Space Boy (Invader Zim X Reader)

Chapter 17: Substitute Teacher

It had been awhile since I have seen Zim. He stopped going to school and he even stopped walking Gir up and down the street. I haven't seen him out in public, nor did I see him at his base. Not only did I feel anxious, but I felt guilty knowing I made Zim feel terrible.

A few days ago I gathered the courage to go to Zim's base and go have a conversation with him. I wanted apologize for pushing him and being distant. It seemed now that Zim was distant with me and his Earth life.

Knocking on the door, I hoped that it would be Zim. The first thing I wanted to do was give him a huge hug and tell him how sorry I was. I wanted to let him know that even if he was a alien who wanted to destroy Earth that he was still my friend and I would be there for him. I wanted to even go as far as confessing my feeling toward Zim.

Instead I was greeted by Gir in his dog costume. He was slurping a slushee obnoxiously. "Oh..." was all he mustered out before he closed the door.

"Wait Gir! I need to talk to Zim, please!" I begged to the little robot, but I heard nothing back. I did not try again afterwards and waited to see him unexpectedly; such as school.

Fortunately I was correct.

It was another day of school. Zim was not expected to show up. It had been days since he last attended class. Mrs. Bitters did not seem to care, I thought that she was actually glad to see her annoying student gone.

A day before today, Mrs. Bitters announced to the class that there was going to be a substitute teacher for tomorrow, which was today. She claimed that she had to go to a funeral and that she would have to miss the school day. Of course everyone cheers about the news, but Mrs. Bitters didn't take it nicely.

Here we were in class. The bell was soon going to ring and the teacher was going to walk in any moment now. I couldn't keep my eyes off of Zim's desk, which was right next to mine. I missed the way he fiddled with his pencil and his snarky remarks toward everyone. He would always turn in my papers for me, even when I never asked. Zim used to eat lunch with me and we even shared the same locker for a little bit.

I missed Zim, I really did.

"Hey (Y/N) are you okay?" Zita asks behind me. Fortunately though me and Zita have a mutual friendship. She has forgiven me for calling her the wrong name; we laugh about it. "Yeah sorry. I'm just a little stressed out is all." I awkwardly laugh as a random tear hit the ground. Interestingly enough when my tear fell, the substitute teacher walked in.

Oh boy did this guy look interesting. His name was Mr. Unyen. He looked mean, just like Mrs. Bitters. Mr. Unyen looks younger however.

"Hello class, please, for the love of god, take your seats so I can take attendance." Mr. Unyen announces to the class. Dib looks at him funny before he sits down.

Mr. Unyen went down the list, name after name. Of course there were a few clowns that decided that they would prank Mr. Unyen by changing their names by using their friend's name. There was someone else who was being a smart ass to Mr. Unyen. It was the regular substitute teacher stuff that would typically happen.

"Is Zim here? Zim?" Mr. Unyen asks the class. "No he hasn't been here, he skips class!" Melvin answers as Mr. Unyen shakes his head. I looked at Melvin like he lost his mind. "Oh, so we have a rebel in this classroom. I sure hope he joins us." Mr. Unyen grumbles as he crosses through the attendance sheet he was holding in his clipboard.

Eventually he finished the list, it only took about twenty years. Mr. Unyen tells the class that we would be working on an assignment based off sheep. We were handed this packet all about sheep. Mr. Unyen jokes how he was the shepherd and we are the flock. I found it to be distasteful and somewhat creepy.