The next day, Arnold and his friends had a teacher that came in. He wasn't looking like he would take over from Mr. Simmons, but again Arnold and his friends could be wrong. The teacher's name happened to be Mr. Fitzpatrick. Arnold couldn't tell what age Mr. Fitzpatrick was, but he took a guess and thought he was a few years younger than Mr. Simmons, but it was close enough.
When Arnold and his friends got together at lunchtime, they talked about Mr. Fitzpatrick. He had been with them the last day when Mr. Simmons left for Hawaii.
"What do you think of Mr. Fitzpatrick, football head?" Helga asked.
She was sitting next to Lila.
"i think he's okay. Do you guys have any ideas if he will take over Mr. Simmons?"
"I can't. I want Mr. Simmons back," Harold said.
"We can't bring Mr. Simmons back," Helga told him.
"It's time we all let go of Mr. Simmons. We've had him since we were nine years old. He was a favorite for sure. Now it's time for his new students to give him a chance. Maybe they'll love him as much as we did," Arnold said.
"What do you think Simmons is doing now?" Sid asked.
"I think I know. Maybe he's probably relaxing in his condo, eating pineapple and watching TV," Harold spoke up.
"I don't think so, Harold. Maybe he could be playing volleyball on the beach," Gerald guessed.
Everyone but Harold agreed on what Gerald's guess was.
"Maybe he's met somebody to be friends with at the beach. Today's his third day out in Hawaii. I hope he doesn't stress to much about starting the college level," Rhonda replied.
"You know Mr. Simmons. He stresses a lot," Helga said.
At lunch, Mr. Fitzpatrick was sitting in the principal's office. The principal was the one who did some research on Fitzpatrick and see if he could take over for Mr. Simmons temporarily and see what happens, even if it meant he had been here for a couple of days. Like her other friends, Helga didn't like Fitzpatrick very much. They wouldn't have a choice if Fitzpatrick took over.
The principal, who happened to be a woman, said to the light – brown haired teacher, "Well, Tim, I've been watching you since you came here. I happen to think you're the right person to take over Mr. Simmons. I think the students would seem to agree."
"Are you sure I am the right person to take over even if I haven't been here very long?"
"That's right, Tim. Starting tomorrow you will be the new teacher," she said.
"Okay. I needed a nrw teaching job, but I've never thought about teaching at this school."
"Well, you are teaching at the school now. When the lunch bell rings for the afternoon classes, I will introduce you as the new teacher."
"Okay. I still think it's a bit too early in the job for me to become a part of this school," Fitzpatrick commented.
"That doesn't matter, Tim. What matters are the students. Welcome to your new job," the principal said as Fitzpatrick followed her out of the office.
Then they walked back to Mr. Simmons' classroom to be prepared for the afternoon. The bell rang just then. Arnold and his friends headed to Mr. Simmons' room. English was their first class of the afternoon, but this time they were surprised to see the princiapl with Fitzpatrick.
"Are any of us in toruble?" Eugene asked, looking at the principal.
"Nobody's in trouble, Eugene. But I do have an announcement to make," she answered.
Everyone took their assigned seats and she said, "I would like to introduce you all have a new teacher. Mr. Fitzpatrick will be your teacher from now on. It would take a while for you to get used to Mr. Fitzpatrick being around. I am sure you would love Mr. Fitzpatrick begin around. I am sure you would love Mr. Fitzpatrick as well. The class is all your now. Good luck," she said to Fitzpatrick and slammed the door behind her.