Don't Touch The Time Machine

The kids get weirder the closer it gets to the end of the school year.  I have been giving my students a couple of days of in class time to study with exam week approaching.  Seems like a good idea right?  Not really.

Next to my classroom is the senior lab.  It has a few big tables that are great for group work.  The seniors are gone at this point in the year, and some of the kids asked if they could use that room to 'study'.  It's a bit crowded in my room, so I agreed.  My kids had never been in there before, so naturally upon entering the room they proceeded to ask me several thousand questions.  "What's this?", "Why are these here?", "What does this do?", and so on.  As I was leaving the room, one of the kids pointed to the chemical ventilation hood (which looks like a large microwave with a metal chimney that takes chemical fumes outside) and asked me about it.  At that point I was tired of answering questions, so I responded "It's a time machine, now don't touch anything."  The kids giggled and I left the room.

Several minutes later, I was back in my room helping some other kids with exam questions when I heard the lab door swing open.  "Mr. A! Help! Abby's stuck inside the time machine and we can't get her out!" they shouted.  I ran over to the lab room to see what was going on.  Sure enough, Abby was inside the vent chamber.  I could see her through the glass window.  She looked both shocked and embarrassed.  I guess the anticipation of what the future has in store was simply too irresistible.  I also guess they did not see the OPEN button that releases the latch when the glass door is closed.  I was both stupefied and doing my best to contain my laughter (I'm supposed to be the role model right?).  The only words I could muster were, "I told you not to touch the time machine."  Luckily they did not hit the ON button or Abby would have been in for the ride of her life.  It is quite dusty in there and the exhaust fan is pretty intense.  She would have left the vent looking as if she had spent a few minutes inside a Hoover vacuum bag.

The lesson learned here is simple.  No matter how tempting it might be to foresee the future or change the past, live the best you can in the present, use common sense, and whatever you do, don't touch the time machine.