Chapter 11

Chapter eleven, It took me a long time to walk to school the next morning. It was the same distance as always— a half block to the corner and another half block to PS 87. But I was walking as slowly as I could because I knew what was waiting for me when I got there. "You're walking as slow as a snail this morning," Frankie noticed. "Actually," my sister, Emily, chimed in. "Snails don't walk. Walking means you have legs. Snails glide on surfaces." "Fine," Frankie said. "Then Hank is gliding very slowly on the sidewalk surface." Frankie's mom, who was taking us to school, agreed.

"Usually you're bouncing all around, Hank," she said. "Like yesterday, when you apparently didn't stay with your class during the field trip." "You know about that, too?" I asked. "Sure," she said. "We discussed your elephant adventure over our meatloaf and mashed potatoes last night." "My family discussed it over chocolate pudding," Ashley said. Was the whole world talking about my mistake? I guess they were. And the worst part was, so was Principal Love. I found that out the minute I arrived at school. He was standing on the front steps in his weird Velcro sneakers, greeting all the students. As soon as he saw me, he came marching over. I could hear his sneakers squeaking on the pavement. I didn't like the sound of that.

"Well, young man, that was quite a scare you gave everyone yesterday." I noticed that the mole on his cheek, which looks like the Statue of Liberty, seemed to be shaking its head at me. Was his mole angry, too? "Ms. Flowers said that part of your punishment was to write a report on your trip to the zoo," he went on. "I'll be there for your presentation." "You mean you're coming to my class?" "Yes, indeed." "And actually sitting down to listen to me?"

"Yes, indeed, again." "Wow," I said. "That's going to be so.. um... it's going to be so... I just can't think of the word right now." "There are many words to describe my visit," Principal Love said. "Thrilling. Stimulating. Delightful." I didn't tell him, but, actually, the word I had in mind was scary. Really scary.

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