Now Weavger had just knocked on the principal’s door.
“Come in,” said a voice from the room beyond.
Weavger, in his enthusiasm to get Peter out of his hair once and for all, threw the door open so quickly it hit the wall.
“Go on. What are you waiting for?” he said.
Peter by this time could see the joy in the teacher’s eyes.
“Well, what’s this, Alistair?” asked Principal Holmes.
“It seems that Mr. Stark his no respect for his classes or school property,” said Weavger gleefully.
“Is that so?” said the principal. “What exactly did he do?”
“No, that’s a lie,” exclaimed Peter.
“If you don’t mind I was talking to the principal,” said Weavger as the sly smile he had continued to deepen.
“Please, Peter, let Mr. Weavger finish and then you can give your account on the matter,” said the principal. “Please go on Alistair.”
“He was deliberately late for his first class, which was Mr. Haster’s, and then he was also deliberately late for his second class, which was my own. And when I found him in the hallway, he had used something to put a hole the size of a fist in one of the lockers,” said Weavger hastily, the excitement clearly becoming too much for him.
“And what was used to cause this damage?”
“I don’t know; he wouldn’t tell me.”
The principal then turned his attention to Peter. “Well, Peter, it’s your turn to tell your side of the story,” said Principal Holmes, whose facial expression and voice had both suddenly turned serious.
Peter knew that it didn’t matter what he said, for it was his word against the teacher’s, and he doubted the principal would even listen.
“Well?” said Principal Holmes.
“Does it matter?” asked Peter.
“Well, you are the only one who knows what was used to damage the locker, so please do tell,” said the principal. “And remember that it will go better for you if you tell the truth and tell where you put your chosen tool.”
“I knew it. You don’t even care if I’m innocent. You believe what he has to say, no matter what it is,” said Peter, clearly hurt by the principal’s lack of faith in him, even though he really had damaged the locker. “And let’s get one thing straight. The reason I was late for Mr. Haster’s class was because I was talking to someone on the way in and forgot to get my books from my locker. So obviously I had to go back to get them, right? I mean, what’s the use of showing up to class with no books?”
“Yes, but when I caught you late for the second time, you didn’t have any books,” said Weavger.
“Please, Alistair. You’ve had your say,” said Principal Holmes, obviously annoyed by the interruption. “Now let him finish. There’s plenty of time to go over everything afterwards.”
“Where was I?” said Peter, trying to sound distressed and look upset by what was happening, and he was pulling it off nicely. “Oh, yeah. The reason that I was late the second time was because I got some shocking news, and as I went to class, I realized that again I’d forgotten my books and went to go back. That’s when I saw the locker, which was already damaged, and that’s my side of it.”
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“And what was the shouting for?” Weavger said sudden. His face lit up again after he saw the dazed look on Peter’s face.
There was a short pause.
“’God, you’re an idiot,’” said Mr. Weavger calmly. “That’s what you shouted.”
“Are you protecting someone?” asked the principal earnestly. “If so it would be better to say so. It’s nice that you would stand up for your friends like this, but it would be foolish for you to take the blame if this friend isn’t going to have the decency to turn himself in to help you.”
“No,” said Peter, “I was talking to myself. That’s when I realized I forgot my books.”
“Alistair, what happened to your arm?” asked the principal.
The sleeves of Mr. Weavger’s white shirt were purposely rolled up to reveal his forearms. His right arm was bruised at the wrist, a little just above the elbow.
“When I tried to bring him here, he attacked me,” said Weavger, rubbing his arm to provoke as much sympathy as possible.
“THAT’S A LIE! YOU ATTACKED ME!” shouted the young man. “YOU GRABBED ME BY THE ARM AND SQUEEZED TIGHTLY THEN YOU TRIED TO PULL ME DOWN THE HALL! AND THAT’S WHEN I GRABBED YOUR WRIST IN SELF DEFENCE. YOU STUMMBLED AND FELL AGAINST THE WALL!”
“DON’T TELL YOUR LIES HERE, BOY! TELL THE TRUTH FOR ONCE!” shouted Weavger in retaliation.
“That’s enough both of you,” said Principal Holmes, not as loudly but just loud enough to get their attention. “It seems that we have a difference of opinion. The question is, what to do now?”
“Personally, I think the solution is clear enough,” said Weavger. “Given Mr. Stark’s record, I think expulsion is the only way to deal with this problem. Plus, it would set an example for the other students.”
“I take that sort of thing under very serious consideration, Alistair, as you well know. And I won’t just expel a student without a witness to back up what you have told me,” the principal insisted.
“Are you implying that I would lie about something like this?” seethed Weavger. “Just look at his record. Go on, that’ll tell you all you need to know.”
“I’m sure that you would never lie about this sort of thing.
But you must understand that I can’t just go by what you say. It wouldn’t be fair. I know what this young man’s record consists of. I’ve already read it a number of times,” said the headmaster. “I know you’re right; he has done some things I could have taken him out of the school for. However, I would like to speak to his parents before taking such action. I will suspend you until I come to a decision on the matter,” he said to Peter. He picked up his pen and wrote something on a small piece of paper. “Please give this to your mother or father.”
Peter leaned forward reached out and took it.
Weavger stormed out of the office.
“Now go on home, son. Your suspension starts as soon as you leave this office. Oh, and tell your mother and father that they can come to see me as soon as they like,” Holmes said to Peter. “And don’t worry. There will be a full investigation into the matter. You will get a fair chance.”
A full investigation? Peter didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Thank you,” he said as earnestly as he could. “I’m sorry for what I said before; I didn’t mean to say that you would -”
“That’s okay, Peter. You were obviously distraught. Now remember what I said about your parents coming to see me whenever they want.”
“Yes, I think they’ll be here as soon as possible,” retorted Peter.
“That’s good.”
Peter left the office and the school as fast as he could. He jumped onto his skateboard and was on his way home.
His meeting with the principal had taken longer than he thought, and it was noon by the time he reached Weston Road. He stopped at the gate, pushed down the back of his skateboard with his foot and caught the top as it jumped up to meet his hand. As he went to push in the code to open the gate, his hand turned transparent and went straight through the number panel. He jumped back and cried out in astonishment and shock. “What kind of magic is that?” he asked himself.
“WHY ARE YOU BACK? WHAT’S WRONG?” the shout came from Helen, who had run to the door as soon as she heard him.
Berlanin was not far behind.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING BACK SO EARLY?” he asked as the gate opened and Peter started off at a run toward the house.
“Didn’t you see that?” asked Peter, the look disbelief still set on his face.
“Don’t change the subject,” said Helen. “Why are you back from school so early?”
“I got suspended, and if that isn’t bad enough I’m under review and might even get expelled,” answered the young man speedily.
“Suspended!” said Berlanin.
“Expelled!” said Helen. They looked at each other then looked back at Peter and said at the same time, “What did you do?”
“You won’t believe me.”
“Try us,” said Berlanin.
“Can’t I come in?”
“It depends,” answered Helen.
“Depends on what,” asked the boy.
“It depends how bad it really is,” said Helen. “If it’s too bad, you can just stay out there.”
Berlanin sniggered at the look on his stepson’s face. “Hurry up! I’ll hold her back as long as I can,” said the Wizard.
“Very funny,” said Helen, clearly not amused as she stepped aside to allow him past.
Peter wanted to run to the stairs, but Helen’s hands gently landed on his shoulders and directed him toward the kitchen door.