Dirty Rodent

Let me give you a preface of my mentor teacher Ms. Moore, before I tell this story. She is all business. She's very strict with the students. She not only demands respect but she doesn't tolerate ANY shenanigans. She even scares me at times. She walks into the classroom and the students turn silent. If the students even think about putting their heads on the desk, she'll say, "No you Didn't! You get yo head up boy. I don't teach in your bedroom, don't you dare sleep in my classroom!" And then she'll just continue lecturing. She said, "If anyone in this classroom makes any negative comments about any other ethnic group. Oh, your life is gunna be bad. I mean, real bad. I'm just warning you. Just warning you." She repeats her last sentence just to make sure "we're on the same page." She is a master at managing behavior in the classroom. I feel lucky to have her as my mentor.

So, yesterday I walked into class and sat down at my desk. Ms. Moore was teaching the students at the front of the room. Suddenly I hear a gasp from the students and they all pull their feet to their chests, and simultaneously, Ms. Moore screams out loud and sprints to the back of the classroom. She pushed a student out of the way in order to get to the back of the class and then jumped on a chair and lifted up her skirt (like they do in the cartoons), as if the mouse is going to crawl up her skirt while she's standing on a chair! Apparently there was a mouse that scurried across the classroom floor. She's deathly afraid of mice.

I could scarcely believe my eyes. I was chuckling out loud but no one seemed to notice due to all the ruckus. I cannot hold it in. And Ms Moore has this terrified look on her face but starts to smile bc she realizes she just reacted like a child. Then she says, "Miss Wright, come on the other side of my desk, towards us over here. There's a dirty rodent over by you." and I respond with, "It's okay everyone, just take some deep breaths. It's going to be alright. I'll take care of this Ms. Moore so you won't have to worry about it. I had pet mice as a kid. I'm not afraid of them." She says, "okay, well, then you go ahead and hunt that dirty rodent down." So I am kinda poking around the book shelf and between the books and maps behind her desk. I don't see the mouse. I get down on my knees and put my head close to the ground to look underneath the bookshelf and she yells, "Miss Wright, you watch out! That rats gonna jump out and bite your face! I don't have the money for a rabies shot... YOU GOT HEALTH INSURANCE?!" I can't quit laughing. Who says that? And then she says, "Can you get my briefcase off my desk and bring it over here to me? I'm already worried about contracting the swine flu.. I don't need to come home while I'm making dinner and open my bag to realize I've exposed myself and my daughter's life to the Dirty Rodent Flu with some dead rat that's been gnawin on my pocketbook!" She has such a serious look on her face and she's legitimately concerned. I tell her, "The rat won't bite me, and yes I have health insurance, you go ahead and continue teaching, I'll take care of this for you Ms. Moore. Don't let it worry you anymore."

She climbs off the desk and resumes her position at the front of the classroom and begins teaching again.
"Okay, now in the Paleolithic Era, the humans... WHY IS THE WORLD MAP CLOSER TO MY DESK?!!"
I just smile and try not to laugh. She is dead serious and immediately on edge-body stiffened. Her eyes are fixed on the tubed map on the ground. I stand up and approach the map and I say, "You know what? I think the mouse is inside the map." She loses all color in her face and says nothin and doesn't move an inch. "I think he knows we're talking about him, and he's trying to hide himself in the map in order to crawl over to your briefcase and climb inside and then join you and your daughter for dinner tonight." She immediately bursts into laughter. She's bent over laughing and clapping her hands together. She realizes how dramatic she's being and then all the students are laughing too. Then she says, "Miss Wright, you belong here. You really fit in well in DC and you know what?? You're fun!" I think she is pleasantly surprised on a daily basis because I'm not the typical white girl. I told her, "Ms. Moore, you bettah rec-uh-nize... I'm only white on the outside!" She reacted like that was the funniest thing she's ever heard in her life. Laughed for 5 minutes. Apparently, I'm some sort of anomaly round these parts.