only in a middle school.

those who know and love me know i am prone to hyperbole. a little stretch here, an embellishment there. no harm, no foul.

but today i had something happen that needs zero embellishment. on its own it is a shiny nugget of the ridiculousness that is middle school.

my kids, who are 7th graders, met me for the first time today. i am a novelty, a new teacher, an unknown. i gave them a few minutes at the end of the class to ask me questions. it was open, except i asked them to keep in mind the boundaries of good taste. i got the typical favorite color, favorite food, etc. they wanted to know my first name. all aok in my book.

two questions stand out as so awesome, i must share. word for word.

kid A: "if you were reincarnated, would you rather be a frog, a duck, or a muffin?"
--i chose duck. while i like muffins and hopping, ducks can fly. that's cool. one girl pointed out the drawback of being hunted. still, a muffin?

two classes later, kid B: "have you ever farted blue gas?"
--now i will admit this caught me off guard. i've been asked about bodily functions before and have trained myself not to blush. i also know it is test for me, am i cool or do i suck? but still, blue gas? like a puff of blue smoke billowing from my backside? the response i came up with was "no, but i'll let you know if i do." not a slam dunk, not an airball.