Don’t Be Fooled By the Principal

Everyone was ready to go to school! “There will be a new Principal starting at the school this morning,” my grandfather called out to his many grandchildren. “I’m going to the devotion at school,” he said. All my brothers, my sister, and many cousins were all ready. It was the first day of school and everyone had a new school bag with new books and was wearing new uniforms, and don’t forget the new shoes. My grandfather was driving up to the school in his convertible fishtail car, but I definitely wasn’t going to sit in a packed car and get my uniform wrinkled. I wanted to go to school and parade around in my nicely pleated uniform skirt. 

My grandpa was the head of the area’s school board, and the head pastor of the church that the school was affiliated with, so he had to be present at the first day for the devotional service and to introduce the new principal and new teachers. At the beginning of September there were always new teachers. While everyone else loaded into Grandpa’s car, I walked away to school. I was accustomed to running, and making it to school in three minutes, maybe less. But that day, I decided to walk gingerly to school just to keep my uniform pleats in place.