462. Shouting at one's boss: the new therapy?

I failed.

All right that was predictable.

Still, I tried but he wouldn't let me. 

So I did not keep my vow of silence. Although as I was walking along the many corridors and up all the steps and across the badly-kempt gardens, I allowed myself five words: good, morning, yes, no, bye. Five so I could do the count down on my fingers.

But then I was asked about what happened and so I gave up the vow of silence. And then I was off and totally unstoppable.

'Well, I'll tell you exactly what happened.'

I stressed every important point and made the right comments in the right places: this is a storm in a tea-cup (he nodded), I am not one to jump and run at the call of a parent (he nodded again but in a different way as if to say well yes, not even at the call of your boss), this detention was for a) skiving off a class specially set up for them and b) lack of basic manners (walked past me, no hello, no sorry, no excuses, no nothing (I shouted these last two words and he stopped leaning forward on his desk (that drives me nuts). And so after I ranted and raved and gave him the real version. I concluded:

'So all this time and energy for a couple of hours detention given to 17 year-olds!'

And then he shook a bit of paper. Two pages covered with large handwriting on them and leaned again forward with his elbows on the desk. I grabbed the handle of my rucksack ready to run. 

You know, the first thing I thought when I entered this office that I now know so well, I thought not muffled at all, no quite plain and cheap and fake. The doors are padded but I know for a fact that the secretary next door can hear it all. 

'The mother wrote to me and she said.'

He helps the piece of paper up and I thought now I am going to find out what exactly made him cut the grass under my feet.

What I said was:

'you are behaving like a princess brought up in a cocoon and you've done nothing with your life.'

I laughed - just a little.

'Oh I had forgotten that. But yes, I probably said that and I would stick to that.'

He frowned, I think he tried to frown severely but I am so much better at this than he is. I have had lots of practice with my bunch of unruly kids. 

That was just an extract, I also said to her that in this school kids were used to get the red carpet laid out for them but that was not real life, and also that I wasn't her valet de pied and so could she please let me have my 15 minute break in peace. And probably loads more.

I think I won the shouting match even though I will never get these girls in detention. Anyway I felt so much better after it. Good therapy to go shout at your boss.