Chapter 21:

For the first time ever, there were no conversations filling the teacher's lounge. The teachers were all sitting relaxed in their chairs, pleasant smiles adorning their faces. A few absentmindedly graded homework or wrote notes for their lessons while one had her pencil moving smoothly over her sketchbook. The only prominent sound was a relaxing melody playing from a radio in the center of the table.

"This is the life," Mrs. Cassie sighed in pleasure, sipping from her steaming mug. "Hot chocolate and good music."

"Yeah," Mr. Smith agreed, his eyelids drooping slightly. "It seems to wash all my cares and worries away."

"True," Mr. Lancer nodded, finally able to get started on his newest book. "I don't even care that there was a ghost attack earlier."

"Or that they stole all my gym equipment," Mrs. Tetslaff added, looking surprisingly calm and friendly. "Normally I'd be furious, but it's just too much effort right now."

"Teaching these brats seems like too much effort right now," Mr. Rainer commented, his computer shockingly absent from the room. "I really want to go for a vacation right now. And for some reason, I really want to go on a cruise."

"We have the responsibility here," Mr. Lancer said, though it seemed more automatic than actual protest. "We can't just leave for any reason."

"But a cruise does sound nice," Mrs. Fletcher said, looking up from the ship she had been drawing. "A chance to get away from it all and to relax."

"I could have a chance to see some wonderful aquatic life," Mr. Fulluka murmured as he daydreamed.

"I've always wanted to go on a cruise," Mrs. Cygert confessed, rubbing her nose. "But I've never had the chance to."

"Well I'm going," Mr. Rainer announced, standing up and startling the other teachers. "These brats don't care about school, so why should I waste my time teaching them."

"You can't just leave," Mr. Lancer protested, this time with a bit more force. "You have a responsibility here. You must stay."

"Just try and stop me," Mr. Rainer declared as he marched to the door. None of the teachers made a move to stop him though and Mr. Rainer soon disappeared out of the door. The other teachers stared at the door, both stunned and envious. With heavy sighs, they returned to their work in silence.

Despite the other teachers' efforts to stick to their responsibilities, they began to leave one by one throughout the school day. Each had found a brochure for a new cruise line in their mail box and it was hard to resist its pull. By the time the last period finished, the last few teachers were fleeing from the school. The students only stared in astonishment as the doors slammed behind them, but they didn't care. Driven by a strong desire they didn't understand, the teachers joined several other adults on the way to the pier. They eagerly joined the line to board the luxury ship. The teachers chatted pleasantly with those around them, most of who were parents of their students.

"Well, well, well," Mr. Rainer called from over the rail of the ship. His fellow staff members looked up to see his smug grin. "Look who decided to join me on a cruise after all. Whatever happened to all that talk about responsibility?"

"We decided responsibility was overrated," Mr. Smith replied as he and the others joined Mr. Smith on the deck of the ship.

"Besides we all need a break from the students," Mrs. Cassie added with a shrug. "We were all getting very stressed by everything going on."

"Stress levels were unusually high for all of us," Mr. Fulluka agreed, adjusting his glasses. "A chance to relax will be beneficial to our blood pressure levels."

"Well worry about work when we get back," Mr. Lancer concluded. "Right now, let's just enjoy the cruise."

The teachers agreed and leaned against the railing, talking pleasantly and watching as more adults continued to board."

"It's weird there aren't any kids here," Mrs. Fletcher commented as she looked over the crowd.

"I guess," Mrs. Cygert replied. "But I did see Jazz Fenton earlier, so maybe there are more around?"

"Maybe," Mrs. Fletcher said skeptically. "But I would have thought more of these parents would bring their kids on a cruise."

"I'm sure their all happy to be left out," Mrs. Cassie commented with a roll of her eyes. "It's a chance for them to run wild while their parents are gone."

"I'm sure everything will be fine," Mr. Smith added with a charming grin. Mrs. Fletcher was still confused but decided to drop the subject. The background music soon lulled them all into a pleasant daze.

When the teachers finally snapped out of their daze, they were back on the pier. They looked around in confusion, taking in the other adults and several of their students nearby dressed in what appeared to be orange jumpsuits.

"What happened?" Mrs. Cygert questioned holding her head.

"And what happened to the ship?" Mr. Smith asked. "The cruise can't be over already."

"And does anyone else feel really sore for some reason?" Mrs. Cassie wondered.

"I bet some evil ghosts are behind this," Mr. Rainer growled. "Ruining my well-deserved vacation."

"Oh please," Mrs. Fletcher scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You're just mad because we didn't really go on a cruise. And you know, for someone who criticizes the Fentons so much, you sure are starting to sound like them."

"Whatever," Mr. Rainer huffed, not really in the mood for another argument right now.

"Why were we all going on a cruise anyway?" Mrs. Cassie wondered. "It was completely irresponsible for us to just leave like that."

"It doesn't matter right now," Mr. Lancer sighed, running his hand over his head. "We should head home and sleep this experience off. I'll see you all tomorrow morning like normal."

The others agreed and began making their way off the pier. They passed many families were being reunited and Danny Fenton was being scolded by his parents, something about taking his parents equipment without permission or whatever. When the teachers reached the end of the pier, they said their goodbyes to each other and headed off to their own homes.