A Birthday Surprise

I was walking up to my classroom for the last period of the day. I was puzzled because the door was shut and the light was off. I open the door and hear "SURPRISE!" then my students begin to sing Happy Birthday. I start to tear up as I blow out the candles that they put on my Birthday Cake. The candles were a little melted because I was a little delayed getting to the classroom, but all still went well. I opened up the sweet cards from my students and began to tear up again. Then one of my young men promptly gave me a box of Kleenex. I was still in a little shock from the surprise and enjoying every moment. Yet something was not quite right....

After the shock wore off, the smell of smoke just kept lingering a little to much for just candles.

The real surprise came when I asked the students "what happened?" I knew this would not be good. Not until investigating did we discover that the students lit the candles with a lighter that they had acquired from an upper school student (Mistake Number 1). The student who was lighting the candles had issues putting the flame to the candle without burning his fingers. (Mistake Number 2). That student then rolled up a piece of paper and used it as a torch to light the rest of the candles. (Mistake Number 3). He could not get the flame out. So he threw the paper in the trash can. (Mistake Number 4). He then threw a bottle of bubbles on the flame to finally to put it out. (I had given them bubbles that morning to celebrate my Birthday.) One student then promptly opened the window preventing the school fire alarm from going off.

They wanted to surprise me and they definitely did.