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sturniqlo · 23 days ago

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FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

summary: the new school year has officially begun and matt is meeting his new students; ellie's first day of school has finally arrived

cw: slight cursing, baby daddy drama (yes, already)

note: this series will be in first person pov and will change from matt to reader through the chapters, also 'y/n' won in my poll, but to not use 'y/n' as much, i've come up with 'goldie' as a nickname so ill be using both 'goldie' and 'y/n'! NOT PROOFREAD:/

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MATT

my alarms rang just in time, 5:30am. it was finally the day, it was the first day of the new school year. also meaning that it's my second year teaching kindergarten and teaching in general. my first year alone had gone great. before teaching a class all by myself, i was a teacher assistant for a fourth grade class. although it was great, i just thought i'd be better off teaching littler kids.

turning off my alarm, i laid in bed for a couple of minutes to fully wake up. as it sit up, it stretch and hear and feel the familiar cracking. for today, i was planning on getting to school early to set up a few things and decorate the class for the kids.

i had bought a few snacks but not before checking if i had any students with any food allergies. i only had one student who had a peanut allergy, so that meant no peanuts at all. when i had found that out, i was in school over the summer decorating my class, so i printed out a few signs that said 'PEANUT FREE CLASSROOM' and one on the door and a few around the class.

"morning, hun." i say as i feel the soft familiar fur against my leg as i stood up from bed. "gonna meet my new kids today, hun. can't wait to tell you all about em'." i crouch down to scratch her behind the ear as she purrs. "lets go get you some breakfast." the first thing i always do as soon as i get up from bed is serve hunny her breakfast and refill her water bowl.

as i walk out of my bedroom and make my way to the kitchen, i hear hunny meowing once she sees that im opening the cabinet that holds her food and treats. "yeah, yeah. i hear you." i chuckle, grabbing the bag of food. i pour her some dry food and top it off with some wet food. "there you go, hun."

i put her bag of food back in the cabinet before going back to my room to get a change of clothes to shower.

it was 6:17 by the time i had showered, changed, brushed my teeth and did my hair. entering my room, i throw my dirty clothes into the hamper and hang up my towel. hunny startled me by popping out from under the blanket on my bed. "shit— hunny." i shake my head.

"no, hun. you've had your breakfast already." i say as i move around the kitchen as hunny constantly meows for more food even though she still has some in her bowl. i sit at one of the stools at the small island counter and eat my breakfast as i scroll through my phone checking my email.

buried in my phone, i didn't notice just how fast the time was going until i looked at the time in the corner. 6:57. "shit—" i was behind schedule. i put my plate and cup in the sink— i'll wash them when i return home. running a hand through my hair, i make my way to my bedroom to get a pair of socks on.

"hunny, no." i grab sock that i had left on the bed before hunny had a chance to grab it, she has a things for socks. "you've already destroyed so many pairs of my socks, can't have you destroying them all." for most of the summer, hunny was the only person—cat— i talked to. that is one of the cons of living alone and being single. yeah i hung out with family and the couple of friends i have, but it's not the same of being able to have someone.

throughout the summer, i took one week and went on a mini vacation alone and left hunny with my parents. i stayed in a cabin in a small rural town. and for the rest of my summer, i dedicated it to making my teacher plans for the year. i've heard from several teachers that during the summer they only plan out the first quarter and plan the rest as the year goes.

i finished getting ready and gathering my things as i walk towards my front door. "see you later, hunny." i smile at the cat as i unlock the door. i lock the door behind me and head towards the elevator to get to the parking garage. "good morning, matt!" i hear a voice besides me. i turn my head and see marley, my elderly neighbor, standing next to me with her reusable grocery bags. "morning, marley. going shopping so early?" i ask and step in the elevator as the doors open.

"oh, you know me, i hate when the grocery stores are packed with people. i like getting there before opening time." she chuckles. "i'm with you there." i agree. "would you like a ride? i pass the grocery store as i go to work." she shakes her head. "oh no, dear. i'm okay, really. wouldn't want to make you late to work."

"really, marley. you won't make me late. school doesn't start for another hour and thirty minutes." she sighs and thinks about it. "well, if you insist, dear." she smiles. "of course."

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"have a good first day back to work, matt. and thanks for the ride!" marley waves as she steps out of the car. "anytime, marley. have a safe walk home. and let me know if the strawberries are any good here. got a bad batch the other day" i wave back. "will do!" marley nods and closes the car door making her way to the front door of the supermarket. i drive away once i see that she's made it in.

marley is such a sweet lady. i first met her as i was moving into the building. i was unpacking my boxes when my door bell rang followed by a soft knock. and when i opened the door, there she was holding a container of cookies. "hello! i'm marley, i live down the hall. wanted to come by and welcome you to the building!" and now, every other week she brings me any dessert or pastry she bakes. and this week is the week.

as i drive to the school, i can't help but feel a bit nervous. what if my new students hate me? or don't think im a good teacher? stop it, matt. i shake my head at myself. on the bright side, i finally get to put a face to every name on my roster. i have a smaller class this year of sixteen students, last year i had twenty five students.

when i arrive to school and park my car, it's 7:25am. only an hour and five minutes until showtime. i get out of the car and grab the bags i brought full of extra supplies. i swing my personal book bag on my shoulder and lock my car making my towards the teacher entrance.

"mr. sturniolo! welcome back! how was your summer?" i'm stoped by the principal of the school. "principal mcdaniels! my summer was great, it's good to be back though. how was yours?" i return the same enthusiasm. we both conversate for a few minutes until he lets me go set up. "i'll visit your class later in the day, have a good first day." i nod at his words. "you too!"

i make my way down the hall and make a left towards my classroom. putting the bag i was carrying in my left hand, my right hand reaches into my pocket to get my keys to unlock the door. i open the door and the automatic lights turn on. "less than an hour." i mumble to myself, going to my desk. i look around the class and see that the janitors must've stopped by in the past few days because some desks and chairs were out of place. quickly, i fix those and regroup all sixteen desks into groups of four.

from the bags i had brought, i take out the name tags for every students and tape them down on the desk. i also open up applesauce pouches and packs of goldfish and place one on every desk. kids like these snack, right?

as i'm putting up final decorations and set up the project on the white board, the intercom comes on. "good morning and welcome back, faculty and staff! from the kindness of principal mcdaniels, there is coffee, tea, hot chocolate and pasties in the teachers lounge! please feel free to stop by and grab what you'd like! good luck and happy first day back!"

happy first day back indeed.

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GOLDIE

"ellie bellie, wake up, sleepyhead." i circle my hand across ellie's back. her hands were tucked under her cheek and she had slight drool dripping out of her mouth. "it's the first day of kindergarten! isn't that so exciting?!" i say a bit louder this time. no movement from her. "ellie." i drag out her name, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear that came undone from her braid. she was a mover at night. it was no surprise considering the fact that she never stopped moving in my belly.

i run my finger over her face, caressing it. as i jokingly tickle her pouty lips. she takes out her right hand and rubs her eyes. "mommy?" her voice cracks, but still squeakier than usual. "i'm here, ells." i smile as her eyes flutter open. "is it time for school?" she yawns. "mhm, it's seven o'clock already. we've got to get you ready. we don't want to be late on your first day, now do we?" i giggle, slightly tickling her tummy as she had rolled on to her back.

"mommy!" she giggles squirming around. "what?! is it too early for tickles?" ellie nods, pushing my hand away. "okay, okay. c'mon, let's get you up and brush that crazy hair of yours." i get up from her bed and make my way out the door. "meet me in the bathroom."

i give ellie a moment to fully wake up before she's walking into the bathroom. one of the legs to her princess pajama pants was up to her knee while the other one was still in place. "ready?" i say with her brush in my hand. "mhm!" she hops on to her stool her hold on to the countertop. "brush your teeth while i do your hair, baby."

five minutes later, her teeth are brushed and her hair is in two pigtails. "alright, now that your look even more beautiful, do you want to get into your outfit or eat breakfast first?" i run my fingers through one of her pigtails. "uhm— breakfast first? i'm hungry."

"okay, breakfast it is then."

ellie hops down the stairs as i follow behind her into the kitchen. "what do you want to eat, ellie?" i open up the fridge. "white spaghetti with chicken!" i laugh at her request. "baby, it's to early for chicken alfredo. how about i make that when you get out of school?" i can already see the pout forming on her face. "fine. i'll eat pancakes and bacon." she huffs out.

"i promise i'll make your chicken alfredo for dinner, okay?" i grab the ingredients for breakfast. i grab three eggs, one for the pancake mix and two for me since ellie doesn't like the taste of eggs. "eggs?" she sticks her tongue out at the sight of them. "yes, ells. but, it's for me and the pancake mix." i clarify. "i can't taste it in the pancake, right?" she says, leaning her elbows on the counter. "nope, you can't."

"okay, good."

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"is daddy coming to drop me off with you?" ellie says as she takes a bite of her bacon. i almost scoff that the mention of her father. "i'm sure he will." i smile at her trying to give her some reassurance. in reality, i haven't heard from him at all this morning. i pick up my phone and open my messages to shoot him a text.

hey, it's almost time to drop ellie off. are you going to make it?

vincent

nah.

it's to early. so if you will, please let me go back to sleep and stop blowing my phone up.

is he being serious right now? ellie had been waiting for the moment that me and her dad will be in the same vicinity for more than five minutes. usually he would pick her up from my place and the most we'd speak to each other without arguing was a simple hello.

what the hell, vincent? you know she wants you there. can you not do a simple act of showing up for your own daughter?

vincent

y/n, please. it's too early in the morning for this shit.

whatever, i hope your sleep is worth it for you to miss ellie's first day of school

i turn off my phone without bothering to see what his response was. "was that daddy?" i hear ellie say across from me. "oh, yeah. he can't make, i'm sorry ells." i frown, feeling the sadness already radiating off of her. "why can't he come?" she pushes her unfinished plate away. i can't tell her the truth, i just can't. "he had to go to work early." is the first thing that spills out from my mouth. "oh." we finish breakfast in silence. "but, auntie willow will be there, you'll have us." ellie nodded, still looking a bit bummed out and i don't blame her.

"why don't you go put your uniform on, yeah?" i give her a slight smile trying to lift her mood up. "okay." she says, hopping off her chair and making her way to the stairs. i grab our dirty dishes and bring them to the sink, i'll wash them when i return home.

trying to ignore my anger towards vincent and my heartache for ellie, i make a mental to do list for things to do once i return home. it'll be my first day without ellie. yeah, there was a couple of times where her dad took her out for a while, but it was never for more than two hours. a whole eight hours at school is going to be torture.

however, with ellie starting school, that means i'm able to go back to work in the office. ever since ellie was born, i've been working from home editing pictures for one of the biggest photography business in the city. i was lucky enough to have this accommodation for this many years. i officially go back next week.

"mommy, i'm sorry. i ruined my hair." she walks into the kitchen with one ponytail instead of two. i giggle. "it's okay, c'mere ill fix it." i lean against the island counter and take the hairtie as she holds it out and proceeds to turn around in front of me. "tell me, baby. how are you feeling about starting school." i gather the loose hair on the right side. "i'm excited. i want to meet my teacher and— and make friends. do you think my classmates will like me?"

"of course they will. you're so nice, funny, smart and caring. you're very lovable, ellie belly." i tighten the pigtail and smooth it out. as she begins to respond, there's a knock at the front door. i gasp at her. "it's auntie wills!" her face lights up and she points to the door asking for permission to go open it. "go ahead, babe." she smiles and runs to the door.

"oh em gee! look at you ellie belly! you look like a big girl who i starting kindergarten today!" i hear willow say to ellie. "that's because i am, auntie wills!" i see willow with ellie on her hip enter the kitchen. "hey goldie! how you feelin'? she's all grown up, if you blink fast enough she'll be graduating high school, getting a boyf—" i toss a kitchen towel at her face. "hey— stop that! she hasn't even started the school day." i laugh.

"i'm kidding, im kidding!" she puts ellie down and she runs off somewhere in the house. "so, is villain vincent coming today?" she leans against counter next to me as i wash the pan from this morning's breakfast. "don't even get me started." i scoff and she gasps. "is he not coming? that fucking— ugh!" she groans. "tell me about it! he said it was too early to go to it. like he knows how much she wanted him there. it's the least he could do for her since he barley comes around."

"i wish you would let me punch him in the face, goldie. gosh— he pisses me off so much."

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"alright, ellie! i love you so so so much! have fun, okay? and remember you're so smart and kind. i'll be here to pick you up." i caress her cheeks as we stand near the stairs to the school entrance. "i love you too, mommy." she smiles. i press a kiss to her cheeks.

willow gets a chance to say her words of encouragement to her. "and remember, ellie. if someone pushes you, you push them harder. if someone punches you, you punch them har—" i cut her off. "alllriight— let's not encourage violence. c'mon ellie, let's get you in."

"i love you ellie! have fun!" willow says to her as i walk with ellie up the stairs. "good morning, you two!" a lady says at the front door. "good morning!" i say back with a smile. "whats her name?" she says with a clipboard in her hard. "it's elora. elora y/l/n." she nods and flips through several pages until she finds her name. "perfect, she's in room 111! i can take her from here. it makes it easier to prevent last minute tears." she whispers the last part. "oh, of course. thank you so much."

"c'mon, elora. let's go see your teacher. say bye to your mom." ellie looks up at me and i see her lips slightly tremble. "hey, hey, no tears, okay? you're going to have so much fun and make friends!" her mood changes instantly. gosh, her moods switch so fast. "okay, no tears." she says.

ellie goes off with the lady whose name i didn't catch. i turn back and walk towards willow. "okay, let's her going before i begin to sob!" i blink fast so my tears won't fall. "fuck— oops, children around, me too i'm about to cry." i still can't believe my baby is starting school. i kept her home from preschool as i wanted to teach her the basics. plus, i also thought she was too young to start school at four.

"so, how does coffee sound?"

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MATT

it was officially that time. although it was a bit before 8:30, my new students began to make it down the hall and into my classroom with the help of staff. because they were kindergartners and possibly being away from their parents or guardians for the first time, staff had to bring them in the building without their adult to prevent any tantrums or crying. and it worked, there weren't any tantrums.

"hey, there! i'm mr.sturniolo! what's your name, bud?" i crouch down to level down with the curly headed kid. "h-hi, im peter." he gives me a shy smile. "well its very nice to meet you peter." i smile at him and check his name off of my attendance list. flipping the page up on my clipboard, i see what table he's sitting at. "alright, peter. you are sitting in the red table right over there." i point towards the table closest to the windows. "just look for your name and you can take a seat. there's also some snacks on your desk."

peter nods and walks away with his bookbag, looking around at the other few kids who were seated. over the summer, i sent out a survey to the parents of what their kids knew and didn't know. luckily for me, all of my kids knew how to spell and read their name, they knew their colors, alphabet and numbers.

i was checking through my attendance and realized half of my class was already here before 8:30. "hello, good morning!" i heard a voice. i put my clipboard down by my side and see a little girl standing in front of me with a big smile. "good morning! i'm mr.sturniolo! and who might you be?" i say with a smile. "my name is ellie!" her pigtails swing with her excitement. i look down at my clipboard and don't see an ellie, but an elora.

"elora? is that you, sweetie?" i ask. "oh— yes! my name is elora, but my mommy, my auntie, and everyone else calls me ellie!" i chuckle. "okay, would you like me to call you ellie? is that okay?" i check her name off of the paper, and she nods. "alright ellie, your desk is at the purple table, just look for your name." i give her a smile. "okay, mr.sturn— um." she stumbles her words. "sturniolo." i help her out. "mr.sturniolo!" she giggles. "if it's easier, you can call me mr.s!"

"okay, mr.s!" she smiles and goes off to the purple table.

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"okay, kiddos! it seems like everyone is here!" i say as the close shuts behind me. i walk up to my desk and put my clipboard down. "good morning everyone! as i mentioned, my name is mr.sturniolo or if it might be a bit difficult to say, you can call me mr.s!" i look at ellie as i say that and she smiles. "welcome to kindergarten! raise your hand if you're excited to start school." as i say that, hands fly up.

not sure if they'll be saying that in a few weeks.

"breakfast should be here in a couple of minutes, but you guys are more than welcome to eat the snack i left on your desk." i look around and see a few kids have started to open their snacks.

"um, mr.s?" i hear a small voice say. i look to my right and see tommy—im a quick learner with names— holding up his goldfish. "yeah?" i walk over to him. "can you help me open this?" he hands it to me. "of course, bud!"

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it was a couple of minutes after the kids had finished their breakfast, the lunch ladies came in with bagged breakfasts earlier, i was now holding up a big trash bag calling up each table one by one to throw their trash away. "thank you mr.s." ellie said to me for simply holding up the bag, i've learned that she has really good manners. her parents must've taught her that. "of course, ellie."

after i had collected all of the trash, i set the tied trash bag outside of the classroom so it'd be picked up by mabel or pete, the janitors from this side of the school.

it's now time for the day to actually begin.

"okay kiddos! because it's the very first day of school, we are going to do something easy today. does that sound good?" i hold up both of my thumbs and look around seeing everyone slightly nod. "sounds great! now, i have a question. who here wants to make friends?" i hear a few me's.

"does someone have any idea how we can get to know everyone in this class? raise you hand if you think you know." i wait a few seconds before i see ellie raise her hand. "yes, ellie?"

"um, maybe by talking with everyone?" she says shyly when she sees a few heads have turned towards her. "good, yes! that's a way we can make friends." i smile and nod at her. "so, i have a game we're going to play. i am going to say a letter from the alphabet, and if your name starts with that letter—" i walk to my desk and grab a deck of flash cards with each letter from the alphabet on them. "you'll stand up, say you name, favorite color and something you want the class to know about you. it can be anything you are comfortable sharing. and if nobody's name starts with a certain letter, we can list things that do start with that letter."

i look around and see everyone in agreement. "okay, are we ready to start?" i ask as i flip through the cards making sure they're in order. "alright. first letter— can everyone repeat after me? A." i hold up the card with the letter A on it.

"A!" their little voices fill up the space. "great job! one more time! A!" i say and they repeat the letter once more. "good, good. now, if your name starts with the letter A, stand up." two girls stand up. alexia and amy. "my name is alexia! i— my favorite color is pink. and um— i like to draw doggies and kitties!"

we get to the letter e, having to list things for the letter B and D. "next is the letter E!" they say the letter after me and ellie stands up right after. "hi, my name is elora, but i like ellie better. my favorite color is baby blue. and my favorite animal are cats and i really want one for a pet."

continuing through the game, we stumble across the letter M and i stand up from my chair that stood in front of the room. "okay, my name is matthew, but i prefer matt, my favorite color is blue and i have a pet cat named hunny." there were a few gasps from the kids as they found out my actual name wasn't mr.sturniolo and i explained to them that it's my last name and that's what they have to call me by.

the game soon wrapped up and everyone was more comfortable with talking to one another.

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it was thirty minutes before dismissal and i was about to give them their last activity for the day. after we had finished the name/alphabet game, i sent them to their assigned cubbies so they'd put their bookbags and sweaters away. a few more hours later, it was lunch time and i took them to the lunch room and came back to my class for my break.

now, i'm passing around blank sheets of paper, crayons, markers and coloring pencils. "alright, before we leave. i want all of you guys to draw some flowers. why flowers? well, when flowers grow, they bloom. and each one of you are slowly growing— blooming into strong boys and girls just like flowers." as i pass everything out, i go back to my desk and turn on the desk project to project my drawing of flowers in a vase on the board. "this is an idea of how you guys can do it. and it does not have to be exactly like mine. have fun with it and make it pretty."

with that, everyone got to work.

it was five minutes before i had to line the kids up for dismissal and the class and i had just finished putting the coloring pencils, markers and crayons away. "okay everyone! you can go ahead and put your drawing in your take home folder. and once you've done that, please form a line at the door."

once everyone was situated with their bookbag on and lined up at the door, i began to explain how dismissal will work. "whenever you see your adult, let me know and i will give you a paper that has to go to them, alright?" they all nodded and the bell rang. "alright, let's go!"

the kids followed behind me and i held the stack on papers in my hand. it was a form for their parent or guardian to sign about meeting one on one with me throughout next week.

we neared the school doors that were behind held open by two staff members, there was a crowd of parents outside waiting for their child. "mr. s! i see my dad!" tommy got my attention. "yeah? alright, give this to him. i'll see you tomorrow, tommy!" i handed him a paper and he went off to his dad who stood not to far.

one by one each kid got picked up. "mr. s! my mom is over there!" ellie said to me, pointing towards the gates as a two women walked in. "okay, ells. make sure she get this, okay?" i give her a paper. "okay, i'll give it to her!" she smiled taking the paper in her hold. "alright, ellie! have a good rest of your day, i'll see you tomorrow!"

five minutes later, all of my kids got picked up and i headed back inside to straighten up my class and get my belongings to head on home.

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"hey, hunny." i cooed as i walked in my apartment and heard hunny begin to meow. "mhm, good first day today. thank you for asking, hun." i crouched down to scratch the back of her ear, not bothering to put my bags down.

i stood back up and walked into the living room putting my bags on the couch. walking towards my kitchen, i flicked the light on and opened the fridge to get my pitcher of cold water. i chugged down a glass of water and headed to my room to change into some lounging clothes.

i'd say that today was a good first day.

as i finished changing, there was a slight knock at the door. walking out my room, i went towards my front door and opened it to reveal marley. "matt! i heard you come in a little while ago. thought i'd come by to drop these off. they're oatmeal cookies. i made them earlier today." she held a container of a dozen cookies. "thank you so much marley. would you like to come in?" i retrieved the container from her. "oh, i would love to, but my grandbabies are on their way over!"

we conversated for a bit at the door before she went back down the hall.

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GOLDIE

"oh, my baby! how was your first day?" i crouched down as ellie came running to me. "it was so much fun, mommy! oh, here this is for you." she gave me a paper

dear parents/guardians,

as the school year has just begun. i would like to meet with you one on one sometime next week to discuss the school year and what your child will be learning. this is a great opportunity to get to me, your child's teacher, and i will get to know you and your child a bit more and see what support is needed from me.

please choose a day and time(s) for a meeting next week after school and have your child return it no later than friday. if you are unavailable to meet with me, please email me at [email protected] to discuss other options. i look forward to meeting you.

- matthew sturniolo

"what's that?" willow asked as we walked out of the school yard back to the car. "oh, just to make an appointment to meet one on one with her teacher next week." i shrugged. we made it to the car and i put the paper in ellie's bookbag so i wouldn't crumble it. "guess what's ready for you back home, ellie?" i smile at her as i buckle her in. "white speggeti and chicken?!" she beamed. "mhm, it was ready right before we left to sure it was hot and ready for when you got back home." "yay!" she cheered.

i'd say she had a good first day.

────˗ˏˋ authors note ˎˊ˗────

omg!! how do we feel about this?! sorry i've gone for so long😔 i lowk lost motivation but i wrote this bit by bit throughout the weeks i've been gone. i will try my best to keep up with this series that i genuinely want to write it :D

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