#until wednesday

Another sub tells me that he used to be down X hall and I’m like, okay, but the receptionist tells me to find an administrator and that one is near the gym, which is on the far left of the school, maybe a 2 min walk from the office.

Now, I wanna point out that I haven’t been to this school in like 3 years, only subbed there a few times before, and it’s a fucking maze. There’s an upstairs and I’ve been up there, but I could not tell you how to get there. There’s like 9 different long ass halls all this stuff. Now, there’s only 1500 students , which is about the same as the other school I sub for a lot, but this school is so much bigger.

So anyway, I’m heading left toward the gym, occasionally stopping adults with badges to ask if they’re an administrator. 

I nearly get to the gym and a teacher tells me that Mr. K’s room is way at the back of the building. To go all the way back and then it will be a separate building.

I’m like, okay. 

So I turn and start to head back to the office and someone else I’d stopped directs me to an administrator, so I ask them again for good measure and he says the same thing. 

Go all the way to the end of the building. Then keep going.

So I go all the way to the end of the building, but it leads to a classroom and I know I’m going somewhere outside.

So I find a door leading out and I keep going.

Except all I see are tennis courts and baseball fields and whatnot.

And then I hear a voice, “You’re lost.” 

I don’t even fight it. I explain where I’m trying to go, and she tells me to go to the end of the building.

Not the back end. 

The right end.

So I go down the hall to the right and I go and I go and I go. 

Finally, I come out of the building and there are 2 huts.

Beyond, I can see greehouses and another building, but it looks like that building is behind locked gates.

So I head out into the field and sure enough, the gate is locked. 

But there is definitely a building out there.

So I follow the fence.

The next gate is locked as well, but the third one is open into the parking lot. I remember being told to go past one of those, so I go out.

There’s another gate, but I can move the chain over to get in. So I go up to the building and I can see that there’s definitely a classroom in there.

And the door is locked.

I am, most certainly, at the furthest point in the school from the front office.

And I’m already sweaty because it’s muggy and gross outside.

So rather than walk back, I call the school and try to get the custodian. No luck. I call again and try the front office. No luck.

By the way, this whole time I’ve been carrying my supplies bag with me that weighs 12 lbs. 

So I shoulder my bag and head back into the building.

But first, I stop at the first hut, thinking maybe I can use their phone to call or...something.

No one answers and the door is locked.

So I go back to the school building.

And the door is locked.

I’m already tired, so instead of walking around the whole school to get to the front office, I lean on the door and peer in like a scrub and it works! A student comes and lets me in.

And then I see a teacher and I’m like, “fucking finally.” 

So he offers to see if his key works for the room and we head out and he sees that the gates are locked and I tell him how I got over there and he’s like, “let’s call the front office.” 

So we head back in and the ROTC captain is there and he calls the front office.

It’s like 8:20 by now and I’m told not to worry because Mr. K doesn’t have a homeroom so I probably have at least half an hour to get this sorted out.

The ROTC captain tells me that the office should have given me a key to the room. I explain they didn’t because they didn’t know where I was going.

He tells me to go back to the front office.

So back I go.

And they give me a key.

And back I go.

As I’m approaching the way out to the huts, the teacher that helped me sees me and says, “I just saw Mr. K. He thought I was joking when I said I saw his sub.” 

Well.

After walking all the way back there I’m sure as hell not gonna take his word for it. So I decide to go talk to the teacher if nothing else. Maybe he’ll want to take the day off because I’m already here.

So I go out, but the gate I used before is now locked because it’s now after 8:30. 

So I go back into the building and find a way outside.

And I get to the other building and it’s still locked. But now I have a key.

So I open it up, but there’s no teacher. Or lesson plans or rosters or anything.

So I go to check around the greenhouses and find the teacher finally and I’m so relieved and my hip is starting to hurt and my shoulder hurts and I’m sweaty and gross.

Well.

His wife was supposed to have a baby last week, which is why he’d put in for the time off. Except she hasn’t had it yet, and something got confused with HR and they put in for his leave too soon.

He tells me that they’re gonna pay me for a half day since I did come in and that I need to go see Mr. F in the office about it, after asking if I would come in and cover when he does go on leave.

So I go back to the front office.

And Mr. F explains to me that they’re gonna give me a half day and that he would like me to shadow Mr. K to see how he runs his class and whatnot.

._________________.

So I go BACK to Mr. K’s room, the furthest point in the school from the office.

And I shadow.

And I leave at 11:31 because he has planning and there’s nothing he needs help with doing.

And I call to see if I can get a ride because I still haven’t gotten a license.

And my mom’s at the gym and my dad is waiting for the renovation team to come finish the bathroom.

Now it’s too far to walk home, but I figure I can walk to McDonald’s. It’s just down the road I’m on and take a left.

So I pull out pokemon go.

And I’ve walked 4.9 km since I last opened it when I was in the car on the way to the school. I probably got a few points of a km on the way in, but not much, maybe .4-.6.

In the very least, though, I walked 3.5 km.

In that school.

That’s 2 miles.

In that school.

Trying to find where to go and then get the keys and then go shadow and then finally leave.

And no one can come pick me up.

So I start heading toward McDonalds.

And as I go I realize that this road is a LOT longer than I ever paid attention to.

2 miles later, I realized I wasn’t gonna make it to McDonalds and instead settled for Taco Bell, where I sat for an hour until someone could come get me.

So that was my first day of school. 

4 miles. 

4 miles while carrying a 12 lb bag the WHOLE time.

My left hip was starting to go numb near the end, which was a nice change from the pain. My feet hurt, my knees hurt, my hips and shoulders and back hurt. My bra gave me heat rash or whatever the equivalent is. I had a few minutes where I thought I was gonna have to just stop and sit on the side of the road like a weirdo because it was too fucking hot.

I am an idiot.

But at least I made $45. And will likely be going back to work there on Wednesday.