Work Text:
“Good morning, children! Welcome to Kindergarten! There there, dear – don't cry. It's okay. Mommy will come back. Sit here with me. My name is Miss Owen. Can you say 'Good Morning Miss Owen'? Let's try it!”
“GOOD MORNING MISS OWEN!”
“Good job! Yes, dear? Well done for raising your hand...er...John, is it?”
“Yes! My name is John Gabriel Winchester.”
“What did you want to tell me, John?”
“This is for you, Miss Owen. I bringed it from home.”
“Oh! An apple! Well, that's very kind, John. Thank you.”
“Papa said it's tradishnul to give an apple to your teacher. Daddy says it's sucking up, and that no good ever came of giving people apples. But then Papa said that the forbidden fruit was meta...mefo...mef... not really fruit. And that apples taste d'lishus. And then Daddy went a bit red, and there was some cuddling, but I don't think that was because of the apple.”
“...okay, well, thankyoufortheappleJohn. Right, children, we're going to learn a song...”
“That's a very interesting picture, John! Can you tell me what it is?”
“That's uncle Sammy. His eyes are kind of black because he's a little bit evil sometimes. He's smiting the unrighteous.”
“...”
“This bit's the demon coming out. It looks like smoke. Smoking is bad for you.”
“...”
“And this is Auntie Woo...Ruby. Auntie Ruby kicks ass.”
“We don't say that word in school, John. But it's your first day, so won't get a demerit. Just don't do it again, dear.”
“Sorry! Papa says it's a naughty word, but Daddy uses it lots. Auntie Woo..Ruby is stabbing the wendigo in the eye, see? And then she set it on fire, because they don't like fire – that's the red bit there. And these are the civilians. That one's dead, and a bit eated up, but the other ones are okay.”
“...”
“...that's very...creative, John! Now, let's see if you can draw a nice teddy bear, shall we?”
"Gimme your lunch money, new kid."
"Why?"
"Cuz if you don't, you'll be sorry"
"Hmm. No thank you. I want to keep my lunch money."
"You asked for it."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"BISS! BISS PENDERGAST! 'E 'IT BE! 'E 'IT BY DOSE! AN' BY TUMMY! 'E BADE BE FALL DOWN!"
"Good heavens! Who? Who did this?... really? You're sure it was this one? He's half your size, Timothy. Really? Er...what's your name?"
"My name is John Gabriel Winchester."
"Really this one? Okay. Which class are you in, John?"
"I am in Kindergarten! Good morning!"
"Good, er, morning. Um. Timothy says you hit him. Is that true?"
"Yes."
"Oh. Well, we don't allow that sort of thing at this school. It's against the rules. Are you new, John?"
"Yes. This is my first day, and he said I had to give him my lunch money. I said no, so he tried to hurt me. So I stopped him."
"...Timothy?"
" 'E's lying! 'E jus' 'it be!"
"Hmm. We've talked about how you behave towards the younger children before, haven't we, Timothy?"
"'Es, miss."
"Well, John, if someone tries to bully you, you should go and find a teacher. Because even if they threaten you, or hit you, you should not hit them. You get in trouble too, if you hit them. Especially if you hit them first."
"Papa says we should not smite until someone has proven they truly are a sinner, but Daddy says if you're going to tackle an ornery sonofabitch you should take 'em down hard and fast and make sure they aren't getting up again. Especially if they're bigger than you. I waited until he proved he was a sinner, and then I took him down."
"BISS PENDERGAST, 'E SAID BITCH!"
"Timothy!"
"But..."
"...er, John. That's a very interesting philosophy. Thank you for, ah, sharing it with us. I think perhaps I may need to, ah, meet with your parents some time soon to discuss how we can, ah, help you settle in easily. Um."
"Okay."
“Miss Owen! Miss Owen!”
“What's the matter, Lucy?”
“John got paint on Nop!”
“Nop? John? Is everything okay? Oh! Whoops-a-daisy! Fingerpainting can be messy! Did you get a sticky handprint on Nop by accident, John?”
“No.”
“...?”
“On purpose, Miss Owen. He did it on purpose. 'Cause he likes me.”
“I see. Well, John, it's wonderful that you've made a friend, dear, but you don't need to put red paint on his arm. That's not how we show people we like them. Do you want to help him wash it off now?”
“Okay.”