I Became a Kindergarten Teacher for Monster Babies!

Chapter 648 648: Trip (6)

Lilith blinked and something wet rolled down her cheek.

A tear.

She wiped it away quickly with the back of her hand.

She blinked again. Another tear.

She wiped that one too.

Her lower lip trembled.

No. She didn't want to cry. Not here. Not now. Her brothers were in the other room. The others were there too. They would see her. They would ask questions. They would worry.

She was big two. Big twos don't cry.

She sniffled and wiped her cheeks with both hands. She pressed her lips together tightly, trapping the tears inside.

Then she looked at the photo again. She pulled it close to her chest and hugged it.

"Mama," she whispered. "Daddy."

She closed her eyes.

In her mind, she could see them. Mama's warm arms. Daddy's deep voice when he read stories to her and played with her.

She missed them.

Even though she was having fun. Even though the mountains were pretty and the peach blossoms smelled sweet and Boo was funny and the others were kind.

She still missed them.

One tear escaped, then another. She wiped them quickly.

"Wiwwy not cwy," she told herself firmly. "Wiwwy big."

But her voice wobbled.

She hugged the photo tighter.

******

In the kitchen, Sable looked up from the pot of rice.

"Where's Lily?" he asked.

Everyone stopped.

They looked around the room. The table. The window. The door.

Lilith wasn't there.

Sable's heart dropped. "Lily?"

"She was here a minute ago," Luna said.

"I saw her sitting on that chair," Kelpie added, pointing.

"She's not there now," Vlad Jr. said.

Sable dried his hands on his shirt and walked toward the hallway. "Lily!"

No answer.

He walked faster. "Lilith!"

The bedroom door was slightly open. He pushed it gently.

Lilith was sitting on her bed, her back to him, her small shoulders still. She was holding something against her chest.

"Lily?"

She didn't turn around.

Sable walked closer. He could see her shoulders shaking. Just a little. Just enough.

"Lily, are you okay?"

She sniffled. Then she turned.

Her face was wet. Her crimson eyes were red-rimmed. Her cheeks were flushed.

She was holding the family photo.

"Wiwwy misses Mama," she whispered. "And Daddy."

Sable's heart broke.

He sat down on the bed beside her and wrapped his arms around her small body. She leaned into him, pressing her face against his chest.

"Wiwwy not cwy," she mumbled into his shirt. "Wiwwy big."

"It's okay to cry," Sable said softly. "Even big people cry sometimes."

"Wucien never cwies."

"Lucien cries. He just hides it."

"He does?"

"He does."

Lilith pulled back and looked at him. "You pwomise?"

Sable held up his pinky finger. "I promise."

Lilith wrapped her tiny pinky around his. "Okay."

She sniffled one more time and wiped her cheeks.

"Wiwwy feel better now."

"Good."

Lilith looked at the photo again. Then she smiled.

"Mama and Daddy come back soon."

"Three days," Sable said. "And then we go home."

"Three days," Lilith repeated. "Not so wong."

"Not so long," Sable agreed.

She tucked the photo carefully back into her bag, then held out her arms. "Cawwy me, Sable. Wiwwy want to watch cooking."

Sable laughed and lifted her onto his hip. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Sable?"

"Yes?"

"Wiwwy wuv you."

Sable kissed the top of her head.

"I love you too, Lily."

He carried her back to the kitchen, where the rice was washed and the water was running clear and the others were waiting.

Felix looked up, his eyes studying Sable's face for a moment before he spoke. "Everything okay?"

Sable nodded, shifting Lilith's weight on his hip. "Everything's fine."

Lilith waved at everyone happily, her small fingers wiggling in the air. Her cheeks were still a little pink, and her eyes were still a little red, but she was smiling.

"Wiwwy back!" she announced. "Wiwwy want to cook!"

"You can help stir," Felix said, handing her a wooden spoon that was almost as big as her arm.

Lilith held it with both hands and beamed. "Wiwwy good at stirwing!"

"You've never stirred anything in your life," Luna said, but she was smiling.

"Wiwwy weady to wearn!"

Felix showed them how to drain the rice and add fresh water. He measured the water with his fingers, a trick his mother had taught him. "Just to the first knuckle," he said.

Luna watched carefully. Vlad Jr. took notes in his head. Kelpie tilted his head, water droplets forming around him.

"Water level is important," Felix said. "Too much, and the rice gets mushy. Too little, and it burns."

"That's a lot of pressure," Kelpie said.

"Don't think about it as pressure. Think about it as precision."

"Same thing."

"Different thing."

Felix placed the pot on the stove. Vlad Jr. lit the fire carefully, because his vampire magic was better suited for other things, but he managed. The flames flickered beneath the pot, warm and steady.

"Now we wait," Felix said.

"How long?" Rocky asked.

"Until it's done."

"That's not helpful."

"That's cooking."

The children gathered around the table, watching the pot, watching the steam rise. The cottage filled with the smell of rice cooking, warm and soft and comforting.

Lilith sniffed the air. "Smells wike home."

Sable put his arm around her. "Because we're making it together."

She leaned into him.

*********

The chicken coop stood behind the cottage, small and weathered, with a roof made of wooden planks and walls covered in climbing ivy. The morning light filtered through the peach trees, casting dappled shadows on the grass. The chickens were already awake, clucking and scratching, their feathers ruffling in the gentle breeze.

Drake marched toward the coop, his wings spread wide behind him, his tail swishing with confidence. "Alright, chickens. I'm here for your eggs. Don't make this difficult."

Boo floated beside him, his silver eyes bright with mischief. "I'll distract them! I'll float in circles and make ghost sounds! OooOOOOooo!"

"No ghost sounds," Lucien said from behind them, his voice calm but firm.

Boo deflated slightly. "Fine. I'll just... hover menacingly."

"That's worse."

"Menacingly is my default setting."

Lucien sighed and walked past them toward the coop. The chickens looked up at him, tilting their heads. One of them clucked softly.

"They're not scared of you," Drake observed.

"I'm not trying to scare them."

Lucien opened the door to the coop and stepped inside. The air smelled like hay and feathers and something earthy. The chickens shuffled aside, making room for him.

He reached into the first nesting box and pulled out a warm brown egg. Then another. Then another.

"How many do we need?" he called.

"Ten!" Felix's voice floated from the cottage.

"Ten eggs," Lucien repeated. He placed them carefully in the basket he had brought.

Drake pushed past him, his massive wings bumping against the doorframe. "Let me try!"