Okay.... A break from spring cleaning....
Now that I've gotten some distance and closure, I can safely write about the following....
Long, shuddering sigh....
Macbeth....
Yes, Macbeth.
My Lit Comp students, who had to read Macbeth, began hiding the Macbeth texts. Yes, you read that correctly. Hid them! It began the week before last and continued through most of last week. The first time, I was helping a student, turned around, and .... No Macbeth books. Where in the world? What?
The students, of course, claimed ignorance and blamed the other Lit Comp class. No. I didn't fall for that. I knew they were there after the first class left. Further, the first class is so serious; they never play jokes. That's what I said.
(Oh, I know.... You see, from a mile away, what I did not. Right?)
After a fashion, one of the boys said, under his breath, "Where the paint lies, the artist cries...." What?! "A Shakespearean hint for you," he chuckled.
Little stinkers, all!
The books were in a cabinet in the art room, with paint.
It happened again the next day. Same class. They denied it and denied it, until I found it. Their stash.
By this point, my other class, my studious and serious students, had heard of the newest Macbeth curse. And, not to be outdone .... They, too, hid the books.
At that point, it became a daily thing. Both classes, every day. Oh, yes. I even locked them up. But, I had to take them out at some point. And, ... there was always something. A hand raised. Someone needing a Bandaid. Oh, they were hidden everywhere. A cupboard. Behind curtains. One day, I couldn't find them anywhere. One of the boys had passed out a stack and the students on one half of the room had them under their binders. Ahhhh! You do feel my pain, yes?
The first class said they could also be funny; they weren't always serious and wouldn't stand for the other class being funnier than they were. The class that started it all was distraught that the other class was copying them and had to do it bigger and better. I swear, I didn't know if I was coming or going. One day, when I turned my back for a nanosecond and several disappeared, I demanded to know where they were. Innocent. All. Right...!
One of the boys said, "I don't know. Maybe you're starting to see things. Maybe they weren't there to begin with. Maybe it was the other class. You know they're not as innocent as they pretend to be. Maybe you're, you know, losing it a bit."
Losing it a bit...? How about a lotta bit?!
"Crazy! You think I'm crazy, is that it? Well, I..." I sputtered, not knowing if I was going to laugh or lose my temper. "I. AM. NOT. CRAZY!"
The boy's response...?
"How many years did you work at Windsor again?"
"Fourteen. What does that have to d...?!"
Ouch....
I wonder at the look on my face. They laughed and nodded their heads.
In the end, ...? I put them on a rolling cart and rolled them with me wherever I went. Of course, ummm..., that was the second to the last day. And, ... that! That made them laugh even more!
But, yes.... It's done. The reading of, that is.... Talking deep calming breaths as I write this. Now, ... a Macbeth literary research paper. No, that's not my revenge. It was always in the offing.
On Friday, one of the boys from the class that started this "curse" said, ....
"You know...? As bad as Macbeth was and as much as it was probably upsetting for you, it was sort of fun. I mean, you have to admit it. Yes, we probably made you crazy, but we actually had fun coming to class every day. And, .... Admit it. You're going to miss us next year."
Sigh....
Yes, ... yes, I am going to miss them next year.
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