When I turned around, my eyes adjusted on the figure who had startled me. He was the average height of an adult male, fairly chunky, and wore dark sunglasses that matched his dark hair, which was up in a terrible fauxhawk. It was none other than Mr. Harwell, the acting principal of the school. Mr. Harwell used to be a singer in a rock and roll band. That is, until his band became irrelevant in the early 2000's. He decided to pursue a career in school administration after the release of his band's last album. His big break came when Iridium High's former principal, Ms. Torres, suspiciously disappeared sometime around the "Get Your Anime On" Dance.
"Hey dudes," Mr. Harwell said, showing how truly and utterly hip he was. "What's the news?"
"Oh, nothing much," Andi replied. "We just got out of our last class. Shouldn't you know that? You are the acting principal, after all."
Mr. Harwell laughed to himself and turned to me. I felt uncomfortable because I knew he was looking at me, but I could not see his eyes through his shades.
"Hey Ben," Mr. Harwell said, in his obnoxiously loud voice that does not have an off switch. "Can I see you in my office, man?"
"Uh, sure," I responded. I didn't know what else to say and I was afraid he was going to use more dated lingo. We walked over to his office, and he opened the door into his office for me. Immediately, I saw a person I did not recognize. He was a tall, slightly older male with greying hair. He was wearing a bowtie.
"Ah, hello! You must be Ben. My name is Eric Sweet, and I am the principal of the School-Where-House-of-Anubis-Takes-Place Academy, in scenic Random-Town-in-England-shire," the man said. He stuck his hand out for a handshake.
"Uh, yeah, hi," I responded, as I obliged his shake.
"You must be wondering why I'm here," said Mr. Sweet, as I nodded in confusion. "Well, you see, Iridium High and my school in England have agreed to do a student exchange for the upcoming year. Mr. Harwell nominated you and a few of your friends to be a part of the exchange, while we send a few characters you've never heard of here to Miami."
I didn't know what to say. This was all very out of the blue. I mean, would my family miss me if I just up and left to go to school in England for a year? Probably not. My mom does everything around the house anyways. Not to mention it would be the perfect time to further the plot of a story I was part of. As I was about to open my mouth to make this life-changing decision without the input of either of my parents, Mr. Sweet had something to say.
"Well, make up your mind, young man! As I always say, Tempis fugit!"
"Sorry, Mr. Sweet, but I was about to tell you my decision. I was just about to open my mouth to speak, but then you said what you just said."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Mr. Sweet said, sincerely. "I had no idea."
"It's ok, Mr. Sweet. It's just human nature."
I started nodding to myself happily, because I had just agreed with a person that seemed much smarter than I was, and then there was an awkward silence. Mr. Sweet, and, as far as I could tell, Mr. Harwell were both staring at me waiting for my reply.
"Oh, right. Yeah, I'll go," I nonchalantly stated.
"Alright, I'll go get your bags and we'll be on our way to England!" Mr. Sweet exclaimed.
"But don't I have the entire summer to prepare for my move? I don't think I need to go right this minute…" I said, confused.
"Well, technically yes, but I thought I could take you now to get you out of this school, since you are a far better written character than anyone in this high school currently is."
"That's fair. Sure, let's go now."