I got a new student today, which means that I had to redo my seating chart AGAIN! Mr. Franklin brought the young man to my class and introduced him as Ste Wilmore.
"Hello, Stephen. My name is Ms. Kay and I'm your Reading teacher. Nice to meet you." I turned to the class and put my hand in the air. That's my quiet signal. As the class silenced themselves, I asked Stephen to introduce himself.
"Stephen, whenever we have new students, we ask them to introduce themselves by sharing a fun fact with the class. But first, we're going to give you our traditional Paledo Lion's welcome. And with that, the class let out a roar, which I admit still rattles me every time. Just as I turned to Stephen to explain our unorthodox tradition (I assumed he would be thrown off as I was on my first day), Stephen ripped open his button-up shirt and showed his Spiderman costume chest plate to the class. Almost immediately, he then began to flick his wrist and make hissing noises.
"I am Stephen Wilmore, but just like my idol, Spiderman, I save lives" said Stephen confidently.
The class seemed like they were trying to figure out whether or not he was serious. When it became evident that he was, they began to laugh hysterically.
"Really? Oh that is what we will NOT do!" Even though there were a few snickering here and there, the class managed to get themselves together. I radioed for the hall monitor, Mr. Kelly, to watch my class. I instructed the class to continue reading the novel independently as I took Stephen into the hallway.
"I'm sorry, Stephen. I don't tolerate that kind of behavior in my class."
"It's okay, Ms. Kay. I'm used to it. A lot of people can't handle my gifts. I mean, don't get me wrong, I totally understand that I don't have superpowers, but I do save lives.
"What do you mean?" I asked Stephen curiously.
Stephen reached into his pocket and pulled out a rusty nail. "Look at this nail. I found it in the parking lot this morning. Now to you, it's just a nail but to me I saved someone from dying in a car crash."
"Stephen, I don't quite follow." I had no idea what he was talking about.
Stephen proceeded to speak to me as if I lacked intelligence. "This nail causes a flat tire, which causes a car accident, which causes people to die...do you understand now, Ms. Kay?"
I nodded more in bewilderment than comprehension. "Wow, I didn't think about it like that, Stephen. You really do save lives. I guess it's like they say, not all superheroes wear capes."
Stephen looked at me like I had three heads and simply replied, "Spiderman doesn't wear a cape, Ms. Kay."