The Lesson Was Just On Fire Today

(We are going over lab safety in my eighth grade science class. Most of the class are slightly more advanced, but still bored with the same lecture from every year prior. The teacher notices and starts to speak up.)

Teacher: “So, in the case a flammable liquid spills…”

(There is a clink and splash of glass falling over and something spilling out. I am sitting close to the front of the class and smell rubbing alcohol.)

Teacher: “…THIS is the last thing you do.”

(I hear the distinctive noise of a match striking before a woosh. I feel heat at my back. I turn around to see the table top on fire. The class goes dead quiet.)

My Friend: “Did she just—”

Teacher: “The tables are fire-resistant, so stay calm. Get the fire blanket, located here. You open the case like so.”

(The teacher opens the case and pulls out the blanket.)

Teacher: “And put it over the fire like this.”

(The teacher tosses it over her desk, patting it down and putting out the fire. She goes quiet, pausing for effect before continuing the safety procedures like nothing happened. Six years later, she was still the best science teacher ever.)