⊱┊ᴀ ɴᴇᴡ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ༊*·˚

Mrs Dawson halts in her steps, once they stand in front of an open-plan room and Jungkook is quick to follow. "This is the kitchen where the meals are made, usually by cooks.

So no worries you won't have to cook. Nonetheless, I allow you to put your lunch in the fridge whether it's something to drink or to eat. You are welcome to use it. What's not allowed is to steal food from others. I won't tolerate that," Mrs. Dawson explains in a strict voice before she throws Jungkook a sharp look as if to ask him whether she made herself clear.

And, while Jungkook isn't really interested in what she's saying, he can't help but gulp when she gives him a piercing glance. He's not afraid, per se, but it does intimidate him to the point that he feels compelled to react to her.

Jungkook nods and then shifts his gaze to the ground, hoping it would lessen the intensity of her stare on him. She acknowledges the gesture and leads him to the next room, along a floor with big windows, giving a view to the little courtyard that people have to pass through after ringing the door and before entering the low building completely. She explains that there are two more rooms on the other side of the building.

"As you can see there are three different rooms in this hallway. There's a different room around the corner, which makes it four rooms. Every door in this hallway has a different colour and an animal sticker on it, may it be a butterfly and a dark blue door, a red door and a ladybird, a light blue door and a seal or a purple door and a squirrel-" Mrs Dawson nods with her head towards all the different doors.

"The reason for that is, they count mainly as group rooms. Every kid is in one group and every group has their own teacher. It's easier for the kids to find their rooms and for the teachers, it's easier to have an overview of their children in the morning. In spite of that, we do open all doors and the connecting door that is a connection between two group rooms and the kids are then free to roam around after lunchtime.

That is because although they are group rooms, every room has different kinds of toys or entertaining things, for example, the blue door with a seal has an aquarium and a marble run while the purple room with a squirrel has a kids kitchen and a mattress. There are more similarities and differences, you will get to see once you get to know the room individually," Jungkook hums and slips his hands into his pockets as they wander the hallway further down, eventually entering what seems to be a group room.

It has a few purple cabinets and a bunch of toys on the floor that make it appear like a tornado hit. Will it be his responsibility to pick up after the brats? He mentally scoffs.

Surely, he won't do that. They can do that themselves.

At the end of the room is a white door surrounded by big windows, giving an excellent view of a big green courtyard with a sandpit, a swing and a slide; something he didn't see when he fell through the glass roof.

Some kids are playing catch outside and others are playing in the sandpit. Jungkook diligently observes and sinks in deep thoughts when an unexpected impact of power meets his legs, causing him to almost lose his balance.

Barely though. He can still contain himself and keep himself from stumbling.

He's about to curse and yell at whoever decided to rudely crash into him, teaching them a lesson to better not mess with him again.

However, what Jungkook is not prepared for is to meet two innocent brown-looking pairs of eyes as soon as he looks up. His brows furrowed in an angry expression and his hands balled into fists, causing the two children, two girls, to jolt and take a step back from the angry-looking man in front of them.

"A-are you going to hurt us?" one asks, stuttering as their lips begin to wobble and immediately Jungkook finds himself unclenching his fists and losing up from the tensed muscles in his body. He shouldn't care, be angry or just ignore them but some urge tugs at him not to do so. So he stands there, frozen.

Not knowing what to do or how to answer, he hushes a helpless glance towards Mrs Dawson and sees her standing with her arms crossed a few meters away from him.

Subconsciously, Jungkook bites his lip. He's not stupid to see that the way she's standing there and observing every one of his movements that she won't intervene in this matter. That's when it clicks: he's on his own in this and it's the first time, the first situation he is supposed to act responsible and mature towards the children. That is what's expected from him or what he's supposed to learn while being here.

"No," Jungkook eventually can bring out, voice low and unsure. "I- I am not going to hurt you."

God, never has he been in such an uncomfortable situation before. Helpless and uncertain, not knowing what to do or what to say. Thankfully, merely seconds after seeing their expressions relax, Mrs Dawson squats down to their eye level and speaks up.

"You really don't need to be afraid of him. He's someone that needs to get accustomed to children, that's all." She shifts her gaze between Jungkook and the girls, a satisfied smile plastered on her face.

"I promise," Mrs Dawson quickly adds as she sees a hint of hesitation flash in their eyes. "How about you go out and play for a bit. I will bring you some snacks soon."

The last sentence earns her a loud and happy scream from the kids, instantly acquiescing and disappearing through the white-painted door.

To say she's not satisfied and a little bit proud of the way Jungkook handled the situation would be a lie. She saw the way he originally wanted to react but stopped immediately upon seeing the children.

And it's true, you can never be sure how a person really is until you get to know them. That's always the risk she has to take when willing to help others, may it be for private reasons or 'helping' people who have done something criminal and letting them work some hours in the kindergarten. Of course, with a teacher keeping an eye on them until she's sure they can be trusted.

It's not happening often, but if so, then she's choosing carefully and takes her time deciding whether she lets the person work there or not, whether it's safe to let them near children. In Jungkook's case, it was a bit different, the fact that he broke something added and seeing that he has no record for a major act of violation made it easier for her to decide.

Everyone starts somewhere and when that was the first interaction with kids, then she's looking forward to seeing the progress he will be making.

"Let's go to the next room." She leads him through a connecting door into another group room with a red door and then to an open white door at the end of the room.

"This is the nap room and at the same time a playroom and a P.E. room. There are children who need to take a nap after lunch so this is where they will stay for an hour and we usually take those beds for that." She signs to a stack of low beds stacked on top of each other next to a cupboard.

"I have not decided yet whether one of your tasks will be to stay with another teacher in the room and keep an eye on the kids or not." Jungkook groans and throws his head back when hearing it, missing the stern look of Mrs Dawson.

Why must he suddenly have such bad luck?!

She clears her throat and leads him back into the group room where she then turns towards him, raising an eyebrow.

"I got to know that you are still in school?"

"Yes," he rolls his eyes at the thought and hears her sigh when he adds in a murmur, "Unfortunately, yes. Not that I care anyway."

"I wouldn't say that. You will never know what the future might bring. Give it your best, it's your last year and see where it will lead you."

Mrs Dawson can only hope that Jungkook will understand as soon as possible what a good high school degree can bring him. It lets her feel a hint of frustration when thinking about teenagers not taking school seriously these days. It can be the key to many different paths. Once they might realise it, it could be already too late and they will regret it their entire life.

Jungkook scoffs, "Whatever."

"Look, I'm not someone who tells you what you have to do or what you are supposed to do regarding school. That's not my business. I just wanted to let you know my thoughts regarding this. You can do whatever you want with it.

What my business is, regardless of your school matters, is that you have to follow the basic rules here in our kindergarten, listen to the teachers when they are telling you something and do the tasks we give you. If you do that we won't have a problem with each other, alright?" Jungkook nods, earning a smile from Mrs Dawson.

"If you have a question or nothing to do, you can always go to a teacher and we will find a solution."

"Yes," the male answers and bites back a scowl.

"Alright, I showed you the four group rooms... the nap room... the courtyard... the kitchen... the playrooms and the yoga room," she goes once more through a mental list of rooms that are there to be shown. "I think that's it. Then let's get you familiar with the tasks you're going to do, shall we?"

Before he follows her, Jungkook closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

"What a shit day."

He can't wait for the two hours to be finally over, fully knowing that it will only repeat 3 times a week after school hours.

______

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