It was a normal morning… until Kazuki sat up mid-bite into his cereal and said,"Wait… isn't today Parent-Teacher Conference day?"
The whole group stared at him.
Leon blinked. "Bro. We're supposed to be there. Like, with our parents."
Crimson, already holding a spoonful of cereal with a Dorito on top, said, "My mom thinks it's next week. We're safe."
MJ, now panicking, replied, "MY MOM KNOWS. SHE'S COMING. SHE'S COMING AND SHE'S GONNA KNOW I FAILED MATH."
Kai, mature and tired, took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay. What if we… become the teachers instead?"
Everyone froze.
Kazuki said, "Are you suggesting we impersonate staff… at an official school event… in front of our actual parents?"
Kai nodded.
Crimson stood up, threw the Dorito-cereal spoon away and shouted, "I'M IN."
Cut to 30 minutes later. The squad stood in front of the school office wearing poorly put-together teacher disguises:
Kazuki wore a trench coat and glasses he found in lost-and-found.
Kai had a clipboard and was pretending to be the principal.
MJ wore a sweater vest and was reading off a random science textbook to seem "smart."
Leon had a whiteboard marker and kept fake coughing like an old teacher.
Crimson had a full fake mustache and a name tag that said: "Mr. Real Teacher."
First victim: MJ's mom.
She walked in, looked confused, then saw MJ in a sweater vest, pretending to be a math teacher.
She squinted. "MJ?"
MJ panicked and deepened his voice. "No, ma'am. I'm Mr. Johnson. MJ is a… very average student. Terrible at math. Almost impressive how bad he is."
His mom narrowed her eyes. "You're wearing your own shoes."
MJ looked down. "Oh no…"
He tried to run but tripped over the backpack he'd just been grading.
Crimson rushed in to recover. "Ma'am, you're needed in the gym. There's a free raffle for angry parents."She left. Probably suspicious, but too intrigued by the word "free."
Next up, Kai's dad. Kai tried to keep it professional.
"Hello sir, I'm Principal Kai—I mean, Principal Kentucky. Your son Kai is doing… okay. Not great. Not terrible. He exists."
His dad stared. "Kai, are you wearing your mom's lipstick?"
Kai, sweating: "No. That's just—um—educational stress blush."
His dad walked away without another word.
In another room, Crimson was making announcements over the PA system.
"Attention parents! There will be a complimentary pizza fight in the cafeteria. I repeat. A complimentary pizza fight. Please bring your dignity. Or don't."
Leon burst in. "DUDE, YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ON THE MIC."
Crimson looked directly at the nearest security camera. "I break the fourth wall again. If you're reading this… yes, you. You know this makes no sense. But you love it."
Meanwhile, Kazuki was doing actual fake parent meetings.
One parent said, "How's my son doing in chemistry?"
Kazuki, cool and relaxed: "Explosive."
Another asked, "How about math?"
Kazuki: "He knows numbers. That's already a win."
The chaos reached peak levels when Crimson stole a janitor's cart, filled it with glitter and papers, and rode it down the hallway yelling, "I AM THE HEAD TEACHER OF FUN. RESPECT ME OR GET A DETENTION IN THE FUNGEON."
Leon, chasing after him: "You can't just make up rooms!"
Kai added, "Why does this school even have glitter?!"
MJ replied, "I may have started an arts & crafts war in the teacher's lounge…"
By the end, the real teachers returned from their meeting, walked into the hallway, and saw:
The janitor crying in a glitter pile.
A fake sign on the principal's door that read "Principal Kentucky: Now Serving Tacos."
A group of confused parents eating cafeteria lasagna with Ketchup Shots™ Crimson invented.
MJ stuck in a filing cabinet. Don't ask.
The actual principal stepped forward. "What… what is this?!"
Crimson, now wearing a lab coat, stood on a desk and yelled, "THIS IS EDUCATION, BABY!"
And then he fell off the desk, knocking over Kai, MJ, and a stack of fake report cards.
The chapter ends with the boys in the detention room, again.
Kazuki: "Well, we tried."
MJ: "My mom took me home and grounded me for three weeks."
Kai: "We need better disguises next time."
Crimson: "Next time?"
Leon: "We're banned from school events until graduation."
Crimson: "Yeah but… totally worth it."
They all nodded.