Substitute WIN!

The other day I was subbing in a middle school ISS (In-School Suspension). For most of the day, it was quiet. I occasionally had to wake up one of the inmates
students, but it was pretty uneventful until the very end of the day.

 The teacher had left me a list of bus numbers with the seating chart so that I could make sure they all left at the right time. All of them had bus numbers; none were designated to walk home or get picked up.

 It's also important to note that because the ISS teacher can't send students out of the room on errands, she has a phone for calling other offices. There were about 20 minutes left in the day when the phone rang. It was one of the administrators.

 "Hi, this is Rhonda. Did she leave you a list of bus numbers?"

 "Yeah, it's right here."

"Oh good. They will tell you all kinds of things. You wouldn't believe how much they try to sucker you into letting them out of that room early. Oh, they will try and try and try. It's exhausting."

"I bet," I'm ready to get out of here too. "I'll make sure they leave on the right bus load."

"Ok. I was just checking on you.

"Ok. Thank you."

"Let me know if you need anything."

No sooner had I hung up than the boy seated directly to my right turned around and whined, "I'm a waaallkkeerrr."

"It says you ride bus 26 on second load."

"I'm a waaaallllkkkkeerrr."

"Do you have a pass?"

"Yes, but they don't need to see it."

"I need to see it."

By then he had gotten the attention of the other four boys (I only had boys that day) and they were all giggling at him. He dumped out his incredibly messy bookbag, dug through all his belongings, and produced no walking pass.

"Seriously though, I waaallllkkkk hooommmmee. You can call anybody and ask. I waaaaallllkkkk hooommmmeee."

"She wrote down that you ride the bus. If you walked home, it would be in the computer and she would have put it in her instructions."

"I used to have a paaaasssss."

"When did you get it?"

"Half-way through the year.'

"Just after Christmas?"

"Yeah."

I flipped through the previous seating charts. Normally, I wouldn't argue with a student like this, but as a sub who isn't really sure, I try to prove it before I make a final decision. The last time this young man had been in ISS, he had ridden the bus. That had been at the beginning of April. I told him, "The last time you were in here, she said you rode the bus."

"Yeah, I got my pass after that."

"When was the last time you were in here?" I already knew.

"About a month ago."

"So you got your pass right after Christmas about a month ago?" He babbled something inaudible and the other boys could no longer hold back their laughter. "Sit down and leave on second load."

He sat down and whined for another ten minutes before bus call started. When they called for walkers to leave he stood up and informed me he was leaving to walk home.

"Go ahead. I'll leave her a note that you left with the walkers and if you're a really a walker, it'll be fine. If you're not, you'll get written up for being AWOL."

He got two steps out the door, stopped, turned around and went back to his seat.


I thought so.

~Kelli