Tuesday, May 1, 2012

An Embarrassing But True Story

It was the middle of the state math assessment, and I was in a room with seven teenagers.   I walked around the room, a constant circle, "actively monitoring" the students.  Silence reigned; even the construction of the firehouse next door seemed to have been halted for the test.  Once the air conditioner cut off, I could even hear a spider in the corner of the room slurping his breakfast noisily. 

All was quiet, all was silent, and then:

GGGGGGRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOWWWWWWLLLL!!!!!

All seven heads snapped up to eyeball me.  It wasn't me; it was my stomach.  My stomach has a very strict feeding schedule, and it does not do well with changes in routine.  My normal snack and lunch times were not going to happen on this day, but my tummy was determined to stick to the plan. 

GGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOWWWWWLLLLLLL!!!!!

I turned several shades of red in succession, and pretended to count the holes in the ceiling tiles.  I know that it is a perfectly natural occurrence, stomach growling, and I was okay with it.  Just not so loud!

GGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOWWWWWWLLLL!!!!!

From the other side of the room came a stifled giggle.  I sighed, pulled out a granola bar and turned to smile sheepishly at the students in the room.  A few rolled their eyes, and then they went back to their test taking, and my tummy stopped rumbling.

Next year, I am bringing my lunch with me into the testing room!

9 comments:

  1. I actually had this happen to me yesterday while delivering mail in a mail house. I scared myself. Actually looked around to ensure I was in fact alone and not going to be eaten by a dog.

    True story.

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  2. Very funny story! Uncontrollable those things.

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  3. it reminds me of a very prim and proper librarian i worked for at my very first job--she was leaning over and quietly whispering to a patron, when out came this loud burp---i think she invented a new shade of red---see it could have been worse--funny post!

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    1. If I had burped, I probably would have just died laughing.

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  4. That's worse than if it happens at church! At least when I'm there I can scowl at my husband and pretend it was him! You've got no one to take the blame when it's just you!

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    1. True--one of the perks of being married is that you get to blame strange sounds on your husband!

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  5. Hee hee hee...there are worse noises you could've made amongst that crowd!

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