Senior Prank (9781620957295) (18 page)

At 11:57, a stranger in a Mickey Mouse mask entered the auditorium. Heads turned as the man in the mask slowly walked towards the front. Most thought it had to be Elvis since he was the master of surprises. The masked man went to the front, made sure the microphone was on by tapping on it, bent over and said loudly, “Guess who's here?”

After a few seconds, he ripped off the mask and said no more. The place erupted.

Folks ran to him like he was Jesus about to perform miracles. Cameras flashed and fellow classmates jumped in with items to sign and photo requests. Elvis signed the items, posed for photos and after about 10 minutes, the school's new principal, asked all to be seated. Elvis looked over and there was Winston, older looking but with a smile. His hair was gray and he weighed about 20 more pounds than he did on that graduation night. Elvis walked over to Winston, stuck out his hand, and said, “Well, I guess today is the day you learn it all. Good to see you.”

“That's the reason I came,” answered Winston. “When you going to tell me?”

After everyone was seated, Winston sitting next to Elvis, the new principal welcomed the former students back and laid out the rules for the school visit. For the 75 minutes, students could visit anywhere on school grounds. He gave them maps with some of the changes that had taken place since they had departed.

Elvis told Lamont and Jose he'd meet them back at the auditorium at 1 p.m., but first he was going to fulfill his promise to Winston. Elvis told them his limo was leaving at 1:15 and he wanted one last time to say goodbye.

Winston and Elvis headed out of the auditorium. Elvis told him he would take him place by place and tell him what he knew. They started with the mice in the auditorium. “This was easy,” Elvis told Winston. “I borrowed Chin Lee's science project where he made a garage door opener using a shoe box. He had it on remote control. I stuffed it full of mice. When you opened the door, it signaled the remote, letting out the mice.

“Now here's where it gets tricky,” Elvis continued. “Missy Pulston acted stupid in front of the governor. A few weeks earlier in Ms. Blossom's chemistry class, I developed, by accident, a formula that would change people's personalities making them the opposite of what they were. It would last about 10 minutes.”

“Elvis, that can't be,” Winston answered. “I just don't believe that.”

“Well, it's true. On that day I used it on Missy, Hian and Big Bear. Remember Aaron at the senior banquet. We, I should say I, used it on him.”

“I still don't believe that,” Winston said, shaking his head.

“Think back to that day,” answered Elvis. “Hian was cussing like crazy and Big Bear was acting, let's just say gay. Those are the opposites of their true nature.”

“What you're saying makes sense, but I can't believe that. You have to be making it up,” Winston said. “I think they were acting on their own. Why? I don't know, but I think we'll never know. I would have heard about it long before this. ”

“The key was that they couldn't remember any of it,” said Elvis. “We blew the formula in their face and for 10 minutes enjoyed the show. Believe me, that's the truth.”

“Hard for me to accept,” Winston said, “but if you say so I got to believe it. Guess it makes sense in some regards. A chemistry formula…wow.”

Elvis told him that the next step, the governor going into the media center and catching McCarthy's class playing on the computers wasn't on the agenda and that he got lucky there. He cut the cord to the fan in the copy room, which was attached to the back side of the media center. So, the young ladies propped the door open to create ventilation. They also were wearing attention getting clothing, as they usually do, so when the governor saw the open door with the hot looking ladies, he went inside.

The next step was Ms. Heron's class. Elvis explained a few students set up a remote control fart machine for class and that Hian's behavior was caused by the chemistry class discovery. The backed up toilet was a usual daily occurrence. Winston was just unlucky in the timing.

The ROTC poker game was a set up. Elvis told Winston he studied the governor's visits and every time he went to a school he visited the ROTC room. It was a good political move. So, Elvis recruited two of his classmates to go to the supply room, lure and keep Major Charles there for at least 15 minutes. He knew once the Major left the room, the poker game usually broke out. The governor was able to disrupt the game, and when the Major found out he loaded up on physical exercise for the ROTC members.

“He was really angry; he felt tricked,” said Elvis.

Elvis told him the campaign signs were courtesy of Larry Lowell. Larry's mother was the county campaign manager for the governor's opponent, Mark Busch. Busch had had promised Larry's mother s a cabinet job if he was elected. So, Elvis suggested the signs and Larry was glad to oblige.

Next came the football office. Elvis used the formula on Big Bear, but Winston was still not convinced that was true. Elvis continued that Lamont and Jose had told some of their friends, who were football players at Westside, they had a surefire way to get Big Bear out of the game. All they had to do what put a spear and manure on the football field during the governor's visit and Elvis would tell them. Later, when they saw Big Bear's interaction with the governor on YouTube, they knew how to get Bear out of the game. It worked.

About the water on the governor's wife, Elvis told Winston originally he had put up $100 to anyone who would do it, making it look like an accident. Nobody took him up on the offer, so he dropped the idea, but got lucky when a football player really did trip. “Sometimes the stars line up in our favor,” Elvis told Winston.

The football to the limo as a result of a collaborator to their plan to bet the students tossing the football they couldn't complete a long pass. The timing was the key, and like clockwork, the plan got lucky when the ball hit the limo.

As for the pigs that almost ran over the governor's wife, Elvis knew that the pigs liked to hang out near the gate around lunch time because of the smell of food. Unlocking the gate was the easy part. Often students strolled over from the cafeteria and fed the pigs so the pigs knew where the food was. He knew students, as was the custom, loved to chase the pigs. It was another stroke of perfect timing.

“That's it for the day, except for those two students kissing,” Elvis said. “They did that almost every day during that class. A few of my classmates got them all horny that day by talking about sex. Guess they couldn't wait.”

“Now Elvis, I can believe most of this but the formula still sounds hard to fathom,” Winston answered. “I got to take you at your word. Now what about the graduation pie fight.”

“I had nothing to do with that one,” Elvis shot back. “Best I can figure, it was Lamont or Jose or both of them. They told me they wanted to do something that everyone would remember.”

“You're wrong there Elvis,” Winston answered. “You're not going to believe this, but it was me who set that all up. I wanted to see who would claim it. Looks like nobody ever did. The amazing thing is that has become a tradition for many schools across the country. I laugh every time I hear or see a story about a graduation pie fight.”

“Why did you do that?” Elvis asked.

“I got tired of the kids having all the fun,” Winston said. “I wanted to see how it felt to do something out of the box. Something against the rules. You ought to know about that. Hey, I was retiring anyway, so I wanted to leave a mark. This is the first and only time I will ever admit to doing it. Lips are sealed for both of us from now on.”

With that the pair headed back to the auditorium. Jose and Lamont were conversing with some of the few students remaining. Winston went off to the side to see some of the students he hadn't yet spoken with. Lamont, Jose and Elvis stood there, just like old times.

Lamont turned around picked up two shoe boxes and handed one each to Elvis and Jose. They opened them, finding a pair of LS HD 200 running shoes. “You can wear them on stage,” Lamont told Elvis. “Jose, keep them for your kids…they may be worth something someday.” He signed them to his lifelong friends.

The trio exchanged hugs, final greetings, and handshakes. Jose broke the ice.

“This sure brings back the memories,” he said. “Since we left this place, I look back and think of the fun we had here. There will never be those times again. Life is too busy for us all. I often think of many of those times and smile. By the way did you tell Winston about it all?”

“Sure did,” Elvis answered. “Even the formula stuff. I don't think he believed me. It does seem hard to believe…us inventing such a formula.”

“Did you tell him about pies at graduation?” Lamont asked.

“I didn't have anything to do with it,” Elvis said. “I always thought it was one or both of you.”

“Who did that then?” Jose asked to the pair.

“Guess we'll never know,” Elvis said, avoiding the real answer.

“Stay in touch. See ya down the road,” Elvis said, turning to exit.

With that Winston came over to Elvis and offered his hand. The pair shook hands and hugged. Winston then addressed the singer.

“Elvis thanks for clearing that up for me,” Winston said. “It's long gone, but it has always bothered me. It was four hours I'd rather forget.

“Let me say this about you. I have been around schools for 40 years and nobody, and I mean nobody, has been able to pull the pranks you did in my career at this school.'

Winston continued, “Sometimes they were funny. Even I had to laugh. You were the king, truly the king of pranks. Guess it's true what they say. Elvis is the king. Things will never be the same around here, because as they say Elvis has left the building. The king is dead.”

Elvis said, “Thank you, thank you, every much,” turned and left the auditorium.

With that, he left a legacy that to this day is unequaled in high schools across America, thanks to a wayward chemistry experiment.

Just then a ton of mice ran across the auditorium floor and the lights went out. Elvis had left a final message. He still was The King.

THE END