The Ringing Grate

MEE HOY MINOY! I march down from the high room and stomp straight across the hallway floorboards! Clack, clack, thud! Right in front of my feet sits a slotted metal vent set into the oak. No blank paper, only cold, hard iron bars! I do not hesitate. I swing the yellow pencil around and slam the blunt eraser end straight into the grate—CLANG! The metal shriek rings through the whole corridor! NEE-HOY-BABA! I pound it three more times in rapid succession, rattling both legs as the deep vibration buzzes up through my stiff paper body.