“Are You Okay, Miss?!”

I just finished a heart wrenching part of my book. I am currently reading:

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As I read, I began to cry. As tears started welling in my eyes, I am mediately thought of my students. When I taught reading in a classroom adjacent to the cafeteria, once the bell rang and I would make the announcement, “Have a good rest of the day, learn lots of stuff!” as the students began filing out of my classroom. As my classroom emptied, I would grab my book and begin reading. I always kept my book close and liked to read in between classes because it was always a good thing to have my kids catch me reading and I could get a few pages read between each class.

Depending on the book I was reading, and I know this happened at least a couple of times, my eyes would well with tears and sometimes would fall out and stream down my cheeks. Once the second bell would ring, I would close my book and wipe my eyes.

As I would do this and begin my class, multiple students would ask be quite concerned, “Are you okay, Miss?! I would smile and chuckle a little and say to all of them, “Yes. Kids, you know you are reading good writing when it evokes emotion from you!” then I would tell them that I was reading a REALLY good book!

The bookmarks I used back then we’re return envelopes for junk mail credit card offers or something. The kids who sat close to me would notice that and ask about it. I would tell them that I just needed something to keep my place in the book. I would tell them that I didn’t have a bookmark so that’s what I used.

One student and I talked about those cute little monster bookmarks where it is folded paper to look like a monster is biting the corner of the page. I told her they were really cute and she told me that a teacher from the elementary school had taught her class how to make them. She told me that she wanted to make me one. She asked what color I wanted it and what color eyes the monster should have. I told her that I would like a purple monster with blue eyes. Class started and I forgot about that conversation.

A couple weeks later, she grabbed my book and attached the monster bookmark to the page I had marked with my envelope. I was extremely touched! It was the cutest bookmark I had seen! I looked at it and flipped it over to the back and she had even written my name on it! It said, “Ms. Ríos.” I used that bookmark for a very long time! Over time, it loosened and I have since lost it. I was really sad when that happened and I hope that somehow it’s in a book of mine somewhere.