I Became a Kindergarten Teacher for Monster Babies!-Chapter 476 Hide and Seek (1)

After everyone had tried the new swings, slides, and strange wobbly bucket seats, Alina clapped her hands lightly and called them over. One by one, the babies gathered around her, some still breathless from running, some dusting grass off their uniforms.

She crouched down so she was at their eye level, her smile soft and playful, her eyes shining with mischief.

"Alright," she said gently, wiggling her brows in an exaggerated way, "we’re going to play hide and seek. Who is ready to play?"

"Me! Me! Meeee!" voices burst out instantly.

Drake jumped so high his feet almost left the ground. Boo spun in the air dramatically like a floating balloon. Kelpie waved both arms with wild excitement. Luna raised her hand with fierce determination, as if this were a serious mission. Rocky lifted his hand shyly, glancing around to make sure no one was judging him. Felix tried to look calm and unimpressed but still raised his hand. Lucien lifted his hand politely, and Sable copied him with a small smile.

Vlad Jr. pretended to look away, chin lifted like a refined prince who definitely did not care about children’s games, but the second Drake grabbed his wrist and forced his hand up, the tiny sparkle in his eyes betrayed him completely.

Alina laughed softly at their enthusiasm.

"So," she said, looking around with mock seriousness, "everyone wants to play, right?"

They all nodded so hard it looked like their heads might fall off.

"Good. Then listen carefully," she continued, her tone turning gently strict. "We have a few rules."

They leaned closer, instantly serious.

"Rule number one," she said, holding up a finger, "you can only hide inside the garden. No one is allowed to go outside. The garden is our safe zone."

They nodded again.

"Rule number two," she added, raising a second finger, "no using dangerous powers. No fire, no flood, no using spooky ghost powers."

Boo gasped in dramatic betrayal. "Teacher, that’s discrimination against ghosts!"

"It’s safety," she replied sweetly, smiling at him.

"Rule number three," she continued, raising a third finger, "do not fall asleep in your hiding spot. If you nap, you automatically lose."

Felix muttered, "Unfair," under his breath, while Rocky nodded seriously like he was making a sacred promise.

"And rule number four," she finished, "when everyone is caught, you must come out nicely. No hiding forever just to win."

"Okayyyyy!" they chimed together.

She clapped once, delighted. "Perfect! Now I’m going to count to twenty."

She leaned closer, lowering her voice in a playful, dramatic whisper.

"And whoever gets caught first..." she paused, pretending to think deeply, tapping her chin.

"...has to be the seeker in the next round!"

A mix of cheers, gasps, and playful groans filled the air.

"Unfairrr!" Drake whined.

"That’s thrilling," Vlad Jr. said elegantly, his eyes flashing with excitement.

"Okay," Alina said, turning around and covering her eyes, "ready or not... here I come."

"ONE!"

The children exploded into motion.

"TWOOOO!"

Footsteps scattered in every direction.

"THREEEEE!"

Boo floated upward like a mischievous balloon, Luna darted behind a flower pot like a hunter, Rocky carefully hid near a stone corner, Kelpie sprinted toward the stepping stones, Drake bolted toward the slides, Vlad Jr. slipped away with theatrical grace, Felix vanished with quiet cleverness, and Lucien gently guided Sable toward a safer hiding spot.

"TWENTYYYY!"

Alina spun around with a playful grin, scanning the now mysteriously quiet garden. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Alright," she murmured excitedly, "let the hunt begin."

As Alina stepped forward, scanning the garden with playful, exaggerated seriousness, Boo hovered behind a tall flower pot.

The moment she said, "Let the hunt begin," his eyes widened so much they almost popped out of his ghostly face.

Hunt.

HUNT.

That was his word.

His favorite word.

His sacred, spooky, dramatic, dictionary level word.

His little ghost heart trembled with emotion.

"She said it," he whispered in pure awe, floating in place. "She said my word. HUNT. That is my signature ghost vocabulary. My brand. My identity."

He wiggled in excitement, tail flicking behind him. "I need to inform her immediately that she just used Boo’s Official Spooky Terminology."

He leaned out from his hiding spot, about to dramatically announce himself like a haunted celebrity.

"TEACHER—"

Then he froze.

Oh no.

Rules.

Hide and seek rules.

If he came out now, he would be the first caught.

Boo clapped a hand over his own mouth, eyes watering in emotional conflict.

"Boo, control yourself," he whispered fiercely. "This is a test of discipline. A test of ghostly patience."

He stared at Alina creeping past, trying not to giggle.

"I will endure," he muttered. "Even if my favorite word has been spoken."

Meanwhile, Felix, watching from behind a tree, slowly facepalmed.

"This is why no one fears ghosts anymore," he muttered under his breath.

Alina bit her lip, trying very hard not to laugh as she pretended to look utterly confused, even though she had already spotted Luna’s twitching ear behind the bushes and Drake’s barely contained giggles echoing faintly from the slide roof.

"Oh nooo," she called out dramatically, hands on her hips as she slowly turned in a circle, "where did all my babies go? Did the garden eat them? Did the swings swallow them? Or did the wind carry them away?"

Drake nearly burst.

Hidden on top of the slide’s little roof, crouched like a tiny dragon guarding his treasure, he pressed both hands over his mouth, shoulders shaking as silent laughter bubbled out of him. It was the perfect hiding place. The roof shielded him from both sides, the angle gave him a full view of the garden, and he could watch Alina like a secret spy on a top mission. From above, he could see Felix’s tail flicking behind a tree, Rocky’s stone like back peeking from behind a decorative rock, and Boo’s faint ghostly glow trembling behind a flower pot.

"This is too funny," Drake whispered to himself, trying to stop laughing. "Teacher thinks we vanished. Mission: Stay Hidden."

Below, Alina walked slowly past the slide, peeking under it with exaggerated curiosity. "Hmm... nobody here," she murmured out loud, though her eyes sparkled with amusement. "Not a single mischievous baby in sight."

Drake clamped a hand over his mouth again as another giggle escaped him, his little tail twitching with excitement.