A Mortifying High School Moment

Mama Kat asks about an embarrassing moment in school.

I was all ready to repost a more recent embarrassing moment that happened at school; not as a student, but as a teacher. But then I remembered a particular incident that happened during my sophomore year of high school. Pretty much everything and everyone is embarrassing during the 2nd year of high school, but I remember this day over all the others.

Back in the day when driver’s ed was a class offered free of charge in public school I enrolled in it during the second semester of 10th grade. It was taught by our school’s football coach. The driver’s training portion was actually the last 6 weeks of the semester as the first 6 weeks was health education which included sex ed and first aid. (Ha, it’s kind of funny thinking about that combination isn’t it?) I got through the first part of health ed without much incident, with the exception of a lot of blushing and giggling. The first aid part was a different story altogether.

Up until that point, I had fainted two times in my life. Once at about 10 years old as my dad explained what a spinal tap was during dinner. I passed out into my chicken and rice and my mom thought I had died. The second, when I was about 12, while at a friend’s house making dinner in the kitchen. I was in charge of mashing up the cold sausage in a bowl and there was something faint-worthy about the way it felt and I collapsed to the ground. My friend’s mom also thought I had died.

On the first day of the first aid portion, Coach introduced the upcoming curriculum and ended his explanation by telling us that a student in a class earlier that morning had passed out. What?!?! My mind focused on that since I was a known fainter. About 10 minutes into the class period, he began his lecture about going into shock. I tried to listen as best as I could, but instead performed a class demonstration of going into shock myself. I shivered and sweated at the same time, my skin grew clammy, and then the room started spinning.

The next thing I knew I woke up, my legs still under the desk but the rest of me on the ground. Yes, I fell out of that desk/chair contraption but got stuck because I fell out the side that is attached. When I realized where I was the first things I saw was the coach's face in mine checking to see if I was alright and the class was completely empty; the rest of the students having been told to go outside. He talked to me incessantly while I was sprawled on the classroom floor, probably glad that I hadn’t died in his classroom. And he wouldn’t let me get up because he had called the nurse and she was on her way.

Oh, great! If things weren’t embarrassing enough, the nurse came into the classroom rolling a wheel chair. Coach and nurse helped up and put me in the chair, all while I protested that I was fine and didn’t need that wheelchair. To make matters worse, holding the classroom door open was Lenny, the tall, dark and handsome senior who I had a terrible crush on who also happened to be TA-ing for the nurse during that class period. With my head hiding in my shoulder, the nurse passed the wheelchair over to Lenny and the three of us headed to the nurse’s office as my classmates waved and watched my departure.

To make a long story short, my dad was called and had to come get me, but before he did he told them, “She does this all the time,” trying to keep me at school. Alas, school policy…you faint, you go home.

I have not fainted since then. I still have a tendency to get light headed when medical things are discussed and usually need to put my head between my legs to stop the spinning. It’s funny how there are so many high school days that are a complete blur, but I remember every detail of that one.