A Little Salt on my JELLO Part 1

So, quick update:  The kids involved in the milk and knife incident were asked to talk with one another and make-up... that's pretty much it.

This weekend, we went out to eat with our guys.  We took them to an all you can eat Chinese buffet.  They were super excited.  One of my guys was telling me how he was going to eat ten plates of food!

The whole meal was going wonderful.  The guys kept saying how great the food was.  We were joking and laughing.  We were becoming a closer community.  One guy ate a plate and a half of Chinese BBQ chicken.  He kept telling us we had to try it.

After everyone was full and couldn't eat another bite, we went up to get dessert.  Our six foot tall fourteen year old got an entire plate of jello.  He proceeded to shove half the plate of jello into his mouth at once.  Everyone laughed as his cheeks were bursting with jello goodness.

Another one of our guys is eighteen years old but mentally probably ten or twelve.  He likes to watch cartoons and LOVES spongebob.  He currently is excited about the new Harry Potter.  One day he sang a Hannah Montana song to us and danced the actual dance from the movie at the same time.  It was pretty impressive.  Well, he decided to go get some jello so he could eat a bunch at once like his fourteen year old friend.  He came back with a jiggling plate full of orange jello.  I was interested to see how much he was going to eat at once.  But before he ate any, he informed us he had to go to the bathroom first.

So, as the guys looked at his empty chair and his full jello plate, one of them decided to add a little seasoning to his jello.  They sprinkled salt all over the top of his jello.  Now, many a time I have seen teens pull this prank on each other during youth trips.  I've seen the classic "unscrew the top of the Parmesan cheese" gag; the person goes to put some cheese on top of their pizza and they get a mountain of cheese.  I've seen the "nickel slammed into the bottom of the plastic salt shaker" trick; the person goes for the salt and leaves a trail of salt spilling from the bottom.  This prank was just another silly prank in a long line of pranks...or was it?

Our Spongebob lovin', Hannah Montana singing comrade came back from his bathroom trip as the rest of the guys tried to gather their composure and stop smiling.  Someone dared him to eat the jello as fast as he could.  He smiled and obliged them.  He grabbed a square and popped it into his mouth.  Soon the salty bitter taste sank in and his smile faded as his face contorted in suprise.  The guys laughed.  I admit, I smiled a little myself.  I wouldn't be smiling for long.  Spongebob Jello Eater quickly became incredibly angry.

" You guys think this is funny!  This isn't funny!  Beep you guys!"

The rest of the guys continued to laugh.  I tried to calm him down.  He was in a rage.

"Come on, we can get you some more jello from the buffet"

"NO!  Beep all of you guys!  This isn't beepin' funny!  I'm going to beep you guys up!  I'm going outside to wait...away from you guys!"

The meal was almost over.  I knew that he needed some space.  I would give him a minute or two outside to calm down.  I would take him a fortune cookie when I went to see how he was doing.  He stormed outside.  The guys at the table were still laughing.  I really don't think they were trying to pick on their housemate.  They were just being playful.  Regardless of the intention, they had hurt his feelings and made him feel attacked by everyone...which is why he reacted the way he did.

After talking with them for a minute, I went out to talk with my hurt, frustrated, angry guy.  I wasn't sure what to say to him.  I didn't want to explain away his feelings or minimize what happened.  He may have been mad at me for allowing them to "tamper" with his jello.  Who knows what was running through his head?  I figured I would find out as soon as I walked out the front door.

I walked outside expecting to hear some more curse words.  Instead, I heard nothing.  And, I saw nothing.  My guy was gone.  He had disappeared.  I scanned the parking lot...nothing.  I went to the side of the restaraunt....nothing.  He had left.