Could be a Vampire Thing

As a seventh grade teacher you tend to get a little immune to weirdness.

Especially if teaching middle school is your second career and you've already spent a lifetime dealing with the weirdness that is corporate life (which is perhaps why the movie Office Space is one of my favorites) along with helping hubby deal with the general rock'n'roll public with his music business. You want weird? Hang out at a record and CD music show in any big city and see what comes strolling in. Green and pink hair is nothing new.

Oh, and I grew up in L.A., so there's little that phases me these days.

Which is why I wasn't completely freaked out, or even remotely concerned, when one of our boys, Skater Goober, started to wear really heavy foundation makeup.

Mrs. Aide was the first one who asked me about it. "Did you notice that Skater Goober is wearing really heavy makeup?" she asked me the other day.

I had to think about it for a minute. "Yeah," I finally said. "I did notice that. Didn't pay much attention truth be told."

"Really? Isn't that a bit odd? I mean for a boy?"

"Well, I had the glam rock kids a few years ago where the boys were wearing eyeliner (skaters again, interestingly enough) and I've had the goth kids, and now we've got kids who want to be vampires, so no, I guess I didn't think it was odd."

I'm not sure at this point she didn't think I was nuts.

(On an aside, Skater Goober has done a pretty impressive turnaround. He's passing all his classes but one, which is amazing since he failed most of his classes last year and was on that path again this year. He's doing great, and I've got to give him credit for that. He's matured and learned that - amazing - when you study, you pass!)

Mr. Math, youngster that he is, thinks it might be a medicated thing for acne. Could be. After all this is seventh grade where the hormones are raging and making life miserable for my kids, not only emotionally but with the curse of acne, stringy hair, cracking voices and just general overall misery.

However, considering the raging popularity that are the Twilight books, and how the kids are all of a sudden obsessed with vampires, I'm seeing quite a few kids, mostly girls, who are trying to look a bit more pale than normal. I figured Skater Goober might just be in the vampire camp at this point.

Too bad he doesn't sparkle.