This is a story from more than ten years ago. It might seem like nothing much happened, but it won't let me go and I still have a weird gut feeling whenever I think about it: My last year in our very rural elementary school, we had the principal as our maths teacher. I didn't like him much, but I sure didn't hate him. As far as I can remember, he was a mostly normal teacher. We had a few notable interactions, but it wasn't anything important. One day, I was maybe 9 or 10 years old, the last lesson ended and most pupils left their classrooms at the same time. It was the day before a weekend, so everyone was very excited and rushing towards their jackets. The hallways were crowded and very narrow. I remember talking to someone, probably a friend from my class. Everything was loud and fast-moving around us, we were right in the middle of the crowd. Suddenly, I heard a voice vaguely shout my name and then a loud "Stop screaming!" over all those children's voices. Without thinking I laughed and shouted back "I'm not screaming!", as I rushed towards my jacket. There were already less children around, because most very running towards the exit. And it was the truth. My friend and I didn't scream. I hadn't been shouting until the moment I answered back. I was sure of this. Some others around us had been shouting and screaming, but it hadn't been us. The next thing I know is that the principal is blocking my way. He insists that I lied and that he had absolutely seen me screaming. There were even less children around now. I insisted I didn't do it. It was strange, because right next to us were other children still excitedly screaming and running, but he ignored everyone else. He kept on insisting that I lied, while I kept on insisting that I didn't do it. Maybe I should even mention that I was known to be a quiet child - the teachers often had to encourage (force) me to speak in class. I wasn't known for disruptive behavior. But he kept on insisting. Finally, we were all alone, because all the children had left. I didn't see any other teachers. We stood several minutes in the hallway, without coming to an agreement. At this point, I actually got annoyed and angry, because he kept on repeating the same thing and he didn't believe me at all. I finally tried to walk towards the exit. He blocked me and told me that he could forbid me from leaving as the principal and that he would have to punish me now for misbehaving and not listening to him. I can't remember whether he grabbed my arm. Might have happened, but I can't remember. Somehow I ended up on one of the tables near my classroom. I had to sit down, while he sat in front of me at this tiny table. He kept on saying that I had to apologize to him for running, screaming, lying and disobeying. He told me he wouldn't let me leave otherwise. And he didn't go back on his word. I insisted, he insisted. It was a never-ending circle. I told him I wouldn't apologize, because he was being wrong and it wouldn't be fair. He got progressively more angry. We were completely alone. We were in the big assembly hall, so I remember the echos of our shouting when it finally escalated after many, many circles of no progress. It was so scary to have the adult, male principal, who most pupils were a little bit scared of, shouting at you. I don't know how much time we spent there. I started crying at some point. I became hysterical. I kept on repeating that I didn't do it again and again. I did it so often that, even as a child, I became tired of having to say the same thing over and over again. I got desperate. He didn't budge. I became exhausted. He told me "What would your parents think about you lying and misbehaving?" A lot of time passed. Mentally, I started begging for someone to come safe me. For my parents or my grandmother to call to ask why I wasn't at home yet. Or for another person to walk by. I wondered, Why is no one calling? I should've been at home already, so why is no one looking for me? So much time went by. I kept on crying, but I felt so drained. Finally, I told him, truthfully, that my grandmother might be waiting for me at home and that she might be worried about me, because I should've been at home already. Suddenly, he looked a little bit nervous. He told me very sternly to not move and walked towards his office. I waited for him at the table, because I was scared of the consequences if I tried to make a run for it. Even if I desperately wanted to run. After a good while, he came back. For some reason, he acted more friendly. Instead of being openly angry, he gently coerced me into apologizing. He told me that everything would be over and totally fine, if I only admitted that I had lied the whole time. I gave in. I was too exhausted. I admitted to everything I didn't do. He praised me and said "See, wasn't so bad, right?" I nodded and begged him to finally be able to leave. He kept on praising me and was very friendly. I was too scared to look him in the eyes anymore. I finally left the building. The most busy street in the area, which linked the elementary school to my neighborhood, was completely empty. I honestly think that there was almost no one outside, everyone was already home and eating following the usual mad-dash after school's and part-time work's end. I cried the whole way home. I told my grandmother of the incident, but she just looked at me weirdly. I told my parents, but they didn't seem to think much of it. I dropped the topic, because nobody seemed to care. The following years, I avoided thinking of this incident, because it just made me feel extremely bad. Sometimes I would physically start to feel sick when I started to think about it. But starting around two years ago, I thought back on it and I think it was really weird. It was a weird power play and for some reason I always break out in cold sweat whenever I recall it. On a few occasions, I even wondered whether he might have been a predator who only let me go, because I told him that someone was waiting for me at home. I think I lost a lot of trust in fairness and adults in general because of this man. Sometimes I want to ask him what he had been thinking. Sometimes I want to ask him whether he was trying to do something to me. Then I think that it was probably nothing. But it was just so weird. I think he kept me there for over an hour. I again told my mother of this incident a few months ago. Now that I'm an adult, people react very differently to this story. They don't necessarily draw the conclusion that something might have been seriously wrong, but they assure me that it was a bad situation to be in and the principal behaved like an asshole. I just wish someone would have actually cared when I was a child.

This is a story from more than ten years ago. It might seem like nothing much happened, but it won't let me go and I still have a weird gut feeling whenever I think about it:My last year in our very rural elementary school, we had the principal as our maths teacher. I didn't like him much, but I sure didn't hate him. As far as I can remember, he was a mostly normal teacher. We had a few notable interactions, but it wasn't anything important.One day, I was maybe 9 or 10 years old, the last lesson ended and most pupils left their classrooms at the same time. It was the day before a weekend, so everyone was very excited and rushing towards their jackets. The hallways were crowded and very narrow. I remember talking to someone, probably a friend from my class. Everything was loud and fast-moving around us, we were right in the middle of the crowd.Suddenly, I heard a voice vaguely shout my name and then a loud "Stop screaming!" over all those children's voices. Without thinking I laughed and shouted back "I'm not screaming!", as I rushed towards my jacket. There were already less children around, because most very running towards the exit. And it was the truth. My friend and I didn't scream. I hadn't been shouting until the moment I answered back. I was sure of this. Some others around us had been shouting and screaming, but it hadn't been us.The next thing I know is that the principal is blocking my way. He insists that I lied and that he had absolutely seen me screaming. There were even less children around now. I insisted I didn't do it. It was strange, because right next to us were other children still excitedly screaming and running, but he ignored everyone else.He kept on insisting that I lied, while I kept on insisting that I didn't do it. Maybe I should even mention that I was known to be a quiet child - the teachers often had to encourage (force) me to speak in class. I wasn't known for disruptive behavior.But he kept on insisting. Finally, we were all alone, because all the children had left. I didn't see any other teachers. We stood several minutes in the hallway, without coming to an agreement.At this point, I actually got annoyed and angry, because he kept on repeating the same thing and he didn't believe me at all. I finally tried to walk towards the exit. He blocked me and told me that he could forbid me from leaving as the principal and that he would have to punish me now for misbehaving and not listening to him.I can't remember whether he grabbed my arm. Might have happened, but I can't remember. Somehow I ended up on one of the tables near my classroom. I had to sit down, while he sat in front of me at this tiny table. He kept on saying that I had to apologize to him for running, screaming, lying and disobeying. He told me he wouldn't let me leave otherwise.And he didn't go back on his word. I insisted, he insisted. It was a never-ending circle. I told him I wouldn't apologize, because he was being wrong and it wouldn't be fair. He got progressively more angry. We were completely alone. We were in the big assembly hall, so I remember the echos of our shouting when it finally escalated after many, many circles of no progress.It was so scary to have the adult, male principal, who most pupils were a little bit scared of, shouting at you.I don't know how much time we spent there. I started crying at some point. I became hysterical. I kept on repeating that I didn't do it again and again. I did it so often that, even as a child, I became tired of having to say the same thing over and over again. I got desperate. He didn't budge. I became exhausted. He told me "What would your parents think about you lying and misbehaving?"A lot of time passed. Mentally, I started begging for someone to come safe me. For my parents or my grandmother to call to ask why I wasn't at home yet. Or for another person to walk by. I wondered, Why is no one calling? I should've been at home already, so why is no one looking for me?So much time went by. I kept on crying, but I felt so drained. Finally, I told him, truthfully, that my grandmother might be waiting for me at home and that she might be worried about me, because I should've been at home already.Suddenly, he looked a little bit nervous. He told me very sternly to not move and walked towards his office. I waited for him at the table, because I was scared of the consequences if I tried to make a run for it. Even if I desperately wanted to run. After a good while, he came back. For some reason, he acted more friendly. Instead of being openly angry, he gently coerced me into apologizing. He told me that everything would be over and totally fine, if I only admitted that I had lied the whole time.I gave in. I was too exhausted. I admitted to everything I didn't do. He praised me and said "See, wasn't so bad, right?"I nodded and begged him to finally be able to leave. He kept on praising me and was very friendly. I was too scared to look him in the eyes anymore.I finally left the building. The most busy street in the area, which linked the elementary school to my neighborhood, was completely empty. I honestly think that there was almost no one outside, everyone was already home and eating following the usual mad-dash after school's and part-time work's end. I cried the whole way home. I told my grandmother of the incident, but she just looked at me weirdly. I told my parents, but they didn't seem to think much of it. I dropped the topic, because nobody seemed to care.The following years, I avoided thinking of this incident, because it just made me feel extremely bad. Sometimes I would physically start to feel sick when I started to think about it.But starting around two years ago, I thought back on it and I think it was really weird. It was a weird power play and for some reason I always break out in cold sweat whenever I recall it. On a few occasions, I even wondered whether he might have been a predator who only let me go, because I told him that someone was waiting for me at home.I think I lost a lot of trust in fairness and adults in general because of this man. Sometimes I want to ask him what he had been thinking. Sometimes I want to ask him whether he was trying to do something to me. Then I think that it was probably nothing. But it was just so weird. I think he kept me there for over an hour.I again told my mother of this incident a few months ago. Now that I'm an adult, people react very differently to this story. They don't necessarily draw the conclusion that something might have been seriously wrong, but they assure me that it was a bad situation to be in and the principal behaved like an asshole. I just wish someone would have actually cared when I was a child.