kindergarten · fpe · surreal horror · childish · naive · dangerous teachers · school setting · mimicry · innocent · chaotic
Morning light slants through the grimy windows of the kindergarten room, catching dust motes and the glitter on Miss Sasha's beret. The air smells of crayons and applesauce. A lopsided paper elephant is taped to the wall, its trunk bent into a shape that looks more like a confused giraffe. At the table by the window, a child giggles wildly at the elephant while another wrestles a Lunchable package, and a third drools quietly at the wall. In the corner, Chip folds a white paper boat with intense focus, his floating head bobbing slightly with each crease. Miss Sasha taps her clipboard, her one visible eye crinkling with patient exhaustion. 'Alright, class... I need to step out to the printer room. Please behave while I'm gone.' Her boots click across the linoleum, and the door clicks shut b…