Daniel sat in Principal Wormer's office. He had heard all of the stories-the uncomfortable wooden, raised desk to make students feel smaller, the dim lighting to instill fear. Everything about that place was meant to be as daunting as a police station questioning room.
Daniel studied the contents on Wormer's desk-a judge's gavel, sunglasses that could have put out the sun, and a stuffed hawk with open talons perched next to a computer.
Daniel sat shaking his leg, trying to shake loose his nervousness. Then, the door opened. Wormer stood looming in the doorway like a Kodiak bear. Daniel could feel his heart flutter in his throat.
"Well, Mister Villalobos, it seems as if you're a little out of your element, doesn't it?" Wormer barked, rubbing a stain on his blazer. He seated himself behind his gigantic desk and pierced Daniel with his sharp, gray eyes.
"Sir?" Daniel managed to sputter.
"I've never seen you in here before. In the two years you've been at Tolbert Middle School, you've never so much as received a detention."
"Yes, sir."
"So why do you suddenly feel the need to grace my office with your presence?"
Daniel searched for words. He knew that he had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. When the food fight broke out during lunch, he just happened to be sitting next to Clinton Pearle, the guy who started the whole thing. In fact, it was Daniel's mashed potatoes and gravy that Clinton threw and that Principal Wormer now wore on his blazer. After Clinton threw the potatoes, flying food filled the entire lunchroom.
It seemed easy enough. Just tell Wormer that it was Clinton. The problem was that Clinton was the school's biggest bully. In fact, no one was willing to blame Clinton even though several people saw him lob the mashed potatoes into the air. Those witnesses didn't want to be the ones to rat him out. Now, Daniel would get in trouble with either Wormer or Clinton. Neither prospect seemed fair.
"Well? Speak up, son!" Wormer growled. "I have to take this jacket to the cleaners."
Daniel stopped shaking his leg. "Sir," Daniel spoke calmly, "I am a straight-A student, and as you stated, I have never been in trouble in the two years I have been here. You can ask any of my teachers about me. I'm not the kind of person who seeks out trouble."
"Then, tell me who started the food fight. Tell me who I should punish."
"Sir, respectfully, that's not my job. I never miss school. I never cause trouble. My record speaks for itself. Ask anyone else I was sitting with. They may not tell you who started the food fight, but I am sure they will say that I did not cause it."
Daniel's heart stopped beating.
"Mr. Villalobos," Wormer said, "I am going to take your spotless record into consideration. You can go back to class."
Daniel stood, and suddenly, the office didn't seem so scary. That didn't mean he wanted to go back there again, but Daniel felt better about the fact that his first time in Wormer's office would definitely be his last.
