Ch. 3 iDecide my Punishment
"Principal's office. NOW!" Carly's mind briefly flashed back to Mr. Howard's angry voice. As she turned the door knob to Principal Franklin's office, she felt the hole in her stomach get deeper. "Carly, why don't you take a seat," Principal Franklin said with an exasperated sigh. What Mr. Howard had told him over the phone didn't make any sense. Something was amis here. Though he had his doubts about Carly's guilt, he proceeded as though she were.
"Would you like to tell me why you thought it would be funny to cover Mr. Howard in excrement?" he questioned. For her part, Carly never wavered. "He thinks I'm a troublemaker," Carly replied sarcastically. "Might as well prove him right." Principal Franklin glared at her. "I would expect something like this from Sam," he fired back. "And after yesterday, I doubt she'd test me this quickly." He looked Carly straight in the eyes. "Are you sure this was all your doing?" he asked. Carly realized what he was attempting to do. He was trying to give her a way out of this. But as much as she would have loved to jump on it, she knew that by doing so, Sam would surely be expelled.
"I got him good, didn't I?" she asked with a laugh. She quickly stopped when the principal did not join in. He took a deep breath. He had to call the parents at this point. "Very well then," he said as he picked up the phone. Carly stared at the floor as he dialed the number to Spencer's apartment. She only hoped that her dad was not at the apartment at the moment.
Spencer had just stepped into the shower when the phone began ringing. Their father was in the living room at the time, and thus, answered. "Hello," he said, "Spencer, this is Principal Franklin," came the reply. Carly's father hesitated for a brief second. "I'm sorry, you have the wrong person, this is Steven Shay. How may I help you?" he asked. Principal Franklin seemed surprised. "Mr. Shay, I didn't know you were in town," he replied. It was clear he was expecting Spencer. At the mention of her father's name, Carly went white.
"No problem," Colonel Shay replied. Principal Franklin then got right to the point of the call. "Well sir, I have Carly in my office. It seems she's pranked a teacher," Franklin explained. The Colonel seemed to be stunned at this revelation. "Really? What did she do, exactly?" he asked. Principal Franklin told Carly's father of the morning's events. As the call concluded, Spencer finished his shower and entered the living room. "Thanks for calling," Colonel Shay said. "I'm on my way now." With that he hung up.
"What was that about?" Spencer asked. The grin quickly left his face when he saw the way his father was looking at him. "Exactly what has been going on lately?" he demanded. Spencer was confused. "What do you mean? Carly's been doing great in school, and we rarely have problems," he replied. His father was not convinced. "Really? Because that was Principal Franklin. Apparently she broke the rules, big time." Spencer couldn't believe it. "Let's go talk to him then, maybe we can straighten everything out," Spencer reasoned.
"We aren't going to talk to him," the Colonel said pointedly. "I am going to talk to him. And then I'm going to talk to her, and she'd better have a really good explanation." The Colonel said nothing further as he exited the apartment. Meanwhile at Ridgeway, the bell for lunch had just sounded. Principal Franklin decided to be merciful for the moment. "Why don't you go have lunch, Carly," he said. It was more an instruction than an option, that much was clear. "Yes, sir," Carly replied. She had went from being nearly like Sam in her behavior, to meek as soon as the phone call to her father had been made, which made the Principal more doubtful of her guilt. He had hoped that Spencer could help get to the bottom of it, but was taken by surprise by her father being home. As Carly took her leave, he gave her one instruction. "Enjoy your lunch. But Carly, you get back here as soon as lunch is over." Carly nodded her acknowledgement before heading to the cafeteria. As she left the office, she heard the secretary informing the principal of her father's arrival.
Carly slowly sat down at the table with Sam and Freddie. "So, how'd it go?" Sam asked. Carly glared at her in response. "Look, I'm sorry, ok. I completely forgot I set that prank up yesterday during lunch," she continued. Carly remained silent, but her glare seemed to intensify. "Wait, how did you manage to break into Howard's classroom?" Freddie asked. "Not important!" Sam barked. "I didn't even think about it till class this morning, it wasn't like I could stop it," she defended.
Carly finally broke her silence. "Yeah well, Principal Franklin called my dad. He's here right now. If I'm lucky, I'll only get grounded." A slight tinge of guilt crossed Sam's face. "What if you're not so lucky?" Freddie asked. "I could end up moving to Yakima," Carly deadpanned. "What? Why?" Sam asked. It seemed unfair for Carly to leave Spencer over this. "Because my dad's gonna think Spencer's not strict enough," Carly replied. Freddie could hear no more.
"Sam, you have to fess up," he said. "No!" both girls yelled in unison. "If Sam confesses, she'll be expelled," Carly said. Freddie thought it over. He hated to say it, and he and Sam had come a long way as friends, but he needed felt it needed to be said. "Well," he began hesitantly, backing away from the table as he spoke. "Well what?" Sam demanded. "Maybe you should be expelled," he said. Sam began to advance on him, but he stood his ground.
"You're the one who can't seem to follow the rules," he continued. "Why should Carly have to suffer for it?" Sam lashed out, grabbing Freddie's collar. "Look, Fredward," she began in a threatening tone, but before she could say anything else, the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch. She released him quickly, not wanting a teacher to see. Carly had already taken a huge risk for her. She didn't want to blow it by getting in trouble anyway. "Saved by the bell, nub," she growled, before heading to her locker.
Carly began to head back to the office. "Aren't you going to class?" Freddie asked. Carly shook her head. "Nope. Principal Franklin told me to go back to his office after lunch," she replied. Freddie nodded. "Good luck," he said. Carly nodded in return before heading back to the office. She wasn't surprised to see her father sitting in a chair when she got there. Colonel Shay sent his daughter a look that clearly conveyed his unhappiness.
"Hi, Dad," she said quietly. "Don't "Hi, Dad" me, young lady," her father growled. Carly wished the ground could swallow her whole at that moment. Her father looked her over. "Principal Franklin, could you step outside for a moment so that I could have a word with my daughter please?" he asked after a moment of silence. "Of course," the principal responded. As he left the room, Carly thought it would be safe to fess up that she was just covering for Sam, but her father didn't give her the chance.
"I've thought it over, and it is clear to me that you aren't getting enough discipline living with Spencer," he began. "Spencer is the best-" Carly couldn't finish, as she was cut off. "Apparently not," he continued. "So I've decided to leave your punishment up to you," he finished. Carly took a deep breath. "What are my options?" she asked, almost dreading the answer. "Well, option A is to transfer your guardianship to your Grandfather," he began.
"But that would mean I have to move to Yakima," Carly interrupted. Her father nodded. "Yes, that brings me to the second option," he replied. Carly waited expectantly. "Military school," he said. Carly sunk in her chair in shock. "Military school?" she questioned. Her father was undettered. "Yes, Carly, military school." Carly stared at her father in disbelief. "You will attend school in the George Washington Air Force Academy right here in Seattle for at least one semester," he continued.
He decided to provide a ray of hope. "If at the end of that time, I feel your behavior has improved, you may return to Ridgeway to finish your senior year." Carly gulped. "So which will it be?" he pressed. Carly took a deep breath. "Military school," she replied, her voice resigned. Her father called the principal back into the room to inform him of Carly's departure. "Sam had better appreciate this," she muttered under her breath.