Shoot. If Cali is late one more time, she’s going to be in hot water. I looked at the clock. 12:14. She has exactly one minute to make it to class. A part of me thought maybe this would be the day she got to class on time, but the other part of me did not believe that at all. I looked at the clock again. She wasn’t going to make it. I glanced at the door. No one. Well that’s that.

Except it wasn’t. My mind shut down and my body took over. I walked over to the nearest paint bucket in the art room. I picked it up thankful it was only half way full, and looked around the room. This better work. Before I could stop myself there was a big “splat sound.” The whole class turned to look my way. Bright blue paint streamed down my face, my clothes, my shoes, and the floor. As if I hadn’t done enough already I blurted out, “I finished my art project.” A second later I heard the words “detention!” I looked over to Cali’s easel. The teacher hadn’t seen her come in. Well, at least my diversion worked.