What not to ask 12 year old boys in class...

Today in two classes, I had boys with nosebleeds.

The second time it happened, I asked the class (in broken Japanese), "This is the second boy that's had a nosebleed in my class today. Why?"

I was imagining it had something to do with all the hay fever that people were suffering. Instead, the girls remained silent and the boys eagerly piped up,

"It's because of you sensei!"

"What?" I asked, "What do you mean it's because of me?"

The boys got very excited and started saying something in Japanese that I didn't understand. I asked "What does that mean?"

Meanwhile, the girls remained silent.

Suddenly, I remembered reading somewhere that in Japanese manga, nosebleeds are used as a euphemism for, well, a certain type of attraction. I needed to end this conversation quickly.

"Ooohh, it's because I'm scary! You're all scared of me."

From the back of the class, one of the boys said "No, sensei, it's because you're cute."

"Well, aren't you a nice boy. OK everyone, turn to page 13 of your text book and please repeat...."