The Hitchhikers Academy
Chapter 1
Ford Prefect looked over his copy of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. He was a tall, tan brunette, with a white towel hanging around his neck. He was just about to make a speech to the new students. As the principal, he was required to do this. He may not have liked it, but it was better than having to take one of them on as an apprentice. But that was the next ceremony. These guys were fresh meat. He stood up, straightened his jacket, and went up to the podium, where the vice principal, Arthur Dent, had just introduced him.
"Welcome, new students!" He said. He had repeated this speech many times over the past three years, and it was starting to get old. "My name in Principal Prefect. Today is your first day at the Academy. I wish you luck. You're going to need it. Over the next four years, you are going to learn all of the necessities of being a hitchhiker. Then you are going to be tested in the real worlds while being supervised and further instructed by a fully trained hitchhiker." His words rang through the silent room. All eyes were on him. Even after all the events he had done, it was still unnerving. "I you will proceed to the next room, you will get all the materials you need for your courses: a towel, a copy of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and your class schedule. Thank you, and happy travels." It wasn't much of a pep talk, but it got the job done. Ford stepped off the podium and walked behind the curtain. From behind, he could hear the vice principal calling off the names of students in the order that they were supposed to into the prep room.
Ford knew that he only had ten minutes to get ready for the next assembly. This was the fun one. At this assembly, the students who had already been there for four years were going to get picked by trained hitchhikers to travel the galaxy. A bell rang in the distance. It was time.
Ford picked his way through the other staff members. He knew how this would work. He would give a short speech and then call up a hitchhiker and they would pick a student to go with them. It was a traditional schoolyard pick, but it was fast and effective.
He was headed to the stage when the Dent came running up to him in a panic. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with his towel as he stopped a moment to catch his breath.
"What are we going to do?" He asked, close to tears.
"About what?" Ford was cool and calm. He had known Dent for quite a while, and knew that he was easily excitable, so it didn't mean much that he was up in a frenzy.
"One of the hitchhikers isn't coming!" Okay, this really was bad news. If a hitchhiker wasn't coming, that meant that there was a graduating student wouldn't have a teacher, which meant that they would have to stay an extra year. What would the school do with them? They had completed all the classes that the school had to offer. So, what next? Hitchhikers weren't on-demand for the school. They had lives. But someone had to teach whoever it was that wouldn't have a teacher. So Ford made one of the hardest, and possibly stupidest, choices of his life.
"I'll take their place."
Dent was shocked. "What do you mean?"
"I mean exactly what I said. I'm going to take the place of the hitchhiker who isn't coming." With that, Ford walked to the stage without giving the other man any time to react.
Dent had to get over his shock fast. He rushed to the stage, straightening up as he went. "Congratulations, graduating students! Now, give a warm welcome to your principal, Ford Prefect!"
"Welcome back, students, to this auditorium for the last time. I wish you luck as you travel, especially with the teachers you've got this year." There was some chuckling in the back of the room. Ford smiled and continued. "With that said, I'm going to welcome the teachers for this year, starting with Reina Waters." Reina Waters picked Fara Weigh, and so it went until there was only one person left, a scrawny, petite little girl with short, mousey-brown hair. She looked so disappointed and downcast when she looked around at the room and saw that there were no more teachers left to pick her.
What have I gotten myself into? Ford thought before he said, "Students, teachers, staff, and honored guests, may I have you're attention for just a moment more? I have an important announcement to make." The room fell silent. This wasn't supposed to happen! "I'm going to leave this school this year. As you can see, we are one teacher short this year." He beckoned to the girl, who had moved to the far side of the stage. She walked over shyly. Ford leaned away from the microphone. "What is your name, dear?"
"Karyssa Marxis," she whispered, terrified.
"As of right now," Ford continued to his audience. He could actually relate to the shy, scared girl beside him. This was the first thing he had said as a principal that had not been rehearsed a number of times before he got on stage. "As of right now, I am taking Karyssa Marxis as my apprentice. I am handing the school over to my assistant. Good luck and happy travels." The room burst with questions, but now that he had a student, Ford didn't have time to deal with them. He quickly ushered Karyssa off the stage.
"Karyssa, go and get your things from your room and meet me in my rooms in an hour."
"Yessir. And please, sir, could you call me Kari?"
"Of course, Kari. Now hurry! We don't have all day."
Kari nodded and scurried to her rooms. She may have been picked last, but she had definitely got the best teacher. No one else could say that the principal had given up their job to teach them. That was an honor that she kept herself, and she was glad of it.