Benji sat, uncomfortable, on the hard chair, pinned in his place by principal's frosty glower. He held a chunk of ice wrapped in paper towels to his eye, already knowing that the bruise was reddish-purple and an unattractive sight.

"Well," Mr. Belford said icily, his long bony fingers clasped tightly together on the desk in front of him, "This must be a record. This is the fifth fight you've gotten in since school started. And it's nearly December! That's five fights - in three months!"

Benji stared past him out the window. The sky was a sort of dirty blue, filled with raggedy gray clouds, and all the leaves were gone from the trees, and Christmas was less than a month away. Benji's mind drifted back to many Christmases ago...the tree had been small, but festively hung with the old, but still decorative ornaments that reappeared every holiday season. He remembered how him and Joel, seven at the time, and scrambled down the stairs to discover what goodies were in store. The presents had always been small and few in number, but always from the heart.

The twins had run downstairs, and Benji remembered his childlike confusion when he only saw one parent smiling happily at him. He had put the thought out of his mind until the gift giving was over, then had gazed up at his mother with big eyes and asked where his daddy was. His mother's eyes suddenly took on a faraway look, and in that composed voice he had become so used to, she said "Daddy's busy. He...Had to go out." And somehow, deep inside the child's mind, Benji knew not to question anymore.

"Benjamin?" Mr. Belford's voice sounded exasperated. "Please, pay attention to what I'm saying to you! This is important."

He sighed. "You're a junior. You need to be thinking about applying to college. And with records like these..." he waved a handful of assorted papers in the air, his protuberant, watery blue eyes going wide, "No university is going to accept you." Benji nodded perfunctorily. Mr. Belford sat in silence for a moment, then ran a hand through his rapidly thinning gray hair. "I've made exceptions in the past, but this is the last straw." Benji furrowed his brow in confusion, then his eyes opened almost as wide as the principal's when Mr. Belford reach for the phone and said, "I'm going to have to contact your parents and inform them of the situation." Benji shot up out of his chair, and, with an extreme measure of control, placed his hands gently on the desk.

"Mr. Belford, please," he began, heart pounding, "Umm, I'll do detention. I'll do in-school suspension!" The principal eyed him, the phone in hand, as Benji continued wildly, "I'll...I'll help out in the library. After school! Just please, don't...don't call home."

Mr. Belford shook his head sadly as he shuffled through the fat manila folder on his desk, searching for the phone number. "You will be getting a five day out-of-school suspension, Benjamin. I'm sorry; this has gotten too out of hand."

Benji sat in a daze as he heard Mr. Belford's voice speaking over the line, heard the sharp click as he set the phone back in the receiver. He smiled gently at Benji, as if he understood the fear in his heart. "Don't worry, your mother didn't sound very upset."

Benji let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "My mother?"

"Yes," the principal replied, "she's coming to pick you up right away."

Benji left the office to go sit on the bench right outside the school entrance. He leaned against the wooden slats, his breath making a puff in front of his face from the chilly air. He made a silent prayer in his mind to whoever was listening; thanking whatever god was out there that his father hadn't been home to pick up the phone. He could imagine the look on his father's ruddy face; feel the harsh blows across his face.

He unconsciously rubbed his cheek. Several minutes later, he looked up to see his mother pull to the curb in their old blue Ford. He stood to his feet and walked across the cold concert to clamber inside the bulky truck. He nearly collapsed into the seat, rolling his head back against the headrest and letting his eyelids drift shut. "Bad day, huh?" Colleen's voice, tinged with humor, made him open his eyes and turn his head to look at her.

"You have no idea."