Ferbert Flembuzzle's
Most Exotic Zoo
Chapter 8 - Principal's Office
(Please forgive errors in formatting. Posting on a website has its limitations.)
Sophia sat on one side of the principal’s enormous desk, and the principal, a frail looking man, with thick-framed glasses that appeared to be sturdier than him, sat on the other. She thought he had a pleasant face.
After studying her tear-stained cheeks and sniffling nose for a moment, he handed Sophia a tissue and introduced himself, “I’m Principal Winklestein. What’s your name?”
“Sophia,” she said, careful not to give her last name this time.
“Okay, Sophia,” Principal Winklestein spoke with a nasally voice, “I know the first day of school can be rough. Why don’t you just tell me what you did, and we’ll get to work making you a better student and keeping you out of any more trouble.”
“Trouble?” she asked. “I don’t understand—I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Young lady, teachers don’t send students to see me unless they have done something wrong,” the principal explained. “Now, tell me what you did and we can make things right.”
“I promise, I didn’t do anything wrong!” Sophia snapped. “Mrs. Blantly asked me my last name and I told her. I did exactly what she asked.”
Principal Winklestein realized then that he didn’t know her last name. “Okay. Let’s start there. What is your last name?” Sophia pinched her lips shut at the question. “Sophia, I need you to tell me what you said to Mrs. Blantly,” Principal Winklestein insisted. “What’s your last name?”
She dropped her head and gazed at the floor. “Flembuzzle,” Sophia muttered.
The mood in the room instantly changed, just as it had in the classroom. Sophia didn’t look up, but she could feel the principal giving her the same look Mrs. Blantly had. After a long moment, Principal Winklestein stood and marched out of the office to the front desk, where his secretary sat.
Sophia turned around and peeked over the back of her chair. The door was cracked open just enough for Sophia to make out pieces of the conversation.
“I’m sure he’ll want to know about this,” he said.
“Do you think he’ll be upset?” she asked.
“I suspect so.” The secretary handed the phone to Principal Winklestein, who spoke for only a few minutes before handing it back. “He’s on his way.”
Sophia watched as the principal bit his fingernails and paced back and forth. Ten minutes later, two men approached the front desk. One of them was tall with broad shoulders and thin, long legs. The other was a short man with no distinct characteristics—the kind of man who blended into the crowd.
Sophia didn’t recognize either man, but something about them seemed familiar. The principal approached the taller of the two and began speaking and pointing into his office. The taller man peered through the crack in the open door and made eye contact with Sophia, smiling and giving her a small wave with long, crooked, ugly fingers.
When the men headed toward the principal’s office, Sophia ducked down in her seat. She didn’t know why, but she suddenly felt scared and wanted to run or scream. The door squeaked open and she heard the thump of each footstep as it echoed through the room. She pinched her eyes shut as the thumping steps moved around the chair and stopped just in front of her. The only sound Sophia heard now was her own breathing.
The silence was broken by a gentle voice. “Sophia Flembuzzle? It’s okay to open your eyes—you’re not in trouble.”
Although there was something about this man Sophia did not like, she liked the way he talked to her: kind and soft. She opened her eyes and inched her head upward. The taller of the men was crouched in front of her chair, at her eye level.
“There’s those beautiful eyes.” He put a hand on Sophia’s shoulder. “Let me introduce myself and my friend. I’m Mayor Max Monev and this is my assistant, Derek Dunger. You and I met a few years ago. Do you remember?”
She tried hard to remember but couldn’t. She shook her head, and Mayor Monev smiled a sly, clever smile at Dunger.
“Sophia, Principal Winklestein told me what happened today. I bet you have a lot of questions.”
She did have a lot of questions, but she remained silent. She gave the mayor a wide-eyed look and a slight nod to indicate she was listening but still deciding whether to trust him.
“Has anyone told you why people are acting so funny?”
Sophia shook her head. Funny is not the word she would’ve used.
The mayor tilted his head toward the principal. “Winklestein, I’m disappointed in you for leaving this poor girl in the dark. She deserves answers.”
“I’m sorry, Mayor. I can explain it all now, if you’d like,” the principal replied.
“No, I don’t think that will be necessary. I have a better idea.” The mayor stood. “It’s easier to show than it is to tell, anyway. I say we take a little field trip.”
“Of course,” the principal gulped. “I can have someone bring one of the buses around.”
“Certainly not! This girl deserves much better than an old, clunky bus for a field trip as important as this. I’ll have Dunger bring the limousine around.”
Sophia had never ridden in a limousine before. In fact, she had never even seen an actual limousine. She had only read about them and seen pictures. It was the kind of car a princess rode in.
Mayor Monev led her to the limousine, where Mr. Dunger opened the door.
“After you,” he motioned and Sophia climbed in.
Before the mayor followed, he whispered to Dunger in a voice Sophia couldn’t hear, “Are you sure this whole nice guy act is the way to go with this girl? She is a Flembuzzle, after all.”
“Trust me, sir,” Dunger responded without expression. “It’ll work.”
“It’d better work, or you’ll be looking for a new job.”