. . . nnnnn-NNNNN-nnnnn-NNNNN-nnnnn . . .
Louis took the mallet from Mr. Kidswatter and hung it back on its hook. He wheeled the gong off to the side, just before a river of children flooded down the stairs.
“Hi, Louis!” “Bye, Louis! “See you tomorrow, Louis!” they called to him as they ran by.
He smiled and waved, but all he heard was “Gonnnnnng!”
“Why don’t they ever say those things to me?” Mr. Kidswatter asked a little while later, as they were leaving the school together.
“Maybe if you did something nice?” Louis suggested.
“Like what?” asked the principal.
“Maybe let a kid ring the gong?”
“No way,” snapped Mr. Kidswatter. “That’s the best part about being principal.”
“Or how about getting some more balls for recess?” Louis suggested.
“Too expensive,” said Mr. Kidswatter.
“What if I pay for them?” asked Louis.
Mr. Kidswatter laughed. “You? Where would you get that kind of money? Did you rob a bank?”
“I have money,” said Louis. “I’ve written some books about Wayside School.”
“And you got paid for that?” Mr. Kidswatter asked.
Louis shrugged.
Mr. Kidswatter frowned.
Louis hoped he hadn’t broken a law.
“Do you menti
on me in the books?” asked Mr. Kidswatter.
“Maybe once or twice,” Louis admitted.
“You don’t say anything bad about me, do you?”
“Ummm . . .” said Louis.
“You should write a chapter about me!” declared Mr. Kidswatter. “Call it ‘The Best Principal Ever!!!’ with three exclamation points.”
“First, you would have to do something that makes you the best principal ever,” Louis explained.
“Like what?”
“Let a kid ring the gong.”
This time, Mr. Kidswatter didn’t snap at Louis. He was thinking about it.
Louis looked up at the gloomy cloud. He hadn’t paid much attention to science, back when he was going to school. He didn’t know it was a Cloud of Doom.
Had he known, he never would have made such a dangerous suggestion to Mr. Kidswatter.