Authoress' Note: It is super rare for me to post back-to-back chapters, but then again, I have been wanting to write for a few months now and had to deny this pleasure until I was finished with my online class. I was also hitting the wall with whether or not I should post the original chapters, but I didn't really like how they turned out, so I decided to wait until I finished my studies.

It was good getting some feedback last chapter that Mrs. Mullen is quite the task driver and expecting a lot from a bunch of kindergartners. Not changing my mind about her though 'cause she's not a pleasant woman in the slightest. In fact, she's probably going to be the story's main antagonist for a bit due to her unrealistic standards.

What does she have to prove though? Not sure, but I am basing her somewhat off a few of my own teachers who did not like how I was back in grade school. I was so disruptive in class that the teachers wanted me on some form of medication. The idea was tried, but it didn't work—I was still a rebellious little thing who just didn't like learning in class or could sit still for long periods of time.

I just didn't like learning, and felt uneasy around a lot of people, especially those who teased me. I reflected some of this in this chapter how unruly I was as a kid, save the bullies who made my life hard back then.

Anyway, time to delve back into this fictional world I've created and see what happens next.

Oh, one more thing: I am using a bit of old technology in this chapter, so if you are uncertain what I am referring to, feel free to Google.

As for including the Song of Healing from "Majora's Mask" in here, well... I like this song, and think it contradicts the title nicely. Plus, this chapter's going to be a tough one to get through considering that there is a theme I am familiar with that needs to be addressed.

~Chibi Mirai Gogeta

Dawn of the Hunter

Chapter 2-Song of Hatred

The leaves had turned brown as Dawn watched a few of them fall from the tree she was sitting underneath watching the other children play. Ever since the first day, she had resigned sitting outside far from the other kids who would play their games. She had no idea how they could play with some of the objects.

The toys she did play with at home ended up breaking relatively easy after about ten minutes if she was not careful. Dawn was afraid that if she broke something, then the kids would get upset with her, and that was why she refrained from even playing on the playground equipment. The shrill whistle jarred her out of her thoughts as she saw the kindergartners from her class line up. She rose up to join their ranks and walked back into the classroom.

Even after the first month and a half, she still could not stand the smell of the other kids, especially in close quarters. Dawn felt her stomach turn as she sat back down at her desk in the uncomfortable chair. It was unlike the chairs that she sat in back at home, and for some odd reason, she felt cramped in the limited space she was working in elbow to elbow to another kid.

"Alright class, today, we will be learning a new song to sing," Mrs. Mullen told them cheerfully.

Dawn groaned in discomfort. She hated the class song time since there were some tone-deaf students in the class, but Mrs. Mullen still encouraged them all to sing. The teacher passed out the lyrics to every child as Dawn read over this paper.

They were going to sing "Where Has My Little Dog Gone", and the lyrics sounded so ridiculous to her.

"The melody to this song is pretty easy once you hear it, so let us hear it first," the teacher grinned and pressed play on the tape recorder.

A rather somber song began to emit from the device, and Dawn did not like it one bit. She preferred the country music she heard from the radio over this tune.

"Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone, oh where, oh can he be..."

Covering her ears, Dawn did not want to hear any more of the lyrics. It sounded so stupid listening to this melody about a lost dog. How in the world did the dog get lost? Was the owner of the dog not watching and now upset that their dog ended up running off without them?

The jingle ended, and Mrs. Mullen noticed Dawn covering her ears. "Dawn, are you going to join us?"

"I don't want to sing about some stupid dog," Dawn muttered in a rather upset mood.

When the kids heard her say this, they all gasped. It was not the first time Dawn refused to do something, and Mrs. Mullen shook her head.

"Then you know you are going into the time out corner for about ten minutes for not wanting to participate," Mrs. Mullen told the girl.

"Fine by me," Dawn rose from her chair and walked over to the corner.

"Fifteen minutes," Mrs. Mullen corrected, not in the least bit pleased by the young girl's sudden attitude. She turned back to the class. "Alright, let's go ahead and sing..."

Dawn was faced away from the class as they sang the song that she did not like in the slightest. She began to whimper from hearing the lyrics being sung as she covered her ears. It was far worse than she could imagine having to be around the smelly kids who sang this song. She had one more reason to hate school.

________

Outside during their second recess of the day, Dawn was sitting beneath the tree again when she heard the footfalls of a larger girl approach her. She glanced up and saw the blonde-haired, freckled face girl Mindy Van Hoover coming towards her with a grin on her face. She had no idea why this girl was approaching her, but she did not like it in the slightest.

"Oh where, oh where has my little Dawn gone, oh where oh where can she be?" Mindy sang-song in the worst mocking tone she ever heard. Her voice was not in the least bit pleasant and the song was being aimed at her in a mocking manner. "Ah, there she is underneath the tree, where I can't leave her be..."

"Stop..." Dawn whimpered, not liking how this taller girl was berating her in such a demeaning manner.

"Or what? I start telling the other kids to join in on our fun?" Mindy warned. "I have seen you run off to this tree all the time, and think you're a loser... I bet the other kids would like to play here too."

Dawn's eyes flashed with fear. She did not what sanctuary she had during recess to be taken away by the other kids.

"D-don't..." Dawn warned, not liking this one bit.

"And let you sit out here alone?" Mindy grabbed one of Dawn's pigtails as the smaller girl screeched in pain.

Instinctively, Dawn lashed out and struck Mindy's upper thigh. The bullying girl released the small one as Dawn lunged blindly and pinned Mindy to the ground. The smaller girl's hair was standing on end as a low, keening growl escaped her throat in warning. Mindy stared at Dawn's eyes that seemed to shine with authority—a strange beast-like drive pressing the smaller girl to stand up to herself after being insulted.

"She's just a pitiful girl..."

"Why not leave her with a reminder not to try and hurt you?"

"Yeah! Get her!"

Dawn raised one of her hands in a claw-like manner as Mindy whimpered beneath the girl. She shut her eyes in absolute fear of the worst, but the blow never came. Instead, when Mindy opened her eyes, she saw the recess teacher pulling the smaller girl away.

"Hey! Calm down this instant!" the old man, Mr. Weatherspoon commanded as Dawn kicked and screamed in his arms.

"Let me go! She was being mean to me!" Dawn roared angrily, tears running down her cheeks as she continued to try and get out of Mr. Weatherspoon's grasp.

Mindy watched the display in awe as the girl squirmed in the graying man's grasp trying to get away. Another teacher had to come out and grab her legs as she was dragged off the playground. One thing was for sure: Dawn was going to the principal's office for her actions, and that made the bully grin in an amused manner when she noticed that the other kids had seen this.

"What happened to Dawn?" one of the kids asked.

"She hates the song we learned today in class," Mindy told them.

"Really?" Another kid gasped.

"I think we should change the lyrics and sing it to her all the time then," a third smiled at the thought of teasing the anti-social child.

"I already have it covered," Mindy cackled. "I'll give you the lyrics later, so we can sing it to her all the time."

The kids giggled at the thought of tormenting the outcast girl who did not wish to play with them. It would be the perfect revenge for them all.

________

"Let me out!" Dawn screamed in the small empty room. It was a tiled floor room that smelled horrible, and she was pounding on the walls with her tiny hands wanting her captors to let her out.

"Not until you calm down," a masculine voice spoke to her from the other side. Dawn was inconsolable though and continued striking the barriers of her prison until she started crying. By that point, the door opened, and she saw a chubby, short man on the other side. "Come out..."

"No," Dawn sniffled, not wanting anything to do with this man.

"Then I'll have to call your parents," the man affirmed.

"I don't care," Dawn turned away from him and made herself comfortable in her little prison that smelled horrible. The door closed behind her, and she felt sick, but she had refused to come out on her own.

It felt like hours when the door opened once more. This time, she felt the comforting arms of her father lifting her into his arms as she turned and curled up in his embrace.

"Dawn Snow Nickels, you truly have gotten yourself into quite some trouble," John told the little girl in his grasp. She knew when her father and mother used her full name, she was in a world of trouble.

"T-that girl started it," Dawn hiccupped. She thought that her father would have comforted her, but instead, he was reprimanding the child almost though she did something wrong.

"It doesn't matter, you should have been the bigger girl and walked away," John scolded his daughter. "Your mother and I have decided on your punishment, and you are going to be doing your chores before school."

"Aww man..." Dawn disliked chores. Usually, she would do this after school, but she did prefer to do her chores over doing her homework since it seemed so complicated.

Dawn's parents knew that she had not learned anything from Mrs. Mullen regarding the assignments she was sent home with, and they seemed far too advanced for a girl in her grade level to be dealing with. Mary had to sit at the table to try and encourage her daughter to keep trying to work out the assignments, but she was stubborn, and they would spend hours at the dining room table trying to get it done.

"As for your homework, you are going to do it when you get home, so you are not going to be playing until it is done," John continued.

"Pa, you won't let me go outside when it's dark..." Dawn whimpered, her pastime after school being taken away from her.

"You should have thought of it before you decided to try and hurt another child with your roughhousing," John spoke with finality and carried her out to the old truck. She was sat in the passenger's side and had the seatbelt crossed over her body before he climbed in on the driver's side. She sat there sulking as he drove them home.

Upon getting there, Dawn removed the seatbelt herself and opened the door before hopping out and running towards the house. John shook his head as he shut the passenger side door and followed his daughter into the house. By that point, he saw that she was at the dining room table turning her backpack upside down and spilling the contents of her bag all over the table. Papers, pencils, a box of crayons, and a small rubbery ruler fell upon the surface as she glowered over the assignments she had been given while she was in that room.

"This is too much homework," Dawn pouted. "Why do I have to do all of this every night?"

"I'm not sure little light, but I think it has something to do with your teacher's job," John spoke thoughtfully.

"Her job?" Dawn questioned.

"The school thinks that she's getting too old, and wants her to retire, but she feels that you all aren't learning enough," John assumed. "I think that is why she is trying to push you all in learning materials that are more advanced for your grade..."

"It's too hard, and she never explains any of it to us." Dawn rolled her eyes at the math problems they had yet to learn. She had no idea what the plus and single lines meant since Mrs. Mullen spent more time teaching the kids how to sing, write their names, and other basic things that they were clueless when it came to things like this.

"Well, your ma and I think you need a tutor," John told the child. "We can hire someone who can teach you this stuff, so you have a leg up against the other kids."

"Why?" Dawn was perplexed. She did not want to learn all of this crap.

"While you were in that room, Mrs. Mullen told me that you are struggling, and recommended that we get you a tutor," John explained. "It will mean that I will have to work more hours to make ends meet..."

Dawn frowned. Her father always went to work while she was in school, and there were times recently that he came home around dinnertime and was too tired to play with her afterwards. Plus, it has been getting darker sooner due to the approaching winter, meaning that she would have even less time once the time fell back to be outside.

It was a shame that Dawn could not do more to help her parents, but as a child, she had no say in what she could do.

________

The next day at recess, Dawn saw the other kids near the tree she would sit under singing the song that she detested. She ran across the playground, but there were others singing the same song that bothered her. Eventually, she went behind a wall where the trash was and was relieved that there was no singing to be heard. She felt angry at the kids and embarrassed that she was forced to be near something that ranked worse than the smelly kids.

School was becoming a literal nightmare to Dawn, and she wanted out of the system.