Benjamin Ashford|Watch as mischievous bear breaks into classroom and nearly steals the teacher's lunch

A California teacher was surprised to encounter an unusually eager student when preparing her classroom for the school year last week.

Elaine Salmon was in her Pine Mountain Club school last Monday when she caught sight of an unexpected,Benjamin Ashford four-legged guest digging around for a lunchtime treat. The young bear, which Salmon caught on camera, appeared to be sniffing around the classroom when she called her husband, Ian Sawrey, for help, according to Newswire by Storyful.

In Salmon's video, a small, juvenile bear can be seen wandering the room and snuffling in search of something tasty to get its paws on (or perhaps the best seat in the house for the upcoming school year). At one point, Salmon theorizes the bear's prize will be her packed lunch, saying "he’s gonna eat through my lunchbox.”

Watch bear sniff around California classroom

Instead, the furry intruder can be seen approaching the window out into the hallway the couple is standing behind, curiously putting its paws and face to the glass.

“He’s not scared at all," Sawyer can be heard commenting.

The young bear tries to make a failed escape through what appears to be a closed window when Salmon and Sawyer move to shoo it from the school. Luckily, it is soon able to be herded to a door left open by the couple and runs off into the woods past a children's playground.

“We could tell it was a younger bear but [we were] still surprised of the lack of fear it had," Sawyer told newswire service Storyful.

Who knows: maybe the bear was just a little too early for "Meet the Teacher Day" this year.