What not to say to a literal thinker

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I'm having a laugh thinking of some silly things I did in school.
When I was about 10 my teacher called my name and said "Front and center!" Meaning, come up to her desk so she could talk to me. The desk was in the corner of the room facing out, and not at the center, so I walked up to the center of the room and stood there waiting. A minute or two later she called me over and said "what were you doing in the middle of the room?" I responded "you told me to go front and center. So I did." That got me about a week of staying after class.
Another time a teacher gave me a paper towel and asked me to "hold it under the faucet" so she could use it to wipe off a transparency she was using on the overhead projector. I took it to the bathroom, and held it under the faucet without turning on the water, and brought it back dry. That was tough to explain. I was wondering what purpose holding it under the faucet could possibly serve, but I didn't think to ask. It never occured to me that the whole point was to get the towel wet. I've since learned to ask questions if anything sounds strange.

"i'm just teasing you"

Why would she tell you to bring two towels and a bathing suit instead of your clothes and your hair brush, tooth brush, pajamas, shampoo, and anything else that will entertain you.