BAMBI

I woke up early and excited. Today was the first day back at school, and as a teacher, I was ready to meet the new class I would have for the year. I had woken up early and prepared breakfast for me and my son, Willow. It was his first day as a 5th grader, and I wanted him to have the best day. Since breakfast was the most important meal, I made his favorite pancakes with fruit and syrup. Checking the time, I noticed it was time to wake my little boy up. I turned off the stove and walked to his room. I opened the door and peeked inside. Like the lazy kid he was, Willow was sound asleep.

“Little fawn, it’s time to wake up.” I said with a cheery voice. My son groaned and cuddled more on the bed. I found that funny, but kept my ground. “You have to get ready for school, or you will be late on your first day, Willow.”

“Fine, fine. I’m up. I will get ready now.” Willow grunted and wriggled in bed.

“Good, you don’t want your pancakes to get cold.” I said with a chuckle. 

“Pancakes!” My boy said, sitting up on the bed. His messy brown hair showed how well he had slept. “You should have started with that, Papa.”

I giggled at his reaction and went back to the kitchen to serve breakfast for both of us. Willow was so serious about his pancakes not getting cold that he got ready in record-breaking time. It always fascinated me how much that kid loved pancakes.

“Are you excited for today?” I asked as I placed the plate in front of Willow and then sat at the table with him.

“Kinda.” He said and started eating his pancakes.

“If you need anything, you know where to find me.” I said and took a bite of my own plate.

“If I go to the kindergarten section of the school, everyone is going to make fun of me.” Willow said with a sigh.

“No, they won’t. Don’t be dramatic.” I rolled my eyes at him. From the way his smile had faded, I realized he was telling the truth. A fear came to me. Was my baby getting bullied? There was no way to find out. Willow was honest enough to tell me everything, and I hoped he would talk to me if it was happening. “But if you do get bullied, you have to tell me right away, okay?”

“Okay.” He said with a nod, continuing to eat his pancakes.

“Pinky promise?” I said, stretching my arm to him and showing him my pinky finger.

“Pinky promise.” He said, intertwining his pinky finger with mine. 

Once we were done with breakfast, we finished getting ready and walked out of the house and in the direction of the school. Bramville was a small town, and luckily, our apartment was close to Bram School, my place of work, and the only school in town. It was a big enough building to have primary and high school merged in one. It was a great place, and I loved my job as a kindergarten teacher. 

Back when I was kicked out of my herd and came to Bramville, I had been lucky to see the open job application for the spot, and I had been teaching since then. Despite being pregnant, they accepted me and even helped me get settled better in town. Something I loved about Bramville was how kind and accepting everyone was. It was a refuge for many, and it became one for me, too. 

“Good luck today, my little fawn.” I said to my son with a big smile.

“See you later, Papa.” Willow answered and walked the way to his classroom. 

I looked at him go with a big smile. I was proud of how big he was now and how far he had come. As a single parent, I did my best to raise him. I could pat myself on the back for the amazing job I had done so far. I took a deep breath and walked the way to my classroom. There were some things I had to prepare before the kids and parents arrived. Especially the parents. 

Since it was a brand new school year, it was an open classroom day. An opportunity for parents to get to know their kids’ teacher. Bram School did it every year, especially for Kindergarten. A lot of parents worry about their kids' first day in school, and the Open Classroom Day was here to reassure them that they were in great hands. I got to my classroom and made sure there were enough seats for the parents, as well as snacks and drinks for them. I made sure every school supply was in its place and that nothing was missing. I finished decorating just in time for the arrival of the first family. 

Two couples walked into the room with their kids. As a deer shifter, I felt my instincts tell me the alpha parents were shifters, but not just any shifters. Wolves. I fought my running instinct and put on my best welcoming smile. 

“Welcome, I’m Mister Lorne. The homeroom teacher.” I said in a gentle tone.

“Oh, nice to meet you, Mr. Lorne. I am Julien Shepard, and this is my husband, Byron.” One of the omega dads introduced himself, and then pointed down to a cute kid who was staring at me shyly. “This is our boy, Skylar.”

“Nice to meet you, too.” I said to the parents and then looked back down at the kid. “Hi, Skylar. You can pick any seat you want in the room, okay?” 

“I can?” He asked with a certain glimmer in his eyes.

“Sure do. You are free to choose if you want to be in the back or the front.” I mentioned with a gentle smile.

“You heard that, Maddie? We can pick any seat.” Skylar said excitedly to the little girl standing next to him.

“Yes! Let’s go pick one.” Maddie, the girl, said with a smile and ran off with Skylar to pick their seats. 

“Maddie, you forgot to greet your teacher.” The other omega dad said with a frown, but it was too late. She was already gone. He let out a sigh, looking at me. “Kids, am I right?”

“Yes, and you are?” I asked with curiosity.

“Oh, God/dess. We forgot to introduce ourselves.” The omega said, blushing. “How embarrassing.”

“Don’t worry, love.” The other alpha wolf shifter said to his mate, and then looked at me. I was taken aback by my instinct, but did my best not to show it. “I am Mason Shaw, and this is my husband, Mikaela.” 

“Papa! Dad! I’m going to sit here.” The little girl screamed from the middle of the room.

 “And that’s Madelyne, our daughter.” Mason said with a sigh.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you all.” I mentioned, keeping my smile. “You can take a seat in the back. There are also snacks and drinks. If you need anything else, let me know.” 

More families started to arrive, and soon, every seat in the classroom was taken. It was a bigger class than the one I had last year, but it was no challenge for me. Once everyone had settled down, I walked to the front of the classroom and got ready to start with today’s class. 

“Good morning, kids. I am Mister Lorne, but you can call me Mister Bambi.” 

“Like the deer?” Skylar asked with curiosity. I saw his omega dad panic in the back at my question. 

“Yes, like the deer.” I nodded. 

“Why is your name Bambi?” Another kid asked.

“My parents liked the name and gave it to me. Just like how your parents gave you your names. Right, parents?” I said. The parents agreed in unison. “Good. Now, today, we are going to do something fun.”

“What kind of fun?” Maddie asked with curiosity. She sat in the middle of the classroom next to Skylar.

“The good kind of fun, Maddie.” I mentioned and then pointed to the side. “See those lockers on the side? Those are yours, and today we are going to practice how to write your names so we can have our own little locker.”

“Can we pick our lockers?” A kid asked.

“You can. There’s one for each one of you. I will hand you some paper and crayons so you can write your names. If you need any help writing, you can call me.” I explained, and then with a big smile, I said. “Are you ready for today’s task?”

“Yes, Mr.Bambi.” They answered in unison. Their voices were not as loud as I wanted them to be. I wanted them to be more cheerful, so I applied the Spongebob Squarepants method. 

“I can’t hear you.” I said out loud and in a cheerful way. It seemed like my message was caught by them.

“Yes, Mr.Bambi!” The kids screamed, and I giggled proudly.  

Time passed, and all went smoothly. All the kids decorated the lockers, and some parents even joined in to help. But all things have to come to an end, and soon, the class was done. It was a shorter day to not overwhelm the kids too much. I stood by the door and said goodbye to each family with a big smile. The last ones to leave were the two couples that arrived first, the Shepards and the Shaws. 

“Mr. Lorne, I loved your class. You are such a great teacher.” Skylar’s omega dad said with a big smile. 

“Thank you, it’s a job I love very much.” I smile back at him. 

“We can see that. We were scared Skylar was not going to take it well, but he is a little sad it's over.” This time, Byron, Skylar’s alpha dad, spoke.

“Maddie is a little sad, too. I guess they both had a lot of fun.” Maddie’s omega dad joined the conversation. I looked down at their kids, who were indeed both sad. I crouched in front of them. 

“Maddie, Skylar. Don’t be sad it’s over. I will see you tomorrow, and we can have a lot more fun, okay?” I said with a big smile. Their eyes lit up once they realized they were coming back tomorrow.

“Okay, Mr. Bambi.” Maddie said with a nod and walked out of the classroom. 

“See you tomorrow, Mr. Bambi.” Skylar said, waving at me and following her friend? Cousin? I had no idea what their relationship was, but they looked really close. 

“Wow, that lift their moods right away.” Julien said, impressed at the sudden change in his son’s demeanor. He walked out of the classroom after waving goodbye to me, and before they were far enough, I managed to hear. “Our son is in great hands, Byron.”

That made me smile. My job was done, and I had succeeded today. I checked the time, and there were still a few hours before Willow got out of class. I had nothing else to prepare for tomorrow. All I had was free time, and I decided to spend it doing something I loved: going for a run in the woods. 

I was a deer shifter, and there were miles and miles of peaceful woods around Bramville. 

There was no danger in shifting for a bit.