on a lighter note

There were approximately fifteen minutes left before the bell was due to ring, signaling the end of the school day. For a change, the students were silent and absorbed in their work as all 28 of them struggled to finish a peer edit of one of their classmate's final exam essays before class ended. I was at my own desk,taking advantage of a rare moment when no one seemed to need my immediate assistance and was attempting to make a dent in my own endless pile of papers. Kenny, who is perhaps the most challenging student I've ever encountered in my six years of teaching, was sitting no more than seven feet from me at his own desk. Per usual, he had not written his own essay, but was feeling generous and had volunteered to edit someone else's anyway. Kenny has been out of school on suspensions for at least twenty days so far this year and, although he shows glimmers of being terribly bright, he has at best managed to attain a 25% in English due to a combination of his poor work ethic, absences, and seeming inability to complete a task. In the last few minutes of the day, it was Kenny's voice that broke the stillness in the room as he raised his head and posed a question to me, his face wearing an expression that I can only assume was feigned seriousness.

"Mrs. W, am I your best student?"

27 curious headed looked up from their work and over at him, then bounced over to me, awaiting my response. Without pausing to think and wearing an expression that I hope was kind, I answered him.

"Oh honey. No. No you're not."

Satisfied, Kenny nodded, and 29 heads bowed down as all attentions were returned once again to our individual tasks.