Coming Of Age And Going Of Class

(My chemistry teacher will sometimes cancel the lesson if it’s the last one before end of school and we can provide him a good reason. I’m repeating the year, so I’m one year older than the others.)

Classmate: “Mr. [Teacher], can we have the lesson off? I wanna go home.”

Teacher: “No, not today. Not unless it’s someone’s 18th birthday.”

(I take out my ID, get up and approach him. I hold out my ID and grin. He reads my birth date and starts laughing.)

Teacher: “I should have remembered that [My Name] is one year older than the rest of you…”

(Few seconds of silence.)

Teacher: “… Now get out. Class is cancelled.”

(My whole class bought me a belated birthday cake the next day.)