Two days after my ninth birthday, and on the tenth birthday of a close friend, my classmates and I walked into our fourth grade classroom – after lunch? after recess? The activity almost escapes me now, because it is overshadowed by what came next. Our new teacher – new to us because of the new year and new to the school – was sitting at her desk. She abruptly stood up when we all walked in, and ushered us to our seats like teachers do when vivacious students come back from an outside-of-the-classroom activity. Her face was blotchy and red, her hands were shaking. Once we had all managed to…