I work at a daycare. My coworker keeps counting more children than are on the official roster.

Long time lurker, first time posting. I’m Ashley, a caffeine-fueled co-teacher for a preschool group. Posting this here ‘cause my work bestie is lowkey losing it.

So basically, my coworker Lara from the toddler room started saying some absolute unhinged sht in our private group chat today (the one we use to plan Friday drinks and vent about work).

Lara’s the CEO of diapers and nursery rhymes, so obviously, it’s easy to lose it. Either this is a work burnout (relatable af) or it’s actually some creepy stuff. You guys decide.

[MON]

[Group Chat: shark tank]

Lara: guys ive noticed for a bit now the kids look so drained. literally every day in the app reports i have to mark them as “sleepy” even the hyper ones. how is it in ur groups?

May: thats just default lol everyone here is a snotty mess rn

Ash: spring flu maybe?

Lara: im on the playground rn and theyre so sluggish fr. nobody even tripped today. theyre just sitting in the playhouse looking miserable. im going full entertainer mode and still cant hype them up

Lara: guys im lowkey having a panic attack. i just counted the kids. like 10 times. it doesnt match the roster. Joy already got mad and counted them herself, she says its fine. 5 kids here, 4 home sick.

Beth: sis r u even sleeping. maybe take a nap during nap time while no one is looking

Ash: lol i have that too sometimes but not 10 times in a row. the matrix is glitching for sure. dont wake the monster in Joy though

Lara: im literally counting heads. roster says 5 but i count 7!

Ash: stop it ur trippin

Lara: and my dad called again. said people smell like a basement. hes officially lost it

Ash: relatable. my mom thinks 5G causes headaches. just ignore him girl

Anyway, gonna dump some more updates here about what I saw today.

Lara and I don’t really have much time to scroll through our phones at work. We just get a free minute here and there, so we don’t see each other that often.

During evening snack time, I caught a glimpse of Lara and Joy in the corridor, leading their “little people” back to the room.

And man, those cutie patooties didn’t even come to hug me. They looked so down, like, completely drained. They were all huddling together, just sticking close to Lara.

Especially my favorite, little “Mushroom” (she has that mushroom cut, like a literal helmet lol). She didn’t even say hi, and we always hug when we cross paths.

Gonna keep updating here, maybe I’ll notice something else weird this week.

[TUE]

[Group Chat: shark tank]

Lara: Chuckie just said the weirdest thing. sec

Beth: speaking of my gremlins caught the depressing vibe today too. def a virus, should we get ready for quarantine?

Ash: i wish i had ur problems. nobody’s sick here, theyre still acting like absolute demons. had to take two to the front office today bc they tried to run through the wall full speed

Beth: lol theyre just tryna get to hogwarts, let them go

Lara: anyway just got back to the room, it was a diaper apocalypse. while Joy was doing nursery rhymes, 4 out of 6 kids opened the floodgates at the same time. synchronized moves lol

Lara: and Chuckie in the bathroom was like “why are those gray boy and girl scaring us” sheesh he really said ”they are looking at me but they dont have eyes. i dont want to go back to the class”

May: whoa whoa chill out! some eldritch horror just entered the chat

Ash: that’s hella creepy

Lara: im prepping the cots for nap time rn. theyre sitting with joy like knights of the oval table singing twinkle twinkle little scar. such cuties

Lara: does anyone have Advil? my head hurts so bad my ears are ringing

Ash: i’ll bring u some during nap time

Lara: tysm <3

May: we did show and tell today and Penny was talking about her pet rock aww. our new boy Pkatrih was face down on the table the whole time, twitching weirdly and hissing lol such a sleepyhead

May: Penny kept looking at him and crying though, probably offended he wasnt listening to her story

Lara: hes doing WHAT? is this a joke?? wtf not funny!

May: huh? he always does that

Anyway, not gonna paste the whole chat here. Lara ended up having a straight-up meltdown and started spamming during nap time.

She was freaking out, saying she counted the kids in their cots again and there were 2 more than on the roster. Miss Joy basically told her that if she didnt get it together, shed be reported to management.

When I went to bring her the Advil, I caught a headache and some tinnitus myself while trying to calm her down.

Btw I counted the kids in her room too and everything matched Joys count perfectly. No extra kids. Im actually really worried about Lara.

[WED]

Dumping more updates here. Our little chat was dead quiet today, literally zero time to text. Unlike the official work chat, that one was blowing up all day. Just a stream of lost socks, spring break schedules, activities blah blah.

Spent the whole shift helping May in her classroom bc her partner called out sick. My kids are still acting like theyre high on sugar as usual.

Mays kids are super active too. We went outside after breakfast and played hide-and-seek.

Yammlee and Pkatrih were “it.”

It’s easy to hide from them bc they just stand face-first against the brick wall and never, ever peek.

When its time to hide you can actually find a really good spot.

And when its time to seek, they walk really slowly, backwards.

The kids scattered and hid like mice in their holes, staying totally quiet.

Though, for some reason, they all started crying after the game. I had to pull out the heavy artillery baby shark style just to get the positive vibes back.

Idk why but I feel like its good that Yammlee and Pkatrih didnt find anyone.

[THU]

Lara almost got fired today!!! Man, I was just in the bathroom trying to help her stop sobbing.

They gave her a harsh reprimand and forced her onto unpaid leave immediately.

My girl is totally spiraling. She was crying and rambling about these bald, gray kids in her class that shouldnt be there, saying theyre scaring all the other kids just by existing.

I feel so bad for her, she’s clearly just reached a breaking point, plus that whole mess with her dad getting paranoid and preaching about “stinky monsters.”

Itd be awful if they fired her for good. Shes a great teacher, loves the kids and they love her back.

I was assigned to help Joy on the playground today. 14 kids in her group, and they were acting normal.

Nothings matching Laras stories. 9 of them were huddling in a group as usual, covering their ears, while the other 5 were at the sensory table with their faces shoved deep into the hydrogel beads.

My little Mushroom tried to play with the new kids, but then she started crying and hiding behind my back.

She kept asking how they could breathe with their faces in the gel like that, saying theyd been standing there forever.

Joy just said,

“Leave them alone, they’re having fun.”

She was looking at them and smiling, saying theyre “deep in the process.”

Idk, I feel like it’s a little weird, but also normal at the same time? Like it’s always been this way.

But after what Mushroom said, I started feeling really uneasy.

[Group Chat: shark tank]

Ash: dude how are you??? joy was literally spitting fire after you left

May: sunshine update us!!! where r u atm?

Lara: im home guys. how are things at work?

Beth: lara girl rest up okay??? come back to us soon!! we love you

Lara: im fine guys. thank you.

Ash: same old here. kids are extra whiny today and wanna go home.

[FRI]

Today is pretty chill. Noticed this morning the kids are acting extra cranky, clinging to their parents and crying to go home.

Usually most of them are obsessed with being here, you know? Like, they have their own little vibey community.

But today I guess they just want to stay home and stare at cartoons since spring break is coming soon.

Honestly, I don’t blame them. Looking at the empty hallway gives me the ick today too.

Lara texted me, she says she feels better but shes stressed about getting fired and her family situation. Complaining about her ears ringing and her vision being blurry.

She told me about her dad again. He basically quit his job and barricaded himself in his cabin a week ago. She really shouldnt listen to his crazy theories.

Promised Id drop by this weekend. Ngl nothing cures a mental breakdown better than a massive pile of snacks, some shitty reality TV, and just rotting on the couch together.

Shes gonna be fine. She has to be.

It’s already evening now. Back in my main classroom.

We have a new boy, Maysoon.

Hes zero trouble.

During breakfast, he was just quietly lying with his face in a cereal bowl.

For a second, I had a total brain-fart and panicked bc I realized he wasnt breathing.

But then I remembered hes always done that. Its just how its supposed to be.

My group had Show and Tell today. Monica brought her coolest toy dinosaur Mr. Chewy.

New boy, Maysoon, also brought something from home.

It was this old, chipped red rolly-polly toy with bulging black eyes. Ive never seen anything like it.

It was wobbling back and forth on the table, staring at us with those black shiny eyes and jingling.

Ding-ding. Ding-ding.

And we all just stared back at it and listened to Maysoons story.

He doesnt speak very clearly. But I couldve sworn the air vibrated with the word:

‘ne-va-lyash-ka.’

Over and over. Nevalyashka, nevalyashka.

Whatever that means, it’s something that makes my brain itch.

The rest of the kids were covering their ears and whining ‘when will mommy and daddy come to take me home.’

Usually parents pick up the kids around 6 PM. Almost everyone is gone home now.

Just sitting here in aftercare, finishing my weird week report, waiting for parents. Im desperate for a margarita at this point.

[Group Chat: shark tank]

Beth: drinks tonight at the same place?? lara girl u are highly expected!

May: im in. omw home now see you guys at 10. dont forget to grab an umbrella

Lara: sorry guys i dont feel like goin out tonight. social battery drained.

Ash: everything will get better eventually, youll see

Ash: ok catch up at 10 at the same place

Ash: now its just me and 4 kiddos left, waiting to go home. darn this rain… parents are coming late I guess

Lucy just interrupted me while I was typing.

Shes been pulling my sleeve for a while now, says she wanna leave and she doesnt like how Maysoon is hissing.

Tommy and Tina are clinging to me too. Idk why they arent playing lego or something, they always do.

Actually, u know what? I dont like how Maysoon is hissing right now either. He used to be quieter.

My lead teacher Eve went to the restroom and hasnt come back yet.

Kids are sobbing and calling for mommy.

I just caught myself thinking.

I dont remember Maysoons mom. Or dad.

Like, my brain is blanking. Is Laras paranoia contagious or something?

Actually, it’s all starting to make sense. What if she wasnt burnt out after all?

Im trying to remember the new kids face now and just cant. Im not sure Ive ever seen it.

Even now hes standing face to the wall.

Kids just said they dont want to play hide and seek with him.

They didnt like how he took off his cap while facing the wall and stretched his arms backward.

They said he has weird bumps on his bald head that are moving.

He really DOES look strange. I never noticed it before. His arms. Theyre not supposed to bend like this. Not like this.

Im done. Im so done.

Thought about calling the non-emergency line but what should I even say? Officer, a kid is looking at a wall too much and im hallucinating or smth?

Hes making this sound. High-pitched. Like a mosquito but louder. It vibrates in my teeth.

I think hes serious about this “hide and squeak” game.

I feel familiar vibration in the air.

Rules are: the seeker stays hidden. You cant see him but you can hear. If he comes too close you run.

The kids already hid. Good. I hope he doesnt find them.

I need to hide too or hell get mad that Im not playing.

Found a good spot.

The power just went out.

At least I’ll hear him if he comes too close.

I can hear him counting. But hes not using numbers. Just that clicking sound.

texted girls and miss eve.

the noise stopped. i hear footsteps approaching i hope thats eve i dont wanna check. please let it be eve.

gonna close my eyes.

ill just rock back and forth back and forth.

like that rolly polly thing.

phones at 15% sending my whole log now