My naughty friend

I was a bit of a goody-goody at school. I did not chew gum, nor eat candy or other forbidden snacks in class. I did once sneak some chocolate beans into Sunday school and proceed to munch these under the table - but foods were not forbidden there.

On one occasion, my friend Michelle was chewing gum in class. She informed me that she was going to keep chewing the same piece of gum non-stop all day long. She had the intention of trying to establish a world record for the duration of gum chewing I believe. Although she stopped chewing each time the teacher looked our way, that same piece of gum sat in her mouth all morning.

At lunch hour, I questioned her further, secretly intrigued though publicly disgusted - How are you going to eat your meal with gum in your mouth? Hasn't it lost its flavor yet? You are naughty! You should not chew gum in school

My friend's response contained something about sticking it on a bedpost overnight. At the time, unaware of the song that my friend must have partially heard, this made absolutely no sense whatsoever to me. Michelle did not have a bedpost for a start. If I had not myself heard the appropriate song within a reasonable time of the attempted chewing marathon, I might not have related it to the event at all. As it happened, it was not long before the song came on radio. As I heard something about chewing gum and bedposts, I listened carefully. The song finally made Michelle's return comment make sense and I realized that she must have already heard the song. The idea of placing gum on a bedpost still disgusted me. Michelle's gum had eventually been plastered to the base of her desk and abandoned in a likewise unsuitable place.