Mrs. S Gets an End of Year Surprise

Stevenson asked coolly. The receptionist hastily opened her drawer and handed her the forms, eyes still wide. I suspect she was trying not to laugh. We walked back to the classroom in silence. As we entered, a raucous room of kids fell into silence with a few stray snickers and I walked back to my seat, trying to hide a smirk. I had a feeling that I had given all thirty of them a damn good story to tell all of their friends that afternoon. I just knew I was going to be thrown into in school suspension for the last week of the school year. Luckily, it was the last class of the day and the last class day before finals, so I would only have to see Mrs. S. once more that year. Then she would have a whole summer to forget what I had done to her.

I found my brother at our meeting place. As soon as he saw me, his eyes narrowed and a sly grin spread across his face. “What did you do?” So I told him as he cracked up laughing. We got home, and he walked in the house before me, that sly grin still on his face. I came in after and my mom stood there with her hands on her hips. “What did  you do?” I told her a slightly tamer version of the story and she stared at the ceiling, sighing and shaking her head. “Emily, when is this going to stop happening? It’s like you go crazy with spring fever at the end of every year and I have to wait and worry that you’ll come home and tell me a story like this. That’s it. We are going to see Dr.Cobb as soon as possible and you are going on medication for ADHD.”

She was right. I had a history of impulsive behavior that was completely unsuitable for the public school system. I think I was just bored. Teachers didn’t want to help me learn. Why would they try to make my life easier when I didn’t give them the same courtesy?

I came in and took the final without even looking Mrs. Stevenson in the eye. I left as quickly as I could. A few days later, on the last day of school, Mrs. Stevenson passed me in the lunchline.

“Emily,” she said cheerily, “you did really well on your final!  I was very proud of you.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Stevenson. I did study this time.” I smiled, and she smiled back.

“Have a good summer, Emily.”

“You, too.” And that was it. I never got thrown into ISS. I never even got after school detention. I did go to the doctor, and I did get put on medication. But that’s a whole other story for another day.