9-Year-Old Victim of Cancer Is King for a Day : Schools: Student brings a smile to his role as honorary principal, lifting the spirits of staff and classmates.

Michael Hoefflin surveyed his kingdom.

Parting the glass doors, an entourage of admirers at his heel, the 9-year-old student at Sulphur Springs Elementary School strode directly to the door marked “principal.”

He opted for a chair by the door rather than the seat behind a desk, sat up straight and pushed back a baseball cap.

Only the tiny wisps of hair on his balding skull revealed that he might be thinking about something beyond the fourth-grade equivalent of being king for a day.

Michael knows that only a miracle will save him from brain cancer. But Friday his focus was on becoming the honorary principal of his Canyon Country school.

“I think it’s exciting,” he said. “You get to eat whatever you want!”

Naming him principal for the day was a present from his parents, who bid for the prize at an auction to raise money for the school.

Fortified by a cheeseburger shared with two friends at McDonald’s, Michael set about establishing a regimen based on simple rules. There would be no hitting, no talking back. Kids were expected to respect others and do their homework.

He organized a kickball game between the sixth-graders and the school’s staff members, then decreed that students should pick up trash for five minutes but extended recess by 10 minutes.

He was striving to be benevolent. It seems to be part of his philosophy.

“God’s gift to me is my smile, which makes other people happy. Then it helps me fight the cancer, which helps the nurses and the doctors,” he said. “It’s sort of like a circle. It never ends.”

But he clearly relished leadership. Holding a book close to his hip, he strolled to Manya Christensen’s kindergarten class, sat in front of a magic-marker board welcoming him, and somehow persuaded two dozen wiggly children to sit still long enough to hear a story.

The younger kids know him well, their teacher says, because he would come in from the playground during recess at times when he was not feeling well and help them with their art projects.

“You just don’t know how long you’re going to have on Earth to make a difference,” Christensen said. Her eyes were red, holding back tears as Michael guided her class through a story with animal pictures in yellow, blue and green. “He’s made such a difference.”

Michael was diagnosed with cancer in 1992. Since then, he’s had chemotherapy and surgery. Words such as platelets are as much a part of his vocabulary as Nintendo. He has no trouble explaining what he’s up against.

“I have brain cancer,” he says matter-of-factly. “They took strong pictures. My hair couldn’t grow in that fast.”

He removes his Chicago Cubs baseball cap without being asked as a photographer chronicled his big day. He wants no shadows on his face in the pictures. It just wouldn’t match his mood.

“Last year, people would call me names. . . . People would call me baldy,” he said. “I would walk right past them--and say hi.”

The steroids he is now taking to fight cancer have made him gain weight, puffing his cheeks. The additional weight and his smart white cardigan sweater, navy slacks and dark shoes gave him a prosperous appearance oddly suited to his temporary job.

He didn’t have to do anything too difficult Friday. The school’s staff members asked him to only take on the so-called public relations aspects of being principal. No detention was handed out. He seemed to command a good deal of respect for someone who is 9 years old.

“He’s such a wise little boy,” said Marilyn Miller, the school principal every day but this Friday. “He just takes things one day at a time.”

Michael’s dad, Chris Hoefflin, was on hand to watch the kickball game organized by his son. He says his child is the one giving the lessons.

“He has so clearly demonstrated that if you’re feeling good, you go out and have a good time,” he said. “God has taught us the lesson that every moment is precious.”

When the kid the others used to call “baldy” took the field and proceeded to the first-base coaching box, his schoolmates cheered.

They gushed about his accomplishments. Heather Joseph, 10, thought picking up trash was good for the school’s image. Jennifer Lara, 9, said kids with cancer can be “cool.” Alexander Dosh, 9, said Michael was lucky to get such a great job.

“I think he’s the bravest kid in school,” said Nicole Feeder, who is 11. “I don’t know how I would cope with that.”

And though Friday was fun, Michael said he isn’t thinking about a career in education. He’d rather be in the cockpit of an F-14. “I was thinking of becoming a fighter pilot. I’m good in math,” he said. “I think I have what it takes.”