The Interplanetary Visit

Smart Boy

The whole indoor hall was packed with noisy and excited students from ages twelve to sixteen. The air-conditioners were at full power to keep the hall from being humid with the students' perspiration, but right now, it appeared to do nothing other than blow warm wind.

Derek sat on the wooden floor next to the Jupitian Prince, whose head could not help but drop and drop repeatedly in the process of stealing beauty sleep. Suddenly, the wooden platform before the student body echoed a giant's footsteps. A man in his late-forties knocked on the microphone and stupidly said, "Testing... testing."

The hall filled with laughter.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUTTT UPP!" roared the speaker. The laughter stopped, but sniggering could be heard throughout. Ken jumped, awaking from his beauty sleep slightly annoyed.

"Thank you," the speaker said sarcastically. Then fiercely, he yelled, "I am your principal. I call the shots here." Changing his tone to a nicer one, the idiot of a principal added, "Anyway, welcome back to school for a fresh week."

The students grumbled and a few series of "I'd rather go to Hell," went through the hall. The principal grimaced. He hated kids, especially teenagers. They were all troublemakers, getting drunk, getting dope, and doing all the stupidest things that people could ever do. If ever mankind needed worse representatives, it would be teenagers. It was the teenagers that polished his head every day and made him bald. Now he had to wear a wig. The behavior of the students before him only proved him right.

"Do not worry, I guarantee that school this academic year will make the necessary arrangements for you to do well. Your teachers will take care of you like their own..."

The students made noise again. A few "In your dreams, I rather die than have my teacher as my parent," went up from some students, causing tremendous laughter.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure your life will be like Hell... Heaven! But first a couple of rules after last week's prank of covering Mr. Thompson's automobile in egg. Firstly, respect your teachers and do whatever work set for you on time, and do NOT forget to bring your books. Secondly, respect your opposite gendered friends..."

A series of wolf whistles and wolf howls went up from the rowdy students. Ken looked around at his peers in disbelief. Such barbaric behavior was the last thing he expected from an international school of intelligent beings. He looked at the principal and read his mind. So, he doesn't like teenagers. It's no wonder anyway, Ken thought.

"Thirdly, respect school property, and this I say with last week's incident of throwing the janitor's cleaning tools into the duck pond. Lastly, you are all lucky that you do not have to wear more hideous uniforms from the appeal made by the irritating... err responsible student council, so don't show off and invite thefts. Study hard, do well and get good jobs in the future. Do not treat high school like a playground and do nothing but play. With the appeal from the student council, you do not have to wear uniforms tomorrow. That's all for now. You may now go to your respective classes."

Cheers went up throughout the hall as the storming principal walked down the stage and away. Carrying folders and bags of all sizes, some even bigger than the students carrying them, the students got up from the floor and proceeded to their classrooms glad that this traditional Monday school speech was short.

Once seated, Ken dropped his head on the table and went to sleep, ignoring the twenty-six girls and eighteen guys, including Derek. He had chosen a seat by the window at the back, laterally. That way, all he had to do was turn left and he would have the school yard for a view. The classroom was new, with white, clean walls, with a huge screen in the front. At the back of the classroom stood a teaching human skeleton and a notice board with the teaching timetable and seating arrangements. Jupitians have few dreams. Even if they had them, it was usually their subconscious senses predicting the future. Ken dreamt, like he did some time back at the PEIDB headquarters, and in this dream, he saw himself surrounded by teachers. They were advancing on him, their hands outstretched as if he was an animal. They were...