Back in kindergarten, at Silver Gate Elementary, we had nap time every day.

During nap time, all the kids would lie down on mats for 20 minutes or so. I think we were supposed to sleep during nap time, but I never slept, because I couldn’t fall asleep in time. I usually just lied there quietly and tried not to fidget and waited for nap time to be over.

Nap time was pretty boring.

Anyway, I remember one morning when our teacher, Miss H--, started class by announcing that we were going to have a special snack before we went home for the day. A parent or another teacher or maybe Miss H-- herself had made a bunch of cornbread and brought it in for the class. Miss H-- said that, after nap time, we were each going to get a piece of cornbread to eat.

As the morning wore on, we got busy with the usual kindergarten stuff, like learning to read and learning to count and riding our tricycles in the outdoor play area for a little while. By the time we lied down for our naps, I had long forgotten about the cornbread, and I think most of the other kids had, too.

As I lied there on my mat, I was focused on staying quiet and not fidgeting and waiting for nap time to be over. But at some point in the middle of nap time, I realized that the boy next to me had started to cry.

The boy's name was Anthony, and he was kind of weird. He always seemed to be doing things like picking his nose and eating what he found.

Anthony's crying was soft and muffled, and I was the only person who could hear it. Anthony was lying on his stomach, with his head buried in his folded-up arms, so I couldn't see his face.

Instantly, I was grateful for a reprieve from the monotony of nap time. As I listened to Anthony's quiet sobs, I pondered what to do. Eventually, I decided that the proper course of action was to alert Miss H-- to Anthony's condition. Without rising from my mat, I raised my hand and began waving it back and forth.

Miss H-- had been reading a book or grading papers or doing one of the other things she always did as the class napped. But as usual, she managed to remain amazingly alert to whispering or fidgeting or any other behavior other than napping.

Miss H-- immediately noticed me waving my hand back and forth. She quietly stopped what she was doing, walked over to me, and knelt down so her head was close to mine.

"What is it?" she asked in a whisper.

"Anthony is crying," I whispered back.

Miss H-- turned to Anthony, placed a hand on his shoulder, and gave him a gentle shake. "Anthony," she whispered. "Anthony, are you okay?"

As Anthony raised his head and turned to look at Miss H--, I got a good look at his face. His eyes were watery from crying. Tears had streaked his cheeks. And from his right nostril protruded the tip of a stick of white chalk.

Somehow, during nap time, Anthony had got hold of the stick of chalk. And somehow, during nap time, Anthony had managed to get the stick of chalk stuck in his nose.

"It's stuck," Anthony said in a trembling whisper.

"Let me try to take it out," Miss H-- whispered back.

"No!" Anthony said, still whispering, but increasingly terrified.

Miss H-- paused to think for a few moments. Then, still whispering, she said, "Okay, Anthony. Come with me."

Miss H-- took Anthony's hand in her own, and the two of them stood up. Anthony was still crying softly. Quietly, Miss H-- led him toward the classroom's door. She stopped near the door, at the desk of Mrs. P--, her teacher's aide.

By now, all the kids who weren't sleeping had realized that something was going on, and were watching Miss H-- and Anthony intently. Miss H-- knew it.

"Please watch the class for a few minutes, Mrs. P--," said Miss H-- to her teacher's aide, in a voice that was quiet but clear enough and loud enough for everyone to hear. "I'm going to take Anthony to the nurse's office."

As soon as Miss H-- said that, Anthony let loose with a loud wail. Apparently he didn't want to go to the nurses' office. He tried to pull away from Miss H-- and move back toward the center of the classroom, but Miss H-- held tight.

"Anthony," Miss H-- said firmly. "Anthony, we're just going to the nurse's office. It's going to be okay."

Anthony kept squirming. He turned back toward the rest of us and scanned the classroom desperately, as fresh tears poured from his eyes.

"But Miss H--," Anthony cried. "What about my cornbread?"