A seventh-grade student in Auburn, Alabama, had an unexpected guest join her in a school photo recently.
The student, Brooke Mills, was having her mother, ShaneJoy Mills, take a picture to mark the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year.
Returning to school after a break can be a significant event for students, marking the start of a new academic term and possibly a new grade level or class.
For parents, it can also be a special occasion as they watch their children take on more responsibility and become more independent. In my childhood, my mother would always take a photo of me on the first day of a new class, which at the time felt annoying and sometimes embarrassing.
However, in retrospect, I understand the reasoning behind it. Taking a photo on the first day of school serves as a way to commemorate a child’s growth and accomplishments and can serve as a cherished memory in the future.
When ShaneJoy Mills took a back-to-school photo of her daughter who is in middle school, Brooke Mills, she didn’t expect to see something unusual. Initially, the picture appeared to be normal, with Brooke looking cute in her school uniform. However, upon closer inspection, ShaneJoy was surprised by what she saw in the photograph.
“Lord, it was scary! I got two pictures and said ‘show your teeth please, baby!’ Then I saw the snake,” Mills told WRBL.
“I said ‘Brooke come here’ and she looked at me like I’m not done taking pics! So I said ‘Brooke get away from the tree now.’ I said it calmly, but I’m sure my face said it all.”
The snake, which appeared to have recently eaten, was virtually invisible as it blended seamlessly with the bark. The photo was shared on Facebook and people in the comment section identified the snake as a rat snake. The Facebook post has been shared widely ever since. Thankfully, the snake’s only intention in this back-to-school photo was to strike a pose.
