"That be somethin' stanky." my new, first grade boyfriend answered, smiling with satisfaction.
"RIGHT!!!! That's right!!!!" she howled.
"Ms. Powell, how old are you?" another kid asked.
"Me, well I am 102 years old, but next week, I will be 103." she answered with smile.
My little boyfriend turned and looked at the picture on my ID badge.
"Uh," I commented.
"I hate this picture!"
"Yeah, me too. I wish it was beautiful." he answered and gave me a little hug.
"Good morning Ms. Powell!" a late student announced as she entered the classroom.
"I'm supposed to be in quarantine!"
"Good morning, Izzy. Do you mind, uh, stepping into the hallway?" Ms. Powell responded, glancing at me with widening eyes before walking over to the classroom telephone.
Everyone has COVID. Two of my students have it ripping through their middle school-aged siblings, kids I taught over the last few years. Gabriel has it. Juan, too. And Alejandro. The families have them locked in a room in the house while the rest of the uninfected try to continue with their lives and stay well.
"I'm sorry." Baby Gustavo told me while I hovered over his desk, looking at his Social Studies work.
"I should have told you sooner."
"It's okay," I responded.
"it's not my business, I just hope they are okay and start feeling better."
"I still think I should have told you."
He seemed genuinely disturbed and had been acting withdrawn for at least a week.
Alberto has taken to showing up to school an hour before the doors open and sitting outside in the dark. He was miserable and bored when Juan was quarantined in his room and now his mother and sister have it. He actually wants to be at school all of the time. He was absent Friday and I can't help but wonder if it got him.
"The tumor I removed was malignant, another mast cell tumor. Please schedule additional surgery for Lola on the following Monday so that I can get clean margins on the rest of the malignancy."
Lola just got her stitches, and staples - a result of my negligence that ended up with the incision opening and a trip to the emergency vet - out and was finally about to be free of the cone and medicines. And, it was cancer again.
I waited for my fifth graders to finish their breakfasts and go to class, closed my computer and cried.
It seemed strange when Htoo took his jacket off during our lesson. It's not particularly cold in the trailer, but all of my students wear heavy coats, all day. Then, he started pulling his arms inside the sleeves of his shirt, as if he was cold. I prattled on with my little phonics lesson.
"So, which letter makes the 'fffffff' sound....." I continued, glancing up at Htoo and Adrian.
Htoo jerked his arms upward, exposing his entire naked upper body and snorted like a pig.
I screamed.
Adrian and Htoo burst into hysterical laughter and I saw Aiden's arms snaking inside of their sleeves, preparing another naked surprise for me.
"Okay." I announced at the end of class and after several flashings.
"Prepare your beautiful selves for the hallway, we are going back in."
They smiled and snaked their arms back into their sleeves, put on their jackets and prepared to rejoin the general population.
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