over his face. “How was he today?”
“He did great. Caught him snaking on wood chips, but that’s normal for him by now,” both women laugh.
“Oh, is this a new teacher?” The woman asks when she notices Lexa standing.
“Oh, no, I’m just visiting,” Lexa explains.
“Her daughter is trying out the room for the first time,” Clarke chimes in.
“That’s very nice, well I hope the best to you, and your daughter,” Lexa thanked the woman and she then left.
The kids all found their own cots, and Clarke sat in between Wells and Raven, the kids who have the most trouble falling asleep. She would pat their backs until they were finally asleep. Lexa took a seat next to Anya and Finn.
“You don’t have to stay here anymore, you know?” Clarke whispers. “She seems to be doing perfectly fine and I’m back down to ten kids.”
Lexa looks down at Anya’s sleeping body. “I know,” she looks up at Clarke and smiles. “But I’d like to stay here, if that’s okay?”
Clarke blushes slightly and looks away. “Yeah that’s perfect.”
You’ve got to stop, Clarke, Clarke thought. She looked back up and saw Lexa brushing Anya’s hair behind her ear, and Clarke thought that that was so cute. She cursed quietly under her breath, because she can’t help but love cute things and people. That’s why she was in this industry. Clarke thinks that kids are the cutest things ever and she knew that she would treat the kids right because she’d have so much love for them. But it’s been a long time since Clarke found anything or anyone else adorable aside from little kids, and now this girl shows up and Clarke can’t control her heart.
“Hey,” Marcus came in the room quietly.
“Great, you’re here,” Clarke stands up. “Come with me,” she told Lexa. “He’s relieving me for a break, and you could use one too.”