Nathan sat in the hard, plastic chair. He tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for his "talk" with the principal. Again. The constant ticking of the clock was the only sound in the desolate room. Nathan wondered if the teachers had painted everything gray to purposely increase the sense of impending doom. If not for the fact he was in trouble, Nathan would enjoy spending extra time at school. Anything was better than home. Even talking to the principal.
The swoosh of air that accompanied the opening of a door pulled Nthan out of his thoughts and into reality. A prim-looking woman waved Nathan forward with one red-painted fingernail. "Mr. Hawkins will see you now." She waited until he stood up, then dug her manicured claws into his arm and dragged Nathan into the fiery furnace.
Or, at least that's how it seemed to him, anyway.
After Nathan had seated himself in a cold metal chair, the woman released him and stood off to the side, like a soldier ready to fulfill any command. Nathan crossed his arms over his chest, staring stonily at the man in front of him with one raised eyebrow as if to say, "You asked me to come, and here I am. Now what do you want?"
Mr. Hawkins folded his hands and set them on the desk, his penetrating gaze never leaving Nathan's. "I understand that you've been involved in several fights lately." His already-narrow eyes narrowed even further into slits.
What was I supposed to do, stand around and let those jerks pick on my sister? Nathan stared back coldly, choosing to say nothing.
Mr. Hawkins leaned forward in an attempt to look intimidating, which was in vain; he was a short, portly man with no hair and beady eyes. "Punishing you with the stool doesn't seem severe enough."
Nathan suppressed a sigh of relief. Too many times to count, he had been sentenced to sitting in the corner of the classroom on a stool with only one leg on it. Not that it was painful, but he had to concentrate on keeping upright (which meant no going to sleep) and not to mention that it was humiliating. And the Dunce hat.. yes, most anything was preferable over the pointy dunce hat.
Nathan suddenly realized the man was still talking. "..every day to clean the classrooms. I hope that will teach you a lesson." The principal sat back, looking pleased with himself. "The janitor has tools you can use for scraping gum off the desks. You are dismissed."
Nathan rose out of the uncomfortable chair. Mr. Hawkins held up a hand to stop him. "What do you say, young man? You ought to thank me for letting you off so easy."
Nathan stared at him before turning and walking out of the room wordlessly. He refused to give such a man the privilege of a response.