Jim hadn't been at the Walt Disney Institute for more than fifty minutes, and, already, he could tell that he was going to hate it. This was mainly because of the certain red haired annoyance that Jim had as a roommate. With Peter, it was a non-stop buzz of talking. Talking about himself, talking about sex, talking about messing with people, talking about himself some more, talking about how his girlfriend tries to kill other girls that show an interest in him, talking about the pranks he pulls on some guy named James, talking about himself again, and more talking about himself. It practically wore a hole in Jim's head.

"Anyways," Peter continued on his continuous stream of talking, "So James had me cornered in the north tower, thinking that he was finally going to get back at me for getting that really ugly crocodile looking girl to fall hopelessly in love with him. But see, when he pulled out his knife, I..."

"As interesting as this story sounds," Jim interrupted, "I have an appointment with the headmaster in a few minutes so I really have to head over there."

"That's okay," Peter replied with a light laugh, "I'll finish the story later."

"Great," Jim groaned sarcastically as he left his dorm.

Jim followed the school map that he had been issued down the hallway towards the headmaster's office. Along the way, he passed a group of three girls; each one was a drop dead gorgeous brunette. While passing by, he couldn't help overhearing part of their conversation. He picked up that their names were Grimhilde, Narissa, and Ursula.

"Wow, Ursula, you look great," the one named Grimhilde said, "The work you had done over the break must have cost a fortune."

"Who says modern science can't achieve miracles?" the one called Narissa scoffed.

"Hmph, I just shed away a few pounds and dyed my hair," Ursula replied with a sneer, "See, unlike you, Narissa, I was naturally beautiful and didn't need a new nose. And another thing: it's Vanessa now. I need a name that reflects my sexiness. Something you should really consider, Grimmy."

Narissa and Grimhilde just sneered. Jim continued on down the hallway to the main office. He entered the room to find an old gray haired woman sitting behind a desk smoking a cigarette and talking on the phone. The name tag sitting on her desk read Mrs. Packard.

"So I says to him, 'what's wrong with my meatloaf?' but he says to me... Oh, hold on a second, Marge, I've got a student," Mrs. Packard said as she hung up her phone, "How can I help you, sir?"

"I was told by Ms. Fiery, or whatever her name is, that I had an appointment with the headmaster at 4:15," Jim explained.

"Go on in," Mrs. Packard said as she picked back up her phone, "His office is right through those doors. Hello, Marge. Okay so, he says to me..."

Jim stepped through the doors separating the Headmaster's office from Mrs. Packard's smoke filled office and shut the door behind him. He was surprised to find that the whole room was a complete mess. Book were piled up in huge stacks and various nick-nacks were scattered throughout the room. In the center of the room was a small table with two armchairs around it. One chair was empty, and, in the other, sat an old, white haired man with a long white beard. The man had circular glasses and wore all blue from head to toe.

"Ah, Jim Hawkins, I presume," the man said, rising from his chair, "So nice to get to meet you. Please, have a seat."

The empty chair slid back on its own as if inviting Jim to sit it in. With caution, Jim did so. The chair slid itself and Jim back up to the small table.

"Now, then," the headmaster continued, "My name is Professor Merlin. I'm the headmaster of the Walt Disney Institute. Um, would you care for some tea?"

"Uh, no thanks," Jim replied.

"Right then," Professor Merlin responded, "Let's get down to business. I like to get to know all students of WDI. It helps to build a comfortable and trusting bond between the faculty and students."

"No offense," Jim stated, "But I don't think I'm ever gonna have any comfortable bond with that Ms. Farley lady."

"Well," Professor Merlin began, "It's understandable. Ms. Faery, and I do urge you to learn her name properly, is a bit of a... unique person. A different breed of teacher, if you will. Our staff is about half and half in that regards. I think you'll find that half are more so like me and the other half are more so like Ms. Faery."

"Wait," Jim chimed in, "But if you think having a trusting relationship is best, then why would you hire teachers like that?"

"There has to be a balance," Professor Merlin explained, "One must embrace both sides in order to achieve an education. And that's why I founded this school: to provide students with the best education possible. After all, I was the one who educated King Arthur himself."

"You educated King Arthur?" Jim asked, interested.

"Oh yes, Arthur and I were good friends," Merlin explained, "In fact, this castle used to be where Arthur ruled from. And that's what this school is for: to create more King Arthurs because Lord knows our modern world needs some."

Jim really couldn't explain it, but, while listening to Professor Merlin, he started to feel a lot more enthusiastic about this place. True, he was never the best student but Professor Merlin had such a passion for teaching and educating students that Jim couldn't help but share that same enthusiasm. Sure, his roommate might be the most annoying person in the world and the deputy headmistress was a total witch, but Jim was starting to feel at home in this place.