Here’s the unofficial sequel to Alfredo’s “The OTHER Stage Fright.” I was born a cat. I could only pee and shit in my own bathroom and had trouble using public bathrooms ever since I could remember as a kid.
At 6, it didn’t help that my Toilet Nazi first grade teacher Ms. Wong made such a stink about kids going to the toilet (that was what we called a bathroom in Hong Kong) in the middle of her class. I was so scared to ask permission that one day in her English class I absolutely had to go but by the time I raised my hand I was already too late.
“What, Quentin?” She looked at me.
“Ms. Wong… I peed in my pants,” I said.
“What?” I could still remember the horrified expression on her face.
“I peed in my pants!”
The whole class laughed. I was sent home immediately and that incident certainly sent a message to her and the school. For the next week, she instituted mandatory bathroom breaks every twenty minutes. She would even have us stand in a line and check our pants and skirts to make sure that we didn’t pee in our pants. And for the rest of the year, she made sure that no one would feel unwelcome to use the loo.
