DR. WALLACE: I'm a guy who's a junior and part of a group of guys who play together on two of our high school's sports teams. We are always playing pranks on each other continuously! We've been doing this to each other for over a year and have all had a lot of good laughs during that time.

Well, last week I came up with an idea to put a super small tan-colored sponge on the seat in front of me where one of my best friends usually sits in one of our classes.

I cut the super small piece of sponge off from a bigger piece so that it wouldn't be easy to see unless you were actually looking for it. I soaked it in cranberry juice since I knew he had a light pair of tan pants on that day.

The class was just about to start, and he still hadn't shown up, and then to my horror a new girl at our school walked quickly past me and sat down in that chair right in front of me with white pants on!

She felt the liquid and immediately let out a yelp and found the sponge. Our teacher noticed all the commotion, then asked the classroom who had placed the cranberry-soaked sponge there.

Before I could say anything, a girl diagonally behind me raised her hand and told the teacher that I had done it. When the teacher asked me if that was true, I confessed and apologized to the girl. I explained to her and the teacher that I was simply trying to play a prank on one of my friends.

The teacher didn't find it to be too funny, and I got sent to the principal's office and ended up getting suspended from school for three days. Needless to say, my parents were not amused, and now I've been grounded for a full month. I'm now also being asked to do twice as many chores for half the allowance that I usually receive since I'm going to be around the house a lot for the next few weeks.

Don't you feel, as I do, that both the school and my parents have grossly overreacted to what was a minor prank between friends? It's not like I put a sharp object on the seat that could have injured her in any way. I understand I should face discipline, but I feel both the school and my parents have way overreacted. — My Punishments Feel Excessive, via email

MY PUNISHMENTS FEEL EXCESSIVE: You've learned a hard lesson the hard way. It may be fun to constantly pull pranks and do things you find funny with your friends, but as with most things in life, there's a time and a place.

Pulling such a prank in a school classroom is entirely out of bounds, and you earned your suspension in my opinion. Had I been your teacher or principal, I would not have been amused in the least with your prank.

I feel your parents were similarly unamused, and when they realized you were facing a suspension, their discipline kicked in to cement the lesson in your mind. Your best bet from here is to learn your lesson, do your time regarding your grounding, and keep all your future pranks away from your school, your home and certainly your sports practices.

If you feel it is important to persist in trading pranks with your friends, be very discerning where and what you do, and be certain no one can become seriously injured — no matter what.

I HAVE NO FUTURE PLANS

DR. WALLACE: I'm a girl who is a senior in high school, and unlike a lot of my friends, I don't have any major plans for my future. I'm a reasonable student but nowhere near the 4.0-GPA student that a couple of my friends are.

I live with my mom and my brother, and my father is not involved in my life at all. I'm not comfortable asking my mom what she thinks I should do after high school, since she's never been one to plan ahead or give good advice.

She has been really good at being a solid mother who brings in enough money to keep our rent paid and our daily lives stable and happy.

I could run this topic by a couple of friends of mine at school, but I'm kind of intimidated since they have such grandiose plans and are much more academically successful than I am.

What is the best way for me to consider my options going forward? I'll be a high school graduate in about four months. — I Have Nothing Planned Yet, via email

I HAVE NOTHING PLANNED YET: Go to your high school guidance office, and speak with a counselor or two.

They can likely set you up with some aptitude test and discuss with you what areas for future careers you might find interesting. Beyond that, I always feel that if a young person has a passion, hobby or particular aptitude for a certain type of work or discipline, they should consider it in terms of finding a potential career path or entrepreneurial opportunity, no matter how small to begin with.

Spending time working on something that you find interesting or that makes you happy is a great place to start.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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