Question

the principle said to me,"why are you late ?(narration)​

Answer 1

The principle asked me why I was late.

To convert to indirect speech:

Step 1 - Remove the inverted commas.

Step 2 - Change words like 'said' to 'asked' since it a question.

Step 3 - Convert the tense to past tense by changing helping verbs like 'are' to 'was'.

Step 4 - Make sure it is a not in the form of an interrogative or exclamatory sentence.