It was early on a Monday morning. The sky was dark and gloomy. The ground was wet from the intense rainstorm from the night before.

Mr. Brandon Preator walked into the illuminated Powell High School, in hopes of a great day before him. As he approached his classroom door, he pulled out his ring of keys he had just previously placed in his front pocket. Slowly, he creaked open the large wooden door.

What he didn’t realize was he had just entered … the parallel universe … of Far Far Away.     

As most Powell High School students know, Mr. Preator has been widely affiliated with the DreamWorks character Shrek. He has over 10 visible Shrek’s throughout his classroom.

Every obsession starts with a simple story. Mr. Preator’s began when he started teaching Spanish and a conflict arose with an activity he instructs his class to do most days.

“Years ago when I started teaching Spanish, we have a question, ‘Dónde está Shrek?’ Well the question originally was ‘Dónde está la televisión?’ Well the TV never moved, and so the kids would always answer the same way,” Mr. Preator said. “I was like, ‘Well, they’re not learning anything, they are just memorizing where the TV is.’ I needed something that could move up, down, all around, in front of something, behind something. So I went home one day, and I was looking through my kids’ toys, and I found this Shrek doll from McDonald’s, and i said, ‘Oh, I’ll use Shrek.’”

So the whole obsession began with a simple teaching prop, nothing big. Ever since, students through the years have associated Shrek with Mr. Preator and had given him anything Shrek-related that they can find. This collection went from one or two figurines to one life-size Shrek, a miniature Shrek village, a Shrek sticker on his ceiling window, six posters with Shrek placed on them and “baby Shrek” sitting on the top of the whiteboard, not to mention any other Shreks or Shrek characters that may appear.

“Shrek moves now by himself. Shrek has been thrown away multiple times in the trash, accidentally or on purpose, and Shrek keeps coming back. So it’s more of a Shrek is haunting me than an obsession that I have with Shrek,” Mr. Preator said. “I can’t get rid of him. Shrek has been stolen before and comes back. Tossed in the garbage and comes back. I’m more fearful for my life now as a teacher because of Shrek.”

So maybe it’s an obsession after all. It turns out Mr. Preator is scared for his life because Shrek has taken control. Legend has it that no matter where Shrek goes, he will always return to Mr. Preator’s classroom. The question is: Should students fear for their lives as well? Is it safe to continue class with the Shrek tribe?

“Just be careful because Shrek’s always watching,” Mr. Preator said. “Shrek is everywhere and just be careful.”

What started as a simple learning tool and moved on to a figure that is haunting Mr. Preator’s classroom, Shrek has become an iconic symbol throughout Powell High School. Whenever you hear the name Shrek, it is most likely in a sentence that also includes Mr. Preator. However, keep your eyes peeled for the two missing Shreks running throughout the school. They have gone missing, and if they are alive as Mr. Preator believes they are, they could be right behind you …