In a shocking turn of events, AP Calculus AB and Honors Pre-Calc teacher Dr. Susan Torales exploded during class. Survivors of the blast say the incident occurred moments after she wrote a particularly intimidating implicit-differentiation problem on the board. According to students in the room, the expression “find dy/dx” had barely left her mouth before a visible wave of panic swept across the desks, followed by a muffled boom as Dr. Torales apparently reached her pedagogical boiling point.

“It was lowkey scary. On the bright side, we don’t have to take our final next week,” commented Ethan Han ‘27, former King of AB (and current Jester of AB).

Although the cause of the explosion is still up in the air, some students have begun to hypothesize. Aaron Williams ‘26, who had Torales for both Honors Pre-Calculus and Calculus AB, opined, “I still don’t know why it happened. Not that she’s to blame, but there’s absolutely no way that all those Cherry Coke Zeros didn’t have something to do with it.”

Loyola administrators have assured families that Torales is expected to reform “within the standard teacher regeneration window.” Members of the math department noted that this is not unprecedented. “Calculus instructors are known to spontaneously combust under extreme conditions,” WebMD explained in a Google search, citing exam season, missing homework, and any mention of “Can we have an extension?” as common triggers.

Despite the chaos, many students have chosen to celebrate Torales’s legacy. A small shrine has been erected outside her classroom featuring mechanical pencils, TI-84s, Starbucks receipts, and a laminated copy of the derivative rules. “She would’ve wanted it this way,” said Han.