The definition of irony...

Student A: "What's wrong?"
Student B: "I feel sick."
Student A: "That's too bad."

I had just gotten done working on this dialogue with a group of 4 very low level boys yesterday during class. We moved onto the next page, all about a few easy adjectives....fat, thin, tall, short, old and young. They were doing pretty well and I stood them up to come on over to my desk and make sentences describing pictures of family members I have on the wall.

Saul, a usually slightly hyper 8 year old, stood up and walked over with the other boys and approached my desk. He grew quiet and just stood there staring straight ahead.

"What's wrong?" I honestly asked. He just didn't look quite right.
No response. He just kept staring ahead.
"Saul...waygeray?(korean for what's wrong?)
No response.
After asking again and just about to try and ask another teacher, he bent his head slightly and without any more warning, started throwing up on the floor. The only thing I had any sense or time to do was just sort of grab him enough so he didn't get it all over himself.

After staring in disbelief for a second, I leapt to grab the trash can, but by then it was more than a little too late. The eveidence was already all over the floor.

I sat him down and made the others get him some water and went to the teachers room to see what I could get to clean things up. Agnes just happened to be in there and soon was ahead of me taking charge of things. We got some tissue and she starting to immediately swab things up. As she walked in the door ahead of me and saw my face, she mumbled something about me not having children and that I should just go out of the room. Mind you, coming from Agnes, this really was more like a "don't bother....I know this is too much for you." Feeling much too unhelpful, I approached the splatter of who knows what that lay on the floor. I had good intentions of getting in there and helping as much as I could. Between the stench and seeing the up-chucked chewing gum amongst other unidentifiable half digested goods, I can actually say that I dry heaved and had to immediately back away. Not being a quiter though, I again stepped up and soon again was holding back what was working it's way up. Obviously I just wasn't made to deal with these sorts of things.

After getting things cleaned up, class time was already finished and I called the boys in to get their things and head down to the busses. Saul was just fine. Don't know what it ended up being, but I have those same kids again tomorrow. I wonder in they'll remember the dialogue?.....