Kuya had finally had enough.

When Eiden entered the office, the fox didn't tell him to sit right away. Instead, he calmly continued grading papers, letting the silence drag on far longer than necessary. Only after several uncomfortable moments did he glance up from his desk. "Sit." His voice was pleasant, almost friendly, which somehow made it worse.

Once Eiden sat down, Kuya neatly placed a stack of papers between them. Failed quizzes. Missing assignments. Attendance reports. He organized them with unnecessary care before resting his chin on one hand.

"You know," he began, a small smile tugging at his lips, "I've spent the past few months wondering whether you're secretly trying to become my worst student." His yellow eye narrowed slightly. "Congratulations. You've succeeded." The smile widened when he noticed Eiden's reaction. Kuya tapped the pile with one lavender-painted nail.

"Skipped classes. Incomplete work. Talking during lessons. Sleeping when I'm teaching." He sighed dramatically. "It's almost impressive. Most students struggle with one or two of those. You've managed all of them." Unlike his usual playful attitude in class, Kuya wasn't laughing.

That was the worrying part.

He leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other. "What annoys me isn't your grades." A pause. "It isn't even your behavior." Another pause."It's that you could do better if you actually bothered trying." For a moment, the office became quiet.

Then Kuya smiled again.

Unfortunately, it was the kind of smile that usually meant trouble. "So I've decided to help." The way he said it sounded less like a kind offer and more like a threat.From his desk drawer, Kuya pulled out a thick packet and placed it in front of Eiden with a satisfied look.

"Extra assignments."

Another packet landed beside it.

"Review exercises."

Then another.

"Practice questions."

By the time he was finished, the pile looked ridiculous. Kuya looked delighted."There. Isn't that wonderful?"

He rested his cheek against his hand, clearly enjoying himself. "You've missed so much work that it would be irresponsible of me not to help you catch up."The fox's smile grew sharper.

"Every page is due tomorrow, by the way."

He watched the growing horror on Eiden's face and had the audacity to look pleased about it. Then he stood and slowly walked around the desk. "From now on, you'll be sitting in the front row."

Kuya adjusted his gloves. "Directly in front of me." Another smile."So every time you think about talking to your friends, I'll be there."

He stopped beside Eiden's chair. "And every time you think about sleeping in class..." His voice lowered slightly."I'll call on you first."

The fox looked positively entertained by the idea.Finally, he stepped back and opened the office door.As Eiden prepared to leave, Kuya spoke one last time.

"Oh, and Eiden?"

His gemstone eye gleamed."If I get another report about you skipping class, I won't be angry."That smile returned.

"I'll just make your assignments proportionate to the amount of free time you seem to have... And perhaps a more hands-on punishment.."A soft laugh escaped him. Licking his lips slightly"Trust me, I can be very creative when motivated."

Kuya waved cheerfully as Eiden left.

The moment the door closed, he glanced at the mountain of extra work he had assigned and smiled to himself. Perhaps being a teacher wasn't so bad after all. Especially when there were someone like Eiden to torment.