Summary: "Lily Stevenson was just a normal 25-year-old teacher doing her job. But when a new principal comes to the school, her life gets turned upside down. Almost literally. Does fainting in the middle of assembly count?"

Chapter 1
Head Over Heels

The principal of the school that I was currently teaching at was saying goodbye to some of the best years of his life, as he packed the last box of equipment into his old, rusty car. Unlike his last April fools joke, Mr. Joulto had retired and was leaving us for good. He never mentioned who was going to take his place, but no one had thought about that until Mr. Joulto had started his old, beaten up car and was halfway down the driveway. No one knew anything about the person that would take his place, and to tell you the truth, I couldn’t care more.

Ok, so I haven’t yet introduced myself to you yet. I’m Lily Stevenson, grade 4 teacher of Saint John’s Elementary School. Which isn’t as boring as it sounds, to tell you the truth. We have more drama going on than Gossip Girl. Well, almost. I call it Drama Street. Of course, that’s not actually what the street is called – in fact, the school’s on a road called “School Road” – how lame is that? But anyway, I call it that for a reason. For instance, last year one of the boarder’s moms had an affair with the grade 6 teacher. Once the Board of Governors found out, he was booted out. This was my third year of teaching, which makes me 25. Yeah I know, I’m pretty young for a teacher.

When I finally got to my classroom, all of my year four students were waiting for me. Lined up in two straight lines, they waited eagerly for my return to let them in the classroom.

Then the announcement came through the intercom system. Mrs. Frangi, the secretary, was back on the intercom and, as normal, treated it so seriously that she sounded like a news reporter reporting the destruction of a town due to an unlikely hurricane. “Tomorrow will be a very special day as the new principal will be coming. So we are having a special assembly to introduce him to the school, instead of lesson one. Teachers, please ensure that your class is on their best behavior.”

The rest of that afternoon went very quickly, I had no idea why. Maybe it was the fact that I realized that I couldn’t wait to meet the principal after all. To see what he would do to the school was something I was anxious about. What would he change, and would it be for the better? Finding a principal to even meet the standards of the Mr. Joulto would be a hard feat.

Like every day, the day ended and as the class scurried out the classroom, I found myself excited about the next day and the outcome. I kept thinking about what the new principal would look like. Was he old and bald? Or middle-aged and plump? Or a hot surfer? I doubted the last one, but even so, I certainly didn’t expect what would actually happen.

--

As the rest of the school entered the already packed hall containing everyone in the whole school, you could see everyone look around to see if anything was different. There, in the middle of the stage, was a huge curtain. I began feeling horrid in the stomach as everyone looked at the curtain. The minute my class found their row and were all seated, the assembly began.

The beginning of the assembly started as all assemblies should. We sang a hymn and then got straight into the main presentation. Mrs. Frangi got up to the podium and started introducing the new principal. As we heard all his hobbies and likes I couldn’t help but think that my new colleague seemed rather familiar. But that couldn’t possibly happen.

The curtains started opening and the whole school straighten up in their seats. I, on the other hand sat there in amazement as I realized that the new principal was an old friend of mine. My boss was a friend. And not just any friend.

Oscar Bream!

“Good morning staff and students, my name is Mr. Bream and I’m proud to be your new principal. I can see what a lovely crowd you are and I look forward to getting to know you better in the future.”

I couldn’t believe it. My own friend, standing up there looking down on me, and all the students looking up at him like he was glowing. I had to get out of there. I had no idea what I would use as a distraction. I asked Mrs. Fliken-himer to take care of my class while I went outside for some fresh air. I regretted that the second I stood up off my chair. I wasn’t paying attention to Oscar and I found myself confronted with being called out by him.

“Well, looks like we have a taker,” said Oscar. He looked at me suspiciously and I looked up at him the same way. Right then I felt my heart thud 100 times faster than it had before. I hadn’t seen him in ages and yet there I was, looking at him for the first time, in eternity, it seemed. Right then I realized that it was getting stuffy (more than 500 bodies in a hall and only one door open) and just like that, I fainted.

--

I couldn’t remember very much, but then I opened my eyes and there he was. Oscar’s bright blue eyes penetrating into mine made all the memories flooding back. I felt queasy as they got me to stand up and I fell down again. I was so embarrassed! I just wanted to get out of there.

“She needs more air, quickly, move and give her some space to breathe.”

I opened my eyes again and he was still there. This time he was holding my head in his hands. When he looked at me I felt like I could do anything, but as I sat up I realized that that wasn’t the case. His eyes never left mine as I tried to get up. I failed several times before I found, I being helped up.

“Are you alright?” he asked in a caring voice.

“Yes, I’m fine. Just a bit dizzy that’s all.” I tried to walk, but felt unsure of my own feet, as if I was a toddler again just learning how to walk. I grabbed onto the nearest chair, leaning on it heavily.

“You’ve just had a mighty fall, and no injuries, are you sure you’re alright?”

“I think I need to have a little break.”

Oscar looked around, like he was looking for someone and he had a look on his face like he wanted to ask so many questions but couldn’t find the right person to ask. Then, all of a sudden, he was whispering something to Mrs. Frangi. I couldn’t make out what he was saying but I didn’t care.

“Come with me,” he said in a somewhat stunned voice, holding his hand out for me to grab. I hesitated and grabbed his hand.

He led me to a room I had never been to before and there he turned and faced me.

“Hi,” he said to me. “Do you remember me? It hasn’t been that long. Five years isn’t that long. Are you going to talk to me or just stand there looking completely blank?”

“Hey, I’m not blank. Have you seen yourself lately?” I said with a smirk. His face lit up and a very hypnotic smile spread along his face.

“For a second there I thought you had forgotten me.”

“How could I forget you? It’s not hard to remember a friend, especially one like you,”

“Is that a compliment because being a principal, I need to take everything both positively and negatively?” he asked with a soft chuckle.

“You look good, no injuries or anything.” Oscar smiled at me as he said this, which caused my cheeks to redden slightly.

He always seemed to know how to make me blush. But why did he always look at me weirdly? “Yeah, you look good yourself.”

“Well…” just as I was about to finish my sentence – though I have no idea what I was going to say – the bell rang. I was eager to get out of that door and see my class.

“See you soon, I hope,” he said as I walked out the door.

I hope?! I repeated in my mind as walked down the hallway. I sighed, pushing it to the back of my mind; I was probably just over-analyzing things.

But little did I know, things were sure going to get weirder down Drama St.

A/N: Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it! Kudos goes to my beta JustAnotherCrazyWriter who edited this chapter, and showed me the ropes as I’m pretty new to fictionpress. Much love to any reviewers,