The mouse The chalkboard

Once upon a time, long ago when I was in fifth grade we had a class snake. It was gross. It was large. It was wonderful. I think we were supposed to learn about the living habits of a different creatures on earth or something to that effect (clearly the lesson took). Regardless, the snake lived on mouses. So I'm not quite sure how - but come its normal feeding time a little itty bitty white mouse was produced. So that the class could learn the eating habits of this reptile. Knowledge every fifth grader should have to pass to the sixth.
Well it wasn't quite clear if the snake liked the mouse live or as carcass. A democracy that we were - we voted on it. The mouse was going to be shot pre hanging.
Unsure how to quite do the deed and voters that we were, we decided one male should be designated hangman and bash the mouse against the chalkboard. Lam Phan was chosen. Six feet tall and an easy 150 - this furball did not stand a chance. Everyone was climbing on the top of their school chairs to get ringside seats. Lam's cheery round face - a gross contradiction to his role if there ever was one - was decorated with grey plastic thick lens, which he constantly kept pushing up his nose. Like constantly - I can still see him doing it now.
White mouse in white plastic bag...dangling from the wrist of this crowd pleaser executioner who strolls up to the chalkboard grinning. Winding up the bag as if to throw a grand slam  - Lam whaps the mouse against the chalkboard and the walks.literally.shook.
The boys in the class go CRAZY. You would have thought it was Ali in the ring. At the time I didn't have any earth shattering epiphany or anything. I know I thought there was something a bit bizarre situation. But -

Turns out.

Reptiles like 'em raw.

Tonight I thought of this event. And the words of a message I've seen past filtered through my head (slightly altered here for relevance)....

"Some days you're the mouse and some days you're the chalkboard."