Fridays = presentation days, so I had lugged the school projector and laptop up to my classroom and set it up. Its projection on the whiteboard was slanted, and because I couldn't find anything else, I took out my half-read novel and used it to prop the projector up. I used half the book to cover the lens so that a couple of the students could use the whiteboard first.
While one of my students was setting up for his presentation, he suddenly started grunting (well grunting wouldn't be the right word, but what's the right word to use to describe someone who's desperately trying to grab your attention, but in panic cannot find the words he needs in English?) and waving frantically at me as he seized my book and started huffing and puffing and fanning it.
My heart stopped for 10 seconds because my precious new book was freakin smoking and sizzling, and the bright amber patch in the middle of the page was about to burst into flames!!! The room quickly filled with the smell of burnt paper and for a brief moment there was chaos. I quickly opened the door for fear of setting off the fire alarm, but luckily there wasn't enough smoke to set it off anyway because my student managed to extinguish the sizzle just in time!! Close call or what!!! O.O"
P H E W.
So I now have holes in several pages of my book, like so:
Looks like I'm gonna have to do a bit of cloze passage reading when I get to those pages.
Goodness I am so glad I didn't start a fire and burn down the whole school. SO GLAD.
*kicks self repeatedly for being careless. Kick. KICK!*
By the way, one of my Japanese girls and her friend got attacked two nights ago as they were walking home past/from a pub in Springhill, by what sounded like drunk racists. She's going out again with some of the other students from my class tonight, and while trying to explain why she wanted someone to accompany her home, burst into tears as she showed us the big greenish bruise on her cheekbone, still apparent under layers of foundation.
I was shocked beyond words. Must be freakin traumatic can, to be attacked in a country where you don't speak its language!
I made one of the boys promise to catch the bus/taxi with her, just to make sure she gets home safely.
Bastards. I hope those people rot in hell.
