304. An hour in a teacher's day

Winter is here. I am sitting by the fire and my favourite drink is being prepared by me husband and will be served on a tray with accompaniments. The dining room has recovered from the banging and the dust and is almost functional. My husband is now ready to paint and Baby and I will do the wall paper. That should be fun.

Life is sweet.

Except it is not sweet at work. I have just walked out again. Boss number 2. Pity there wasn't a door to slam. I would have slammed it so hard the walls would have crumbled just like in cartoons. And left a pile a rubble with the assistant's head head popping out.

I feel as If I am not only in a warp that distorts my vision. I need to refocus. I get home and pour myself a drink. Just like in the movies the ice cubes make a lovely noise as I swirl the drink around. I feel I am in a movie. 

When the 17 year-old I had been watching over like a hawk while the trainee teacher was talking ignored my death stare once more and shrugged his shoulders saying 'I done nothing' my blood went from 37 degrees Celsius to 2000. I am amazed at how calm I remained.

'Would you please mind stepping outside into the corridor?'

'No. Haven't done nothing.'

'Please just leave the classroom.'

No way the kid would budge and go outside. As it happens a colleague told me a couple of days ago to call for the CPE to get the kid out. I was happy to use that bit of advice and tried it out. The words have some effect. At the same time I was moving forward, what was I going to do if he stuck to his guns? I had no idea. Anyway that did the trick and he left. The young trainee teacher who was standing at the desk went on with her lesson and we all forgot about the naughty boy outside. Even I.

Then the bell went and all 30 odd teens closed their books in one movement.

'Excuse me class! Could please wait until the ...'

I did not even have time to finish my sentence. The young man who was outside and whom I had forgotten burst into the classroom heading for his desk with the firm intention to collect his stuff and leave.

I - still (too) politely - told him to go back outside and wait until the class was dismissed. Surely one could wait a couple of minutes even if one really was annoyed with such an inconvenience. But the 17-year-old was not in agreement with this and still headed to his desk. I then made - calmly - my way towards him and positioned myself between him and the desk and stood there sandwiched between the two. The kid is probably a little taller than I am, quite well-built with broad shoulders but not muscly. That's what I think and I am soo to find out if I am right in this assessment.

'Please step outside and wait until we've finished. It'll only take a minute.'

He is just ignoring me. So I do not have a choice. I go and stand in his way. He does not change his course of action and still heads for the desk and his precious possessions. I stand firm and he is about to ... what? Walk right through me as I were invisible? I lift both my hands and put them on his shoulders and push him away from me and out towards the door into the corridor. In one movement. Whoosh. The big boy goes flying backwards. He is out of the classroom. Mission accomplished. I slam the door shut behind me.