Baldi's Basics In Education And Learning - "Teaching The Teacher"

Chapter 1: Questions

 It' been what would be minutes in our world, weeks in theirs. Every day Baldi checked in on The Principal Of The Thing. Although Baldi would never talk, the two had gotten to know each other very well. If you asked The Principal they had become very well-acquainted. He is still hesitant to call Baldi a friend.

Since The Principal was still too hurt to leave the classroom, It's A Bully assumed that he could then do whatever he wanted. He would steal candy -- not only from the player, but other children too. He would also taunt them for it, and call them mean names. Baldi didn't usually pay attention to that sort of behaviour; he focused more on the intelligence of his students rather than their attitude. However, with The Principal gone, he would chase It's A Bully away.

Not to mention give him a good beating as well.

Baldi opens the Detention Room door to find The Principal attempting to stand. He was hurt so badly that one of his legs was glitched out in two places. The other leg begins to bleed. Baldi simply walks up to The Principal and pushes him down. The Principal falls immediately.

Once The Principal props himself up again, Baldi glitches down in front of him. They stare at each other for what seems like hours. The Principal begins to feel uncomfortable. Although he isn't very proud or happy with his own form, Baldi's makes him extremely uncomfortable and scared. However, when he isn't being violent or mean, Baldi gives off a sort of soothing aura.

"Well, um..." The Principal Of The Thing is at a loss for words. What does Baldi want? Why is he doing this? Helping... Well... Anyone... Is very out of his character. "Do you need anything?" The Principal prepares for any sort of beating. He was told never to ask questions.

Baldi can't hear him. The Principal doesn't know, but he can't. Baldi is too busy listening to the Founders.

"STOP. STOP. LEAVE THE ROOM. DON'T TALK TO HIM. HE ISN'T WORTH YOUR TIME. EITHER BEAT HIM OR LEAVE HIM ALONE. WE'RE WARNING YOU."

Baldi begins to stand up. Somehow, he can't physically reach for his ruler. He's trying to. At the same time, he doesn't want to. And he can't. He looks around the room to make sure nobody is altering anything in the code. "No, nothing..."  Baldi says without noticing he's saying it out loud. The Principal cocks his head in confusion, almost like a dog.

"Professor Baldi...?"

"Yes."

The Principal Of The Thing looks up. Baldi just answered him. He doesn't know how to feel. He grabs the corner of the desk, closes his non-existent eyes, then begins to push himself up to a standing position.

Baldi immediately pushes The Principal back down. He then glitches down as well, making eye contact with The Principal. The two begin to sit in silence again, for even longer this time. The Principal is only thinking of what he can say to Baldi.

"Baldi, I... I just wanted to... Thank you," The Principal states. "For, you know... Saving me, I guess. But... I want to know why. Why did you save me?" The Principal takes a deep breath and looks down. He knows Baldi won't respond to this question. He doesn't even have feelings. What's the point in trying?

"I don't know."  Baldi says. No emotion can be pulled from his voice. A monotone answer. However, The Principal knows there was a tint of confusion in his voice.

The Principal looks back up at Baldi. This is the first time he had ever answered a question from him. He doesn't know if it would be the only question he answers, but he isn't going to let this chance slip away.

Before asking another question, The Principal adjusts himself. "Well, uh... Are you doing alright?"

The Principal and Baldi used to be good friends. They would formulate plans and try to escape the grasps of the Founders. Baldi used to be an odd, funny person, although he had a short temper. The Principal liked him for that. Maybe even loved him. He was never sure what feelings he felt for Baldi.

Baldi was always there to help in sad situations, like The Principal's mental breakdowns. However, one day he just stopped. Baldi stopped talking to The Principal and just left him alone. He would hit him and push him out of the way, never once speaking to him. Baldi became a monster that nobody wanted anything to do with. Yet the Principal Of The Thing was determined to get his old friend back.

The Principal looks down at his glitched excuse of a body. He can see how that turned out.

Baldi hesitates to answer. "I don't know,"  That's all that he can think of. He knows he used to be friendly, have a personality, feel emotions, but he doesn't remember what it's like. Baldi thinks it would be better if nobody felt anything.

"Oh. Um, well... Do you remember that we used to be friends?"

"Yes."

"Ok... What happened? Why did you start to hate me?"

The Principal knows that 'HATE' was a strong word to use, but he feels that it was necessary. Baldi has never acted that way directed at him before he stopped talking.

Baldi sits in silence. Hate? What a strong word to use. Especially coming from the Principal Of The Thing. He was usually more positive and did not like using that word unless completely necessary. Baldi doesn't know how to answer this.

And before he can, Baldi's teleported to the front of the schoolhouse, where he meet a new, unsuspecting child. Confusion and thought turns to fuzz as he plasters a smile onto his face and begins to wave his hand, just like he usually does.

"Oh, hi. Welcome to my schoolhouse!"

The Principal sits alone in the Detention Room He was having a conversation with Baldi, why did that kid have to start up the game? He hangs his head in silence.

"Maybe tomorrow."