Abbott Elementary had recently begun allowing student-led clubs, and it didn’t take long for chaos to unfold. Rap Club was dissing every teacher that crossed their path, Art Club was painting things they really shouldn’t, and Drama Club could be heard screaming at all hours — their shouts echoing down the hall every time someone walked by.

The teachers were already feeling the strain. Game Club was supposed to be about teamwork and strategy, but instead, the students had brought in their own Nintendos from home and were sitting in groups, hunched over their screens, playing Minecraft with controllers that hardly worked. “This is what hell looks like,” Ava muttered as she passed one of the noisier clubs on her way to the lounge.

When Melissa entered the teachers’ lounge, she looked thoroughly exasperated. “Rap Club keeps calling me ‘the teacher with lesbian energy,’” she complained, dropping into the chair next to Barbara, who gave her a sympathetic smile. The others, scattered around the room, nodded in agreement, each visibly tired from the club-induced pandemonium.

Ava leaned back with a sly grin, casually scrolling through Instagram. “Funny, they haven’t dissed me yet,” she said with a cocky chuckle, eyes twinkling.

“Yet,” the rest of the teachers chimed in at once.