Students arriving at the library last month were met with an unexpected sight: a mysterious framed photograph hanging above the entrance doors. No announcement. No explanation. Just a dramatic portrait that seemed to appear overnight.

Naturally, questions spread quickly. Who is the person in the photo? How did it get there? And why now?

Opinions varied widely.

Mrs. Englehardt said, “Oh my gosh I am dying. This is awesome!”

Mr. Spencer Sloan offered the most detailed—and arguably the strangest—explanation. According to Sloan, the picture is no accident at all.

“Oh, it’s no accident,” Sloan said. “I was once told this story by McKay Erickson. It’s the long-lost official portrait of Dr. Reginald P. Macintosh, the school’s legendary former librarian from the 1980s.”

Sloan went on to explain that Dr. Macintosh was known for his obsession with knowledge—and apples. “He claimed they ‘kept the students away,’ but mostly he just loved snacking while shushing people,” Sloan said. Macintosh was also reportedly responsible for transforming the library into a “media center” after secretly bringing in the school’s first Apple II computer in 1983, hidden beneath a stack of encyclopedias.

Legend has it that the portrait was taken after Macintosh won a bet with the principal, who promised to hang the photo permanently if every student checked out at least one book that year. The portrait later vanished during the move to the new school, with rumors suggesting jealous teachers hid it because “he looked too cool.”

According to Sloan, the mystery may have been solved recently. “The night custodian swears he found it rolled up behind some old VHS tapes last week and re-hung it as a tribute,” Sloan said. Since then, students have reportedly begun leaving apples on the checkout desk as offerings. “Coincidence?” Sloan added. “Or is Dr. Macintosh watching from beyond the frame, waiting for someone to finally return that overdue copy of 1984?”

Not everyone is convinced.

Counselor Jeff Johnson expressed a far more confused reaction to the sudden appearance of the photo. “I am probably the ONLY one (actually, I’m not…) who is wondering who the world this is?” Johnson said. “Where did it come from? What is happening right now??”

Johnson admitted he’s comfortable not knowing the answer—even if it turns out to be someone famous. “I am totally ok with feeling like an idiot if it is some famous person, and I don’t know who it is! I thought it was maybe a promo photo for John Tesh selling a book in the 80’s,” he added.

For now, the portrait remains above the library doors, silently watching students come and go. Whether it’s a forgotten piece of school history, an inside joke taken too far, or something a little stranger, one thing is certain: the library has never been this interesting.