Lock Down

Working at an elementary school, I see lots of things that I would never expect to if I were working at a "real" job. Fire drills, emails that promote good parenting, jogathons, etc. And one thing that really makes me giggle is when I see a line of children walking down a hallway pretending to be ducks. They all have their arms folded behind their backs with their hands cupped behind them and their cheeks all puffed out with air. They look as if they were holding their breath, about to dive under water, while handcuffed, being led off to the pokey.

The reason for this? To keep the kids quiet when out in the hallway, walking to the cafeteria or the library. I often hear teachers calling out "Okay kids! I want 'duck tails and bubbles'."

One thing I hadn't seen yet happened just today. - LOCK DOWN -

Apparently in Texas, there's a chance that an armed gunman could break in at any moment and shoot the place up. There's probably a chance of that anywhere... but Texas takes it rather seriously. And they honestly have drills.

So, here I sat, alone in my office, working feverishly at my computer. All of a sudden, thirty-some children burst in with their teacher yelling, "Lock Down!"

Huh? What?

Their teacher instructed them to all get under my desk, under the tables, behind the filing cabinets... anywhere so that they wouldn't be seen through the little window in the door should, say, a gunman be walking by. A gunman, with more on his mind than just peeking into little windows in doors. Then the lights were turned out and darkness and quietness ensued.

Well, not so much quiet.

The kids crouched, the teacher observed and I tried desperately to cover up the Free Cell game glaring on my computer. If there had truly been a gunman outside, I would be the first to go... that computer screen would give me away. Any smart gunman would certainly know that there was a female in there doing anything but the work that she was hired to do...

A few moments of intense giggles from the kids and the "all clear" came from the intercom above.

The moral of the story?

A) Don't play Free Cell if there's a potential gunman peeking through your window.

B) Kids are adorable. They all thanked me afterwards for letting them use my office as a safe haven. Little did they know that my door is always open to anyone wanting a good Free Cell competition.