Death By Chocolate, Part 7

(My sister’s first grade teacher has just gotten married and is on her honeymoon. The class has two pet gerbils: Vanilla and Chocolate. My family volunteer to care for the gerbils at the end of the school day so the substitute won’t have to. Third grade me thought the gerbils would love to scurry about the room, but they were quite difficult to catch.)

Me: “[Sister]! Catch it!”

Sister: “I can’t! He’s too fast!”

Mom: “Hurry up. Your father is waiting for us at home.”

Me: “I got it!”

(I had chased Chocolate down and was about to catch him. Suddenly I tripped on a desk leg, fell forward, heard a terrible crunching noise, and felt poor Chocolate squirming under my knee.)

Me: *bawling* “I got him! Mom! He’s dying!”

(My mom then scooped up the crushed gerbil and took it to the teacher I had for first grade.)

Teacher: “It’s okay honey. You didn’t mean to.”

(My mom and the teacher hugged me as the gerbil died in our hands. I cried the entire way home. When we got home my mom told my dad what had happened. He came over to me to offer his comfort.)

Dad: “[Mom]! Hurry! If we get to the school in time, we can get the body and mount my little hunter’s first kill!”

(I began bawling again. I can’t help but wonder what it was like for my sister to go to school the next day knowing that the other kids in her class would know that it was her big sister who had killed their pet.)

Related:
Death By Chocolate, Part 6
Death By Chocolate, Part 5
Death By Chocolate, Part 4
Death By Chocolate, Part 3
Death By Chocolate, Part 2