The Rock Incident

by Colleen
(Dallas, Texas)

When I was six years old, I had a habit of getting into trouble. I actually spent more time outside the principal's office than in class. However, there was one occasion that almost got me in deep with everyone in school, but I narrowly escaped it because of friends that refused to rat me out.

One day my friends and I were bored during recess, so we ran behind rock piles toward the edge of the playground. They were doing construction nearby, but no one thought to keep an eye on us. I don't know why, but we started throwing rocks indiscriminately. I threw a rock that barely fit into my little first grader hand, and flung it as far as I could. It sailed past the high wall and into an apartment complex next door. Then, we heard someone scream...

The next thing I knew, every kid in the school (it was a small school) was sitting against the wall and being barraged with questions by the principal. Apparently I was responsible for giving a woman a concussion. He screamed at us for at least two hours. My friends knew what I had done, and they kept their mouths shut.

Needless to say, I don't throw rocks anymore.