“Miss Alyssa, I think I broke 3 of my livers.” I stare blankly into my young students’ face, and as my initial shock fades away, I chuckle. “Honey, a person only has one liver”, I respond, trying as hard as I can not to laugh at him to demean him. The mind of a child has always amazed me- I watch in awe as they soak up every last tidbit of information. And yet, as I watch him accept this new information, rolling it around a little, I can’t help but chuckle. Something lurks behind what quizzical façade is visible to me. I know some smart remark is sure to follow quickly as his small brown eyes brighten up as the sparks of the fire of childhood are hastily ignited. He pauses, and begins to smile, small-almost unnoticeable at first, spreading out from the right side of his mouth. Rumors of his supposed tri-organ internal bleed have spread across the class, and now a small crowd has attracted to the magnetic episode. I turn to my paperwork, hoping that the crowd will dissolve and my student will return to his homework, but my non-existent luck has once again escaped me. He wittingly shoots back- “But Miss Alyssa that means I broke my one and only liver! I’m dying!”
My partner, who has now dropped all the jackets she was hanging up due to her laughing fit, throws her arm around me laughing into my shoulder. I see the tears in her eyes from laughing as hard as she is, and she has spread her contagious infection; I am now doubled over- red as ever, wiping tears from my eyes. Of course, I become the spectacle of the lunch room, forcing my boss to strut over- confused and full of questions as to why my job has come down to hysterical laughter.
There is no other reply besides “I’m sorry- we’re under control. We just broke three livers.”
My partner, who has now dropped all the jackets she was hanging up due to her laughing fit, throws her arm around me laughing into my shoulder. I see the tears in her eyes from laughing as hard as she is, and she has spread her contagious infection; I am now doubled over- red as ever, wiping tears from my eyes. Of course, I become the spectacle of the lunch room, forcing my boss to strut over- confused and full of questions as to why my job has come down to hysterical laughter.
There is no other reply besides “I’m sorry- we’re under control. We just broke three livers.”
