She fell out of her chair, but this wasn't a class prank. Rather, it was a girl at Gateway Middle School in Texas. Per the DailyMail, she was coughing and gasping for air for several minutes while no one lifted a finger before collapsing.
Unphased, her teacher ordered the students to stay seated while she emailed -- yes, emailed -- the school nurse.
With precious time ticking away, one student had seen enough and with the right morals and motivation took action.
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While his classmates and teacher stood by, 15-year-old Anthony Ruelas stepped up. Against his teacher's protest, he left his desk.
"'F**k that, we ain’t got time to wait for no email from the nurse," he said, as he rushed over to his gasping classmate. Ruelas then picked her up and took her to the nurse, where she was treated with success.
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If you guessed that this heroic act is followed by a warm reception for a fast-acting student, think again. In fact, not only did they not thank him, but Gateway officials suspended Ruelas for two days for not following the teacher's instructions.
Ruelas couldn't believe it. "I was like what? I'm suspended for this? Like, I was trying to help her," he said.
And then to add insult to injury, the school called Ruelas on the first day of his suspension to see why he wasn't in class.
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Mandy Cortes, Ruelas' mother, said that the school's response was totally backward given her son's heroics.
"For them to not be rewarded for really something that is brave, you know, he is a hero to me," she said.
Yet the one person who most appreciated Ruelas was the girl he saved. She had texted him to thank him for his help and also to let him know she was doing just fine.
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Granted, Ruelas could have expressed himself better. No matter how he feels about the teacher's actions, you have to show a level of respect to authority.
But looking at the bigger picture, his motivation wasn't to rebel but to rescue a girl. From the looks of it, the school admin needs a timeout to review their safety policies lest another student is put in danger.
As for Ruelas? His mom says that sometimes, it's about more than rules.
"He may not follow instructions all the time, but he does have a great heart."
At the end of the day, doing the right thing sometimes goes against the rules. In those cases, let's give a pass to the brave boys like Ruelas for bending them for the greater good.
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