A birthday surprise

Today was the birthday of one of the girls in my class. She wasn't exactly having a great day. Her mom had yelled at her before school and thus had forgotten her birthday treats at home. Needless to say I tried to be especially nice to her today. When we sing "Happy Birthday" I always let the kids stand on their chairs and the birthday person stand on top of their table. (It bugs the crap out of the older teachers, which I relish.) So today as we finished up singing, trying to make her birthday a little more special, I hopped up on the table with her. I picked her up and held her up to the ceiling, singing "The Circle of Life." We looked like Simba and Rifiki on the cover of The Lion King DVD. In my head I imagined that this would be a moment she would always remember whenever she thought back to her ninth birthday.....until she farted in my face. I'm guessing it was the fried French toast sticks and greasy sausage patty she ate for lunch. An image of panic on both of our faces, she glanced down at me and I craned my neck to look up at her. Remembering the crappy day she was having (literally), I simply held my breath and set her back down at her seat. Our silence spoke volumes.