Pamela Pencils

At times my life is spent noticing the unimportant trivialities. For example, how come pencils fly out of the hands of twelve year olds? I'm in the class teaching a captivating geometry lesson and pencils are falling and flying out of students' hands every one minute and twenty seconds. And these pencils don't just fall to the ground. They fly out of their hands, sometimes going as far as five feet. There are several explanations:

1. It could be poltergeist activity caused by the ghostly spirit that inhabits our old wing of the school building.

2. It could be the way they play with their pencils. They're just losing control of the dadgum thing.

3. I remember being in the seventh grade. I don't remember much, but I remember wishing and hoping and planning and dreaming that Pamela, who sat on my right, would drop her pencil on the left side of her desk and bend down to pick it up.

4. It's an attention-seeking behavior. "Look at me! My pencil can fly! Oops! there it goes again!"

5. The kids can tell I am fascinated with the phenomenon and are merely trying to entertain me.

I am sure there are more important things that pencils flying out of seventh graders' hands, but lately, that silly item is on my "Dumb Things to Think About List."

At this time I am going with the Pamela thing as the best explanation. At least that's what caused mine to "fly away."