K.I.S.S.I.N.G

As Kaia and Alex walked through the door, they saw Alexa and Zac in the back of the room having what appeared to be a very intense staring contest.

Kaia and Alex looked at each other with an amused chuckle before Kaia walked ahead. She stopped at the front of the room and stood beside her desk as her students filed in.

Zac broke his gaze away from Alexa when he saw Kaia walk in out of the corner of his eye. "Ha! I win!" Alexa squealed with joy. Zac looked down at Alexa with a slight frown. "That's cheating!" he said with a mock pout. Alexa giggled and got up from her seat to give Zac a hug. "It's ok, mummy said to give way to people sometimes. Since you're not admitting that you lost, I'll give way to you this time," she said with a proud and smug smile. She attempted to reach up to pat Zac's head as well but she couldn't reach high enough. Realizing what Alexa was trying to do, Zac leaned in so Alexa could reach his head. "There, there. It's ok to lose sometimes," Alexa said in her best imitation of a parent comforting their child.

Zac wasn't sure if he was supposed to laugh or cry. Alexa was just too adorable! "Your mum and papa are here Alexa," he informed the little girl who finished patting his head. He stood up to greet Kaia and Alex, as well as the kids who were filing in and taking their respective seats.

"Really?!" Alexa spun around with a huge grin on her face. "Mummyyy~~!!! Papa~~!!!" She ran and almost tripped over a chair. When Alexa stumbled, Alex and Kaia both shouted, "Be careful!" at the same time. Kaia looked away slightly embarrassed while Alex stared at Kaia for a split second before taking long and quick strides over to Alexa. "Are you o—?" Alex was about to say before Alexa pounced on Alex's legs. She looked up with a goofy smile and said, "Hiiii~!!!"

Kaia cleared her throat to snap everyone's attention back onto her as the last student entered and closed the door. Kaia gave a weak smile and glanced at Alexa and Alex. She felt somewhat jealous at the chemistry between the father and daughter pair but her heart warmed up when Alexa detached herself from Alex and ran over to latch onto her legs. "Mummyyyy~!" Kaia looked down with a warm smile, patting Alexa's head before saying, "Hi, Alexa. Baby girl can you do mummy a favor and quietly sit with your papa in the back with Zac, please? Thank you." She leaned over to return Alexa's hug and kissed her forehead.

"Ok, mummy," Alexa replied while nodding her head. She ran back to Alex and took his hand, leading him to the back. She sat down between Alex and Zac.

Seeing that everyone was finally settled in, Kaia cleared her throat again. She surveyed everyone in the room before saying. "Alright everyone, today we have guests. The tall man with blonde hair is Mr. Sabor and the other man is his assistant, Zac. Say hi to Mr. Sabor and Zac." The students chimed in "Hi!" with some excited squeals mixed into their greeting. Kaia shook her head as she noticed some of the girls staring intensely at Alex.

She cleared her throat again before continuing, "They're from a company called Sabor Sights, I'm sure everyone knows who ViaNovus is. ViaNovus is from Mr. Sabor's company and now—" The room echoed with more fangirl squeals and "oohs" and "ahhs" as all the students curiously stared wide-eyed at Alex and Zac who had on a courteous smile. Kaia awkwardly smiled at how impressed her students were with Alex and Zac.

"They've come to see if there is anyone here that Mr. Sabor wants to be part of his company. So we are going to put on a little performance for them. Is everyone ok with that?" Kaia asked. Immediately a few hands shot up faster than the speed of light. She pointed at the girl to her far right who tentatively rose her hand. When Kaia gave her an encouraging smile and nod, she began, "D—do we have to? I don't think I can sing with strangers watching me, Ms. Hollings..."

Kaia frowned slightly but gave a soft smile. "No, you don't have to, Amanda. This is only for students who want a chance to be part of Mr. Sabor's company."

Alex raised his hand. Kaia tilted her head and gave him a questioning glance before she nodded. "Hey, Amanda. My company actually works with many singers who have stage fright. If you don't want to miss an opportunity to be part of my company, we can turn our chairs around and just listen. Maybe we can just turn this into a blind audition, like the ones on 'The Voice.' What do you say?" Alex asked with an encouraging smile.

Amanda turned to cautiously study Alex before she slowly nodded. "Ok." After all the students had their questions answered, Kaia moved two music stands and a notebook and pencil over in front of Alex and Zac. She nodded at Alex who nodded back. He motioned for Zac to turn his chair around before doing the same himself. "Alright then, let's begin. Ms. Hollings will tell you guys when it's your turn," he told the students with an encouraging smile. Then he turned around to face the back wall before waving his hand to signal for Kaia to start.

One by one, the students who were auditioning with their singing began first. Kaia made sure that the four she mentioned went last.

As they drew closer to an end, Alexa sprung up from her chair. She carefully rushed to the front of the room and slipped to the front of Emily. When Emily saw Alexa look up at her with a mysterious smile while putting her index finger to her lips, she smiled back. Nodding softly, she stepped back to give Alexa more room. Emily personally enjoyed having Alexa around so she didn't mind waiting a while longer for her turn.

Kaia noticed Alexa running to the front of the classroom and curiously watched as her daughter slipped in front of Emily. She smiled when Emily stepped back and finally understood her daughter's intentions.

Alexa noisefully dragged a chair to the front of the classroom and climbed up on it. Kaia immediately went to hold the chair, as well as Alexa upright. Alexa looked up when she felt her mother's touch and smiled mischievously. Kaia couldn't help but share her daughter's smile as she nodded encouragingly for her daughter to continue.

Upon seeing her mother's tacit approval, Alexa began belting out the theme song for "The Glitter Ponies." Her voice was high pitched due to her young age, but she had a good vibrato. Alexa had memorized the theme song by heart and had a lot of practice singing it. So despite her undeveloped voice, she was able to sing the song while nailing some of the slightly higher notes. Plus, her cute voice made the theme song even more chipper. Many of the other students couldn't help but smile when Alexa sang.

Even Alex fell victim to his daughter's angelic voice. As soon as he heard it, a huge grin spread across his lips. He knew exactly who it was. The many days he heard Alexa run through the halls of his company singing the theme song came to mind. His head subconsciously turned to the right as he leaned backward in his seat to listen closely to his daughter's singing. Kaia could see part of Alex's profile as a result. She was also able to discern the smile that continued to spread across Alex's lips.

Her heart skipped a bit. He knew it was her. She couldn't stop herself from staring at the smile she could barely make out from her position.

Not even 30 seconds into Alexa's singing, Alex shifted to the edge of his seat and reached for the pencil. He wrote Alexa's name down. Then, he paused for a split second before grinning like a schoolgirl in front of their crush as he drew a big heart beside Alexa's name. He turned around, searching for Kaia. Kaia's slightly unfocused gaze locked onto Alex's and she froze. Blushing slightly at being caught staring, she forced herself to continue holding his gaze. Alex gave her a questioning look which took Kaia a few seconds to interpret. She held up one finger and motioned her chin in Emily's direction. Alex gave her a slight nod, indicating he understood and turned back around.

After Alexa finished, she relished in the sound of loud applause from everyone present. Then after about a minute of clapping, Kaia motioned for everyone to halt their applause. She then nodded at Emily, who stood up and began her song.

In Kaia's eyes, all of her students did a splendid performance. She was proud of each and everyone of her pupils who had improved since she first taught them. And she said as much. They were all wonderful singers. It was unfortunate that due to their young age, quite a few of their voices weren't fully developed yet and it affected their performances.

After discussing the small list of students that Alex and Zac took note of, they came to a final consensus and stood up. Turning around to face the hopeful gazes of the kids, Alex smiled at them. "I must say, you were all great! Give yourselves a round of applause and a pat on the back!" He started clapping and the students followed suit. He paused to let everyone settle down before he continued, "Your teacher has done a very good job helping you guys with becoming an amazing singer, so please give Ms. Hollings a round of applause as well."

Kaia blushed before humbly accepting a round of applause from her students. A few even stepped forward to give her a hug. After merely a minute, everyone—including Alexa—crowded around Kaia in a massive group hug. Kaia's heart warmed up at the sight of all her students gathered around her. She patted as many of her students' backs as possible because she was almost smothered by their hugs.

Finally, she said, "All right, guys. Thank you for the love, but Mr. Sabor still has a few things to say. If you still want a hug, you can give me hugs when you're dismissed." The students slowly backed away and refocused their attention on Alex.

"Sadly, even though each and every one of you guys are talented, my company can only accept a few students," Alex explained with an apologetic glance around the room. He noticed the glum and dispirited looks of a few students and heard collective whispers of discussion among the students. "I will now call out six students who will have a chance to come to my company and improve their skills even more."

He soon called out the four students that Kaia mentioned, as well as two others. Once he called out all six names, there were giddy squeals of excitement and sighs of envy and disappointment. Despite the disappointment, the students made sure to comfort each other and congratulate the talented six students who were selected.

Zac walked around the class handing out some forms to the chosen six. "All of you need to have your parents sign these forms. Please bring these in as soon as possible. If your parents have any questions, call the number over here or ask Ms. Hollings to call Mr. Sabor or me," Zac explained carefully. Then he quizzed the students on the information he just told them and when he got satisfactory responses, he smiled and wished the students the best of luck.

While the students were talking among themselves, Alex walked up to Alexa. He smiled warmly when he said, "As for you, Alexa, you're always welcome at my company." Alexa giggled and pounced on Alex, who picked her up and hugged her back. Then, he turned to face Kaia.

Alexa gently tapped Alex's shoulder to draw his attention back to her. "Papa Alex, can mummy and I come too? Mummy can finally see your company and also see Auntie Naomi!" Alexa excitedly said in her usual loud voice. The students all stopped talking and turned to stare. They looked at each other and gossiped. "Is that Alexa's dad?" The students turned around, looking at each other. People started chiming in, "Wasn't there a rumor that Alexa's dad came to school?"

"Oh yeaaa! Weren't the kids in the lower grades talking about a really handsome tall guy with blonde hair?"

"Yea, that's right! I was near the cafeteria last time he came! I almost forgot!"

Soon after, the students directed their glances at their teacher. "Ms. Hollings, is Mr. Sabor your husband~?" the students prodded. When they noticed their teacher blushing and avoiding their questioning looks, the students giggled.

A few students started to sing, "Ms. Hollings and Mr. Sabor sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G~!" After the K, the song caught on and all the students continued the rest, "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage~!"

Suddenly, a student exclaimed, "Wait! She has a baby! It's Alexa!" All the students stared at Alexa who was perched above them in Alex's embrace. They all smirked and gave each other knowing looks. Alex was amused by the singing and he turned to see Kaia's flustered expression. She was blushing a deep shade of red and was speechless as her students continued their teasing.

Alex chuckled under his breath. He decided that Kaia already had enough teasing for the day and decided to swoop in and intervene. "Alright everyone, congratulations to the six talented students who were selected. Make sure to get your permission slips and other forms signed. Remember what Mr. Zac told you, ok?"

Kaia managed to finally regain her composure. As soon as Alex finished speaking, she chimed in with, "Ok, that'll be all for today. Make sure to practice singing at home. If anyone has any problems reading certain notes in their music sheets, come over to me now. But only if you need help." She gave a warning look at the naughty little students who were still grinning mischievously. "Ok~ Ms. Sabor~~!" they said with perfect harmony. Kaia wasn't sure how she would live this all down. She turned to shoot Alex a glare. The words, "You asshat! How do you expect me to face my students from now on?" This only made Alex, who was suppressing his laugh, burst into laughter.

The students continued their teasing until parents started arriving to take their child home. Kaia practically flew to the door in order to escape the embarrassment. Her "saviors" were surprised to see Kaia's ruffled appearance and beet red face. When they noticed Alexa in a handsome stranger's loving embrace, they immediately understood. A few gave Kaia knowing smiles and looks. Some even pat her on the back, chuckling. One parent even questioned her outright about the handsome stranger to which Kaia almost fainted trying to answer.

Zac, who noticed Kaia struggling to even function properly sighed. He glanced at Alex, who still had on an amused expression on his face. Although Zac didn't want to interfere, he felt bad for Kaia. Especially due to the harmless yet ruthless teasing that she suffered at the hands of not only her beloved pupils, but even their respected parents as well.

As soon as the parent of one of the chosen six arrived, he seized the opportunity to intervene. He started introducing himself and Alex, then he gave a brief description of Sabor Sights. He also explained the forms that needed to be signed as well as the preliminary requirements for their child to become an unofficial trainee at the company. He made sure to drill the information into the parent's head before smiling and giving Kaia a chance to greet the parent and say farewell.

This continued until all the chosen six's parents were informed and all the students were gone. Kaia could finally breathe and calm down enough to instruct Alex, Zac, and Alexa to help with placing everything back to the way it should be. When everything was neat and tidy; She told Zac, Alexa, and Alex to go ahead while she locked up the classroom.

On the ride back to Kaia's house, she thanked her ultimate true savior profusely.