- 7.
The crowd gasped.
I and the other teachers hadn’t thought the
principal would defend Ashley.
<
8:27
524
I quickly got myself together.
“Okay, Principal, why didn’t you send anyone to save us?”
It was the most important question. Everyone looked at the principal, waiting for an answer.
The principal’s face tightened.
“I had my reasons.”
“The kids are four years old. They couldn’t run. An adult could carry two kids at a time. To save all of them, I would have needed fifteen adults.”
“But we don’t have that many teachers. I had to
call the fire department and the police.”
“But the fire was out before they arrived. And
Ashley brought everyone to check…”
She was spinning things.
<
She was acting like she cared.
The parents weren’t buying it.
I said, “If you called the police, let’s play the recordings. Let’s see what happened.”
The principal said, “It was an emergency! I didn’t record anything!”
“I don’t have a recording app on my phone.”
I shook my head.
52
“We don’t need your phone. The fire chief and police captain are here. We can check the
logs.”
“They record every call. Everyone knows that.”
The police captain both nodded in agreement.
The principal panicked.
Ashley turned white.
Mike was sneaking away, carrying a black
backpack.
“Mike, stop!”
He jumped, dropping the bag.
Gloves, rubbing alcohol, tweezers…
Even some used duct tape fell out.
I realized the truth.
As Mike tried to escape, I tackled him.
“Stop him!”
