Gloat (verb): to look at or think about with great satisfaction

The young boy stumbled into class, his breath coming in short pants as he brushed off a rain of sweat pouring down his forehead. One of his shoes was untied, and his pants bulged in awkward places. The straps of his backpack were completely loosened, yet it still hung across his shoulders at a pitiful angle.

It barely fit over the 20 polo shirts that he wore.

The teacher’s eyebrows looked as if they were about to launch off his face. Equal looks of bewildered amusement scattered across his classmates, all of their eyes trained on his inelegant attire.

“What in the…” sputtered his teacher, absolutely baffled.

The speechlessness was enough for him. Feeling a wide, satisfied grin crack open on his face, the little boy said proudly to the adult: “The dress code said we had to wear black, blue, or white polos, without any symbols or markings, and fully ironed without any creases.”

A storm sparked in the teacher’s eyes, her anger prancing like bolts of lightning. “Sir, do you think you’re being funny? Meet me after school for detention, we will discuss this ‘joke’ of yours then.”

But the boy was prepared. “The dress code never said how many shirts we could wear. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

The teacher opened her lipstick-covered lips to speak, but he interrupted her before she could begin a lecture.

“On the other hand, the school manual did say that penalties can’t be issued without a proper reason,” he blinked innocently at her. “You always tell us to follow every rule, so you should lead by example, right?”

The classroom held back their laughter at the white-hot rage flaming on the teacher’s face.