Kerns folded her arms across her chest and looked down her nose at Kai. “Tell me, Mr. Ford, what is so important for you to do on the computer that you had to break my rules?” Kai hung his head. He knew Ms. Kerns was a stickler for rules. But she also had a reputation for being fair. Kai decided to appeal to her good side. “My own computer is busted or else I would have waited until I got home to do this research,” he said, hoping the word “research” would soften her up a bit. Ms. Kerns eyeballed the list of articles he’d pulled up. She drummed her fingers against her arm. She seemed to be considering something. Kai’s hopes rose. Maybe he wouldn’t be given two days of detention after all. “I’ll tell you what, Kai,” she said finally. “Since this is your first offense, I’m willing to make a deal with you.” Kai suddenly felt apprehensive.
