Hmmm...Is that a threat or a proposition?

This Friday, my co-worker and I put on the 8th grade dance. We've planned the entire dance from beginning to end and have been driven to the edge of insanity quite a few times.

When we started planning, we decided to have a standard for attendance at the dance: students must not have any discipline referrals during the 4th quarter and they must be passing math and English with a minimum 60%. As you can see, we set the bar extremely high.

Of course, this was verbalized to students many many many times before the dance and as they all came with their money to purchase tickets. Last Wednesday I posted the names of students who had recieved discipline referrals and/or were failing math and/or English. Students were told that they would not be allowed to attend (the only exception was if they managed to raise their grade to 60% by noon on Friday).

Then the tears began. A student with a 38% in my class came begging me for work from April. I turned a deaf ear. Tears began to flow. Another student with a 47% in my class came begging me to read and grade her paper two weeks early. I knew she didn't have a snowball's chance in hell, so I appeased her, took her paper, and put it behind the other pressing matters on my desk.

The dance began at 6:00.

At 6:30 a student came to the entrance table. She was dressed to impress--resplendent in her purple dress with bright pink eyeshadow. She was told she could not enter. This child had either cursed out a teacher earlier in the week or she had punched another kid....not quite sure of the specifics, but regardless she had been in loads of trouble.

She huffed. She puffed. She tried to blow the entrance table down. But, one angry child does not a weakling adult make. She turned on her heels and stomped back outside.

At 6:33 she returned--with the bigger beast: her mother. After explaining the policy (again) to her mother, she demanded that her child be let in. I said that would not be possible. She did not like that.

*If you have small children reading this, this is the point that I highly encourage you to give them something else to do. The following dialogue is in it's true form. It has not been edited or changed or any way. The dialogue noes not reflect the views of the author or our sponsors.*

"Fuck you! Fuck this dance! Fuck this school! Fuck you! Fuck you! and Fuck you! I spent all this money on this fucking dress! She's coming in"

"Ma'am, that will not be possible."

"Fuck you! Fuck this muthafuckin school!"

I think there was a "kiss my ass somewhere in there, but I'm not quite sure"

The woman said "fuck you" so much, I wasn't sure if she was threatening me or propositining me. She huffed. She puffed. She could not blow the table down. She turned on her heels and stormed out the door while a string of "fuck you's" traveled behind her.

Does that count as mental/emotional turmoil and can I now apply for combat pay?

*M*