What was the most insane rumor at your school?

We had this guy named Tyler who was the biggest drama queen you've ever met. He'd make everything about himself and constantly exaggerate every little thing that happened to him. Like, he'd miss one day of school and come back claiming he almost died from food poisoning, or he'd get a paper cut and act like he needed surgery.

One Thursday during lunch, Tyler was sitting with his usual group when his phone rang. He answered it, and within seconds, his face went completely white. He started hyperventilating and then let out this ear-piercing wail that made the entire cafeteria go silent.

He jumped up on the table and screamed, "No, no, no! This can't be happening!" before collapsing onto the floor in a sobbing mess. Teachers rushed over while he kept repeating, "I can't live without them! They were everything to me!"

The paramedics actually showed up because he was having what looked like a complete mental breakdown. They had to carry him out on a stretcher while he was still crying hysterically. Everyone was recording it, and the videos spread through the school instantly.

Tyler didn't come back for three days. When people texted him, he'd only respond with things like, "I don't know how I'll go on" and "Life will never be the same." His close friends said he was too devastated to even talk about what happened and that his mom had to take time off work to stay home with him.

By the weekend, word got around that Tyler's grandparents, who basically raised him, had both been unalived in a house fire. The story was that they were trapped in their bedroom when the smoke alarm malfunctioned, and Tyler blamed himself because he was supposed to visit them that day but canceled last minute to hang out with friends instead.

The whole school felt terrible for judging him so harshly. We organized a fundraiser that raised over three thousand dollars, made him care packages, and even the teachers who usually rolled their eyes at his dramatics were sending flowers to his house. The local newspaper wrote an article about the community coming together to support a grieving student.

His mom posted on Facebook thanking everyone for their support during "this impossible time" and asking for privacy while Tyler processed his grief. She mentioned how the grandparents had left Tyler their entire estate and that funeral arrangements were being handled by extended family out of state.

When he finally returned to school, he was wearing all black and looked completely broken. People were giving him space in the hallways and speaking in whispers around him. Even the bullies who normally picked on him were being respectful. The guidance counselor pulled him out of classes regularly for grief counseling sessions.

During lunch, someone asked him how he was holding up, and he said, "I just keep thinking about how I'll never see them again. They meant the world to me. I should have been there to save them." Everyone was getting emotional just watching him try to hold it together. He even started a memorial page online with photos and stories about his grandparents.

The school administration was so moved that they dedicated the spring talent show to Tyler's grandparents and let him give a speech about fire safety. Local firefighters came to speak, and Tyler broke down crying again while talking about how preventable the tragedy was.

Then his friend Jake, who'd been helping him through everything, accidentally let it slip during gym class. Tyler's "grandparents" who died in the fire were actually his two pet hamsters, Mr. Whiskers and Princess Buttercup. The "house fire" was their cage overheating and the hamsters dying from the heat.

Even the teachers who sent flowers felt completely ridiculous.

He ended up switching schools the next semester because people couldn't take him seriously anymore, even when he actually had real problems.