No more than five minutes later, Zack stopped sitting quietly in his chair. I can’t recall whether he was throwing a spitwad, or poking his neighbor with a pencil, or some other grievous sin. In any event, Mrs. Skidmore was at the board adding a third checkmark and this was enough to send Zack into meltdown. We had seen it many times before; the third check inevitably led to the fourth shortly thereafter, and that meant a trip to the principal’s office. Mr. McCollugh had come to get Zack so many times I suspected he just waited outside Mrs. Skidmore’s door most afternoons. We all bunkered down to watch the show, all hopes of finishing our regrouping practice problems case aside in the thrill of the moment.