The Principal’s office loomed ahead of me like the gate to a dungeon.  I tried desperately to will my feet away from Room 101, but they kept sliding forwards on the juice-stained carpet.  How did I end up here? I did nothing wrong. 
            Just as my hand was inching up towards the rusted doorknob, it creaked open and Secretary Parker looked out at my sweaty face.  “The principal will see you now.” 
            I shifted my feet across the threshold to my doom, then stumbled on some loose threads and pitched forwards.  Even as I fell, I heard the donkey-like laugh of my nemesis mock me for my clumsiness. 
            Getting up and ramming my glasses back onto my face, I saw that Steven Merridew was perched on the bench sneering as his father frowned sternly at him.  My mother sat serenely opposite Steven, her eyes narrowing as I fell in.  Principal McDaniel filled the remainder of the room; she was a tall and imposing woman with a commanding presence. 
            “I’ll cut straight to the facts now to avoid wasting your time, Mr. Merridew and Mrs. Robinson.  According to Mr. U’Jambi, he caught you cheating on the 8th grade math test.  Forrest Middle School does not tolerate academic dishonesty in any way.” 
            “I didn’t cheat!” 
            “If that’s true, then why does your test have the same answers as that of Steven’s?”  the Principal said, handing two papers out to Steven’s dad and my mom. “As you can see, Lucas’s paper is virtually the same as Steven’s.  Even the mistake and correction on Problem 3 is blatantly copied.
            My mom stiffened and gazed at me with moist eyes.  “How could you do this, Lucas?”
            “Yeah, how could you do this, Lucas?”  Steven mimicked in a cruel singsong tone, giggling before his father could glare at him. 
            “I swear, it was Steven’s fault!  He copied me!”
            Steven smirked and started laughing again.
            “Steven!  Did you cheat like Lucas said?”
            “No, Lucas copied me instead.”
            “Since we cannot determine which one of you has cheated on the other, or if you were both cheating, Mr. U’Jambi has helpfully offered to give his view on what happened.  Mr. U’Jambi?”
            Mr. U’Jambi stepped out from behind a nearby door and pointedly glared at me before saying, “Since another student had a question, I was not focusing on you, but I can assure Principal McDaniel, Mr. Merridew, and Mrs. Robinson that Lucas was cheating.”
            “Lucas, do you still deny this event happened?”  Mrs. McDaniel questioned, her brown eyes boring holes through my soul. 
            “I- I have evidence that proves I was wrongly accused.”
            “Prove it,”  barked Mr. Merridew. 
            I took a deep breath and looking directly at Ms. McDaniel said, “I observed that Catharine Ballard and Linda Ross were eagerly comparing their tests behind the circular desk.” 
            “This meeting has not been called to discuss other students’ academic dishonesty, but they will be questioned in due time.  Enough with the excuses, Lucas, and please just answer this simple question.  Did you knowingly cheat?”
            “I can’t answer that.”
            “Why not?  You do realize that disciplinary action might be taken?”
            I looked at my mom whose eyes were wide with shock.  A lonely tear fell, but she didn’t notice it.  “What’s happening, Lucas?  Cheating is deplorable enough but lying about it?”
            “I didn’t cheat, Mom,” I mumbled, pulling out my iPad and playing some footage.  “During the study period before math, I accidentally recorded this conversation I had with Steven.” 
            “Why are there dominoes and a toy car?” Steven’s father asked gruffly.
            “It was supposed to be for a science experiment that happened to record our discussion.”
            “Do you remember what’s on the math test next period?” asked Steven, a hint of yearning plainly audible in his voice.
            “I think it will just be a review of chapters one to three.  Why?”
            “Just checking.  Oh and by the way, could I have a look at the notes you have?”
            “Sure.”
            “Thanks a million.  The notes will be in your backpack during the test right?”
            “Yup.”
            “Gotcha.”
            The video ended and I turned directly to Steven.  “My theory is that Steven used the bathroom break as an excuse to look at the notes in my backpack before coming back in and framing me for cheating.”
            Steven’s grin promptly vanished off his face and his features morphed into a grimace of disbelief. 
            “What?  What kind of sorry excuse do you have now, Lucas?  Just admit that you cheated so we can all go home.”
            “I didn’t cheat,” I insisted. 
            “You were my friend!” Steven yelled.
            “I never was your friend.  You were the one who cheated.”
            “Enough, boys,” stated Ms. McDaniel, her booming voice echoing around the office.  “Let us get to the matter of this issue.  Since both of you believe that the other cheated, we will have to look at the security feeds.”
            The principal pulled up her computer and typed some commands into it before turning it to face us.  “The security feeds clearly shows that Steven used the pretense of a bathroom break to search Lucas’s backpack for the notes.  And Lucas, you also cheated by purposefully looking at Steven’s test sheet.”
            “What?  I just wanted to know the date.”
            “The date was written on the whiteboard in the beginning of class,” Mr. U’Jambi chimed in.
            “Then I just wanted to see how far Steven was in the test.  There’s nothing wrong with that right?”
            “That is still considered cheating, Lucas, albeit of a lesser degree than Steven’s transgression.  Looking at other people’s papers during a test is strictly prohibited.  As I said before, academic dishonesty is strongly forbidden at Forest Middle School.  I expect both of you tomorrow for detention at my office.  Thank you for your time Mr. Merridew and Mrs. Robinson.  Good afternoon to you all.”
            I slumped back in my hard seat, and stared as the principal closed the door behind her.  In my mind, I had only one word for Steven.  Vermin.