Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12 Every bit of the potato salad—including the chopped parsley—flew out of the bowl like it was a jet plane. When it hit the floor, it splattered all over and made a slippery, goopy carpet. After that, everything happened very quickly. Ashley, who was following right behind me, stepped smack in the middle of the potato salad. Her bowl of coleslaw flew up in the air and landed with a splat on top of the potato salad. Behind her was Frankie. You guessed it. His ketchup and mustard added color to the potato salad mountain that was rising up on the floor. Then Carlos stepped right in the middle of the mess and slid around like he was ice skating. "Whoa," I heard him shout. "I'm going down."

And with that, his legs flew out from under him, and he plopped down right on his butt. His pants, which were black, were suddenly yellow, red, white, and creamy. His first reaction was to reach up and touch his spiky hair. "Did I get any potato salad in my hair?" he asked. Papa Pete was right behind Carlos with the meat platter. Luckily, he didn't fall down—but the salami did. A pile of it landed right on Carlos's head. It looked like he was wearing a meat hat. "I can't go on a date like this!" he shouted. "I look like a walking deli sandwich."

Carlos wasn't the only one who was upset. I stared at the mess on the floor and realized I had just ruined the teachers' party. Why didn't I remember that carrying a big bowl of potato salad takes two hands? This kind of thing happens to me a lot. I'm always in the middle of trouble, and I never know how I got there. The teachers just stood there with their mouths hanging open. This wasn't the kind of mess you could fix with a couple of paper towels. This was going to take a shovel. Principal Love was on his feet. The mole on his cheek, which looks like the Statue of Liberty without the torch, was bouncing up and down like it was on a trampoline.

"Look what you've done, Hank Zipzer," he shouted. "Instead of giving your teachers a delicious meal, you've created a sloppy mess." I have never been so embarrassed in my life. My face turned as red as the ketchup that was all over my shoes. "I'm sorry," I said. "I was just trying to wave hello." "You never think before you act," he said. "Whoa, that's harsh," Carlos said. Papa Pete put down the half-empty meat tray and walked over to Principal Love. "What do you think he's going to say?" Ashley whispered to me. "I don't know, but I hope I don't get into more trouble." "Don't worry," Frankie said. "Papa Pete will handle this. He never lets us down." "Excuse me," Papa Pete said to Principal Love. His voice was very calm. "What

happened here was an accident." "And I'm so sorry about it," I said. "It was all my fault." "It was an accident, Hankie," Papa Pete said. "It isn't anyone's fault. That's why they call them accidents." "Nonsense," a teacher named Ms. Adolf said. Everyone in school knows that she's the meanest teacher we have. "I saw what happened with my very eyes. That boy was careless." "My grandson Hank is a very thoughtful person. Sometimes he gets excited and that causes problems. But he always tries his hardest to do the right thing."

"I agree," Ms. Flowers said. "Hank is always the first one in my class to raise his hand when I ask for help." "And he tries very hard in my music class," Mr. Rock said. "He plays the triangle with all his heart." Principal Love still seemed angry. His mole looked like it was doing the hula. "Do you consider this a party," he grumbled to Papa Pete, "with most of the food on the floor?" "I just happen to have several trays of black and white cookies in the van," Papa Pete said. "How about if I bring those up?" "Oh, that's my favorite kind of cookie," Ms. Flowers said. A lot of the teachers agreed. "Me too!" I said. "Hey, I have an idea. We can have a reverse dinner! We'll have dessert first." "Good thinking, Hankie," Papa Pete said. "While everyone is enjoying the cookies, Carlos and I will go back to the deli and bring some