On Friday, September 6th, Madame Koniezhny’s F-block French students began their second class of the year.

Initially, nobody noticed the intruder in the classroom.

But around 11:50 am, the lesson was interrupted by the presence of a wasp. Students began to hear buzzing fill the room. Chaos broke out in the classroom as students backed away from their desks in fear as the wasp flew around the room, searching for an exit.

Finally, finding no escape, the insect returned to its resting spot on the wall.

Then, senior Clai Akst stood up and shocked the class by calmly catching the bug in his bare hands. He then captured the live wasp in a clear plastic cup on a tissue, restoring peace in the classroom.

But the peace was short-lived. Sophia Kranov asked Clai if he’d been stung – and he had. (Unlike honey bees, wasps can sting multiple times before they die.)

Ms. Koniezhny then scolded Clai for going after the wasp. She did not sound grateful. Interviewed later, Clai said he thought this was “reasonable, because her job is to keep us safe.”

About a minute after Clai put the wasp in the cup, it stopped buzzing and dropped to the tissue. Several students glanced over to see it lying quietly under the plastic.

Then, they refocused their attention to the lesson.

After class, Clai saw the wasp lying still and assumed it was dead. He said he wanted to give his ‘bug friend’ a proper burial. So he picked up the tissue and the cup, and was surprised when “it started buzzin around.”

Clai took the revived wasp to the garden nook outside the the library.

“I was pretty excited,” he said. 

Reflecting on his daring wasp grab, Clai admitted “you’re not supposed to do that” and it was “crazy for sure.” But, he says, “I would do it again.”