"Do you know a Keith that goes to this school?"
I did. There was a Keith in the seventh grade science class I had done the long-term assignment in.
It was passing period before fourth period. A boy named Kevin was claiming that this Keith was his twin. His classmates were dubious. I didn't have much information, so I stayed out of the discussion. And then it was time to start class.
It was French 2. The students in this discussion were in eighth grade. For the time I was there, Kevin maintained this story that he had a twin that went to the school.
I quickly figured out that this story is a fabrication.
Because, while Keith does have a twin, that twin was in the same science period as Keith, and his name is Jared.
Oh, and Keith is in seventh grade while Kevin is in eighth. (And Keith is white while Kevin is Black.)
I'm not sure why I didn't bust Kevin, but I chose to stay out of this conversation and just watch from afar.
The next time I had this group in class, Kevin had changed his story. No, Keith wasn't his twin. His twin's name was Kingsley.
This was slightly more plausible as Kingsley actually has the same last name as Kevin.
Funnily enough, I had met Kingsley as well. In the seventh grade science class. So, again, not his twin as Kevin is in eighth grade.
I'm not sure what it is about that age, but they will tell stories that are clearly fabricated and they will try to get people to believe them. And they will maintain that they are telling the truth even when you have ample evidence that they are lying.
Perhaps that's why I chose to stay out of it. I didn't want to waste the energy.
Because, the kiddos were sucked into that conversation enough. They were sure he was lying, and they were working hard to disprove Kevin. But every reason they could find that Kevin was lying Kevin was able to rebut.
Did they get their French work done? I hope so. But eighth graders. They can get distracted by just about anything.