Medford High School was the only public high school in the small town of Deford, Texas.
Since it was tuition-free, this welfare-style public school was super popular with locals.
Fun fact: both young Sheldon and his brother George went to high school here.
In Connie's car, Mike was riding shotgun up front, while Dennis sat quietly in the back seat.
"Dennis, you still mad about yesterday?" Mike asked, turning his head. "Connie, trust me, I didn't mean to."
Yesterday, Dennis had woken up in the car to find Mike gone and nearly had a heart attack.
Later, he'd calmed down thanks to Connie's secret-recipe barbecue and a few beers with George. But ever since, every time he looked at Mike, his eyes had this "hurt" vibe, and he'd been giving him the silent treatment.
"Grown man throwing a tantrum like a little kid," Mike said with a shrug when Dennis kept ignoring him, acting all helpless.
Connie, who was driving, couldn't help but chuckle at their banter. You could tell she really liked Mike—this handsome, outgoing kid.
She grinned and asked, "Mike, wanna feel what it's like to drive yourself to school?"
"Heck yeah!" Mike replied. "That'd be awesome, right?"
From the back seat, Dennis finally couldn't hold it in anymore. "No way, Mike—you're not even sixteen yet. Driving would be illegal…"
Seeing Dennis finally speak up, Mike and Connie exchanged a quick glance and both cracked up laughing.
Dennis realized they'd just been messing with him.
Once he cooled off, he said seriously, "Listen, Mike—I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at myself. I shouldn't have let you drive the RV.
And until you get your license, I don't want you touching a steering wheel again."
Mike knew Dennis was just looking out for him. He waved a hand toward the back seat and said, "Got it~"
Dennis had just started to relax when Mike added, "So, Dennis… when I'm taking the driving test, can I touch the wheel then?"
…
In the principal's office, Principal Tom—pushing sixty—held Mike's transfer file in his hands.
Noticing there was no reason listed for the transfer, he asked curiously, "Can you give me the specific reason why Mike's transferring?"
Dennis was handling all the transfer details, so he spoke up. "Sorry, that's private—I can't tell you.
But I can promise you, Mike's a good, responsible kid.
The transfer issue wasn't his fault at all. He just got caught up in some bad luck."
Connie, who didn't know the real reason either, jumped in to help. "Tom, come on—does Mike look like a troublemaker to you? And check outside the door. Look how popular he is!"
Since it was a big day, Mike had put some extra effort into his appearance that morning.
In a sharp black casual suit that matched his gorgeous face, the second he stepped onto campus, he'd caught the attention of pretty much every girl there.
They'd started calling their friends over, following him around like he was some kind of celebrity.
Even after he went into the principal's office, they wouldn't leave. They crowded around the door, stretching their necks like a flock of ostriches, trying to peek inside.
American high schools are all about freedom and self-expression, and high schoolers are at that age where they're the most outgoing.
So when the principal caught these girls "spying," they didn't even try to hide it. They kept staring at Mike's profile, giggling and whispering the whole time.
"This is ridiculous…" Principal Tom muttered. He walked to the door and looked out—the hallway was packed with excited teenage girls.
He'd bet this was the most "popular" his office had ever been.
Inside, Dennis glanced at the mob of fangirls, shook his head in disbelief, and patted Mike on the shoulder. "Mike, buddy… you gotta watch out for yourself at this school."
Connie nodded knowingly. "Yeah, at least remember to carry a little umbrella before they eat you alive."
"Connie, he's still a kid…" Dennis said, rolling his eyes at the not-exactly-PG joke.
"Oh, I'm just kidding~" Connie threw her hands up in surrender.
After calming Dennis down, she leaned over to Mike and whispered, "If you ever need any… the corner store's got 'em."
The office wasn't that big—Dennis heard every word. This time, though, he surprisingly didn't say anything back.
Mike honestly hadn't expected his looks to cause this much chaos.
As for Connie's well-meaning "advice," he just played dumb and leaned fully into the good-kid act.
Out in the hall, Principal Tom was trying to shoo the girls away, but they didn't budge until the bell rang for class.
"No mistakes here—first release of this novel!"
"Alright, listen up," he finally barked, pulling out a little notebook. "In three minutes, if anybody's still out here, I'm docking points!"
Sure enough, threatening grades worked like magic on high schoolers.
The second he said it, the girls scattered like birds, rushing back to their classrooms.
Once the hallway cleared, Principal Tom closed the door, sat back down in his leather chair, and wiped the sweat off his forehead.
He couldn't help stealing another glance at Mike's ridiculously handsome face—his expression a mix of envy… and more envy.
"Okay, I've got the basics on you," he said, pulling a test packet from his drawer. "You've got one hour. If you pass, you can join eleventh grade. Got it?"
"Got it~" Mike replied politely, taking the test and heading to a side table.
When he opened it, though, he was a little surprised—this was actually a full twelfth-grade comprehensive exam.
Back at his old school, Mike had just finished tenth grade. After summer break, he'd normally be starting eleventh.
Usually, they'd test him on tenth-grade material.
But looking at the principal's wrinkled old face, Mike couldn't help but think (a little mischievously) that his good looks had probably offended the guy, so he'd thrown a harder test at him to make things tough.
Thing is, Mike's brain already had college-level knowledge loaded in.
Ever since his IQ shot up past 140, all those forgotten lessons from his old teachers had come rushing back.
So this little "challenge" from Principal Tom? It wasn't gonna trip him up.
…
Just over twenty minutes later, the completed test was back on the principal's desk.
"Mike, if the questions are too hard, you can ask me for a different packet," Principal Tom said with a smug little grin.
He figured Mike had given up because he finished so fast.
"Nah, this one's perfect," Mike said confidently.