I had also dressed like a clown, to add a little fun for the kids. After running over the cat, I ran to the landlord's place (a rural property, with a couple rentals on it). It was about 9 am. I was so upset, crying, with my clown makeup running down my face. My landlady answered the door. I told her what had happened and she doubted me, because I was dressed as a clown! At first, she laughed, thinking I was just playing a trick on her. After I had convinced her the truth, she came and helped me wrap and put the cat into my car.
You can only imagine the looks I got as I was driving down the highway, dressed like a clown, with tears streaming down my face. It was quite a day. The cat was all right, with minor injury. And, the kids got their cookies. But when I went in, I pulled the teacher aside, to explain what had happened and that I wasn't going to stay.
I didn't want to tell the whole class, or my daughter what had just happened. I didn't want to put a damper on the day. But, being the curious kid she was, my daughter wanted to know why her mom was crying. So I did explain what had happened.
I felt so bad for our daughter, and for her teacher. It was the teacher's first year of teaching!