Alice was in no mood to hear the instructions about how to use the laboratory equipment in the science classroom. It all seemed a big waste of time to her what with the beakers and the tubes and the other items that all merged into a senseless jumble of nonsense that had no interest to her in the slightest.

Besides, she was almost fourteen now and ready to move into her second year of high school.

It was different when she was in the silly middle school and had to listen to all those boring rules and regulations that made no sense to her at all.

She was always quick to find an answer for any question the teacher asked but had a hard time in talking to new boys and girls from other classes. Alice smiled because she knew she had a lot of girlfriends who liked her because she always had something to say and tried her best to pass on all the juicy details of the latest news around the school grounds.

Alice was a pretty girl.

Alice was a smart girl.

Alice had more friends than anyone else in the entire school.

Her only problem was that whenever she did something that grownups were unhappy with, her only response would be,

"It's not my fault!"

She was so convinced that she had to be right about everything that the very idea that she might be wrong was impossible for her to consider.

Sometimes it would be something simple like when she rang the dismissal bell to help the teacher and it was five minutes too early. All of the students disappeared down the empty hallway and the teacher told her,

"You have detention, young lady!"

The words tumbled out of her mouth like candy from a gumball machine.

"It's not my fault!"

Then, there was the time that the food fight started in the cafeteria and the walls were plastered with ketchup and mustard and other unidentified food items too numerous to mention. All she did was to dare Tommy Jones to see how far he could squirt the ketchup and it all snowballed downhill from there.

When the cafeteria manager grabbed her by her pigtails and brought her to the principal's office telling the principal,

"This little girl was the cause of the entire mess, Sir, and she is not the least bit sorry!"

The principal was tired of the chaos, tired of the constant problems, and if the truth be known, was totally tired of this little girl who created problems at every turn.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Alice?"

Alice shook her pigtails so hard that they flew straight out.

"It's not my fault!"

The little incident cost a three day suspension from school and her parents were most unhappy.

Her father told her,

"I am very unhappy with you, young lady!"

There were fresh tears in the corners of her pretty eyes and she cried out,