Little one in school present after short time (6)
I believe the answer is:
minnow
'little one in school' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't understand how they can define each other.
'present after short time' is the wordplay.
'present' becomes 'now' (both can mean the current period).
'after' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'short time' becomes 'min' (abbreviation for minute).
'now' after 'min' is 'MINNOW'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for minnow that I've seen before include "he's unimportant" , "Very little fish" , "Small river fish" , "A fish; insignificant person" , "Very small freshwater fish of the carp family" .)