Miss Q came outside to chaos.
Dexter and Fruitbat are bad drivers.
"Miss Q wekeephittingsharpturns and both of our kids are lying bleeding on the floor!"
"Who's driving this thing?"
"I am! It's Fruitbat's fault! She was supposed to make me coffee this morning!"
"Why didn't you make him coffee this morning???"
"I DON"T KNOW!"
It was pretty bad. Sitting on the swings, Fruitbat and Dexter apparently started off on a peaceful drive with their imaginary family. But it was hardly a minute before the Chippettes ran up. Nancy Drew was jumping up and down over the little tyke that said the s-word (gasp)... sexy. Or at least I think that's what they were excited about. Princesstard talks fast when she's excited.
"Let's go back to see if he'll do it again!"
Then Co-pilot and Mariska raced to see who would tag Miss Q first today. I forget who won.
Speaking of winning, Miss Q and the turtles had a fun bet today. On my right Miss Bieber and Beancurd. In front of me in order was Nala, Fate, Uniqua and Skinny Jeanz who was now on crutches thanks to a softball accident. It might be the second time this year.
The Girls table (which always includes Beancurd) was fun and interesting. Miss Q had been wondering how Fate and Uniqua became so buddy-buddy this week. Fate actually explained.
"I started hanging out with them a few days. Just not at recess. Cause so-and-so doesn't like me." Then they talked and talked. Fate even talked to Beancurd. Or tried to. She told him he better be nice to her, since she gave him that thing. "Yak yak yak" said Beancurd. Which is what Beancurd likes to do. Except he was stangely quiet.
Like clockwork he eventually got up to leave to go take his medicine, leaving half of a sub. Wait.
What?
"Whoah. Beancurd's eating!" Miss Q announced, awed because a fourth grader was eating at lunch.
"I know!" said Miss Beiber. Beancurd almost never ate. That's why he's a Beancurd.
Soon Miss Q had a bet with Miss Bieber. I said he would eat all the rest of his sandwhich when he came back. Miss Bieber said he would only eat half. If Miss Beiber won, she'd get Miss Q's visitor sticker. The rest of The Girls agreed to stay quiet and not mention it to see what happens.
"Miss Rrrrrr." We waved at Miss R. Laughing, because Miss Q didn't say her name loud enough.
"Quick, act normal."
As soon as Beancurd came back, the turtles made these very subtle gestures to manipulate the outcome.
"Eat it already!!"
"No, don't finish it."
"Shhhh. AHHAHa"
It was major fun. Miss Beiber and I laughed anough to add years to our lives. Beancurd eventually finished his sandwhich, drawing out the last chews as long as possible. Miss Q got to keep her sticker.
This was before they got in line and Beancurd apparently did something awful.
I told Co-Pilot to try and be forgiving toward Mook and why he was probably acting annoying and that he probably actually wanted to be friends.
After cursive during reading time, Miss Beiber said,
"Miss Q, I know Beancurd's gonna talk to me. Can he move?"
Hmmm.
We made a deal. If Beancurd talked, Miss Beiber would get Miss Q's visitor sticker. I ended up keeping it.
But not before Beancurd came up to Miss Q twice. How do you pronounce sea anemone? Have you ever seen piranha?
After a deep discussion on both topics, Miss Q noticed a pattern.
Whenever faced with the challenge of not talking. Beancurd had plenty of questions. I thought this was something positive. Later of course, I found out he had told Rickster to 'move aside fatty' right in front of Miss R, who was mortified.
Miss Q was a bit embarrassed. I wonder if his family may have thought in endearing at first, how he says the first thing that comes to his mind. But other than that, it was a good day.
Showing posts with label The Chippettes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Chippettes. Show all posts
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
The Order of Things (Blog 17)
The Order of Things
There are some things that surprise Miss Q about elementary.
The turtles seem to have a self-awareness of themselves in the social pecking order of things. The same awareness that Miss Q now remembers she had herself in fourth grade.
There are several groups in the class.
The "boy band" The Atomic Ponies, with Zefron, Dubby, Co-Pilot, Boo, and Solomon.
Their sophisticated female counterparts the Chippettes: Mariska, Nancy Drew, and Princesstard.
The two bright best friends, somewhat considered sissies: Dexter and The Brit.
The Trio: Freakazoid, Mook, and The Gage.
The Girls (popular?): Uniqua/Miwok, Miss Beiber, Skinny Jeanz and ... Beancurd. Have to explain that one sometime.
And the rest are somewhat misfits. Fate gets along consistently with few classmates. Rickster is just the opposite. He's the tallest of the class, talks slowly, has a largish frame. He just wants to chill, man. Fruitbat sometimes hangs out with the Girls but sees herself as the weird, quirky chick. She can't stand Fate. Memphis often shows off in misbehavior in front of the girls. The boy band and the rest of the boys think he's pretty bad to the bone and all that, but find him unapproachable. Nala sometimes doesn't seem as accepted, but it doesn't appear to bother her.
This is what the class is like, I think to a 4th grader experiencing it. There's good pressure and bad pressure. The boy band to me has the most positive, drama free, and fun connections. However I worry about the Girls (along with Beancurd). They're nice to me, but not nearly as nice to everyone else. Uniqua is a prime example. I feel like because of her charm, grades, or all-star quality she gets away with a lot of harsh words. Especially towards Fate.
Of all the groups, Miss Q has yet to have one-on-one interaction with any of The Girls. They're always together, acting up as a unit. And the clique-ish quality makes a Cadet uneasy. Miss Q hopes that now that she realizes this, she can influence them to want to think for themselves and have a better influence on each other.
Miss Q has made sure to let Fate know she's allowed to switch to other table if she gets too angry. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
This is normal, right?
I don't want my turtles to be normal.
The new goal (coming to me as I write) is to change the status quo amongst the turtles. We lack chemistry, it's been said. We don't mesh. Oddballs. What needs to be done now is to make sure that values that are really lasting are at the top of the pecking order, and things like the phantom elementary "popularity" are at the bottom.
The cool thing about elementary school, or specifically Awkward Admiral Elementary, is rather than just pushing them through test scores, the teachers really care about what the students are like. This just isn't the same in a high school. It goes along with the character education bit in the curriculum and is necessary and practical to run a classroom but values are sincere and genuine. In elementary school, one of the most important things is learning how to be in a classroom. That's what's so great about it.
For Fate sometimes being in a classroom means stess and rejection. For Memphis on some days it means showing out to get attention, to keep a tough devil-may-care attitude. TheBut there are countless moments when being part of a classroom means being part of a classroom.
The silence that falls when the teacher demands silence and means it. The cheer when the class earns Footballs in P.E. Reminding each other (gently or not) which of their assignments is missing. Answering questions earnestly. I hope I never take for granted being apart of that.
There are some things that surprise Miss Q about elementary.
The turtles seem to have a self-awareness of themselves in the social pecking order of things. The same awareness that Miss Q now remembers she had herself in fourth grade.
There are several groups in the class.
The "boy band" The Atomic Ponies, with Zefron, Dubby, Co-Pilot, Boo, and Solomon.
Their sophisticated female counterparts the Chippettes: Mariska, Nancy Drew, and Princesstard.
The two bright best friends, somewhat considered sissies: Dexter and The Brit.
The Trio: Freakazoid, Mook, and The Gage.
The Girls (popular?): Uniqua/Miwok, Miss Beiber, Skinny Jeanz and ... Beancurd. Have to explain that one sometime.
And the rest are somewhat misfits. Fate gets along consistently with few classmates. Rickster is just the opposite. He's the tallest of the class, talks slowly, has a largish frame. He just wants to chill, man. Fruitbat sometimes hangs out with the Girls but sees herself as the weird, quirky chick. She can't stand Fate. Memphis often shows off in misbehavior in front of the girls. The boy band and the rest of the boys think he's pretty bad to the bone and all that, but find him unapproachable. Nala sometimes doesn't seem as accepted, but it doesn't appear to bother her.
This is what the class is like, I think to a 4th grader experiencing it. There's good pressure and bad pressure. The boy band to me has the most positive, drama free, and fun connections. However I worry about the Girls (along with Beancurd). They're nice to me, but not nearly as nice to everyone else. Uniqua is a prime example. I feel like because of her charm, grades, or all-star quality she gets away with a lot of harsh words. Especially towards Fate.
Of all the groups, Miss Q has yet to have one-on-one interaction with any of The Girls. They're always together, acting up as a unit. And the clique-ish quality makes a Cadet uneasy. Miss Q hopes that now that she realizes this, she can influence them to want to think for themselves and have a better influence on each other.
Miss Q has made sure to let Fate know she's allowed to switch to other table if she gets too angry. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
This is normal, right?
I don't want my turtles to be normal.
The new goal (coming to me as I write) is to change the status quo amongst the turtles. We lack chemistry, it's been said. We don't mesh. Oddballs. What needs to be done now is to make sure that values that are really lasting are at the top of the pecking order, and things like the phantom elementary "popularity" are at the bottom.
The cool thing about elementary school, or specifically Awkward Admiral Elementary, is rather than just pushing them through test scores, the teachers really care about what the students are like. This just isn't the same in a high school. It goes along with the character education bit in the curriculum and is necessary and practical to run a classroom but values are sincere and genuine. In elementary school, one of the most important things is learning how to be in a classroom. That's what's so great about it.
For Fate sometimes being in a classroom means stess and rejection. For Memphis on some days it means showing out to get attention, to keep a tough devil-may-care attitude. TheBut there are countless moments when being part of a classroom means being part of a classroom.
The silence that falls when the teacher demands silence and means it. The cheer when the class earns Footballs in P.E. Reminding each other (gently or not) which of their assignments is missing. Answering questions earnestly. I hope I never take for granted being apart of that.
Monday, March 21, 2011
3/21/11: My Own Boy Band, The Atomic Ponies (Blog 10)
"Bye Atomic Ponies bandleader." Zefron whispers as Miss Q exits the computer room.
"I thought you were the leader."
"Oh right... well, you're the manager."
Zefron, all warm brown eyes, and outstanding sense of humor heads what Miss Q calls her "boy band."
On a very interesting day when Miss Q went with the awkward turtles to play soccer for P.E (remind her to tell you about it) Miss Q remembered afterward a comment the coach made about the classroom.
"I guess there's just a weird chemistry going on in this class. They don't seem to mix so well."
This was of course referring to the turtles P.E performance. There had been some spectacular moments. Miss Q got them excited, got them to chant about teamwork and how awesome they were gonna do in the class together.
...And then Uniqua (who now wants to be called Miwok) let loos her sassy mouth on Fate and Fate broke down into tears on the sidelines. As Miss Q gently encouraged her to get back in, the morale of the teams seemed to sink from their, dissolving into general irritation at one another's lack of performance.
"It's usually the girls." Noted Lady Finch.
"You guys are gonna be around each other for a long time. Ya'll should start learning to get along." Said Coach.
"You're kids are crazy." Said Stewbeef, although at that point, when they were excited, Miss Q thinks he meant in a good way.
But a weird chemistry? Did Miss Q's class just not blend well like oil and water. Maybe. Fate so far has yet to get along with anyone in the classroom on a consistent basis without having to take herself out of the situation. Her method that she's learned is to isolate herself when she's angry, which is good, but Miss Q still wants her to figure out new ways to handle her emotional issues.
The Gage, Freakazoid, and Mook hanging out together is usually trouble, althoug Miss Q has amazing incidents to report for bothe of them. Nala is another mystery. The other girls seem to shun her at times, maybe because of her looks. She's a very dark girl with lines crisscrossing her face that remind you of scars.
"Quit acting like you're popular." Fate often lashes at Nala, who is often one her only allies. The class seems to have come to a general consensus on Fate. We may not be allowed to show meanness to her but we sure don't have to try to be nice to her. If only they weren't practically the same treatment?
Uniqua and Miss Beiber have sassy mouths and are very sly. Even catty. And Rickster? Well, he just wants to eat his lunch and chill.
So with troublemaking groups, catty mouths, and flaring tempers, does our group just have any chemistry?
Only if you know where to look. Five boys: Zefron (the funny one), Boo (the quiet one), Solomon (the wild one), Dubby (The One who does all the tricks with his arms) and Co-Pilot (The red-headed jovial one).
They sit together at lunch, play together at the playground, cheer for each other during Sparkle. Each of the friendships between them are very different and complicated.
One day two weeks ago, The band minus Solomon came running up to Miss Q.
"Solomon's being really mean!"
"Yeah! He gets like this sometimes. He pulled me by my arm into the ground!"
"And he says that word F** a lot."
The meaning was clear, as Miss Q noticed Solomon walking sullenly by himself. The group together had decided that, even though he was mostly a good friend, his behavior as of late was unacceptable and therefore they had to reject him.
In the lunch line, Miss Q asked them what they would do. It was Zefron who responded.
"I think we'll give him another chance."
This is when Miss Q first noticed the powerful dynamic in this little group. There was camraderie, there was order, and their was leadership.
"Ya'll are gonna be my boy band." Miss Q explained to them one day. She had a private word with Zefron.
"Now, whether you realize it or not, what you do influences the group. You have leadership qualities, so guess who I'm looking at whenever you and Co-pilot goof off in line?"
"I don't care." Zefron looks thoughtful for a moment. His body language betrays his words. He seemed to be figuring out if he like the weight of the 'responsibility' on one hand and the chance for extra praise on the other.
From that moment on, the boys took it from there, dubbing themselves the Atomic Ponies. They like it. And Miss Q will continue to find ways to work their natural group chemistry to her advantage. And man is it fun. The collective trust you get from them is priceless.
Speaking of groups.
"Miss Q. Miss Q!" It's Princesstard. As usual she is with Mariska and Nancy Drew, a sophisticated girl trio that remind me uncannily of the Chippettes (you know the girl chipmunks that were always trippin' about Alvin and the boys and offset them so well?)
"Were making a movie! It's like a reality t.v show. In order to get The Atomic Ponies to be in it, they're making us find them hot girlfriends and paying them 50$!"
What? In the lunch line when Zefron was asking honestly, do you see any hot girls around here?, Miss Q pointed to Mariska. His not-so-secret-admirer. Bad Miss Q!
He could barely find a comeback for embarrassment. Zefron said he didn't really want a girlfriend anyway. Good.
I could never find enough space to blog about the things I've seen. Perhaps one day, I'll have a blog-a-thon.
"I thought you were the leader."
"Oh right... well, you're the manager."
Zefron, all warm brown eyes, and outstanding sense of humor heads what Miss Q calls her "boy band."
On a very interesting day when Miss Q went with the awkward turtles to play soccer for P.E (remind her to tell you about it) Miss Q remembered afterward a comment the coach made about the classroom.
"I guess there's just a weird chemistry going on in this class. They don't seem to mix so well."
This was of course referring to the turtles P.E performance. There had been some spectacular moments. Miss Q got them excited, got them to chant about teamwork and how awesome they were gonna do in the class together.
...And then Uniqua (who now wants to be called Miwok) let loos her sassy mouth on Fate and Fate broke down into tears on the sidelines. As Miss Q gently encouraged her to get back in, the morale of the teams seemed to sink from their, dissolving into general irritation at one another's lack of performance.
"It's usually the girls." Noted Lady Finch.
"You guys are gonna be around each other for a long time. Ya'll should start learning to get along." Said Coach.
"You're kids are crazy." Said Stewbeef, although at that point, when they were excited, Miss Q thinks he meant in a good way.
But a weird chemistry? Did Miss Q's class just not blend well like oil and water. Maybe. Fate so far has yet to get along with anyone in the classroom on a consistent basis without having to take herself out of the situation. Her method that she's learned is to isolate herself when she's angry, which is good, but Miss Q still wants her to figure out new ways to handle her emotional issues.
The Gage, Freakazoid, and Mook hanging out together is usually trouble, althoug Miss Q has amazing incidents to report for bothe of them. Nala is another mystery. The other girls seem to shun her at times, maybe because of her looks. She's a very dark girl with lines crisscrossing her face that remind you of scars.
"Quit acting like you're popular." Fate often lashes at Nala, who is often one her only allies. The class seems to have come to a general consensus on Fate. We may not be allowed to show meanness to her but we sure don't have to try to be nice to her. If only they weren't practically the same treatment?
Uniqua and Miss Beiber have sassy mouths and are very sly. Even catty. And Rickster? Well, he just wants to eat his lunch and chill.
So with troublemaking groups, catty mouths, and flaring tempers, does our group just have any chemistry?
Only if you know where to look. Five boys: Zefron (the funny one), Boo (the quiet one), Solomon (the wild one), Dubby (The One who does all the tricks with his arms) and Co-Pilot (The red-headed jovial one).
They sit together at lunch, play together at the playground, cheer for each other during Sparkle. Each of the friendships between them are very different and complicated.
One day two weeks ago, The band minus Solomon came running up to Miss Q.
"Solomon's being really mean!"
"Yeah! He gets like this sometimes. He pulled me by my arm into the ground!"
"And he says that word F** a lot."
The meaning was clear, as Miss Q noticed Solomon walking sullenly by himself. The group together had decided that, even though he was mostly a good friend, his behavior as of late was unacceptable and therefore they had to reject him.
In the lunch line, Miss Q asked them what they would do. It was Zefron who responded.
"I think we'll give him another chance."
This is when Miss Q first noticed the powerful dynamic in this little group. There was camraderie, there was order, and their was leadership.
"Ya'll are gonna be my boy band." Miss Q explained to them one day. She had a private word with Zefron.
"Now, whether you realize it or not, what you do influences the group. You have leadership qualities, so guess who I'm looking at whenever you and Co-pilot goof off in line?"
"I don't care." Zefron looks thoughtful for a moment. His body language betrays his words. He seemed to be figuring out if he like the weight of the 'responsibility' on one hand and the chance for extra praise on the other.
From that moment on, the boys took it from there, dubbing themselves the Atomic Ponies. They like it. And Miss Q will continue to find ways to work their natural group chemistry to her advantage. And man is it fun. The collective trust you get from them is priceless.
Speaking of groups.
"Miss Q. Miss Q!" It's Princesstard. As usual she is with Mariska and Nancy Drew, a sophisticated girl trio that remind me uncannily of the Chippettes (you know the girl chipmunks that were always trippin' about Alvin and the boys and offset them so well?)
"Were making a movie! It's like a reality t.v show. In order to get The Atomic Ponies to be in it, they're making us find them hot girlfriends and paying them 50$!"
What? In the lunch line when Zefron was asking honestly, do you see any hot girls around here?, Miss Q pointed to Mariska. His not-so-secret-admirer. Bad Miss Q!
He could barely find a comeback for embarrassment. Zefron said he didn't really want a girlfriend anyway. Good.
I could never find enough space to blog about the things I've seen. Perhaps one day, I'll have a blog-a-thon.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Happy V Day! (Blog 3)
If there are 10 copycats on a branch and one falls off, how many are left?
Freakazoid has to learn to get up earlier in the morning to get Miss Q with that one. Especially if she overheard Solomon trick him earlier.
Miss Q's awkward turtles (as she like to call them) are full of riddles and questions.
CP just wanted to know if Miss Q had told "all the boys and girls over there" about the Chinese lessons she had been giving. Miss Q nodded, even though she couldn't quite remember if shedid or not.
" Can my codename be Cheerio?" asked Fruitbat.
"Guess what I watched last night?" asked Freakazoid.
"Is that for me?" asked Nala, referring to my Spongebob Valentines.
It gets a little hard to keep up with.
Miss Q was tired, but together with Big L and his complex basketball game Valentines, managed to get excited.
The awkward turtles were outside. Miz was overseeing a ball passing game with some of the rowdier boys, which included Beancurd and Freakazoid. Uniqua, and some other girls I met were watching.
After chatting for a bit, one side of Miz Boss' lip curled upward. Miss Q had long ago recognized that this was Miz Boss' way of saying something ought to change. Miz Boss' daughter, who sits behind her in Civics does the same thing. Only slightly curled this time, though.
"Want me to get 'em away?" Miss Q offered?
"Sure."
As Miss Q approached some of the girls in the classm they immidiately moved away. She manged to organize two races before it was time to go in for lunch.
At lunch, she was a bit overwhelmed by how loud some of them were. Afterward she would wonder if there was a better way to get them to quiet down.
When they're lining up, it seemed easier to get their attention and to ask "Where are my awkward turtles." Then they knew they were being Looked At, so they held up their respect signs or did their awkward turtles to show off their good behavior.
But at lunch, they liked to act silly. When they were laughing and having fun, it was hard for her to want to talk to them and want them to be quiet.
But today she just wanted them to be quiet.
As they lined up, just as Miss Q was about to ask for her Awkward Turtles, an angry teacher came up. She meant business:
"What kind of example are you setting for these younger kids in here? I've had some of you last year and I know your parents would be upset with you..."
It worked. Accept Memphis was hyper and he and Nala were kicking at each others feet. Miss Q was about to walk toward them when Lady Justice swooped in again.
She grabbed his shoulder and turned him aside, forcing him to face her.
"After I just spoke to your class? Really? How about we act our ages."
Memphis just stood there and hung his shoulders. The turtles were solemn after that. What's the word for it? Repentant? Compliant?
Afterward Miss Q wondered, what if she wasn't mean enough? Maybe she had to make her tone more direct to get their attention. She pictured herself, eyes and face hard, voice srict and commanding. She could do that, right? Easy.
But wait. Lady Finch almost never got angry and neither did Mr. German.
Now she really had a lot to think about.
Miss Q slipped the Valentines into little Froggie Bags that the Awkward turtles had made just for the occasion. They were really excited to get them.
She thought about each of them.
Some of her most consistent relationships were with Freakazoid, Fruitbat, Fate, CP, Nala, and Zefron. These are the ones that go out of her way to get her attention every day.
"Hey Freakazoid are you gonna sing Justin Beiber for me today?" Miz Boss' daughter informed her that he had sung to her. And if you squint your eye he kind of looks like him too.
"DNooo." He seemed embarrassed. But it was soo cute. He likes to tell Miss Q all the cringeworthy stuff he does over the weekend, with all the confidence of someone who knows you can't really do anything about it.
"I'll whisper it in your ear okay?"
He and the Gage watched the Excorcist.
Gah
That's Freakazoid, a roughhouser, a joker, a teaser, an all around boy.
Fruitbat is quiet, thoughtful, and loves all things quirky. Miss Q had to keep her from reading a Horror Encyclopedia during Math.
Miss Q didn't mention Solomon, but she loves to talk to him because he says some pretty deep things from time to time. She should probably record them more. He once found a typo in the dictionary, and Miss Q
wanted to send a letter to the publisher.
CP is extremely enthusiastic about school. She gives me language lessons and demands full attention. But she's also considered weird by a lot of the other class. They avoid her. She doesn't seem to mind, though. She clings to me, though
Nala is quiet and gets nervous about work. She's been held back a grade. Neither of her parents live at home with her, and her mother calls her to check her homework.
Zefron has been talking to Miss Q a lot lately. He's the ladies man. Not that he doesn't try to pretend that it's torture. His fan club includes Mariska, Nancy Drew, and Princesstard, a trio of ladylike intellectuals. They banter across the lunch table.
Boo is still quiet. Involved and open with Zefron, but an unlockable puzzle to Miss Q.
Q-Tip of the Day: What do you do do when you have a conflict?
Fate: "You go tell the teacher and tell you you're going to be the smart one and walk away!"
Q: How bout this? Go tell the teacher. Calm down and forgive them first. And then go confront them. That's for the future because when you get older, people don't do this a lot.
Fate is my stalker child. She rubs people the wrong way. She can be bossy. Snappish. But she's probably the one that Miss Q's the most invested in. There's a lot of promise in her smile.
Freakazoid has to learn to get up earlier in the morning to get Miss Q with that one. Especially if she overheard Solomon trick him earlier.
Miss Q's awkward turtles (as she like to call them) are full of riddles and questions.
CP just wanted to know if Miss Q had told "all the boys and girls over there" about the Chinese lessons she had been giving. Miss Q nodded, even though she couldn't quite remember if shedid or not.
" Can my codename be Cheerio?" asked Fruitbat.
"Guess what I watched last night?" asked Freakazoid.
"Is that for me?" asked Nala, referring to my Spongebob Valentines.
It gets a little hard to keep up with.
Miss Q was tired, but together with Big L and his complex basketball game Valentines, managed to get excited.
The awkward turtles were outside. Miz was overseeing a ball passing game with some of the rowdier boys, which included Beancurd and Freakazoid. Uniqua, and some other girls I met were watching.
After chatting for a bit, one side of Miz Boss' lip curled upward. Miss Q had long ago recognized that this was Miz Boss' way of saying something ought to change. Miz Boss' daughter, who sits behind her in Civics does the same thing. Only slightly curled this time, though.
"Want me to get 'em away?" Miss Q offered?
"Sure."
As Miss Q approached some of the girls in the classm they immidiately moved away. She manged to organize two races before it was time to go in for lunch.
At lunch, she was a bit overwhelmed by how loud some of them were. Afterward she would wonder if there was a better way to get them to quiet down.
When they're lining up, it seemed easier to get their attention and to ask "Where are my awkward turtles." Then they knew they were being Looked At, so they held up their respect signs or did their awkward turtles to show off their good behavior.
But at lunch, they liked to act silly. When they were laughing and having fun, it was hard for her to want to talk to them and want them to be quiet.
But today she just wanted them to be quiet.
As they lined up, just as Miss Q was about to ask for her Awkward Turtles, an angry teacher came up. She meant business:
"What kind of example are you setting for these younger kids in here? I've had some of you last year and I know your parents would be upset with you..."
It worked. Accept Memphis was hyper and he and Nala were kicking at each others feet. Miss Q was about to walk toward them when Lady Justice swooped in again.
She grabbed his shoulder and turned him aside, forcing him to face her.
"After I just spoke to your class? Really? How about we act our ages."
Memphis just stood there and hung his shoulders. The turtles were solemn after that. What's the word for it? Repentant? Compliant?
Afterward Miss Q wondered, what if she wasn't mean enough? Maybe she had to make her tone more direct to get their attention. She pictured herself, eyes and face hard, voice srict and commanding. She could do that, right? Easy.
But wait. Lady Finch almost never got angry and neither did Mr. German.
Now she really had a lot to think about.
Miss Q slipped the Valentines into little Froggie Bags that the Awkward turtles had made just for the occasion. They were really excited to get them.
She thought about each of them.
Some of her most consistent relationships were with Freakazoid, Fruitbat, Fate, CP, Nala, and Zefron. These are the ones that go out of her way to get her attention every day.
"Hey Freakazoid are you gonna sing Justin Beiber for me today?" Miz Boss' daughter informed her that he had sung to her. And if you squint your eye he kind of looks like him too.
"DNooo." He seemed embarrassed. But it was soo cute. He likes to tell Miss Q all the cringeworthy stuff he does over the weekend, with all the confidence of someone who knows you can't really do anything about it.
"I'll whisper it in your ear okay?"
He and the Gage watched the Excorcist.
Gah
That's Freakazoid, a roughhouser, a joker, a teaser, an all around boy.
Fruitbat is quiet, thoughtful, and loves all things quirky. Miss Q had to keep her from reading a Horror Encyclopedia during Math.
Miss Q didn't mention Solomon, but she loves to talk to him because he says some pretty deep things from time to time. She should probably record them more. He once found a typo in the dictionary, and Miss Q
wanted to send a letter to the publisher.
CP is extremely enthusiastic about school. She gives me language lessons and demands full attention. But she's also considered weird by a lot of the other class. They avoid her. She doesn't seem to mind, though. She clings to me, though
Nala is quiet and gets nervous about work. She's been held back a grade. Neither of her parents live at home with her, and her mother calls her to check her homework.
Zefron has been talking to Miss Q a lot lately. He's the ladies man. Not that he doesn't try to pretend that it's torture. His fan club includes Mariska, Nancy Drew, and Princesstard, a trio of ladylike intellectuals. They banter across the lunch table.
Boo is still quiet. Involved and open with Zefron, but an unlockable puzzle to Miss Q.
Q-Tip of the Day: What do you do do when you have a conflict?
Fate: "You go tell the teacher and tell you you're going to be the smart one and walk away!"
Q: How bout this? Go tell the teacher. Calm down and forgive them first. And then go confront them. That's for the future because when you get older, people don't do this a lot.
Fate is my stalker child. She rubs people the wrong way. She can be bossy. Snappish. But she's probably the one that Miss Q's the most invested in. There's a lot of promise in her smile.
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