'Oh, how I wish that this was not happening to me. Why does it always have to be me? Did I do something wrong in a past life?'

"Stop daydreaming!"

'That voice, how I hated that voice!'

            "That voice" just happened to be my teacher. Again I wished to be anywhere else, but here.

            "You need discipline!" he barked at me.

'How many times will I have to sit through this lecture?' I tried to count on my fingers how many times this had already happened, but ran out of fingers. 'It's not always the same though,' I tried and failed to console myself, 'there are variations depending on how serious the "crime" was.'

            "I'd like to see that my hard work pays off this time. This is the, what was it? Ah, yes! This is the third time that you have been caught on the roof."

'It actually was the fourth, but I wasn't going to correct him and get the never-correct-me-let-alone-interrupt-me-again lecture.'

            "You are constantly breaking the rules, which is why you are here. The roof is no place for a young man like you to be. I don't care that you 'found your way into a stairwell and just had to see where it went' or that you 'jumped onto the dumpster' what were you doing there!" he raised his hand, blocking off my attempts to explain. "I don't even want to know. 'And from that dumpster, you happened to find yourself on the roof.'"

'I don't know what his problem was. It was only the roof.'

            "And the this time!" he stared at me before continuing, "This time…"

'Ah, yes this time was the best one of all!' I almost smiled, remembering what has happened. Almost.

            "You said 'you fell off of a horse, got run over by a pig, tripped over a half built fence, fell in the river, ran across a farm, fell down a cliff, and then wandered into the schoolyard.' I still don't understand how you got on the roof."

'He's not buying my story at all. He always asks me to repeat myself when he doesn't think I'm telling the truth, but this time was more truthful then the other two.'

            "I wandered through the school and then found myself on the roof, not quite sure how I got there exactly though."

'Did I sound pitiful enough? Would he pity me enough this time to let me go free?'

            "Your story certainly explains why you are bruised, cut, muddy and very wet." He paused and thought for a moment, "And why you will be mopping the school to get rid of any and all mud on the floors."

'Was he…smiling? Yes, he was. When he smiles it is never a good thing.'

            "I will check your progress in a couple hours," he said.

'Yes, he sounds almost gleeful. I don't think switching the chocolate cake for cow dung was worth this.' I thought a little bit more, and remembered Ms Whillper's face when she took her first bite. 'No, it was defiantly worth this.'

            "Do I make myself clear?" he waited until I nodded. "Good, you are dismissed."

             I dragged my self from the room. I let out a pitiful moan when I stubbed my toe on the desk leg. He didn't even bat an eyelid.

'I gotta stop having him lecture me. He knows me to well.' I stopped in the doorway, 'Now that is a disturbing thought.'

            "I trust you know where we keep the cleaning supplies."

'Of course, how could I not?' I asked myself sarcastically, 'Why is it always that my punishments include cleaning? Isn't there any other way for them to think that I've learned my lesson?'

'What makes you think that? I get punished, and their job gets done. Makes their life easy.' Another part of me answered.

            I shook my head and walked down the hall to the cleaning closet. I pulled opened the closet door and took out the bucket.

'Now time for water. Why did it have to be mopping? I hate mopping.'

            I walked out side, looking at my muddy footprints on the way out.

'Maybe mud isn't the best thing to walk around in when one wants to do something not particularly rule abiding. And I have to find a better hiding place then the roof.'

            I dipped the bucket into the rain-barrel. I guess "dipped" isn't the right word. I shoved the bucket into the rain-barrel. And pulled, no, yanked it out, spilling half of the water I had just retrieved. Onto myself of course.

'At least I was already wet.'

I shoved the bucket back in again, and pulled it out more carefully this time.

'Shoulda brought the mop with me. Then I could start at the door.'

            I walked inside and over to the flight of stairs. I set the bucket of water down near the bottom step. And ran to get the mop.

            "Running are we Mr. Estel?"

'No, no, no, no, no. It was him again. From looking at his face, he should have been leaping in the air with joy. He liked giving out punishments too much. Way too much.'

            "I was, rushing to get the mop, so that I may start at the top of the stairs. Sir," I added after a pause.

            "And where is the water?" he asked and started looking around.

'Looking!!! He is looking for the water!!! I obviously don't have it, so where does he expect to find it?'

            "I left it at the bottom of the stairs," I answered.

            "But why is it there and not at the top, where you wish to begin mopping?" he was enjoying this too much.

            "Because I was conserving energy, so that I may finish mopping before I run out of…energy."

            He smiled, and this time I wasn't imagining things. "Then why were you running?"

'Back to square one. I really should have seen that coming. He was becoming quicker on the up-take, which wasn't a good thing for me.'

            "If you would let me through, then I may get the mop and start mopping." I tried to think of a reason that would make him move. "If I get the mop now then I will be done sooner and you will be able to go home sooner."

'There we go, if you think of them and say how you will benefit them, then you are more likely to get what you want. See, I do learn.'

            He nodded and put his hand on his chin, as if considering what I said. "That is true Estel." He gestured along the hall, "go ahead then, get that mop and start mopping."

'That was easy, too easy. He is planning something, and that does not bode well for me. It is dangerous to let teachers (or grown-ups for that matter) think for too long.'

            I walked back to the closet and found the mop. I turned and almost ran, again.

'Why should I give him the opportunity of catching me again when I can delay him from whatever it is he wants to do at home?'

            I dragged my feet back to the stairs, only to find that someone had knocked over the bucket of water. I stood there staring at it until I heard a voice. This time it wasn't a teacher.

            "Spill something?" the voice of Angroth asked, innocently.

            "Spill something?" I mimicked. "I'll give you three guesses." I didn't turn my head, or any other part of my body to acknowledge his presence.

            I could almost imagine his grin when he said his next few words. "Now, that's hardly fair. Any number of things could have happened to that bucket. Someone could have accidentally kicked it when going down the stairs. You could have kicked it. Someone could have knocked it over by just walking by. You could have…"

'Yes, yes, we get the fact that you think I am a clumsy oaf, please continue with your guesses…or you could shut up now, as I am getting a head-ach listening to you blather on about nothing.'

            "You see? Three guesses is not really that fair," he concluded.

            "Since when is life fair?" I retorted, my hands tightening around the mop handle.

'Sometimes I just want to strangle you Angroth, you know that?'

            There was no answer from behind me, so I turned to see what was happening. I looked up into his face, I always look up into people's faces. "Silence can do more then words sometimes," he said. I stared at him; surprised that this piece of wisdom came from him and even more surprised that he was sharing it with me.

            "Would you care to replenish my water supply?" I asked, as sweetly and innocently as I could.

            He just raised an eyebrow. Silence and a facial expression were doing more then his words ever could.

'Who woulda thunk it? He is actually following his own advice, I applaud him.'

             I rolled my eyes back at him, and picked up the bucket. I shoved it in his chest. "Water, now."

'Sometimes short simple commands are the best way to go.'

            He took the bucket and stared at it for a little while. I thought he might be taking his time to understand what I wanted. He took the bucket and shoved it back at me. "No."

            I took it and pushed it into his hands

'Persistence seems to work well sometimes.'

            He didn't even take the bucket this time, but just shoved it at me. I slipped on the wet floor and fell down. He hadn't let go of the bucket and it landed by my knee. "Get your own water." I sat up and grabbed the bucket.

'Sometimes nothing works.'

            He walked away, wet feet slapping on the ground.

'That's right, walk away.' I glared after him then started to mop up my muddy footprints, using the spilled water. 'I need a new hiding place. One where no one will look…wait, two would be better.' I started to smile as I thought of all the possible places. That's one good thing about being punished, it gives you time to think of your next move. I grinned as my next plan began to hatch