Billy has faced -and survived- multiple highly hostile environments. But nothing prepared him for 40+ small civilians... with unrestricted movement.
At the school the next morning, Rebecca was vibrating with nervous energy while Billy already looked like he regretted every decision leading to this moment. The campus itself was brimming with activities under the bright morning sun. Everywhere he looked there were painted flowerpots and cheerful murals that contrasted so violently with his general existence that parents openly stared at him while dropping off their children.
He did not look it, but he noticed every.single.one.of.them.
And to make matters worse, Rebecca actually noticed him noticing.
Take me to chapter 1 please 🥪 Billy let out a nervous cough while the receptionist busied herself with their registration, trying very hard not to look intimidated by him. Rebecca, meanwhile, smiled brightly enough for both of them combined.
Unfortunately for Billy, things became dramatically worse the moment they entered the classroom.
The children spotted Rebecca first.
“THE SCIENCE LADY IS HERE!”
And chaos erupted instantly. Desks and chairs scraped the floor. Boys and girls called out to their friends. Tiny sneakers squeaked across the floor as half the class surged toward her with uncontained excitement while the homeroom teacher fought to restore order with diminishing success. Rebecca disappeared almost immediately beneath a storm of overlapping voices.
“ARE YOU A DOCTOR?”
“DO YOU TOUCH BRAINS?”
“MY BROTHER ATE GLUE!”
“WHAT’S IN THE BOX?”
One child collided directly into Rebecca’s legs at full speed. Rebecca somehow remained upright through sheer determination “Yes, okay, careful. One at a time!” she laughed breathlessly.
Billy tightened his grip around the box that he carried, thinking he better not drop it onto their tiny little feet. He watched the scene unfold with growing disbelief. The room was lively, cluttered, and alarmingly sticky-looking. Crayon drawings covered nearly every available surface. Tiny backpacks and water bottles hung from hooks along the walls. Not far from where he was standing, glue pooled on the floor in dangerous amounts.
Then a child noticed him.
“… Who’s THAT?”
The room quieted. Forty-plus pairs of eyes turned simultaneously toward Billy. Military combat and mutant horrors felt far more manageable than what was currently happening.
Rebecca brightened “Oh! Everyone, this is Billy!”
The entire class stared audibly at him.
“Is he your husband?”
Billy choked on absolutely nothing. Rebecca turned red so quickly it looked as if she might evaporate. “Wha- no! No, he’s not-”
“He’s so BIG!”
“Why is he so BIG!”
A boy squinted suspiciously at Billy before gasping and pointing his way, “He looks like Wolverine!!”
The classroom exploded.
“HE DOES!”
“YEAH! But he’s missing the beard”
“DO THE CLAWS!” Another boy lifted his arms in a fist.
Billy slowly closed his eyes. Rebecca found herself caught between the two impossible states of trying not to laugh and not dying of embarrassment. The teacher stepped in hastily, “Okay everyone, settle down–”
But it made no difference. The children had accepted Billy as part of the experience. He was now the undisputed main attraction of Career Day. One particularly confident little girl marched directly up to him and asked, “Are you in science too?”
Billy looked at her for a moment, considering his answers. ”No. But I help science people”
“How’s that?” she folded her arms expectantly.
Rebecca watched this interaction with the fascinated tension of someone observing a wildlife encounter. Billy Coen, a man who had survived nature-defying creatures and countless life-threatening situations, found himself under intense scrutiny from a group of overly eager eight-year-olds. He had never looked more cautious.
“I keep scientists safe,” he answered, clearing his throat. “Sometimes I fix things for them, like cars.”
The girl held his gaze for another moment before nodding. “Cool,” she said, as though it made perfect sense.
His shoulders eased visibly, knowing he had survived the girl’s inspection. Setting Rebecca’s box of supplies down, he stepped aside so she could begin the presentation.
For all his skepticism earlier, Rebecca seemed completely at home in front of the class. She captured everyone’s attention almost immediately, explaining biology with the animated enthusiasm of someone who genuinely loved every part of science. The children hung on every word. Cells became tiny cities, bustling with workers. Antibodies became superheroes, protecting the body from invaders. Complex ideas transformed into stories they could actually imagine.
Even the shy students found the confidence to participate. Rebecca had a gift for making curiosity feel safe.
Billy watched it all quietly from the back of the room. Against his better jugdement, he found himself impressed. Not by her intelligence, he had never questioned that, but by how gentle she was with people learning something new.
Rebecca never laughed at wrong answers. She never dismissed questions too, no matter how unusual it sounded. The children’s thoughts were treated seriously and carefully. Any misconception was met with patience, gently and thoughtfully redirected through questions that allowed students to arrive at the answers themselves. When one nervous student admitted to calling germs “Tiny angry bugs”, Rebecca smiled warmly and said, “You are right, some of them are. But when we give them the right jobs, germs can be helpful. Who wants to hear a story about Penicillin?”
Hands shot into the air in the dozens.
The girl beamed for the rest of the morning, proud that her question had started the discussion. Soon after, more students began asking questions of their own.
Billy noticed all of that too.
Take me to chapter 1 please 🥪 I am ready for chapter 3 🧀
