"No. I'm not doing it." snapped and 11 year-old Riley, shoving the sharpie away from him.

"C'mon, Riley! Don't be such a baby." his 'friend', Aaron, shoved the Sharpie back to him. "No.I'll get in trouble. I'm the only Riley in the school!" and with that, he began to rise, away from the little playground.

   "Wimp." That triggered it. That is what made Riley grab the Sharpie, and scrawl his name on the bottom of the playground slide. His handwriting was messy, yet legible. As soon as he was done, he threw the Sharpie down, and walked away, red-faced. He felt like everyone was staring at him, like he was some alien from a distant galaxy. He found a quiet, shady spot. There, he put his head in his hands, and let a nervous tear escape. He thought of all the horrible things that could happen to him.

     He couldn't bring himself to get up, even when the bell rang. He sat there, shaking. He sat there forever, it seemed. Another bell. He let a smile play across his lips. It was the end of the day. He could go home, forget about this. He felt happy, until he saw the Principal walking towards him, Aaron behind him, giving Riley the evilest of smirks.



         "Riley, come with me. Please."  Principal Nelson's tone was not friendly. Riley glanced at Aaron. Aaron smiled smugly, and followed the Principal towards the playground.... towards the slide.

        "Can you explain?...This?" the Principal pointed at the slide. Riley gingerly looked under the slide. What he saw scared him. His name....was the only name there. He was sure that..... Aaron and the other kids had signed too. Then, he realized, he was the first to sign. He looked gingerly up at Principal Nelson, and he opened his mouth, then closed it. "Please, explain what happened." he said.

"HE MADE ME DO IT!" Riley pointed his finger at Aaron, and Aaron retorted, "DID NOT! HE DID IT ON HIS OWN ACCORD!!" The boys then got in a screaming match, and eventually started to shove. "Boys, BOYS!" Principal Nelson held back the fighting fifth graders, so they were punching air, trying to get at each other. "You will BOTH clean up the playground, and your parents will be called." Riley stopped fighting. His parents..... were dead.

    "I will see you both on Saturday. Good bye." Principal Nelson walked off.

          "Well, I guess he can't call your parents, since they're dead." Aaron taunted.
That was the last straw. Riley turned on his heel and punched Aaron in the face. Riley, realizing what he had done, ran off. He didn't stop 'til he got home.
    
             "Nana?" He looked for his Grandma, and found her in the living room. "Hi, sweetie." she looked up from her knitting. "What's wrong? Are you ok?" His Nana could always tell when something was up. "No, Nana. I-i did something bad." His voice broke. He sat at her feet, and, through tears, explained what had happened. He was scared to see her reaction. But, she surprised him. "Dear, I understand that you felt pressured. I will go to the school and talk to the principal on Saturday. Ok?" Riley nodded. It was Friday, so he stayed up late, with his Grandma, and watched movies. It was one of their traditions. It was around 12:00 when he finally went to bed.

               "G'night Nana!" he said, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Good night, Sweetie." she replied.

   And, with that, Riley went to bed.