High School High

It was the last day of school, and Neil was glad. He'd enjoyed his 27th invigorating year of teaching high school English. He truly loved his profession, and while he'd miss all of his students, Neil needed a break from the everyday grind.

As part of his daily ritual, Neil went to his mailbox, collected meaningless mail, then arrived right on schedule, as usual, at room 324. The same routine, one last time for this year. Or so Neil thought.

Upon opening the door to the classroom, Neil was greeted by a room filled with balloons. Red, white and blue balloons. Hundreds of balloons. He waded through them to his desk.
Neil was stunned. He wondered what this was all about.

The surprise, though, had just begun.
A voice startled Neil. In the doorway was a stranger addressing him.

"Hello, I'm Adam Keller from the Buffalo News, and I'd like to ask you a few questions if you have time."

"What about?"

"Don't you know?"

"Know what?"

"Oh, I thought you knew. I sure don't want to spoil the fun."

Just then Neil was paged over the PA. "Mr. Neil Barnes: report to the main foyer."

"Well, I'll just tag along, if you don't mind," said the reporter.

En route, Neil, ever the consummate professional, managed polite questions about Adam's tenure with the News. His mind, though, was reeling.

They turned the corner. Neil found before him all of his students, the school's marching band, the cheerleaders, the school board members, the assistant principals, the principal, and the superintendent of schools.

Before he had a chance to assimilate his thoughts, Superintendent Johnsen spoke.

"Mr. Barnes! Let us be the first to congratulate you on becoming the national teacher of the year!"

Neil choked back tears. Surely this was an atypical day.