The (Not so amazing) adventures of Max

Eighteenth Entry: Mr. Dreadmore Strikes Again

Monday, September 3

So, remember how I tried to skip school on Friday? Well, that little stunt backfired big time. But here's the best part—today, I finally got to tell my friends about it at lunch. And, of course, they all lost it.

I walked into the cafeteria like I was some kind of hero, ready to spill my "legendary" tale. As soon as I sit down, I go, "Alright, guys, you're never going to believe what happened when I skipped school on Friday."

Leo, of course, is the first one to jump in with his usual witty comments. "You skipped school? Man, that's like... the oldest trick in the book. What did you do, fake sick or something?"

I nod, trying to keep my cool. "Yeah, but that's not the crazy part. The crazy part is that Mr. Dreadmore showed up at my house."

There's a beat of silence.

And then the laughter starts.

I swear, I didn't even get to finish the sentence before they were all cracking up like it was the funniest thing they'd ever heard.

"What do you mean, Mr. Dreadmore showed up?" Leo says, still chuckling. "Did he bring his evil teacher costume with him?"

"I'm serious!" I groan, trying to stop them from laughing so I can finish. "He literally came to my house. Knocked on my door and everything. I thought I was going to die."

This just makes it worse. They all start laughing harder. Even Eli's wiping tears from his eyes, which makes no sense because it was literally my misery they were laughing at.

"No way," Lo says, his voice almost cracking from laughing. "Did he bring you a gold star for perfect attendance?"

"Yeah, and maybe a certificate for 'Best Skip Day Ever,'" Max adds, still snickering. "Dude, that's honestly wild."

I roll my eyes. "Can you guys stop laughing and, like, feel sorry for me or something?"

They all manage to calm down enough to let me explain. "He came in all serious and interrogated me. I thought I was going to get expelled or something."

"Honestly," Eli says, wiping his face, "that's the most insane thing I've ever heard. Mr. Dreadmore just casually invading your house like it's part of his villain plan. That's gotta be illegal or something."

I chuckle a little, even though it still feels a little traumatic. "It felt illegal. He basically told me to never do it again or else."

"Yeah, because that went so well last time," Lo says, giving me a look like I'm the biggest idiot on earth.

At this point, I just have to laugh at myself, too. I mean, how did I think this would go? I'm never trying to skip school again, especially with Mr. Dreadmore roaming around like some sort of teacher spy.

The rest of lunch goes on with more jokes about my "adventure," and I just sit back and enjoy being the official school screw-up. At least it made for some decent stories. And who knows? Maybe next time I'll actually try to skip without getting caught. Although, with my luck, he'll probably show up at my grandparents' house next time.