Funny Story

But first some background information:

First, if you didn't know already, I have a fear of snakes (not as bad as my mother's though). I can be in the same room as a pet snake, but I like about 5 feet of space (at least) between me and the snake....the distance gets much further if it is a real snake....you know, one found in nature.....I don't want to be anywhere near one AT ALL. Second, the second grade teacher at our school as a room full of animals like lizards, birds, and snakes. All students may hold the animals as long as they are kind to them....this happens all throughout the day.

Now, the story:

I was walking down the hallway about 15 minutes before school started. It drives me batty to have kids hanging out in the hallway (a school rule, not just my craziness) so I am constantly reminding them to head outside or be in a classroom with a teacher present. So today I approached a group of boys to tell them they needed to go outside. Well, I had stopped about 2 inches from one of the boys (whose back was to me) and then he turned around and was holding the snake!!!! It totally freaked me out and I yelped and jumped back. The boys got a good chuckle out of it as I walked away as FAST AS I COULD....I hid out in Nancy's room. Anyway, I walked down the middle of the hallway to go to my room after the bell had rung and the same boy (still holding the snake) was walking directly toward me. I veered right to get as far away from the snake as possible and the boy (seeing my discomfort) moved to the other side of the hallway too. This was a very sweet move and thanked him several times. When I told the second grade teacher what happened she thought it was so funny.......she has also witnessed my freakouts when faced with a reptile.

Freaky I say.