Not So Much A Post For The Guys

The last week of school coincided with the first week of my first period sans-birth control in many moons (due to health insurance - rather, a lack thereof - issues).  Neither was a very pretty sight.

It just so happened that the worst day was the very last day of school.  Friday we had our finals for third and fourth periods;luckily, I only had to give one for fourth period.  I felt like absolute ass - headache, barfy-ness, exhausted but unable to fall asleep while waiting for fourth period to start.  It was miserable.

Fourth period began and I was giving my pre-test shpeal ("well, you can use a pen on a scantron exam but it prolly won't help your grade," "no you can't use the book", all that good stuff).  All of a sudden I knew that I was going to have to throw up and no, it couldn't wait until they had begun the test and M could watch them.  So, mid-shpeal, I ran out of the classroom and to the staff bathroom, barfed, and then ran back to the classroom (in which I had just left 27 sophomores unguarded with the final and the answer sheet on my desk - they're a good class, though, and nothing was taken...I don't even think they noticed it was on my desk).  

Of course, they all wanted the gorey details, so I confessed that yes indeed I had just barfed at school.  They seemed to think it was immensely cool; I was embarassed and told them so, to which my one autistic student in that period replied:

Student M:  "Miss N do you want me to share an awkward fact about myself so that you don't feel as embarassed?"

Me:  "Um, sure!"

Student M: "I used to have seizures at night!"

What warmed my heart more than what he said was the class's reaction - they oohed and aahed and the girls commented about how cute it was that he said that.  They went from a class of sophomores in which I've had to write three actual detentions for students repeatedly calling things "gay" or "homo" to, for that day at least, one in which the students respected not only their teacher but each other.  It was a beautiful way to end the year, and I kept it in mind as I pulled over on the side of a busy Fairfield street to throw up yet again on my way home an hour later.