Chapter 2.1

“Good morning, Mr. Simon! You really should get this old door fixed. It’s so creaky, it will scare the kids when they come to visit you.”

Smiling brightly, Lilli patted the painted white door before walking into the principal's office.

“Noted, Miss Lilli. Please take a seat.”

Principal Simon responded in his usual steady manner.

He was sitting behind his large wooden desk, and the bright sunlight streaming through the large window behind him cast heavy shadows over his face, making his features invisible.

Suddenly a bit nervous, Lilli carefully sat down in the stiff wooden chair across from him, then let out a breath as she saw his familiar face smiling slightly.

Mr. Simon, the principal, was a man in his 60s, and, as always, he was dressed in one of his many navy sweaters over a white collared shirt, and was most likely wearing brown corduroy pants over sturdy brown shoes.

It seemed to be his own version of the uniform that the students wore.

Although he was quite old, his posture was straight, the eyes behind his thick, silver-rimmed glasses were clear, and he still had a head of thick, silver hair combed back neatly.

After fidgeting for a bit, Lilli broke the uncomfortable silence.

“So, why did you want to speak with me, sir?”

It was a Friday, and the meeting was completely unexpected, especially since they had a staff meeting on Monday anyway, and nothing important had happened yesterday.

“I called you here to speak with you about your performance during the past couple of months.”

“Oh! Yes?”

Was Mal right, and was she getting a raise after all?

Not to toot her own horn, but Lilli thought she was doing a fabulous job lately.

Ah…with the extra money, she could save even more for her dream vacation to Venice, Italy, where she planned to eat a massive amount of pasta and gelato and explore to her heart's content.

Unfortunately for Lilli, her dream vacation plans were immediately dashed by the principal's words.

“Your performance. It’s been abysmal.”

“Y-yes?” Lilli could only stutter in confusion.

Abysmal?

How?

“You don’t follow the highly recommended lesson plans or schedule, your teaching methods disregard the standards and legacy that’s already been established, your daily schedule is inconsistent, your children are-”

Lilli watched with an open mouth as the principal calmly listed his criticisms of her teaching style for over 5 minutes.

“So, Miss Lilli. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I’m sorry, sir. I’m confused. Y-y-you hired me to be a Montessori-style teacher, sir. Student-led, teacher-guided classrooms, right? That’s what I've been doing. Making general plans but allowing the students to take the lead in what they want to learn. I’ve been here for two months with no complaints. So I’m not sure where this feedback is coming from,”Lilli protested.

What was going on? Where was all this criticism coming from?

Things were fine yesterday!

He had even told her that she was doing a good job!

“I’ve been thinking it over, and I've come to a decision,” the principal continued speaking as if he hadn’t heard a word Lilli said.

“Things must change around here. There will be new rules and regulations to get everyone on board, restore order, and make this academy a success once more. I need to know if you’re going to be on board.”

What are you talking about?!

We’re already a success!

Nothing needs to change!

Lilli wanted to scream and rip her hair out as she stared at the principal's now shadowed face.

Was he going senile?

She didn’t understand what was going on, but at the end of the day, she was an employee, and he was the boss, and more importantly, she loved this job and loved her kids.

She wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that right now after finally finding a place to call her own.

She would just ride this out.

And worst comes to worst, she could just agree now and still try to blend her teaching style with the principal's request.

“Uhm…of course. Whatever you say, Mr. Simon. You're the boss,” Lilli reluctantly agreed as she stared down at the desk to hide her bitter expression.

“Liar.” A cold, raspy voice very unlike the principal's usual voice sounded out, causing Lilli’s head to whip upwards in shock.

“....?”

And as she glanced at the principal’s face, the principal's mouth, the only portion of his shadowed face that she could see, began twitching.

From left to right, his thin lips stretched unnaturally before curving up past his ears and into his eyebrows, causing it to look like a strange, shadowy semblance of a smile.

And at the same time, the air in front of her wavered, as if a dark mist passed over it.

Scary!!!

So scary!!

The number one thing she hated in this world was creepy, scary things!

Lilli’s heart began pounding, her hands became sweaty, and she instinctively scooted her chair backwards and began getting up.

“...M-M-Mr. Simon?”

“The rules. All of you are breaking the rules. Order must be restored.” The principal muttered in that still raspy voice as his head jerked from side to side, in a sharp, unnatural motion.

“Sir? I beg your pardon? Are you alright? Would you like some water?”

Even as she spoke, Lilli was slowly backing away toward the open door.

She wasn’t sure what was going on, but maybe the old principal needed some air or medical help?

Was he having a seizure?

Or was this some type of bad prank?

Either way, he was scaring her, and she needed to go get someone more qualified to help her.

BANG!!!

“Eeeeek!”

The previous open door slammed shut just as Lilli reached it, and she couldn’t help but scream as she dropped to the ground.

What was happening?

As she began to tear up while trying to open the door, she realized that it was mysteriously locked and wasn’t budging.

No matter how hard she pulled, it was stuck.

Turning back to glance at the principal, she realized that he now looked completely normal.

That thin, gaping smile had been replaced by his regular smile, and the sunlight no longer shadowed his face.

He looked normal.

It was as if she had imagined everything.

“What are you doing? Are you cold? You're shivering,” the principal asked in a gentle, concerned voice that had the slightest echoes of the previous rasp.

Lilli could only stare at him while her teeth chattered from fear.

Something was wrong!

She knew what she saw!

She knew she wasn’t imagining things.

For a second… the principal had looked like…

No…maybe she didn’t get enough sleep last night.

Yeah. That must be it.

She was sick, so let’s just take the day off and leave.

Immediately.

Maybe forever.

“Sir. M-m-m-may I be excused? Please? I’m not feeling well and don’t want to get the kids sick. Can I have the day off?” Lilli tried to ask calmly, even as her voice shook.

Simultaneously, she tried the door handle once more, hoping a miracle had happened.

It had not.

Still locked.

The principal tilted his head at her curiously before pointing at the chair she had previously used.

And in his normal voice, with a normal smile, he cleanly rejected her.

“No. Sit quietly.”

Lilli wanted to refuse.

She wanted to leap through the window behind the principal and run away.

He looked fine now, so he probably wouldn’t hold it against her, and the worst that could happen is that she might get fired.

There were plenty of jobs in the world, so she would just find another one!

But when she remembered his strange smile, strange words, and the strange atmosphere, her instincts screamed at her.

So of course, there was only one thing she could do.

She sat.

Neatly with her legs together, as if she were a student in trouble.

She felt as if she didn’t, something terrible would happen.

Forcibly covering her mouth with her hands so that her chattering teeth wouldn’t make noise, Lilli stared at the principal while tears dripped down her face.

“Good girl.” That strange raspy voice sounded out again.

Giving her another gentle smile, the principal carefully lifted an old-style microphone from his desk drawer, hit a button, and began speaking in his calm, measured voice into the microphone.

[Calling all Sunshine Academy Teachers for an emergency staff meeting. You must come to room 13-A for an emergency staff meeting within the next 5 minutes.]

He then repeated the message 2 more times.

Lilli could hear the speakers blaring the principal's message in the hallway, but all she could focus on was the principal tucking the microphone into his desk before calmly standing up.

He walked to the door and, with an easy motion, turned the handle.

With that same eerie creaking sound, the door swung open, and the principal turned to look back at Lilli, who was staring at him with teary eyes.

“Are you coming to the staff meeting? Or will you be late?”