[Janitors 03] Curse of the Broomstaff by Tyler Whitesides

as the BEM janitor caught up to him. At least for the moment, he was safer in Ms. Bellingham’s grasp.
    But the moment didn’t last. The teacher pulled him down the hallway, escorting him once more to the cafeteria.
    Pushing open the lunchroom doors, Ms. Bellingham ushered Spencer in.
    “MESS!” roared the ogrelike voice of the lunch man.
    With one hairy, tomato-sauced hand, he seized Spencer by the back of the neck and pressed him up against the wall.

Chapter 15
“It’s all in the system.”
    A s soon as the lunch man released his grip, Spencer realized that he was not alone. There were probably twenty or thirty students standing with their backs against the cafeteria wall. The kids were covered in food, some of their faces barely visible beneath a layer of Ragu. And as bad as the students looked, the lunchroom was worse.
    Spaghetti dangled from the ceiling like limp stalactites. The floor was a swamp of red sauce and milk, with pieces of pepperoni pizza floating like lily pads. Fruits and vegetables were smeared on the walls, and steamed broccoli was smashed all over the tables. It was as if the food pyramid had exploded and left no survivors.
    The lunch man looked like a human salad. His face was still dripping bleu cheese dressing, and a leaf of lettuce covered his head like a skullcap. None of this stopped him from producing a powerful scowl with enough intimidation to keep all the students quietly against the wall.
    The cafeteria door opened once more, and a sternlooking woman entered.
    “PRINCIPAL!” the lunch man announced.
    The principal carefully maneuvered through the mess, careful not to put her pointy heel through a piece of pizza. At last she stopped, just a few feet in front of the dripping students. She gave a sharp clap of her hands, not unlike a gunshot from a firing squad, and everyone jumped.
    “I will be contacting your parents,” the principal began. “You’ll have some explaining to do to them. And you have some explaining to do to me.”
    Under the intensity of her gaze, a meatball fell from one trembling student and landed with a splat.
    “This cafeteria is your responsibility,” said the principal. “Our substitute janitor has other things to do besides clean up your mess.”
    Spencer rolled his eyes. Little did the principal know that the substitute janitor’s “other things” involved abducting the good guys.
    “So you will clean it.” She pointed down the line at every student. “And you will not leave the lunchroom until it is spick-and-span.”
    The students nodded in submission, bits of food flecking from their faces. “I expect more out of you,” she said. “Now, would someone like to tell me how this started?”
    A profound silence overtook the cafeteria. Even the lunch man seemed to hold his breath in anticipation. The students didn’t dare look at each other, for fear of where the blame might land.
    Spencer stole a quick glance down the line. Aaron was looking back at him. The Monitor had a pineapple chunk stuck to his nose and a mournful expression on his face.
    Spencer thought back to his own mess at Welcher Elementary. Five months ago, he’d caused a disaster at the ice-cream social, hurling cans of root beer like grenades. After it was over, he’d felt horrible. He had disappointed his family and his school and wished there were some way to take it back.
    “I started the food fight,” Spencer said, stepping forward. “I got mad at Aaron and threw some spaghetti at him. He wouldn’t fight back, so I threw some food at his friends.”
    The principal listened to his false confession with squinted eyes. When he was finished, she tilted her head. “What’s your name?”
    “Spencer Zumbro,” he said. “I’m a new student. Like, really new.”
    “You clearly don’t understand our expectations at Triton Charter School. Perhaps we should go to my office and discuss them.”
    Spencer nodded, wondering how all of this was about to play out. He followed the