Chapter Text
Shiro took one last glance around his third grade classroom at Altea Elementary School before striding to the door, unlocking it, and opening it. He was almost immediately tackled by a small boy with brown hair wearing bright blue overalls. “Hi! My name is Lance. Are you Mr. Shiro? I heard you were a really good teacher. Gwen and Percy both said you were, but Tristan said you scream when you see a pigeon. Is that true?” Shiro chuckled as he started rambling.
“I guess you must be one of the McClain siblings. You’re also the first one here this morning. Are your parents with you?”
Lance’s face fell. “No, mama had to take Morgana to her first day of kindergarten and daddy was taking Vivian and Kay to pre-school and then dropping Gwen and Percy off at middle school. Tristan and Elaine and me had to find our classrooms on our own. But Tristan is next door so he walked me here.”
Shiro’s first thought was “poor Allura" before he smiled down at Lance. “Hey, why don’t you pick a seat. The other students are starting to get here, and if you go now you can pick any one you want.”
Lance bolted off, backpack in hand, checking each table before running to the next one to check it. Shiro sighed in relief, then smiled at the next student coming to the door, hand in hand with Sam Holt. “Hey Sam, how’s it going?” Sam had been his mentor while Shiro worked his way through both pilot school and teaching school. Now Shiro was fully licenced to fly both helicopters and planes, which he did during his summers, going on amazing adventures.
“Pretty well, Pidge here is ready to start third grade.”
“Really? I thought she was going into-” Shiro was interrupted by a firm voice.
“Uncle Shiro! Don’t call me she. I’m not a girl. Or a boy. I’m a- uh- what’s it called daddy?”
“It’s called non-binary honey. Pidge says they don’t have a gender, and we’re trying to be supportive. We’ve been using plural pronouns as singular ones, if that helps.”[1]
Shiro was surprised by this, but took it in stride. He had had weirder requests from parents he didn’t know at all. “Yeah, sure. One of my friends from college was non-binary. I can do that.”
He glanced down at the younger Holt sibling. “So I guess you don’t want me to call you Katie anymore right? Is it Pidge now?”
“Yeah! Just like Rover.” Shiro remembered when Matt Holt had brought in the family’s pet, a starling pigeon named Rover, for show and tell. In the five minutes in which Sam had left to go to the bathroom, a student called Rolo had opened Rover’s cage, Rover had flown out, and all hell had broken loose as children ran away from or straight at the now terrified bird. When Sam had opened the classroom door to get back in, he was accosted by his pet flying straight towards his head. After Sam had gotten Rover back in the cage and Shiro had calmed the class down, Shiro had vowed to always check what the kids were bringing to class.
“Alright.” He glanced at Sam meaningfully. “Make sure to let me know at least a week ahead of time if Pidge wants to bring Rover in. And no bathroom breaks, or put a lock on the cage, please.”
Sam chuckled at this. “I don’t want to be attacked by my own pigeon any more than you want Rover flying around in your classroom again. Don’t worry, we both know what to check for now.”
“Good. I thought Pidge was going into second grade this year. Did I just skip a year in my head or what?”
“Naw, our Pidge is smart enough to have skipped a grade up this year. You miss a lot when you fly away to exotic locations every summer.”
“Ah. Well I’ll make sure the other students don't mess with her-- them too much. I know it can sometimes be hard skipping a grade and having to make all new friends.”
“Thanks Shiro. I can always count on you to come through for us.” Sam grinned at him like a proud father, and Shiro smiled back. Sam’s grins could make a person feel like they had just done the most important thing in the world, even if it was something small and insignificant.
“Pidge why don’t you sit next to Lance. I know he’s pretty friendly, and it would be good to know someone before everyone else starts filling in.” Lance had taken a seat at one of the 4 person tables towards the front right. Pidge trotted off obediently, and Lance’s eyes lit up when he saw them and he began chattering away.
“If you want to stay to watch the first day of class you can, but you already know me and how I teach.” Shiro told Sam when Pidge had settled down across from Lance.
“Ehh, it’s always amusing to watch you try to interact with the soccer moms hitting on you.”
“Saaammmmm don’t remind me.” Shiro groaned. Sam went off to stand along the side as many children and their parents walk through the door and Shiro greeted them and introduced himself, and told the kids to find their own seats. After a little bit, a boy with an oversized red jacket and rather greasy hair for the first day of school walked in alone.
“I’m Keith. I moved here. Are you my teacher?” Keith had a small lisp due to a missing incisor, a common occurrence in Shiro’s classroom, but he always found it adorable.
“Yes, I’m Mr. Shirogane, it’s nice to meet you. Do you want to pick a seat? Maybe over at that table. Pidge, the one in the green shirt, is new too.” Shiro pointed to a table where Lance and Pidge were sitting
“Okay.” Shiro watched as the boy walked over. He went to the table himself when he noticed Lance shaking his head violently and raising his voice when Keith tried to sit down next to him.
“Lance, what’s wrong? Why can’t Keith sit there?”
“That’s Hunk’s spot! Hunk always sits next to me in class. He’s my best friend.”
“But Hunk isn’t here yet. Are you sure Keith can’t sit there?”
“No! His hair is all gross, I bet he smells.”
Keith’s eyes started watering at this point. “I-I’m sorry.”
“Lance, why don’t you calm down. I promise Keith smells perfectly fine. What if Keith sits next to Pidge, and maybe you can think about apologising to him? He didn’t know that this was Hunk’s spot, he’s new here.”
“Well, I know he’s new. But it doesn’t mean he can steal Hunk’s spot.” Lance replied petulantly.
“Okay Lance, he’s not taking Hunk’s seat anymore, he’s sitting next to Pidge now. Can you try to be friends with him? He’s new and I know you’re really good at making friends.” Shiro guided Keith over to the other chair at the table
“Alright. I still don’t have to like him right now though.” Lance glared at his desk. Shiro could tell he was in for a long ride this year, and the first day hadn’t even started.
Shiro walked back to the entryway of the classroom, and greeted a few more parents and children before Hunk and his mom arrived. “Hi, I’m Hunk. When is snack time?.” Hunk said immediately after entering.
“Hi Hunk, I’m Mr. Shirogane. Snack time is at 10:30. I think your friend Lance was saving you a seat over there.” Shiro pointed to the table where Keith and Lance were talking animatedly and Pidge piped up every few exchanges to put in their word.
“Oh! Thank you Mr. Shirogane. I’m gonna go say hi then.” Hunk trotted off to fill the last seat in that table. Shiro turned his attention to Hunk’s mother.
“Hello, Mr. Shirogane. My name is Layla, I just wanted to make sure you have my phone number. Hunk is a very friendly boy, and likes to share, but he has a very queasy stomach so it’s probably easier if he eats the snacks he brings from home rather than any classroom snacks or ones from friends. If you have any worries about him don’t hesitate to call me. I want to make sure my little Hunky is happy.”
“Of course Layla. Are there any fruits or snacks I can stock for him so he doesn’t feel left out?”
“Oh, you’re so accommodating, look at you so sweet. He loves bananas and applesauce, and they are both very easy on his stomach.”
“Ah, perfect. I already was planning on both of those. Thank you. You can stand in the back with some of the other parents to observe the first day or go on to whatever you need to do.”
“I think I will, thank you.” Hunk’s mom went to join the rest of the parents, and Shiro caught a glance of Sam snickering to himself.
A few more kids filed in, and then it was 8:30 and class was supposed to begin. He picked up his roll sheet, and started calling out names. He was lucky this year, all the kids were on time for their first day of class.