The Clown's Kiss (Buggy Fanfiction) [One Piece]

That's Okay

In the warm, sunlit classroom of Orange Town's quaint schoolhouse, stands Miss Moore at the front of her lovely students. Chalk in hand, she explains animatedly the intricacies of mathematics to her attentive young pupils. Scarlet's enthusiasm for teaching math, like a beacon, illuminates the room, transforming abstract numbers into captivating puzzles waiting to be solved.

Unfortunately, Scarlet's passionate teaching gets abruptly interrupted by the insistent ringing of the school bell, its shrill tones echoing through the classroom. It serves as a relentless reminder that the school day had reached its conclusion, even though she had lost track of time once again in her enthusiasm.

"I'm sorry, children," she says, a touch of regret in her voice, "It seems that our lesson has come to an end. Please, put your materials away."

The students, with a hint of reluctance, begin to pack up their notebooks, textbooks, and pens, carefully organizing their belongings as they prepare to leave school and embark on their journeys back home. The classroom, once alive with the vibrant energy of learning, gradually settles into a quiet anticipation of the adventures and stories that awaited each young student beyond its walls.

As the students begin to fill out the classroom, one after the other bidding their teacher goodbye as they leave for the day, one student in particular, Jimmy, finds himself in the center of Scarlet's attention. He had almost made it to the door when Scarlet's voice gently called him back.

"Jimmy," she says, her tone calm and inviting. The young boy turns and walks back up to his teacher's desk, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes as he wonders if he has somehow upset her. "Yes, Miss Moore?"

Scarlet takes a seat at her desk, ensuring that she is now at eye level with Jimmy rather than looming over him. She regards him with a gentle expression and asks, "Do you happen to know why Tommy hasn't been in school today?"

Jimmy fidgets nervously under her gaze. After a moment's hesitation, he replies, "Yes... He told me that his dad forbids him from coming to school."

Scarlet's surprise is evident. "Why?" she asks, her shock apparent in her voice.

Jimmy hesitates again before continuing, "Tommy's dad thinks it's not safe here anymore, especially when the scary clown Buggy can come and go as he pleases, Miss Moore." The young boy attempts to share more with his teacher but fails as his nervousness becomes too great to allow him to share the full extent of the unsettling rumors and discussions he has heard from adults about the school.

Scarlet sighs, her concern evident. "You may go now, Jimmy," she tells him gently. "Thank you for telling me."

The young boy nods, relief washing over him as he turns to leave. "Goodbye, Miss Moore," he offers before making his exit, leaving his teacher with a growing sense of unease about the reputation of the once-secure school in the shadow of Captain Buggy's presence.

Devastation weighed heavy on Scarlet's shoulders as she leaned forward, her hands cradling her face. "This is all my fault," she whispers, her voice heavy with guilt and sorrow. She understands the consequences of being seen with the pirate captain, and the realization that her actions had caused one of her students to withdraw from the safety of the school's learning environment was a burden she couldn't bear.

She finds herself drowning in a sea of guilt as she grapples with the realization that she has let Tommy down. The crushing weight of her failure bores down on her, a sharp and persistent sting that brings forth scalding tears. They well up in her eyes, tracing a salt path down her cheeks, leaving behind a trail of sorrow.

In the midst of her emotional turmoil, Scarlet can't help but voice her disbelief at the situation that had unfolded. "I can understand why the villagers would target me," she mutters, her voice quivering with a mix of anger and frustration. "But to forbid children from investing in their future?"