It was the fall of 2009...I think. I was in the fourth grade. My entire class was taken to a trailer parked right outside of the school where we played with packing peanuts. To teach us about global warming or something, you know...science. We were in the trailer for less than ten minutes when my head started to feel really weird. My vision was turning various shades of brown and I began to feel really dizzy. I started blinking, trying to clear my head.
But to no avail, because utter embarrassment obviously cannot be stopped.
I fell right over. Right past my science partner. Who did not catch me. I think I actually hit him on my way down. Oh, and then I hit the floor as everything went black.
The next thing I remember I was waking up next to my teacher who was sitting beside me on the steps leading up to the trailer. She was asking me if I was alright, but nothing was making sense.
And then I passed out again.
When I woke up again, I realized it had only been a few minutes and she had somehow managed to get me across the street. It was there, between the trailer and the school, that I started dry heaving. My teacher held me up.
Then I passed out again.
The next time I regained consciousness, I was in the lunch lady's arms as she ran down the hall towards the nurses office, muttering reassurances to me along the way. While my mind was still extremely fuzzy, the beginning of the realization of what was happening hit me. With it came petrifying embarrassment.
Finally, I was set up in the nurse's office with a juice box and crackers in my hand, my parents on the way. I was seething in mortification and self-pity.
The next day was filled with questions concerning my well-being from my classmates and teachers. Even my friend, who had been absent that day, came to school knowing what had occurred. Some thought I was dying, others thought I had diabetes. No one thought it was what it really was which was a minor case of hypoglycemia. In other words, my blood sugar got too low.
It has been seven years and I'm still embarrassed about this. But, at least now I can laugh about it.
But the worst thing of all? I still have no idea what the hell we were supposed to be learning from packing peanuts.
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