57- Rumors

I’ve noticed, lately, that I am growing very popular with the student body. Not just my students, but all of the students in the school appear to have taken a special liking to me. They all seem to know my name. “Hi, Teacher! Hey, Teacher!” Kid after kid has been greeting me in the hallway. I figured that word of my niceness had finally caught wind.
Today I learned the true root of my newfound popularity. I was walking down the First Grade hallway when I saw two First Grade boys fighting over the water fountain. They were hitting and shoving each other, arguing about whom was allowed to get water next. I walked up behind them and let out a simple, “Ahem.”
In unison, they turned around and stared wide-eyed at me.
“It’s her.” One of the boys whispered. They had stopped arguing and were clutching each other, terrified.
First Graders take everything way too seriously, so I did my best to not freak them out.
“Boys,” I smiled, “You should not fight over the water fountain. Sharing is a very important life skill. You need to take turns drinking the water.”
“Yes, ma’am.” They quickly agreed, but remained frozen in place, staring at me.
“Well, go ahead,” I motioned toward the water fountain. “One after the other. Get some water.”
The boys still didn’t move. Their baby eyes barely blinked as they stared at me.
First graders are strange little people.
Perplexed, I stared back.
Finally one of them spoke. “Are you going to tell him?”
Him?
“Am I going to tell who?”
“The Undertaker.”
The undertaker?
“What?” These First Graders were starting to creep me out. “What are you talking about?”
One of the boys bravely responded, “We know all about it, Teacher. My brother, Darius, in Fifth Grade, told us your secret.”
My secret?
“What did Darius tell you?”
In hushed voices, the First Grade boys told me about a rumor that has been spreading through the school. Apparently a group of Fifth Grade boys have been telling other students that I grew up next door to a professional wrestler named The Undertaker. The Undertaker is on a famous wresting show called SmackDown! - This show is very popular with the boys in our school. The Undertaker is a huge, scary looking man who is great at beating people up.
According to the rumor, I am close friends with my old neighbor, The Undertaker. If I catch any students misbehaving, I report their name to the professional wrestler. The Undertaker then finds this student and “body-slams them until they want to puke their guts out.”
Students are terrified to cross me, for fear of the wrath of The Undertaker. I’m not sure who started this rumor, but it has spread across the entire school.
As the First Graders recounted the tale, their faces were animated with awe. When finished, they looked at me pleading. “Is it true, Teacher? Do you know The Undertaker?”
I hesitated for a moment and then became very serious. I looked up and down the hall, to make sure no one was listening, “Yes,” I whispered, “It’s true.”
The boys both gasped.
I looked at them sternly, “Now get some water!”
They jumped and then like little soldiers, the First Graders obediently lined up at the water fountain. One after the other they took turns drinking the water.
I laughed the whole way back to my classroom.