Schooled [Laughing JackxReader]

12

School was wonderful. The kids were about as happy to see you as you were to see them. You were tired, but that hardly seemed to matter. For now, you had something to think about other than Laughing Jack.

Lunch break rolled around and you collected students' assignments from their cubby holes. You were surprised to hear a knock at the door. It opened and in came the school Principal, Mrs. Merriweather. She was a stern, aging woman, with streaks of gray in her wispy blonde bun and crow's feet at the corners of her eyes. She glanced breifly about your classroom before addressing you.

"Welcome back, Ms. (L/N). How nice to see you at work again." She spoke very formally, with a curt voice that could make an accusation out of anything. You swallowed.

"Yes, well, I'm sorry to have missed so many days of work lately. I've been having a bit of a...personal crisis...." You responded, straightening stacks of papers and sliding them into your bag to grade at home. Mrs. Merriweather raised a penciled eyebrow.

"What kind of 'personal crisis', Ms. (L/N)?"

"Um, well, I had a bit of a break-in the other night." You explained. Mrs. Merriweather's face darkened.

"A break-in? Do you believe it could be....him, Ms. (L/N)?" She asked gravely. Like every other staff member at your school, Merriweather was incredibly paranoid about the murderer at large.

You shook your head and laughed nervously. "Oh no, no, no. It was just an old friend of mine from highschool. We met at the reunion that night... I think he was drunk. But it was definitely not...." Something caught your eye in the window behind Mrs. Merriweather, and you tried not to give your surprise away. "......him."

There he was, in the window. Laughing Jack, with his face and palms pressed against the glass, wearing the biggest grin you'd ever seen. He waved at you.

Mrs. Merriweather noticed you staring. "What are you looking at?" She asked, looking over her shoulder. The second she turned, Laughing Jack disappeared. The principal looked back at you skeptically.

"N-nothing! Just thought I saw something, that's all." You forced a smile, even though the moment Mrs. Merriweather had looked away Laughing Jack was back in the window, making faces at the Principal.

"And are you certain you're not too distracted to work?" The woman asked, scrutinizing you.

You did your best to pull your attention away from the clown in the window and nodded at Mrs. Merriweather.

"Very well. But I'll be keeping my eye on you, Ms. (L/N) ." The Principal walked out of the room, unaware of the clown extending his middle fingers at her from the window.

As soon as she was gone you shot a glare at Laughing Jack. He laughed.

"What are you doing here?" You asked, looking around to make sure you two were alone.

"I was bored." Laughing Jack replied, in his usual happy-go-lucky manner, "I wanted to see you."

You rubbed your temples. You did not need this right now. "I'll play with you when I get home, okay?" You bargained.

"But I want to play now." Jack whined, pressing his forehead against the glass. His nose was forced to bend down comically.

You sighed. "I can't. I have to work."

"I'll just play with the kids then~"

Your heart stopped. The thought of Laughing Jack anywhere near your kids turned your blood to ice. "No." You said sharply, "Definitely not. You don't go anywhere near those kids, okay?"