The rumors preceded her: mean, short-tempered, rude, and liked to paddle. She was a third-grade teacher in my school and I tried to avoid her at all costs. I didn’t really have contact with her since the classrooms were self-contained and I was in first grade. Running an errand for a teacher, going to the bathroom, or being on the playground when she had playground duty were the only times I glimpsed her. Until that traumatic day. I had been sick the previous days and stayed home. When I went back to school my mother had written a note to keep me in at recess because of the chilly weather.…