The best and the worst

Had rehearsal for event happening soon at my school. WonderfulKid, Heretofore WK, one of my favorite students (ever), has huge part in this event - and is envied by those who feel they should have been selected. He was picked because he's talented, he worked his butt off preparing, and he bloody well deserved it. During rehearsal WK collapsed - shaking, nauseated, white to the lips. Finally figured out (took only a couple of minutes - felt like a lifetime) that he had last eaten at lunch (6 hours earlier), hadn't had a snack, hadn't had anything to drink, and had worked vigorously in hot clothing during rehearsal: blood-sugar dive plus dehydration. So...ran to get him juice. While he had juice realized how low on fluid he must have been and turned to go for a cold water bottle.

I wound up looking straight at the kid who most thought he should have had WK's part. The look on his face has chilled my soul: he had a huge, wolfish grin - really happy. Clearly he thought it was serious - and was delighted at this kid's misery and the possibility (he thought) of getting to replace WK. It made the grin on Jack Nicholson's face in the witches of Eastwick look tame.

I've been teaching for a long time. I cannot remember ever being so infuriated, so appalled, so nauseated. It's more than a day later and I still feel ill. That kid was so unfeeling, so miserable, so arrogant...

WK is fine - went on to rehearsal today, will do the part tomorrow. I'm delighted for him!

I'm not delighted to have seen that other kid - it feels like a piece of me shriveled up or died seeing that evil look. Thank God I only have him for another six weeks before summer cuts in.