Limpets in Uniform

I spent this morning in a prep classroom with the babies.  It was their first day back after the Easter Break - their very first vacation of the year, and back in the classroom they were suffering an outbreak of terrible shyness.
            One little girl was dragged- quite literally - into class by her mother.  She had her arms wrapped desperately tight around her mother's left leg, and the poor woman was taking enormous lurching Frankenstein steps to move her along the hallway.
            In the classroom, she pried the small limpet loose and sat her down at her very own small desk, and the little creature tucked her lower lip under her upper one and hid under her red school sunhat.  The mother vanished, moving only slightly under the speed of light.  The hat shook quietly, and small tears trickled down below the brim.

The first part of the morning was devoted to reviewing the Five Rules of Good Listening.  Cross-legged on the mat (the small limpet being persuaded to join the rest of us) the children sang together:
            "Eyes are Watching,
            Ears are Listening,
            Legs are Crossed,
            Hands in Lap -
            Mouths are Closed!"
            "And we don't" The teacher said, rescuing a slightly grubby sheet of poster-board from the mouth of a small boy, "chew on the Five Rules Poster.  Mouths are closed, Adam!"
            Manners re-established, it was time for a jolly round of What I Did in My Holidays, going clockwise around the circle.
            The limpet (now firmly attached to the teacher's left foot) was first. Paralyzed with terror, she looked up at Teacher with eyes like Terrible Awful Saucers and shuddered from head to toe with fear.
            "Shamika?"  Teacher said gently.
            After a small eternity,  the limpet let out a small squeak.  "We went shopping?"
            "You bought something at the shops?"
            The limpet nodded frantically. 
            "At the supermarket?"
            The limpet nodded again, and sank to the floor, limp with relief.
            "How lovely." Teacher said. "Tenisha, how about you? What did you do in the holidays?"
            Tenisha, equally small and limpet-like, stared up at Teacher like a baby mouse trapped in the bawling headlights of an oncoming train.  Her mouth worked soundlessly and her eyes darted desperately around the classroom.
            "Shops?"  She squeaked at last.  "With my Dad?"
            "You went to the supermarket too?"  On Teacher's face was the ghost of a grin.              "And you, Shenae?  What did you do over the holidays?"
            Shenae was made of sterner stuff than the limpet and the mouse. "The Easter Bunny come to my Nan's house,"  she said stoutly.  "He brung my Nan a puppy."
            "A puppy - how lovely!  What sort of- "
            "MY GRAN HAS A PUPPY!"
            "Thank you, Adam."  Teacher said firmly.  "It's not your turn yet.  Shenae - what sort of a puppy did the Easter Bunny bring your granny?"
            "A little one.  It barked at her bird."
            "MY GRAN HAS A BIRD!"
            "Not NOW, Adam.  Does her bird talk?"
            "It's a parrot -"
            "MY GRAN'S PARROT TALKS ALL THE TIME!"
            Shenae shot Adam a Look. "Yesterday the parrot died," she said.
            "MY GRAN HAD A PUPPY WHAT DIED!"
            "It used to climb up on her SHOULDER- "
            "MY GRAN'S PUPPY USED TO CLIMB UP IN A TREE AND IT DIED UP THERE-"
            "And it sang SONGS - "
            "- AND SHE WENT AND BOUGHT THREE NEW PUPPIES AND THEY ALL SING SONGS FROM PLAYSCHOOL AND SESAME STREET AND THE WIGGLES-"
            "WHEN  HE COME TO MY NAN'S HOUSE IN THE NIGHT I MET THE EASTER BUNNY!"
            Silence fell.
            Teacher kept her eyes closed for a very long time. "Matthew?"  She asked, her voice breaking the smallest possible bit.  "Did you do anything on your holidays that you want to share?"
            Matthew, staring at Shenae with open-mouthed awe, absently shook his head.  Next to him, Adam simmered visibly, with the distinct appearance of an air horn about to go for the limit.
            "Adam." Teacher sighed.  "Would you like to tell us what you did on your holidays?"
            Struck off guard, Adam stared at her in panic.  His mouth worked frantically and his eyes darted desperately around the room, searching for answers.
            Teacher's shoulders began to shake.  Behind the students, I rocked silently in my chair, and I laughed until I cried.