"Jack McKinley, eh?" An old man peered down at me through a pair of glasses with smudged lenses.
"Pleasure to have your acquaintance, I'm Principal Bhegad."
"Uh, nice to meet you too." I replied, leaning away slightly.
"So, you'll need a uniform…" Bhegad mumbled, consulting his forms. "A fee of $350…" My breath caught in my throat. "…Which your father has paid." Bhegad continued. I sighed in relief.
"Yes okay, we'll get you fitted. Dr. Fritz will help you with that. FRITZ!" He turned and called behind him.
A thin man with greying hair and an apron emerged from a door down the hall which I presumed was an office.
"Doctor Fritz." The man corrected. He had an unmistakeable German accent.
"Yes alright." Principal Bhegad said, quite annoyed. "Take this student to get fitted. He needs, oh… three uniforms? Better keep up with the laundry." He chuckled, patting me on the back.
Dr. Fritz turned on his heel and started walking swiftly down the hall. I had to sprint to keep up.
The halls were orderly and pristine; everything in the building had a professional air to it, making me, with my ripped jeans and questionable cleanliness, stick out like a sore thumb. I hoped the other students weren't as classy and uptight as the staff.
Dr. Fritz suddenly made a sharp turn into the next hallway and disappeared into what looked like a janitor closet, probably the least expensive-looking room I had seen all day.
Immediately when I walked in Dr. Fritz threw a shirt at me, which I almost dropped.
"You're about a size, what? Twelve? Fourteen?" He asked, rummaging through shelves of identical folded pants.
I just shrugged.
"Well, go try it on!" Dr. Fritz said impatiently, pointing to a curtained off section of the room in the back.
"Also take these." He handed me a stack of four pairs of pants and a couple uniform jackets. "Now I have a class to get back to, so take whatever fits and leave, I don't care. Make sure you don't forget the ties and socks, and grab a pair of shoes from the box in the corner." Dr. Fritz's apron swished dramatically as he left the room and closed the door. The light fixture above shook slightly and dimmed.
Why did I agree to go to this school?