On Wednesday morning, the school only had one class before a temporary notice was issued from the principal's office, instructing all teachers and students to gather in the auditorium for a meeting. The school had an important announcement to make.
"A meeting? What kind of meeting…?"
As she walked up the steps to the auditorium, Lily grumbled to her two female companions, clearly annoyed, "is he going to introduce new school rules to restrict and persecute us again?"
One of her companions, a complete echo of Lily, chimed in, "Exactly! He's the worst principal I've ever seen!"
The other companion added, "Lily, your mom is very influential in Los Angeles. Why don't you ask her to deal with him?"
"Well…"
Hearing her companion mention her mother, Lily's fiery demeanor instantly vanished. She changed her tune, saying, "Let's hurry up. It's getting late."
She quickened her pace, leading the way up the steps and into the auditorium, her two companions trailing behind her like shadows.
The auditorium wasn't particularly crowded; there were still many empty seats. Lily found a less populated spot towards the back and sat down to wait patiently. Both of her female companions sat to her right.
Lily didn't want to draw attention to herself in such a setting, especially not the principal's. She remembered how the principal was probably still fuming from her actions.
She was the captain of the school's cheerleading squad, holding significant sway within the team, and also dictated the school's fashion and dress code. Her attire and style set the trend for the entire school.
A few months ago, she wore a short skirt and was caught by the principal, who deemed it a violation of the school's dress code regarding skirts. This led to a series of troubles: accusations of bullying her teammates, hazing new cheerleaders, mocking classmates, and so on. In the principal's eyes, she was simply a heinous villain.
"Am I really that bad?" Lily muttered.
In any case, few of the students around her thought the principal was particularly good.
A boy walked over at that moment, glanced at Lily, and pointed to the empty seat to her left, asking, "Lily, can I sit here?"
Lily eyed the boy askance and directly replied, "No!"
The boy opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something else, but seeing Lily's gaze grow increasingly sharp, he stammered, "I… I… I'll just go."
He quickly left the area.
Lily turned to one of her companions on her right and said, "Larry, you sit on my left."
"Okay!" The girl responded, quickly moving to the seat on Lily's left.
Students continued to file into the auditorium, and the seats gradually filled up. Lily watched the main stage, lost in thought.
The villainous principal would soon appear on the stage, and as usual, he would ramble on and on, annoying everyone. What could be done about it?
"Oh, I wonder if Matthew Horner received the letter I sent," Lily mused, resting her chin in her hand. "How great would it be if Will Turner could come now? He could deal with that villainous principal just like he beat up pirates."
Every girl has a Disney princess dream, fantasizing that one day, a prince with a sword will ride in on a white horse to rescue her from distress.
Behind the auditorium's main stage, Matthew stood before a mirror taller than himself, checking his appearance. After more than half a year, he had once again transformed into Will Turner.
"is this okay?" the stylist asked.
Matthew nodded. "Everything's the same as during filming, except for the hair."
He had already cut his long hair short and wasn't wearing a wig, as this wasn't a movie shoot, after all.
Helen Herman walked over at that moment and whispered to Matthew, "I just spoke with the principal. He only prepared a one-minute speech. You go up after he's spoken for a minute."
Matthew drew the aluminum alloy saber from his waist, glanced at it, and then slid it back into its sheath, saying, "No problem."
Inside the auditorium, as the start time of the meeting drew nearer, footsteps suddenly echoed from the entrance. Lily snapped out of her thoughts, turned to look, and saw many reporters and cameramen entering the auditorium.
"is today's meeting very important?" her companion on the left asked curiously.
It was just curiosity, with no hint of surprise.
Including Lily, no one was surprised to see reporters in the auditorium.
Harvard-Westlake School was a renowned institution, even within the entire state of California, and media reporters often came to interview.
However, today's scale seemed a bit grander. Lily spotted the ABC television logo on one of the cameras.
The previously noisy auditorium suddenly quieted down rapidly. Lily didn't even need to look to know that the Principal, the Great Demon King, had walked onto the stage. She snuck a glance and confirmed it; the Principal, the Great Demon King, stood behind the podium with a microphone.
Without thinking, she pulled out her earphones from her pocket, put them in her ears, connected them to her music player, and turned up the volume. This way, she wouldn't have to listen to the Principal, the Great Demon King's annoying voice.
Lily listened to music, watching the Principal, the Great Demon King's mouth open and close, but unable to hear what he was saying. She found it quite amusing. She wasn't the only one; many students had made similar choices. The principal was clearly not very popular among the students.
The principal's speech lasted less than a minute, when suddenly, something changed on the main stage.
Initially, Lily was listening to music and watching the Principal, the Great Demon King's comical mouth movements, but then someone walked onto the stage from the side.
"What?!" Lily ripped off her earphones.
The girls on either side of her were also stunned, staring intently at the tall, agile man on stage, unsure of what was happening.
Lily's eyes instantly widened, and disbelief slowly dawned in them.
The man was tall, well-built, with rugged features, dressed in medieval attire, and carrying an old-fashioned saber.
"Will Turner!" Lily had seen the movie and was absolutely captivated by the character, so there was no way she wouldn't recognize him. She murmured, "Matthew Horner!"
Then, she covered her mouth, tears of excitement welling in her eyes.
Inside the auditorium, all the cameras and camcorders were aimed at the two people on the main stage.
Some teachers and students with camera-equipped phones also pulled out their devices, pointing them at the principal and the suddenly appearing formidable man.
"Are you the warden here?" An emphatic British accent echoed from the main stage, "Are you?"
The students in the auditorium couldn't help but laugh. Lily also grinned, her mouth open. Wasn't that exactly it? The principal was like a mad warden, and they were all his prisoners!
"Who are you?" the principal demanded, glaring.
"A good friend of mine wrote to me…"
This voice, to Lily's ears, was like music from heaven. "Saying you've been running rampant here, doing all sorts of evil deeds!"
Hearing this, Lily trembled with excitement, grabbing a companion's hand and exclaiming, "Larry, did you hear that? He came for me! He received my letter! He's here to save me!"
This was her hero! This was her prince!
"Today!" that captivating voice resounded again. "On behalf of my friend, on behalf of all the good people you've exploited here, on behalf of justice, on behalf of the sun, on behalf of the moon… I shall punish you!"
Another wave of laughter swept through the auditorium. Although tears continuously welled in Lily's eyes, she also laughed.
She kept her eyes fixed on him, watching as her prince drew his saber and walked towards the principal. The principal was clearly scared, backing away step by step.
Just like all the villains in movies, the principal retreated, saying, "What do you want to do?"
"I want to free everyone you've oppressed!"
Lily didn't want to blink. She watched as her prince stepped forward and struck the Great Demon King Principal with his sword. The principal immediately let out a scream.
"Good!" She jumped up, shouting towards the main stage, "Well done! Matthew! Will! Hit him hard for me!"
With someone leading the charge, more jeering voices instantly erupted in the auditorium: "Hit him hard!"
"Hit him!"
"Beat him up for us!"
Matthew glanced below the main stage, knowing that this act had to end quickly. Otherwise, if any student got too excited and rushed onto the stage, things would get troublesome.
He winked at the principal, who understood and nodded slightly.
Then, Matthew aimed his left fist at the principal's face and threw a punch. They had rehearsed this simple sequence a few times, and the principal, showing some acting talent, immediately cooperated by falling to the ground.
Thud—
The principal collapsed onto the main stage.
"Good!"
"Well done!"
"Great job!"
"Will Turner, I love you!"
"Matthew, you're the best!"
A chorus of voices erupted from the auditorium. Matthew pointed at the principal on the ground and declared loudly, "I'm taking him away now. I'll have a good talk with him. As for you all…"
He executed a very elegant flourish with his sword, pointing it at the students below the main stage, and proclaimed, "You are now free!"
"Wow…"
"Alright!"
Another wave of excited cheers erupted.
Although the school had prepared in advance and developed contingency plans for overly excited students, Matthew was still very mindful of the atmosphere. Seeing that the act was nearing its end, he glanced at the area where the media reporters were concentrated and saw the tall and imposing Elena Boyar making a gesture, indicating it was time to exit.
He walked over to the principal and waved his hand towards one side of the main stage. Immediately, two burly men disguised as pirates came up and escorted the principal off the stage with them.
Once behind the thick curtain, the principal immediately returned to normal.
Matthew gave him a thumbs-up. "Mr. Pierson, you have great acting potential. It's a shame you're not pursuing a career in Hollywood."
Principal Pierson composed himself and said earnestly, "Being a principal is still a better fit for me!"
"Will! Will! Will!"
Suddenly, shouts erupted from inside the auditorium. The voices, initially chaotic, gradually became uniform. First, they chanted Will Turner's name, then shifted to Matthew.
"Matthew! Matthew! Matthew! Matthew…"
As an active participant, Matthew knew that many teachers in the auditorium were undercover and would appropriately guide the students' emotions.
Principal Pierson then said to Matthew, "Go out and meet them, and interact with them."