The children marched goose after the headmistress. They felt that the consequences of the adventure in the undergrounds were inevitable. Charles, following Michael, caught up with him and quietly called the rest of the children.
- "It's impossible that we came across her by accident ..." Michael began.
"There must be something we don't know." -
"I think you don't know! Everything is clear to me." Charles didn't restrain himself "the caretaker sold us. I don't see any other option. Zygmunt is not our friend!"
- "Do not say that! I do not believe that Zygmunt would report us to the headmistress!" Sofie was indignant at the accusations against the caretaker Zygmunt.
- "You can accept it or not. The one you thought was your friend turned out to be a traitor!"
The children had to interrupt the conversation because they were approaching the school office where the headmistress had her study. The headmistress asked them to wait for her in the secretary's office, before entering her study. Chaos appeared in front of the kids' eyes. Even though lessons were going on around the office, there was a lot of noise in the office. Zygmunt's helpers were everywhere, taking out old wooden furniture, touched by the tooth of time, and replacing it with new, shiny metal wardrobes resistant to harsh working conditions. In the centre of the room were boxes piled with their contents previously resting on wobbly wooden shelves.
- "We are not the only ones who scrapped ourselves." Michael said.
- "Do you think Mrs secretary did something wrong as well?" Charles asked.
- "She dropped by and they told her to pack? And they throw her out of school like us?" - There was fear in Adalbert's voice.
- "I'll ask!" - Children often did not know how brave and just how mindless Michael was.
"What have you done to move out of here now? Will they throw us out too?" The woman was taken out of the trance of work, she was putting things into new wardrobes. - "No, don't throw out the chairs yet. Then you can take those old wooden cabinets out of Maria's office."
At first, she did not realize that she had heard only the end of the sentence, and her interlocutor was little Michael.
"Ah, kids, no one is going to throw you out! Wait a moment for the head teacher... What brings you here?" A broad smile appeared on Mrs Milena's face. - "We're innocent! Charles said." This is all a misunderstanding! -
"You will explain yourself to the headmistress." - Michael rebuked him. – "Be quiet!"
- "We were caught visiting school cellars ..." Zosia said shyly. "Now we have to bear the consequences of our trip! Maybe you can tell us what's going on here? We have already screwed up anyway. Did you also do something wrong that they are taking the furniture away from here?"
- "Ah, my children, the headmistress will not hurt you, everything will be fine, I can promise you that! Forgive me for treating you under such conditions, but we are in the process of a great refurbishment! Instead of replacing perishable chipboard furniture every few years, this time with the headmistress, we decided to focus on quality and equip the entire school with durable and aesthetic metal furniture."
- "What does "Malow" mean? The same is written on all wardrobes! On those where we leave books, on these laptop charging trolleys, in the Zygmunt's basement and here!"
- "Malow means high-quality products and the best standard of service." Mrs Milena paused for a moment to make sure that the children were keeping up with her train of thought. "It is a company from Suwalki in Poland, dealing with the production of metal furniture. We took part in the School Action they organized. Our school was visited by an authorized manufacturer advisor and he helped us choose to the best furniture at affordable prices." - Mrs Milena came to the wardrobe. "Such a solid wardrobe cannot be overloaded! I dreamed about such a wardrobe! Just look, all metal! Adjustable shelves, solid hinges... and doors locked with a key! I bet your kids will still be using them. Mrs Milena laughed softly. She was the first to see the headmistress approach." Mrs Maria, you have guests!
- Children, follow me. We will sit in my office - the headmistress invited a group to her room.
The children followed the headmistress into the office. They sat down at the table and waited silently for punishment.
- Do you know why you are here?
- Because we got caught! - Michael started. - Because the caretaker complained to us! Charles added. The headmistress shook her head in disbelief.
- No! Children, it's not that you got caught! It is even better, otherwise, you would continue your games until someone got hurt. Secondly ... Mr Zygmunt did not tell me that he saw you in the cellar. And I'll talk to him about that as well...
- So Zygmunt didn't betray us?
- Of course not! But now you will all take responsibility for it together...
- "Zygmunt will be expelled from school with us?" Adalbert was scared. The headmistress laughed softly.
- Nobody gets kicked out! Children, it is about your safety. As for the consequences
- I have an idea. In September of the next school year, you will help Mr Zygmunt with labelling lockers for the youngest primary classes. By the way, you will remind them of school rules: personal culture and taking care of common safety.
- Headmistress, of course! We will be their guardians!
- I know that we can always count on you, Sophie. - The headmistress was touched by Sofie's reaction.
- Go on the lessons. The day after tomorrow is the end of the school year. Remember about the formal clothes!
The children went to the cloakroom to take the books needed for the next lesson. Returning to class, they talked about recent events and holiday plans. As requested by the headmistress, they were no longer running in the corridors.