She had decided to wait until the last possible minute to go in. That way, maybe she could avoid the morning chatter and whatever else lay in store for her. As the other kids crowded past her, she tried to look engrossed in the bulletin board, haphazardly covered—just before Parents’ Night—with essays on the Salem witch trials. Mrs. Vanderley appeared in the classroom doorway. “Oh, Hero. Good. I was afraid you were absent. You’re wanted down at the principal’s office.” “I am?” Hero looked at her in alarm. “Yes, they just buzzed. Go right now so you’ll be back in time for Math.” Hero started down the hallway, her heart pounding. What now? She’d never been to the principal’s office, not once in her entire life. She didn’t even know what one looked like. She hurried to the main office, where she and Aaron had stopped on the first day of school. The secretary smiled at her. “How can I help you?” she asked pleasantly. Hero swallowed. “Um, I ... I think I’m supposed to see the principal.”
