She walked in, and to her amazement, her nine year old son's face was smeared with pastel pink icing.
"Put that fork down, young man. You know you're allergic to chocolate. And wipe the icing off of your face."
He put the fork down, but didn't let go. "But Mom, it's Carla's birthday. It's bad luck not to celebrate your own sister's birthday with at least a little slice of cake."
Mom put her hands on her hips, scowling. "A slice of the vanilla side would have been fine, Ray. Now you're going to have spots for the next week!"
Ray hung his head, but started to lick the fork. "I'm not allergic any more, Mom. And when I was, it wasn't bad. They didn't even itch."
She tapped her foot, glaring. "The fork?"
Ray took one last lick, then gently set it down again. "I'll go wash the dishes, then go to bed."
Mom watched as he walked towards the kitchen. When he was almost to the door, she spoke. "No dessert for at least a week. Until you learn to be more responsible for your diet, I'll have to supervise your choices a lot closer."
"But Mom, it was just a few bites! It didn't hurt me..."
Her eyes narrowed. "Don't talk back, get ready for bed. Or shall we add TV time to your restrictions?"
"Sorry, Ma'am. Good night," he whispered, avoiding her gaze.
"That's more like it. Have a good night, and don't forget that you have an exam tomorrow. Just leave the dish in the sink, I don't want you up any later than you have to be."
The next day, he walked into the cafeteria and grinned as he slid into the chair closest to the buffet line.
"What did you get for lunch, Ray?"
"Hi Don, I'm not sure yet. Probably nothing good, Mom's pretty sore with me. I had a piece from the chocolate side of Carla's birthday cake last night."
Opening the small paper sack, he slid out the contents. "It's worse than I thought... a turkey sandwich, carrot sticks, and for dessert? An apple."
Don groaned. "Oh man, that's harsh. Want half of my King Size Snickers, in exchange for half of the apple?"
Ray rolled the apple towards Don. "Do I! Thanks, I'm starving, and not for rabbit food. Mom said no dessert for at least a week."
Don handed him the candy bar. "Eat as much as you want, I'll probably have a plate of cookies waiting for me at home. You're in for a long night..."
Ray accepted it, eagerly ripping off the wrapper. In no time, he was licking his fingers. "Best meal ever," he said.
"What about your sandwich?" asked Don.
"Take it, and the carrots too. I sort of ate all of your candy bar. I'm full now."
Don laughed, and took the rest of the lunch.
During the exam, Ray began to itch. At first it was just his face. Then it spread.
"What's going on? This is worse than when Carla put itching powder in my bed for April Fool's Day."
He tried to ignore it, until he glanced up. Mrs. Swanson and the entire class were staring at him. "Sorry, Ma'am. I'll sit still."
Mrs. Swanson blinked, as if coming out of a trance. She quickly forced calm into her voice. "Please go see Nurse Simmons, immediately."
"Why?" he asked curiously.
Still unsure of how to react, the veteran teacher fell back on a classic used the world over. "Because I said so."
Ray shrugged, gave his nose a final scratch, then left the classroom.
Two hours later, Ray was sitting in the nurse's office, with his mother, Nurse Simmons, and Mrs. Swanson. If his face hadn't already been red it would have surely turned the same color as Rudolph's nose at the next words from his mother.
"That's right, I would like my son to have close supervision whenever food is involved. Obviously Ray isn't responsible enough to avoid chocolate, which as you can see, he is allergic to."
Mrs. Swanson spoke up. "Very well, he and I will eat together in the classroom. I wouldn't mind the company."
Ray put his hands over his hot, itchy, cream covered face. "I want to eat with my friends..."
Mom scowled. "You may, when you prove that you are responsible enough. Meanwhile, you have a lunch date with Mrs. Swanson."
"Oh great, I'm going to be the only kid in my class to have a date with the teacher. I'm never going to live this down. I hate chocolate!!!"
Cover image made in Canva Pro using their gallery