Things aren’t looking great for the 14-year-old Virginia girl who allegedly pelted one of her teachers in the forehead with a two-inch long carrot. Aliya May, who has been suspended now for almost a full month, could face assault and battery charges for the vegetable toss.

“I don’t understand this,” May’s mother, Karrie, told WTVR. “Yes, it happened, and I can see a couple of days in school detention or even a couple days out-of-school suspension. But this goes way beyond that. We have to go to court, and her charges aren’t small: assault and battery with a weapon.”

What exactly happened, you’re wondering? Well, earlier this year, May reportedly walked out of a class at Moody Middle School in Henrico County and spotted an old teacher of hers. Upon seeing the teacher, May claims several thoughts ran through her mind. Those thoughts, I imagine, were something like this: 1) There’s my old teacher, 2) My old teacher will probably appreciate a joke right now, 3) I have a baby carrot from lunch in my pocket, 4) The joke should be me throwing the carrot at her.

Underestimating her arm strength and accuracy, May apparently imagined a gentle carrot toss that might land softly on or near the teacher, not one that smacked the woman practically between her eyes.

WTVR’s resident legal expert Todd Stone told the station that because the law is the law and the carrot was hard, May may be in some trouble.

“If it’s a soft carrot, it may not be as offensive,” he said. “But if it’s a raw carrot, you don’t have to have an injury or show you were hurt to prove a battery. It just has to be an offensive, vindictive touch. That’s what the law says.”

Below, a picture of the carrot.