Chapter 1 To Be a Nursery Teacher
-To Be a Nursery Teacher-
On a bright but chilly morning at Little Acorns Tree Nursery in Malvern, England, a young woman named Olive Ann sat nervously in a chair for a job interview.
Across from her sat the nursery’s headmaster, smiling warmly—perhaps a little too warmly.
“Do you think you can handle the children here?” he asked.
Olive nodded confidently.
“Absolutely. I’m experienced in teaching, guiding, and playing with children.”
The headmaster’s smile widened.
“Excellent. You’re hired.”
Olive beamed.
“Oh! Thank you very much!”
“After all,” the headmaster continued casually, “quite a few teachers have resigned recently.”
Olive’s smile slowly disappeared.
“…Why?”
“They became exhausted dealing with the children.”
A nervous laugh escaped her.
“What’s wrong with them?”
The headmaster chuckled.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Olive wasn’t sure she liked that answer.
“So,” he asked, “are you ready to start tomorrow?”
She swallowed.
“Yes…”
The Next Day
Standing in the nursery playground with a clipboard in hand, Olive quickly discovered what the headmaster meant.
Within seconds, her face turned pale.
Several children were throwing sand into the air.
One child was sprinting around with a bucket stuck on his head.
Nearby, a teacher sat on a bench looking completely defeated while being repeatedly smacked with a dinosaur plush toy.
Olive stared.
“Oh dear Lord…”
Slowly, she turned toward the office building.
Through the window, the headmaster was calmly sipping tea while secretly watching everything unfold.
Olive took a cautious step backward.
Then another.
And another.
Maybe nobody would notice if she simply—
Silence.
The entire playground suddenly went quiet.
Olive froze.
Slowly, she turned around.
Every single child was standing directly behind her.
“…Oh my God.”
One child stepped forward.
“Are you the new teacher?”
“Y-Yes.”
The child tilted his head.
“Will you play with us?”
Olive glanced at another child who appeared to be trying to plant building blocks inside a flower pot.
“…Sure.”
She paused.
“But perhaps we can play something a little different.”
The children immediately cheered.
“YEAHHHH!”
Story Time
Olive gathered the children into a circle.
“Alright, everyone. What kind of story would you like to hear?”
The children shouted at once.
“TUNG TUNG SAHUR!”
“SKIBIDI TOILET!”
“A SHARK THAT DRIVES A BUS!”
“A DINOSAUR THAT EATS HOMEWORK!”
Olive blinked.
Several times.
Then she stared blankly at the wall.
As a professional teacher, however, she did her best to remain calm.
“How about I tell you a famous English legend instead?”
The children narrowed their eyes suspiciously.
Olive picked up an old book.
“Today we’re reading King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.”
The room became silent.
One child raised his hand.
“What is that?”
Another frowned.
“Sounds boring.”
Olive forced a smile.
“Just give it a chance.”
She opened the book.
“Long ago, there lived a king named Arthur, who pulled the magical sword Excalibur from a stone—”
“THERE’S NO DINOSAUR!”
“WHERE ARE THE EXPLOSIONS?!”
“WHY IS THE TABLE ROUND?!”
“WHAT IF IT WAS SQUARE?!”
One child started rolling across the floor.
Another began chewing on a blue crayon.
A third climbed onto a chair and shouted:
“TUNG TUNG SAHURRRR!”
Olive slowly closed the book.
For a moment, she simply stared into space.
Then she quietly whispered to herself:
“…Now I understand why the previous teachers resigned.”
The Play
When the story was finished, Olive smiled at the children.
“So… did you enjoy King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table?”
“YESSSS!”
Olive blinked.
“Wait… really?”
The children erupted into excited chatter.
“I WANNA BE KING ARTHUR!”
“I WANNA BE A DRAGON!”
“I WANNA BE A KNIGHT!”
“I WANNA BE THE ROUND TABLE!”
An idea suddenly struck Olive.
“Then let’s put on a play!”
The room exploded with excitement.
“YEAHHHH!”
Olive began assigning roles.
“Who wants to be Queen Guinevere?”
A dozen hands shot into the air.
“MEEEE!”
“And who wants to be Sir Lancelot?”
Silence.
Olive looked around.
Nobody moved.
“…Anyone?”
The children avoided eye contact.
“No thanks.”
“Too scary.”
“I don’t wanna.”
Olive frowned.
“Why does nobody want to be Lancelot?”
Slowly, every child pointed toward a boy sitting in the corner.
The boy was spinning a ruler like a sword.
Olive raised an eyebrow.
“Who’s the one who keeps play-fighting with the teachers?”
Every finger remained pointed at him.
The boy grinned.
“Hehehe… me.”
Olive nodded.
“Congratulations. You’re Lancelot.”
The boy jumped to his feet.
“YEAHHHH!”
Soon the classroom transformed into Camelot.
One child proudly played King Arthur.
Another wore a bucket as a knight’s helmet.
A child pretending to be a dragon crawled under a table and refused to come out.
And somehow, one child still insisted on being the Round Table.
Meanwhile, Olive sat quietly in a chair, watching the wonderfully chaotic performance unfold.
For the first time all day, she smiled.
The children were still loud.
Still chaotic.
Still completely exhausting.
But now, somehow, it felt like fun.
And for the very first time since she arrived…
…the nursery felt a little peaceful.
-THE END
