shut your mouth

Walking up the outside steps with my work badge swinging in the breeze, thinking about the end of the day, my upcoming birthday.
I am greeted with a "happy birthday" from a student I work with everyday, let's call him Turtle.
Then at the top of the stairs I hear "your hair looks awful. Maybe you should comb it" from, let's call her Dirtring.
Now how can I explain Dirtring.She a roly apple, with brown, tangled ringlets and a dirtring on her neck 2 inches deep. Her hair is usually down so that you cannot see them, but somehow I was privy to the dirtrings 6 inches in length living in the folds of her neck. Usually she is in stretch pants, ked sneakers and wire framed glasses. Now I am holding a grudge against dirtring. I feel it unfair for her to tell me my hair looks a trifle messy. Does she not realize the torent of horrible things I could say back. The connections to all the other rejects I have in this school, they could torment her. The fact that I grade her everyday and it would not be beyond my grasp to make her existence more difficult if not utterly impossible. Not only that Dirtring has hurt my feelings, we have worked together everyday for 3 months and I have tolerated her well.
But I relent. I say "Thank You" (Dirtring) and choke on all the nasty comments.