“Ribbit. I am Mr. Frog. Welcome to the first day of class," a hoarse voice croaked.

Clay lifted his head, groggily peering at the greenish figure in the front of class. His eyes were still blurry from waking up. Did he hear incorrectly? Probably. He laid his head back on the desk, enjoying the blissful moment of silence, before it was pierced by a cacophony of interruptions.

"What is this?"

"Did that frog just speak?"

"What's happening!"

"Who are you?"

"I'm calling the police."

All the voices circulated around Clay's head like a flock of chirping birds. He lifted his head again and narrowed his eyes at the front of the room. His blurry vision slowly clarified to reveal a giant frog sitting behind a teacher's desk. It blinked its eyes, black horizontal pupils staining a tan-colored background, and a slimy membrane covering the eyes slightly trembled. Even though the eyes of the frog were on the sides of its head and it seemed like it was just looking at the sides of the wall, Clay's clenched fists slightly trembled as he openly stared at the frog.

The frog's vocal sac below its chin inflated and its gravelly voice rumbled out,

"Everyone. Get to your seats. Start with introductions."

A girl with long black hair was frantically tinkering with her phone,

"I can't call the police, there is no service here. Did anyone else try?"

She whipped her hand around, staring at everyone in the room with a panic-stricken face. Tears were already forming at the corner of her eyes.

A hoarse voice responded, "Yes, I tried as well. However, I doubt anyone would want to kidnap an old useless man like me."

A man with gelled back hair and a suit was leaning back on his chair with his black shoes resting on a desk and leisurely explained to the class, "No one understands? I could tell from the first few seconds I got here, we're all clearly--"

The frog interrupted in a monotonous tone,

"Dead. Everyone here is already dead. Start with introductions"

"I don't care what you're saying little froggy. You're gonna let me out or you're gonna pay for it."

A burly-looking bald man with a golden chain around his neck was threateningly tapping a metal pipe on the palm of his other hand.

The frog blinked.

"Let's start with introductions."

"You ignoring me?"

The baldie strode forward and swung his metal pipe at the frog's head. It bounced off. Unfazed, the frog spit out a viscous clear glob that covered most of the man's body. It then used its long red tongue to wrap around and lift the man and sat him down on his seat, the metal pipe clattering to the floor in the process. It landed near the feet of Ted, who made no motion to pick it up. Now that Clay looked at it closely, the metal pipe was one of the legs of the tables that was torn off. The man grunted, muffled by the clear substance, and struggled to move, but the gooey substance on his body stuck to the chair and floor.

"No violence in my classroom. Ribbit."

Clay pulled his gaze away from the scene and examined his own hands. He was dead? What was he doing before this? How did he die? A piercing pain thundered in his brain as he tried to recall what happened to him. He could faintly recall seeing his best friend in the middle of the road. His tearful face. After that, it was nothingness.

The first person to introduce themselves and draw Clay out of the thoughts of his own demise was a smiling young man dressed in blue overalls who spoke with a slight drawl, "Aah-howdy friends. Y'all can call m' Hay."

He swept a hand through his blonde hair.

He nervously chuckled, "Mm ahh din't have much to say. Me mam n' pap always said aah had a bad heart. Reckon ah died from that."

The elderly man spoke next in a slow plodding manner, "My name is Sal. I am, or was, 72 years old. I was living in a nursing home for a couple years already. I likely died from a stroke."

The girl with black hair crossed her arms and said, "I'm Lily. I'm not saying how I died." She already wiped off the tears on her face and wore a calm expression. She seemed to have regained her composure.

There were a few adolescents dressed in a school uniform that introduced themselves as well.

Darian, Jim, and Aidan were childhood friends and went to school together. They were in a school field trip and the bus overturned on a bridge, but the exits jammed and they were stuck underwater. Probable cause of death: drowning.

Clay interrupted, "Hold on. What happened to the other students on the bus? There's no way only you three died. Mr. Frog, how do you explain this?"

Mr. Frog did not respond to him, but its eyes twinkled with amusement.

Clay waved his hand, "Okay whatever. I'm Clay. Died from a car accident."

Clay mostly tuned out the rest of the introductions. The scowling baldie who tried to fight the frog couldn't even introduce himself, since the glob of frog saliva covered his mouth. A young man and woman that were clutching each others' hands were couples. The slick looking man in a suit was called Ted and died from a car accident.

"Now that we're done with introductions, time for a special pop quiz!"

The frog clapped with its four-fingered webbed hands, similar to how a teacher would clap to get their students' attention.

A clear screen popped up in front of Clay.

[Game: Pop Quiz!]

[Congratulations on getting to experience a pop quiz by the one and only Mr. Frog. You must be beside yourself in joy! /(^.^/)]

[Rules:

1. The person chosen to answer the question will choose the person to answer next. If unable to do so, Mr. Frog will choose.

2. Mr. Frog must be able to understand your answer for it to be valid.

3. If a person is unable to answer the question, then Mr. Frog will administer a mild punishment. If a person is unable to answer a question two times, Mr. Frog can administer any punishment as he sees fit.

4. A person passes the pop quiz if they answer the question correctly. They will no longer be quiz participants, thus no longer having to answer any more quiz questions and cannot be called on by other participants.]

[PS: Since you're probably as dumb as rocks and didn't memorize the rules, you can call "system" in your mind and my perfect self will reluctantly appear for you. Happy learning and don't die again!

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

( •̀ᴗ•́ )و ̑̑]

"Err. Is anyone else seeing words in front of them?" One of adolescent students, Aidan, questioned in an awe-struck tone.

His classmate beside him affirmed his observation. "Yeah, this is some high-tech voodoo magic."

Clay glanced over and saw them poking at empty spaces in front of them. He turned his attention back to the system prompt, spending extra time on the last sentence.

Lily flicked her long black hair and asked, "If we're having a pop quiz, wasn't there supposed to be some kind of lesson beforehand?"

Mr. Frog stared at Lily with unblinking eyes.

Lily's tone of confidence gradually dwindled as she voiced, "How can we have a pop quiz without the teacher teaching us the...never mind Mr. Frog."

Mr. Frog croaked, "Do not worry. This quiz only tests the very basics of your knowledge of the world. Even a month-old bear cub would answer all these questions with ease."

Clay raised his hand, speaking once Mr. Frog turned its attention to him.

"What happens if we don't pass the pop quiz?"

The frog slowly articulated each word, "If you don't pass. I will enact punishment on them."

The frog blinked, "But do not worry. I have faith that everyone in this class will pass."

Hay, the smiling farmer-boy, wondered out loud, "Ain't we dead? What's you gon' do?"

The frog smiled again, with its corners of its mouth stretching close to its eyes and a dribble of saliva inched its way downwards before the frog slurped it back. Clay thought back to the last sentence of the system prompt.

"First question. The farmer-boy Hay will answer this question."

Hay's smiling expression quickly sombered and he prepared to answer.

"Of these four brilliant beings, who is the most wealthy?

A. Evil Wolf

B. Scholarly Owl

C. Miss Wolf

D. Mrs. Elephant"

Hay's expression was blank.

Weren't these questions supposed to be easy? Evil Wolf? Who the heck was that!

"Hehe, I'll give you a hint, since it seems like you're struggling. Evil Wolf was rated number 1 bachelor in demand by the Safari Inquisitor. With all his admirers, how could he not be wealthy?"

Hay hesitatingly answered, "Ahh-uhh choose A. Evil Wahlf. "

"Hmm. Very interesting choice. You chose A. Evil Wolf! WRONG!" The toad cackled and spat a glob of phlegm onto the boy, covering his entire head and torso. He tried to wipe it off but his hand got stuck on his face.

Clay shouted, "Stop it! How can he breathe with that goo on his face?"

He got up to assist Hay in wiping off the frog's saliva. Maybe he could use some water to wash it off?

The frog extended its bright-red tongue, which blocked Clay in his tracks. It garbled, "Sit in your chair or I will give you a punishment as well."

Clay glared at him and stalked back to his chair, sitting down with an audible huff.

Mr. Frog calmly explained to the class, "How could Evil Wolf be the richest of those four? Though he certainly looks good, he's so poor he couldn't rub two pennies together. After blowing down those two of those triplets' house, GECKO made that miserly wolf pay it all back, with interest!"

Mr. Frog nodded his head at Hay, "Okay, call a next person."

Hay's face was starting to turn blue from the lack of oxygen. He tried to mumble something, but it was undecipherable.

Mr. Frog cackled, "Oh I forgot, you can't speak. Should I enact another punishment for not following the rules of the pop quiz?"

Clay called out, "Just point at someone! Hurry, you're gonna die!"

Hay quickly glanced around. It seemed like he was unsure of who to pick. Who next to experience the frog's wrathful judgement?

Clay shouted, "Point at anyone!"

Hay pointed with a trembling finger. Clay gaped at Hay's apologetic eyes as his finger pointed straight at him.

"How interesting! The farmer boy that's about to die chooses the goody-two-shoes that keeps trying to help others."

"Now, answer this question, Goody-Goody.

Of these four brilliant beings, who is the most wealthy?

A. Evil Wolf

B. Scholarly Owl

C. Miss Wolf

D. Mrs. Elephant"

Clay looked at Mr. Frog expectantly.

"Fine, I'll give you another hint. Scholarly Owl is said to be the most knowledgeable being in our world. If you lost your wallet in the middle of a forest, Scholarly Owl would know where it was and when you lost it. Heck, he'd probably have it in his pocket right now! He charges a fee to use his services. Just think of all the people who come clamoring to Scholarly Owl to ask him questions. That avian must be filthy rich!"

Clay contemplated over Mr. Frog's hint. Could Scholarly Owl actually be the most wealthy of the four? But the first hint Mr. Frog gave to Hay was a trap.

Would Mr. Frog give two trap hints in a row?

Clay looked up at Mr. Frog's face. His two unblinking eyes stared back. Yeah, Mr. Frog would. Clay decided on his answer.

"D. Mrs. Elephant"

The frog smirked, "Hmm? I gave you the hint of Scholarly Owl knowing almost everything in the world and you don't choose him? How odd. Well, I'll confess. Scholarly Owl does charge a fee for his services, but not a monetary fee. Ahh, I can't believe you chose D. Mrs. Elephant, because YOU'RE WRONG!"

The frog spat a glob of spit at Clay. Clay leaped sideways, dodging half of the spit. It only covered his legs.

"Hmm, I'll let you off for that."

It used its tongue to lift Clay and sat him in his chair. Clay felt like his legs were glued together and wrapped in duct tape.

"Choose the next answerer. Choose very wisely. If they answer correctly, then they pass the quiz. Do you want to choose the boy who condemned you after you tried to save him? Or do you want to save others, people worth saving. That poor couple? That old man? Or even yourself? CHOOSE."

Clay glanced to his right. Hay's eyes were clenched shut and his red veins were ominously visible on his blue-tinged face. The only sign of life left was his violently trembling eyelids.

"Okay, I choose Hay to answer the next question."

Hay's eyes flickered open in surprise. He turned to face Clay.

Clay smiled at him, "I know you didn't pick me maliciously. You trusted me to choose you again so you wouldn't die from asphyxiation. You knew I wouldn't get hit in the face by the frog spit. You believed in me to try to get the wrong answer. Hurry and choose C. Miss Wolf as the answer Hay!"

Hay used his fingernail to etch out the words "C. Miss Wolf" on the desk. Clay whooped and even Lily, the students, the old man and the couple gave a little clap in celebration. Mr. Frog shuffled over and peered at the words with one of his eye, taking a long time to examine the writing on the desk.

"What are you doing Mr. Frog? Hay said C. Miss Wolf as his answer! Why won't you accept it already?"

"Hmm. Well. That's because...I can't read what he wrote."

"How can you not read that? I can read it from here. It clearly says, C. Miss Wolf!"

"Well...it's not that I can't read the writing, its more like...I can't read English"

"And you're supposed to be a teacher? How about this. If I say C. Miss Wolf, and Hay nods his head, that counts as his answer, right?"

Mr. Frog reluctantly agreed, "I guess that works."

"C. Miss Wolf, Hay nod your head if you agree with me!"

Hay was slouched over his desk. It seemed like he didn't hear Clay's words. Or maybe he was already dead?

"HAY. NOD YOUR HEAD IF YOU AGREE WITH ME!"

Hay's head gave an infinitesimal jolt.

"HAY. NOD YOUR HEAD IF YOU WANT TO LIVE." Clay begged.

Hay's head jerked upwards. His eyes were still closed, no longer clenched shut, but relaxed as if he was in a dream. He nodded up and down with a smile.

Mr. Frog announced, "Alright. Hay passes the pop quiz. You can't call on Hay for future questions. Next question. Hay, choose the person to answer."

Clay paused. The words from Mr. Frog were incomprehensible. "Hay passed! Take off the saliva from his mouth, he's gonna die."

Mr. Frog turned his gaze to Clay "Why would I do that? If he passed, he passed. If he wants a reward from me, like taking off my saliva, he has to answer a question after passing the quiz."

Clay froze in shock.

Two teardrops trickled from Hay's eyes as his head slowly fell back on the desk. Hay silently thought to himself, "Ah relly chose clah on acciden'. Ah'd lik to lay back on a haystack and watch the stars with a good frien' lik him. Mam, pap-pap..."

Jim, the man in a suit and gelled-back hair, who sat nearby, examined Hay's motionless body and stated, "He's dead. His chest stopped moving."

Clay felt his face heating up and a ringing noise started emanating from his ears. He shot a blazing glare at the green frog.

"Okay, since farmer-boy can't choose anyone else, I'll choose the next person to answer this question."

Clay tore his glare away from the frog and forced himself to breathe deeply several times.

He called in his mind, "System."

He was going to find any loopholes in the rules and find a way to utterly crush this ugly amphibian to death.