Humiliated by a Jolly Rancher

Ahhhh, the first year of teaching. For me it was a time of trial and error, success and failure, pride and humiliation. One such instance was during the first month of school. We only had one car at the time, so I occasionally rode my bike to work. After school that day I walked my bike to the front of the school. When I got to the parking lot I got on my bike and at the same time pulled a green apple flavored Jolly Rancher out of my pocket.

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As I slowly steered down the incline to the street, I simultaneously attempted to unwrap my candy--and promptly lost control of my bike. I panicked and slammed on the front brakes. My bike stopped abruptly. I did not. I flew over the handlebars and landed on the cement with my fingers curled, pulled toward the palms of my hands. The tops of my fingers skidded along the sidewalk, turning them into raw hamburger. But the instant I came to a stop, I jumped up, self-consciously glancing around me to see who was watching. It was after school hours, but there were parents and students around waiting for the dismissal of an after school program who observed the whole mess. As blood rushed to my face I saw stars and winced in pain. "I'm okay!" I called half-heartedly. Then I made an point of ceremoniously finishing the job of opening my Jolly Rancher, popped it into my mouth, remounted my bike, and rode away mumbling to myself, "You idiot! You are such a klutz! Everyone saw you, how embarrassing! Wow, that new teacher sure is impressive! Who hired him?"

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That was the last time I rode my bicycle to school.

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