“Okay … I think we can all agree that we need to watch these interviews. Am I right? I think I am right,” Mr. Dean said with a chuckle. The rest of the class was still filled with electric excitement. The PA system crackled to life and one of the front office staff members called Pepper’s name. Mr. Dean slowly turned and narrowed a death stare at him. “Well, well, well, Mr. Walker… it appears you have been summoned to the dead zone. Dun-dun-dunnn.” He ended with a dark chuckle and eerily rubbed his hands together in front of his face.

The class giggled and Pepper felt a wave of embarrassment come over him. He could feel his cheeks flush as he stood up and made his way towards the door. He went for the handle but flinched when it opened just as he arrived.

Pepper’s eyes quickly focused on Tamin. High-end designer sunglasses glared right at him. A glossy shine reflected off the lenses, and he couldn’t help but notice that they matched the shine of Tamin’s greased hair. He wore a leather jacket with a button-up shirt and a gold chain around his neck. He stepped forward.

“You’re in my way, Peepers,” he muttered.

“Well, look who decided to bless us with his presence. We’re so happy you were able to make time out of your Hollywood lifestyle for us,” Mr. Dean said from behind Pepper.

Pepper made way for his nemesis to step into the classroom, but the two still chose to brush shoulders. This didn’t help to calm the seed of anxiety that was slowly growing inside him. There was a cold, grim feeling in the hallways as he went. He entered the front office and was instructed to take a seat in front of Principal Stephens’ office.

Though Pepper was no stranger to the front office, he was not used to being there without a known reason. He took a quick glance at his holodex. Battery is full… signal is strong… no unanswered messages from Mom or Dad.

“Mr. Walker.”

Pepper looked up to see Principal Stephens leaning out of his office. He waved Pepper in and then disappeared inside. Pepper stood up and paused. A quick scan of the room and he realized that the front office was empty. He turned around in a complete circle.

“Whenever you’re ready, Mr. Walker,” the principal emphasized.

There was an unusual harshness in Mr. Stephens’ voice. Pepper could feel his skin crawl, and his heart began to surrender to his anxiety. The seed which had started at his classroom, had now grown into a small tree. He stepped in and was immediately directed to close the door.

Pepper couldn’t help but notice the look of sheer exhaustion on the man’s face. The principal had just loosened his tie and undone his top shirt button. There were beads of sweat scattered across his forehead. He removed his glasses and wiped the sweat away with the back of his hand.

The uneasiness and quietness in the room finally caused Pepper to ask, “Is everything okay? Are you okay?”

A long sigh came from the principal. “Yeah… I’ll be alright.”

The answer was filled with such hesitation that Pepper couldn’t help but doubt the man. He countered, “You certainly don’t seem like it. You look like you had your own golem smashed to pieces in front of you.”

A nervous laugh rang out from the man sitting across from him. “You know… it’s funny you should say that. Because… that golem action. I sure do love it.” The principal stared out of the window. There seemed to be no hope in his eyes. The water in his eyes warned that tears could rain down at any moment.

Pepper’s anxiety was now simmering down, and confusion quickly replaced it. “Is there anything I can do?”

The phone on the desk rang. Mr. Stephens reached for it and sniffled before answering. “Go for Richey.”

There was a pause, and though Pepper tried to listen out of curiosity, he couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end.

“Okay, they are ready for him now?”

Pepper’s ears burned when Mr. Stephens made the statement. The mention left him believing he was the reference.

“Sure, sure. Okay… well. Let’s get this done and over with, then.” Mr. Stephens hung up the phone and let out another long sigh. “Mr. Walker, there are some people here to see you.”

Pepper’s heart was pounding. The anxiety which had subsided for a few seconds, returned like a tsunami wave. He now had a hundred questions and felt like he couldn’t even ask two or three, which could put his heart at ease. He wondered if his parents knew about whatever was about to happen.

The principal directed him to stand up. He reached for his office door and opened it. There was enough commotion in the front office that Pepper could hear people waiting for him.

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He slowly walked forward. His hands were clenched tight. The rest of his body tensed, and he mentally began to prepare himself to react to whatever awaited him. He immediately imaged Master Nate’s voice guided him into the fray. Pepper turned the corner and saw a camera and lights pointed at him.

The moment he stood in the doorway, Pepper heard a loud pop. Brightly colored paper confetti floated down from above. Balloons were strewn around the room, and a giant sign proclaimed in an excited font, “You’re going to GolemCon!”

He felt frozen, as if he was standing in the center of the Frost Arena. The sight of everything was hard to take in. The smiles and cheers of the faculty staff began to thaw him of his shock. It was Mr. Stephens, though, who helped reality sink in. The principal grabbed his shoulders from behind and shook him while congratulating him.

“Today, Status Academy is happy to announce that our winner of the GolemCon competition is none other than Pepper Walker! He will be getting an all-expenses-paid trip to the international convention—a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I know I am personally jealous of. Joel, go ahead and inform the rest of the school,” Principal Stephens declared.

Pepper glanced over to the side of the room and saw the vice principal. A slight cringe came over him as those two blue eyes glared back at him. The vice principal looked more like a stone statue than a person. He slowly walked over to the PA microphone and leaned over.

His voice was monotonous and lifeless, but he did as he was asked. “Attention, Status Academy. We are happy to announce that Pepper Walker has been selected as the GolemCon contest winner. Thank you.” The vice principal straightened up, turned to his supervisor, and nodded.

“Good job, buddy,” Mr. Stephens said from behind him.

Pepper felt Mr. Stephens give him a pat on the shoulder. But there was a loud resounding roar that came from down the hallway. The room seemed to shudder for a split second. Everyone turned around to see the source when they heard loud thudding steps quickly approaching.

A second later, Mr. Dean arrived, skidding to a stop. His arms were stretched out and his fingers clawed. His eyes were wide and held a slight look of derangement. He let out a loud roar of excitement and, with a small bend of his knees, gave off a Viking warrior demeanor.

It took everyone by surprise when he grabbed Pepper and picked him up. “Heck, yeah, man! This is awesome. I knew you would win.”

Pepper couldn’t help but chuckle and simply replied with the only thing that came to mind. “Thank you.”

“All right, all right. We still have an academy to run here,” Principal Stephens directed.

Mr. Dean lowered Pepper back to earth and gave him a pat on the shoulder as he departed. The staff slowly returned to their duties, but Vice Principal Harvey passed by him and entered the office.

Pepper’s reality sank in, but he still couldn’t help but ask the question. He turned and took a step inside the principal’s office. “Mr. Stephens.” Though he addressed the one, both men looked towards him. “I didn’t think my letter was really that good. Are you telling me that I seriously was chosen over everyone else?”

The two teachers looked at each other and smiled. Mr. Harvey began to approach and got uncomfortably within Pepper’s personal space. “You’re in the way.”

How am I in the way? There’s plenty of room for him to move around. Pepper then noticed that Mr. Harvey was actually reaching out to close the door behind him. The reference was directed towards him getting out of the pathway of the door rather than the teacher. “Sorry,” he replied.

He heard the door click shut and was directed to take a seat. Vice Principal Harvey sat down next to him, and Mr. Stephens leaned back in his chair and kicked his feet up on the desk. The gesture, which could have been taken as unprofessional, actually helped Pepper feel more relaxed and at ease.

Mr. Stephens chuckled. “Man, we got you so good.”

“You should have seen your face,” Mr. Harvey replied in his lifeless monotone.

“Right, Joel, ha! Classic,” Mr. Stephens replied with a snap of his fingers. The principal linked his hands behind his head. “Well, Mr. Walker. To answer your question. Yes, your letter was not that great. In fact, it was pretty bad.”

“It was terrible,” Mr. Harvey added.

“Like complete and utter garbage,” Mr. Stephens said with a slightly smug expression. “But…” He leaned forward and took hold of a folder, quickly opened it and began sifting through a multitude of papers. “Let’s see… we had Miss Summer Miller and her brother, Jackson.”

“His letter was better written than yours,” Mr. Harvey interjected.

“Miss Andrea Brewer’s letter.” Pepper’s heart fluttered when he heard Andrea’s name. There was no time to daydream, though, as the list continued. “There was Mrs. KT Hanna’s letter. Mr. Ryan Maxwell’s letter. Your friend Mr. Brent Daniels. Your mom and dad wrote very lovely letters. A Mr. Reggie Manning wrote a very nice letter as well. Let’s see… there was, of course, Mr. Charles Dean, Mr. Joel Harvey, and my letter. And finally, the one that really stood out was your Olympic gold medal neighbor, Mr. Ryan DeBruyn.”

Pepper could feel his eyes widen. Ryan is an Olympic gold medalist!? What the actual—? “Wow.”

“Wow is right, Owen Wilson. He wrote one really impressive letter.”

I really need to stop saying wow … Pepper thought. “Well, you seriously threw me for a loop. I was totally convinced you had some type of meltdown going on or something.”

Mr. Stephens chuckled. “It’s called acting, Mr. Walker. Believe it or not, you are looking at the two students who were the highest award-winning actors in drama class here at Status Academy.”

“All four years,” Mr. Harvey muttered.

Mr. Stephens kicked his feet off the desk and reached down towards the floor. He lifted a small spray bottle. A slight jiggle allowed the water to splash from side to side. “A little fake sweat to really raise the tension. Haha! You totally bought it too.”

Pepper chuckled. “You got me there. It was a great performance.”

“Everything is a performance,” Mr. Harvey added softly.

Though the vice principal continued to give him an eerie feel, Pepper was filled with the warm sensation of love and appreciation. The longer he sat in the office, the more he thought over every name that had been read off to him.

“There is only one more thing I need you to do, Mr. Walker. Well, two things, now that I think about it.”

“Sure. What is it, Mr. Stephens?”

“One, stay out of trouble. Two… enjoy every moment of that convention.” The principal smiled.