The Allergic Teacher

[The Sneezster]

The Allergic Teacher

Mid-June is the rottenest time of the year to be in school. Summer vacation is so close you can almost taste it, but the students and teachers are cooped up inside, in a term-ending flurry of final exams. Of course, the school is not air-conditioned, and with the thermometer outside pushing 94, it is stifling in the building.

All throughout the school, teachers threw open their classroom windows and set up electric fans in an effort to make their classrooms bearable. The sweet scent of freshly cut grass was both incongruous to the lessons being taught and a distracting tease of the summer break to come.

Except in Mr. Walters's classroom. His classroom door remained shut throughout his classes, and the windows were always tightly shut and locked. As each period's class would enter, they'd wrinkle their noses and gag slightly at the stifling stuffiness and the strong odor of sweaty teenagers. At every period, the students would ask, "Mr. Walters, can we open a window?" No, he always insisted. He had allergies and the windows would remain shut.

It was the period just after lunch, and the students arrived at Mr. Walters's classroom before their teacher. Without saying a word, four students went to each of the four windows, raised the Venetian blinds, threw the windows full open, and then lowered the blinds, so that their insubordinate act would not be so obvious. The classroom badly needed an airing out.

Mr. Walters arrived in the classroom to find his fifth period class sitting quietly, if listlessly, at their desks.

"All right. Open your notebooks to exam review." He paused and rubbed at his nose, suddenly itchy. Pulling a bandana out of his pocket, he proceeded to wipe at his itchy eyes. He sniffed and rubbed at his nose again. "The final exam will be covering everything from the beginning of the term." The class groaned in complaint. "But will especially emphasize the work we've done in the last half of this semester. Again he paused, sniffling and rubbing at his eyes and nose with the bandana. HEESH-OUGH! HEESH-OUGH! "I'm sorry. Allergy attack." His eyes were becoming visibly reddened and watery, and he sniffled. HEESH-OUGH! HEESH-OUGH! He blew his nose and rubbed at it.

"There will be particular emphasis on quadratic equations and." It was clear from his face that the sneezing attack was not over. Mr. Walters raised an index finger, to signal "just a minute". Holding the bandana with both hands before his nose he sneezed violently. HEESH-OUGH! HEESH-OUGH! HEESH-OUGH! HEESH-OUGH! HEESH-OUGH!

The class watched, horrified and guilty at the spectacle their teacher had become. Mr. Walters blew his nose into the dampening bandana and rubbed at his eyes.

"Class, is there a window open?" One of the boys got up and closed all of the windows while Mr. Walters sniffled and rubbed at his nose. "That explains it - horrible allergies. Someone must have opened them over lunch break. I hate having it so stuffy in here, but if I open the." he trailed off and braced himself for another barrage. HEESH-OUGH! HEESH-OUGH! HEESH-HEESH-HEESH-HEESH-OUGH!

"I'm sorry, class. I have to leave. Form study groups of twos and threes and review the material until the end of the period.

Mr. Walter's violent sneezes echoed down the empty corridors as he vainly sought refuge from his allergy attack.

[Sneesee]

CUTE! I'd be one of those kids who opened the windows!

[angora48]

And not just because it was too stuffy in the classroom! ;-)

[Guest Leonard Fairbanks]

Fantastic story!

[JellyBelly]

Love it!

Thanks for sharing.