My dear, you have been conned

Duped. Hook, line and sinker. And by a girl, no less! She must have fed you a good line because you didn't even flinch and you fell hard.

Every Wednesday, I go into the boys' school to help out with 1st grade computer recess in Christopher's class. I arrive while the 1st grade is having lunch, and while I wait, I sometimes stroll down the hall to where Tommy's classroom is and peek in to see what he's doing. Yes, I actually spy on my own kid. I wouldn't do that to Christopher, but Tommy is one of those kids who meets certain criteria where I feel justified in doing so.

Last week, a couple of his friends were heading back into the classroom and I told them to keep it quiet that they even saw me and apparently, they did, because when I questioned him a few days later, he knew nothing about it. But this morning, I reminded Christopher that I'd be there and told Tommy to watch out because I might just check up on him.

He remembered. Not only that, but he told some friends because when I peeked in, he was looking for me. His teacher motioned for me to come in and told me how the kids had told her they were doing some serious spying at the moment. I told her that was because I told Tommy I would be spying on him and he apparently remembered and was very deserving in having me do so. (Thankfully, she is very easy going and wasn't angry about me doing this.)

As I turned to leave, she asked me to hold on a moment so she could talk to me.

Uh-oh.

We go outside to the hallway and she closes the door behind her. I nearly cringe at what she's going to tell me. What on earth did that kid do now?

Well, unbeknownst to me, although not at all to my surprise, she tells me the story of how a girl on his bus sold him a 1998 "lucky penny" for a whopping $4. She must have made that penny sound pretty magical, because for Tommy to part with even a dollar, it would have to be for a very good reason. Tommy has already been told NOT to bring his birthday money to school, since there was no need and it would likely get lost, but of course, he hasn't been listening and is taking it against our orders.

I think it is a hard lesson learned and he got what he deserved, although I'm told he's not the only victim of this little crime. So the teacher was at that time, working it out and just wanted to let me know what was going on.

I saw her as I was leaving the building after computer recess. I asked if everything got straightened out and she said Mr. W. was working on it now. He's the vice-principal.

I don't know; in my eyes, Tommy will learn a good lesson from it all, the girl will be warned and life will go on. But then I wonder how things could have turned out if she was selling him some magic pill instead of a magic penny. And I suppose whoever this girl is, that she will make a great salesperson when she grows up. And Tommy will make a great -- ? Follower? Leader?

Honestly, I would have thought he would have been the person trying to make the sales pitch. But he's more innocent than I want to believe. And too smart for his own good.