We put a sign-up sheet out at the beginning of the school year. The object is to find a friend or two and you pick a Friday to bring in treats for the staff who participate in what we call Fat Friday. Usually there will be a couple dozen bagels with cream cheese and butter, some pastries, fruit, sometimes a vegie tray, cheese and crackers - basically finger foods that you might put out if you were have a brunch buffet.
Some people pick certain days so they can have a theme for their treats - holidays, super bowl, etc. If there is a week when no one signs up, it's a free for all with everybody pitching in with something, whether it is a box of donuts, or a container of juice, or maybe those canned nuts that Aunt Genevieve always gets you for Christmas but you don't particularly care for. Get the gist?
Well, today it was "our" turn. The office staff (including the principal who was out but who subsidized his part with his wallet ahead of time) and the custodian all teamed up and since it was Arbor Day, we decorated the table in the faculty room with some gardening items from the $ store, used flower pots for utensils and food containers, etc.
We had a very nice spread with fruit, cakes, brownies, chips and salsa, candy, quiches, bagels, and cheese and crackers. Everyone enjoyed it and so did I up until it was time to clean up.
No, I'm not going to bitch about having to clean up, what I'm going to say is that I went into a mild panic when the very sharp serrated knife I had brought from home to use to cut up the quiches and cake was missing near the end of the day.
Very.Sharp.Knife.Missing..............check the garbage............check my bags...............check the drawers...........did I bring it with me?...........check my cooler...............yes, I remember washing it just before lunch and putting it on the counter next to the sink to dry with some empty containers...............check the refrigerator..............check my bags again..................maybe I should call home and see if I left it there............check the garbage again..............no, I know it was there because I used it to cut the quiches...............check the cooler again.................check under the tables in the faculty room...........send out an e-mail to the staff.............. maybe someone borrowed it...................but why would they need to take it out of the room..............what if a student went in there and took it out of their room.................oh dear, they're going to be leaving soon and someone has the knife......................no one is answering the e-mail.............. yikes, should we be in lock down until we find it?.....................too late, the buses have left..................no one is answering the e-mail...................OMG suppose a student has it and pulls it out of his/her backpack on the bus............... my mind is racing, the phones still ring, the doorbell still rings, someone's parents forget to pick them up and they need to use the phone.............people are asking if the knife was found...............I have to answer no...............I'm realizing that I'm numb..........the world is going by but all I can do is worry about where that knife is and if someone will get hurt.............I text the boss - call me..................will he answer?........tick, tick, tick................he calls my cell............. I take the call in his office............something happened and I'm not comfortable with it.........................he's calm...................reassuring...............there's a knock on the door.....................the secretary tells me the knife was found.............someone took it to their room to cut a pizza and forgot to bring it back to the faculty room...............I tell the boss..............he's not quite getting that I wasn't afraid of getting in trouble for bringing a knife to school..............I was afraid of it getting into the wrong hands and someone getting hurt............I explain...................okay, he says relax.............I'll try..........I'll breathe easier now..............yes, you have a good weekend too...........
It's plastic knives from now on for me.
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