[Mystery] Back in third grade, we were all in love💖 with a 'fountain pen cap'.

Do you all remember any 'strange habits' your teachers had when you were kids?
There is a scene I can't forget,
one that I still can't explain even now that I'm an adult.🖋️✨

My homeroom teacher in third grade of elementary school.
Whenever they were thinking about something,
they would always perform a 'mysterious ritual' with their fountain pen cap.

This is really hard to explain in words, but...

1. They would stand the fountain pen cap on the desk (holding it steady with their palm).

2. Then, they would slide it across with a snap, as if drawing a straight line in the air!👋💨

3. The cap would leave their hand and, naturally, it should have just fallen over...

4. But because of the rounded tip, it would 'spin!' 180 degrees and bounce back.

5. And they would catch it with the same palm with a sharp 'clack!' as it returned.

...What kind of god-tier skill was that? 😳
They would repeat this over and over: clack! clack!

One day, a student shouted out,
'Teacherrrr! What are you doing?!'

The teacher, keeping a dignified expression,
'It's like this, you see...'
they said, and demonstrated it.
In that instant, the class's excitement hit its peak.

'I want to try it!!!' 🤩🔥

Everyone swarmed around.
From then on, there was a huge line every recess.
50 students would line up in a row, and using the teacher's fountain pen,
we would take turns, going around for many rounds.
'Aerial Parallel Slide Catch'We spent our days training in this.

Occasionally, when a kid would succeed with a 'clack!',
they would instantly become the hero of the class!🏆
But most students failed.
The teacher's precious fountain pen
was left uncapped and kept drying out...😅

In the end, the commotion was so great that the teacher issued a 'ban',
and this boom came to an end.
To avoid further exciting the students, the teacher sealed away that habit (technique) themselves.

Now that I'm an adult, every time I stop by a stationery store,
'What kind of fountain pen was that?'
I find myself searching.
Something black and sleek, the kind a local teacher could afford.

Every time I find a fountain pen while out and about, I try tipping the cap over to test it,
but no matter which one I try, it just falls over with a 'thud'.
I still haven't encountered that miraculous balance
that would make it 'spin!' back.

♪Spin, pop. Clack.♬
The sound of the teacher's desk top where the students lined up still echoes in my head.