"If you think for one second, that I'm going to sit next to you, Potato-head… Then you're dumber than you look!" Lovino announced, crossing his arms angrily.

"I didn't want to sit next to you anyways." Ludwig replied, smirking.

And it was true. Ludwig already had his eye on sitting with a certain, little girl. With reddish-brown hair. Who occasionally said, "Ve~!" And now that the Asian boy had left, Ludwig saw his chance!

"Bastard!" Lovino huffed, heatedly. Opening his lunchbox and taking out a fresh tomato. He had been saving it for lunch but Romano believed it could serve a higher purpose. By wiping that smug smirk off Ludwig's face!

Ludwig's eyes narrowed. Seeing the gears in Lovino's head turning. Oh no! He wasn't about to ruin his oppurtune moment with his dream girl. No way, no how!

Reaching into his pocket, he took out his water pistol. He took it with him everywhere. It was his most treasured toy. Not to mention, it made him feel cool. (Just call him Bond, Ludwig Bond)

Lovino eyed the pistol. He had not counted on Ludwig being armed! A look of apprehension flashed on his face. But still he did not yield.

The two were at a stand off. Both boys poised and ready to duke it out. Tension was mounting—

"GUYS! STOP IT!"

The sudden shout startled the pair, nearly out of their skin. They turned sharply to the source, only to blink when their gaze fell upon Matthew. The blond nervously grasping at his teddy bear.

Oh… They forgot he was still here…

"Didn't you leave already?" Ludwig blankly asked, lowering his pistol.

"Eh?! No! I've always been here!" Matthew cried, half-muffled by his stuffed toy.

Lovino scowled. A bit miffed he got interrupted. But, now that he thought about it, he'd really rather not get into any trouble. Besides, a tomato would be such a waste to use on Potato-bastard. It would be far, far better to eat it. Honestly, what had he been thinking?

Shaking his head, the little Italian merely walked away. He'd get his revenge some other time. After all, vengeance was a dish best served chilled, right? Lovino could wait.

"Oh no…" Matthew fretted. He didn't mean to make Lovino mad! He just didn't want a scene. That much attention, on the first day too, would simply be nerve-wracking.

Ludwig, on the otherhand, grinned wolfishly. Victory was his! Now to claim his prize.

Stuffing the pistol back into his jean pocket, Ludwig turned towards Feli. Hurriedly stalking, that is walking towards the girl. Please let no one sit beside her!

"Come on! I found a place to sit!" Ludwig called over his shoulder. Nearly forgetting about Matthew once again. Though in all honesty, it would be much better if Matthew didn't join them. Then it would only be him and her. Alone. Together. Ludwig flushed a brilliant shade of scarlet.

"Oh! Wait!" Matthew called behind him. Darn, he was coming after all.

In reality, Mathew didn't really have much of a choice. He only knew two people in the entire classroom. And since Romano was mad at him (or so it seemed), he was given only two alternatives. Sit with Ludwig. Or sit alone.

Now sitting alone would be lonely. And he really didn't feel up to meeting new people. So, sit with Ludwig it was.

Ludwig approached Feli first. His apprehension sky-rocketing at such close proximities. As a result, his brain melted. No, seriously. You could see it leaking out of his ears. (Or was that earwax? ew) And Ludwig lost control of his body functions. Thankfully, not his bladder, But unfortunately over his voice box, and a majority of his limbs. Or maybe it was just Tourette's. (Heaven knows, his father has it)

"MAY I SIT HERE?!" He shouted. Pulling out the chair so violently it toppled over.

Poor Feli, not understanding why someone was yelling at her, could only blubber out a response. "Please don't hurt me! I'll do anything!"

Ludwig took that as a yes. Hey, she said she'll do anything.

Matthew arrived shortly after. Brow furrowing as he watched Ludwig slam his head unto the table. Maybe following him was a bad idea?

Feli, meanwhile, could not understand why people kept banging their heads against the desk. Was it what people do in kindergarten? But didn't it hurt? She was so confused.

Ludwig, for his part, just wanted to hide his red-red face. It had just hit him. He had no idea what the hell he was doing. All his father's lust, yet none of his wit. Gee, thanks dad.

Matthew, figuring he was here now, sighed deeply. Causing Feli to squeak.

"Eek! A ghost! Please don't eat me, Mr. Ghost!" She cried.

"What? Me? I'm not a ghost!" Matthew replied, indignant.

"It talked! The ghost talked!" Feli covered her head, trembling.

"I'm NOT a ghost! I'm standing right in front of you, for pity's sake!"

Feli blinked, looking up. "Ve, when did you get here?"

Matthew threw his hands up in the air. "I've been here— Look, can I just take a seat?"

"Can ghosts sit?"

"I'm not a ghost! I'm Mat-thew! Matthew!"

"Who?"

Matthew pulled out a chair. Palm meet face. Face meet palm. (I'm sure you'll be seeing more of each other. Get along well now!). "Oh, just forget it!"

"Okay!" Feli chirped, a little too happily.

"Hey, hey, hey! Can Peter sit here too? Everywhere else is full…" A blond boy, with bushy eyebrows, bounced towards them.

"Ve! Sure!" Feli nodded happily.

"Yay! Thank You!" Peter plopped himself beside Ludwig. "Y'know, they wouldn't let me into the other tables. They says I'm not a kindergartner. They says I'm too young. But Peter is a kindergartner! He is! He is!"

And Feli believed him.

Looking around the table, Feli was so surprised how full the table was. The desk, that had looked so huge and wide, now seemed so small. Feli decided she liked it. Being around people was so much more fun than being alone. Being alone felt yucky. Like the time when Grandpa fell asleep in the wooden box. And then they buried him!

Feli wondered if being buried was comfortable. But she sure hoped Grandpa would wake up soon. She missed him.

"Well, if this isn't the best table I've seen yet?" Toris walked up them, interrupting Feli's thoughts. "You did a wonderful job!"

The table beamed, glowing under such high praise. Except for Ludwig. Who was still buried in his arms.

Toris frowned worriedly. A gentle touch prodding the boy on the shoulder. "Are you okay? Does your tummy hurt?"

"I'm fine!" Ludwig declared, looking up. Eyes meeting with Feli's, and down he went again.

Toris raised an eyebrow. Kids these days.

Shrugging, he moved to the front of the room. Surveying his class with barely held excitement. His students were simply doing so well! Why, if the year kept up like this, he might even consider taking on a second class!

"Splendid, everyone! Let's all give ourselves a hand for such good effort" Toris cheered, putting his hands on his hips. "Alright, now for some introductions!"

Jabbing his thumbs towards himself, he grinned. "My name is Mr. Toris Lorinatis. But you can just call me Toris. I will be your kindergarten teacher for the whole year. Let's work hard together, okay?"

His class chorused in reply. Toris's smile grew bigger. "Right! And this is my assistant. Mr. Raivis Galante. Please treat him kindly."

Toris gestured to a shaking teenager. Poor Raivis. He was just doing this for college. He heard that a history of volunteer jobs helps your resume. But after the trauma he's been through? Assuming he comes out of this alive (or at the very least with his sanity), Harvard better be begging him to enroll!

"Hmm… I suppose his name is a bit hard to say. Mr. Galante, do you have any nicknames we can call you by?" Toris inquired, tapping his chin.

At least his boss was nice.

"Um, that is—"

But before Raivis could get a word out, a blond boy with bowl cut hair, wearing thick-framed glasses, announced, "I call him Latvia! Cause he's from Latvia! He told me so! I'm his neighbor, see?"

Raivis was grateful to the boy. Honest he was. Eduard did save him from that dogpile of children… But the boy could get annoying sometimes.

"Hey! How come he has a relative in class?!" Im Yong Soo piped up. "That's not fair!"

"Boys, boys! Please! If you wish to talk, you must first raise your hands! One is fine. Then you wait for me to call on you before you start talking. Okay?" Toris explained. Lightly rebuking the two.

"But-But it's not fair! I want my Yao-hyung! I want my Yao-hyung!" Im Yong Soo began to screech. His elder brother sighing heavily beside him. (What possesed him to sit beside his sibling anways? Oh, right... The foreigners)

Toris immediately dashed over to the boy. Kneeling by the Korean's side when Eduard raised his hand. He distractedly answered. "Yes, what is it?"

"Latvia is dying." Eduard answered flatly.

Toris blinked. Looking to where his assistant was. Or used to be. Though it didn't took too long to re-locate him. It's not that hard to find a fifteen-year-old in a room full of four-to-six-year-olds. Especially if said teenager was blond, Latvian, knocked out, and being dragged by a Russian girl not even half his size.

"LAAAAAAAAATVIAAAAAA!!" Toris found himself screaming.

Standing up, he hurried over to his assistant. Oh but wait, can't leave the class hanging.

"Talk amongst yourselves, for a moment! I'll be right back!" Toris stated, moving towards Natalia.

Kiku raised his hand, causing Toris to pause in mid-step.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Do we still have to raise our hands?" Kiku inquired.

"No, no. Raising hands is reserved only when I'm talking. You don't have to do it when you're talking amongst each other." Toris speedily explained, just as he rushed to the quickly fleeing pair.

"I must be with Отец! I must be with Отец!" Natalia could be heard muttering. A devious plot obviously underway.

"No, Natalia! You can't!" Toris shouted.

The other children looked at each other. Shrugging. Well, the teacher did say talk amongst each other…

Ludwig, who finally got up the courage to crawl from his hiding hole, took advantage of this time. There's been a certain question that's been bothering him. And curiosity was just eating him away.

Turning to Feli, he swallowed nervously. Fighting back a blush. "Hey, um… who was that woman with you?"

"Ve? Woman? Oh, you mean my Mamma!" Feli chirped, happy to have the boy talking normally to her.

"Mamma? What's that?" Ludwig pressed. Shyness abandoned as his curiosity grew.

"Ve, a Mamma is that real pretty lady that loves your Papa very much. She kisses him and hugs him lots." Feli cheerfully supplied.

"Ah, I know what you mean!" Matthew chimed in.

His presence, up until that point, had been largely ignored. His "sudden appearance" caused Feli and Peter to jolt. And maybe Ludwig too.

"It's the ghost!" Feli cried, covering her head once more.

"A ghost?!" Peter shrieked, looking widly about.

"For the last time, I'm Matthew! Not a ghost! Didn't we already go over this?" Matthew yelled, affronted.

Feli unfurled herself. "Ve, but you said forget it."

Matthew twitched. Hello Palm. Hello Face. Nice weather we are having.

"Okay, I'm here! Hi!" Matthew waved to prove his point. "Anyways, I think I know what you mean!"

"Wait, so you're not a ghost?" Peter questioned.

"No, I am not! Will you please let me finish?"

A round of nods.

Matthew sighed, pulling Kumajiro closer to him. "Okay, as I was saying! I think I know what a Mamma is. If a Mamma is supposed to be all kissy and huggy to your Papa, then I know what she means. I get a different Mamma every night. But for some odd reason, they always leave in the morning. Is your Mamma the same?"

Feli shook her head. "I only have one Mamma. I've had the same one for forever! I don't get it."

"Is there something wrong with having more than one Mamma?" Ludwig asked.

"Why can't he have more than one Mamma?" Peter interrupted. "Peter has two Daddies!"

"So the really scary, tall guy wasn't a bodyguard?" Ludwig tilted his head.

"No, silly! He's Peter's other Daddy."

Now Feli was really confused. "But then how come I only have one Mamma, and one Papa?"

"I don't even have a Mamma! I only have a Vati!" Ludwig announced.

"What's a Vati?" Peter asked.

"It's another word for Papa, Dad, Daddy."

"Oh…"

The table fell into a cotemplative silence, while the children tried to puzzle out the problem.