Jayus...or another day at work: LJ Idol Week 1

Despite all her attempts at setting multiple alarms, Anna still managed to oversleep that morning. She quickly brushed her teeth, washed her face, grabbed the first set of clean clothes she saw, grabbed a cup of coffee, and sped to work, praying she wouldn't be pulled over. Needless to say when she walked into her classroom, an hour late for work, she wasn't pleased. However, her students were happy enough to see her! A little too happy, she thought as she stifled a yawn.

"Ms. Malone! Why did the two penguins hang out?"

She set her computer bag down on her chair and pasted a smile on her face. "Why, Collin?"

"They wanted to duplicate!"

"What?"

"I said," Collin raised his voice louder. "They wanted to duplicate!"

Before she had a chance to formulate a response to that (and what would she even say to a 3rd grader talking about duplicating penguins?), Jose ran up to her. "Ms. Malone, your momma's so ugly that when One Direction saw her, they went the other direction!"

She cracked a semblance of a real smile as she sat down in her chair. "Jose! Gabby isn't going to like that you're making fun of One Direction!"

"I don't!" Gabby whispered to her.

"I know! That's what makes it funny, Ms. M.! Besides I'm making fun of your momma!"

Charlie danced up to her desk. "Knock, knock!"

"Who's there?"

"Claws!"

"Claws who?"

"Santa Claws, that's who!" Charlie held his stomach and roared hysterically as if it were the funniest thing he had ever heard. It would be funny if she hadn't heard that one yesterday...and the day before...and the day before that. Charlie danced back to his seat singing about waffles, pineapples, and coconut llamas. That was Charlie for you.

She put her coffee down as her students brought their reading books over to her desk for their first rotation. As Corinne opened her book, she spoke up. "Hey, Ms. Malone! Did you know if you rearranged the letters in the word 'teacher,' you can make the word cheater?" Corinne pondered this thought for a moment and then smiled. "Does that mean all teachers are cheaters?"

Anna leaned back and suddenly found herself laughing at her students and their pure joy in telling her the jokes they memorized. They may not be the best joke tellers in the world and sometimes she wished her students memorized the rules of the English language as easily as they memorized their jokes but at the end of the day, she wouldn't have it any other way.