Franc would never fully understand the far-reaching effects of his actions that day. He honestly didn't care about any results or consequences at that moment.
Or, more accurately, he didn't dare to think about them.
He worked hard to turn his brain off and simply walk. He had never been there under circumstances such as these before, but his feet somehow knew the path to the principal's office as though they had walked it every day of his life. He vaguely noticed a teacher asking him if he had a hall pass, but this didn't even moderately phase him. He simply walked by without ever acknowledging her. The principal's secretary offered a similarly futile hindrance as he brushed by her into Mr. Hevel's office.
Franc stomped proudly and unapologetically into the office and dropped into the seat across the desk from his principal who was on the phone. Mr. Hevel looked at him with a mixture of confusion and frustration as he tried to decide how to deal with the situation.
"Nick, I'm going to have to call you back," Hevel said slowly and cautiously as he hung up the phone. "Mr. Bar. Is there something I can help you with?"
Franc smiled to himself, realizing how he must look. "No."
Mr. Hevel was stunned. He had never seen Franc like this. Something about him, something in his eyes and the way he was sitting, suggested that nothing that happened in this office, or anywhere for that matter, made any difference to him. "Franc," he said, switching into a much more compassionate tone, hoping to ease Franc into a more cooperative state, "what are you doing here? Did something happen?"
Franc's grin grew a bit as he noticed the principal's change in demeanor. "Yes."
These short answers weren't like Franc. He was usually so conversational and ready to offer more information than was needed. "Would you like to tell me what it was?"
Franc's face switched from his almost manic smile into the face of an excited young boy, ready to tell all about his adventures and battles against bad guys and monsters. "Well, Unpleasant Plaisance was being a power-drunk bitch, and I had had enough of it, so I told her," he giggled, fighting to contain his excitement, "I told her exactly what I thought of her. Then I came down here so you could hear about it too!"
Mr. Hevel was legitimately concerned now. No longer was he simply curious about his student's odd behavior. Now he had reason for concern about his mental stability . . . and the safety of his other students. Ms. Plaisance was frightening enough in the best of moods.
He tried to get a handle on the situation. "Why don't I call Ms. Plaisance, and we can all talk this out, ok?"
Franc looked at him quizzically. "No thank you, sir. I'll take my suspension and be on my way."
"Excuse me?"
"My suspension. What I did should have earned me at least a couple weeks' suspension. You can talk to the old shrew yourself if you need further confirmation, but I think you'll agree that that is the only logical punishment. I'd also rather not waste any more time here, because ultimately, we're both going to agree that it would be best for me to go home immediately."
"Well . . . "
"It's fine. Here," Franc pulled a piece of paper out of his backpack, scribbled some notes on it, and tore it in half. He set the first half down in front of Mr. Hevel. "Here's the numbers where you should be able to reach my parents. I'm gonna walk home, so don't bother asking them to come pick me up, just tell them about my suspension." He handed him the other half. "And this is a note explaining to them exactly what happened and that I'm going to be suspended for three weeks. I just need you to sign it. That way, even if you can't get ahold of them, they're still in the loop." He politely handed the principal a pen before adding a bit sarcastically, "Because we all know how important it is for parents to be involved in their children's education."
Mr. Hevel looked down at the two pieces of paper and back up at Franc.
Franc smiled at Mr. Hevel and waited patiently.
After a minute long stare-down that was much more uncomfortable for Mr. Hevel than it was for Franc, the principal relented, signed the note, and handed it back to Franc. "Thank you," said Franc pleasantly as he took the note and left the office before Hevel could get another word in.
He walked confidently past the secretary and out the front door, looking down at the note in his hands and reading it over to make sure all of this was real. Then he crumbled the note in his fist, set his gaze in the direction of his house, and started walking very deliberately. He had no intention of stopping or even slowing down until he got there.
Three weeks.
He only had three weeks, and he wasn't going to waste a minute of them.
It was time to finish his project.
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