I was a fifth grader. An “Emperor Eagle”. And I was in Science class where we were learning about the solar system (ya know, when all 9 planets were part of it). When a boy I had known since Kindergarten randomly came up to me and put a gob of Elmer’s glue into my hair!

I was shocked. Mortified really. My long, shiny brown, perfectly curled locks were tainted and I sat there with a look of disgust until the science teacher saw. She screamed, “Alright, who did this to Crystal!?” And about 7 people, (including myself) pointed in Robbie’s direction. She grabbed a wet paper towel, wiped off some sticky white glue from my hair and insisted that I must now put glue in his hair!

I was like “whaaat?! No.” I’m sorry that’s not how I was raised and to be told this by a teacher was very confusing. Then the class began chanting “Crystal, Crystal, Crystal!!!” She told me to go ahead and do it and that I wouldn’t get in trouble. I shook my head no and crossed my arms. At this point, she walked up to me, grabbed the plastic container of full of glue and shoved my hand into it. I proceeded to wipe it off with a paper towel as the class continued to chant.

Clearly, she was pretty insistent, but so was I. So she tried again to stick my hand in the glue again and walk me over to where Robbie was sitting. I struggled as she drew my sticky hand towards his hair. And he struggled trying to stay out of reach and she pinned him in his seat.

Finally, she wiped a glop of glue off my hand and put it on hers to make the final strike. She rubbed it in his curly hair with no mercy and then stated “There, how does that feel?!” The class erupted in laughter. And I walked to the sink to wash my hands off more thoroughly just as the bell rang. 

After recess and lunch I had a student aide come up to me as we were lining up to begin our afternoon classes. She told me I was summoned to the Principal’s Office! Oh joy - this was a first. The students all “ooo’d”  as if I was in some major trouble. Still, a wave of embarrassment swept over me as I quietly slumped away, escorted by the aide. 

So this was it. In the Office waiting area, feet barely touching the floor, and the Secretary very surprised to see me in queue for the Principal. I was a Girl Scout, on the Student Council, in Chior and also Band and pretty much a goodie-goodie all around. I knew they were thinking what has she done!?

Once the door swung open, both the Science teacher and Robbie came out, with both their heads down. I was up next. I could feel the red flooding my face and tears welling up in my eyes already. I came in and was greeted by a well-known moustached man who, when standing was 6’2” (which is giant to all elementary students) but this time he wasn’t smiling like I was used to. He asked me to “take a seat and explain what happened in Science class today.”

I kept my story short, sweet and factual. And he thanked me for my honesty when I was done. He told me that I wasn’t in any trouble and that I could return to class with a note. I was relieved. I felt I did the right thing. But had I got my teacher in trouble? Well, the next week, she was not there and we had a substitute in that position for the rest of the school year.

I never really asked any questions and no one ever really talked to me about it again either. But sometimes I think about this incident and how it shaped my young life. I definitely never wanted to be called into the Principal’s Office again, especially if I was at fault. Scared me to death. Never again. 

Thanks for reading and remember to keep yourself out of those sticky situations!  

-Crystal Olguin

September 30, 2018