The bell rang to signal the start of school, and the students began to settle in their seats. Just as Mr. Clark, the history teacher, was about to take attendance, the door creaked open and in strolled John, clearly late and utterly unbothered.
Mr. Clark raised an eyebrow. “John, why are you late?”
John shrugged coolly and said, “I was on Cherry Hill.” Then he casually sat down like he’d just explained something profound.
Mr. Clark blinked. “Cherry Hill? Alright then…” He marked John as present and moved on.
Ten minutes later, the door opened again. Nathan walked in, hair windblown, shoes muddy, and a big grin on his face.
Mr. Clark sighed. “Let me guess. Cherry Hill?”
Nathan gave a thumbs up. “Yep. Cherry Hill.” And he plopped into his seat, looking like he’d just won a game show.
Mr. Clark was now genuinely puzzled. He leaned over to the teacher’s assistant and whispered, “What is going on with this Cherry Hill? Is it a bus stop? A new café?”
But before he could investigate, the door opened yet again. Lily came in, breathless and red-faced.
“Cherry Hill?” Mr. Clark asked dryly.
She nodded. “Mhm. Definitely Cherry Hill.”
By now the entire class was whispering, giggling, and some students even started chanting “Cherry Hill! Cherry Hill!”
Suddenly, the principal popped his head into the classroom.
“Mr. Clark, I need to speak with you for a moment. In private.”
Out in the hallway, the principal looked serious. “I just wanted to warn you. We’re hearing that a lot of students are arriving late today and all giving the same excuse: Cherry Hill.”
Mr. Clark sighed. “Yes, three of mine so far. What is it? A secret amusement park?”
The principal looked confused. “I have no idea, but I’m going to check Google Maps.”
The next morning, Mr. Clark was prepared. He stood at the door with a clipboard and a raised eyebrow.
Sure enough, as the bell rang, in walked Kenny, ten minutes late and whistling.
“Cherry Hill?” asked Mr. Clark, not even looking up.
Kenny looked surprised. “How did you know?!”
“Wild guess,” Mr. Clark muttered.
By the end of the week, twelve students had used the “Cherry Hill” excuse. Even the janitor claimed he was late to mop the hallway because, “I passed by Cherry Hill, and it got a little wild.”
Finally, Mr. Clark had had enough. He assigned the class an essay due Monday: “The Strategic Importance of Cherry Hill in Modern History.”
On Monday, all the students submitted their essays… and every single one was completely blank.
When Mr. Clark asked why, they all said in perfect unison: “Sorry, Mr. Clark. We wrote it… but we left it on Cherry Hill.”
Mr. Clark took a long sip of his coffee, stared at the ceiling, and muttered, “I need a vacation. Preferably not on Cherry Hill.”
