So, this week started a little rocky. Who am I kidding. A lot rocky.
My oxygen machine died Sunday night. Got another delivered Monday, but it only worked in 30 minute intervals. By Tuesday, I had gone two nights without oxygen. So, I didn’t look too good, nor did I feel okay. That is besides the point. I have another machine now that has worked fine and I am feeling better.
Earlier in November a parent called me at 10:30 am in the morning wanting to know why the bus had not come to get her sons. I asked about their names and the route that she was having issue with. I then asked why she hadn’t called earlier so that I could have the driver come get them. She angrily told me that was none of my business and if she could have the number to bus terminal. I gave it to her and hung up. Not even 5 minutes later, when I was in a meeting, she called back and left a message for me on the phone that said “Rachel, you are bitch” and hung up. I don’t know what ever happened. I am pretty sure the route supervisor asked her the same thing. I reported it to my assistant principal over the secretaries in case it somehow got around to him.
This week was another thing all together. Every now and then when the school is short of secretaries, I am asked to fill in. I am able to help if I schedule myself correctly. So, I helped on Friday and a repeat situation happened on Tuesday. So, I helped. Well, during this time covering for a secretary in attendance, I was helping the adults in line to pick up their children. A young black man came up to the desk and asked if he could pick up his brother. I handed him the form he needed to fill out. While he was filling that out, a teacher who had an injury came to me to fill out some worker’s comp paperwork that normally another secretary fills out, but she was out also. So, I asked the young man to please go the next secretary and that she would be able to help. He started yelling at me about how bad I was with customer service. That I didn’t deserve a job. He called me a racist and that I had refused to serve him because he was black. I looked at him and told him he could leave and the door was behind him. He kept on for a couple more minutes while waiting for his brother. I finished the workers comp paperwork for the teacher and sent him to the doctor and picked up where I had left off in the line.
The next person was getting her attendance excused with a note. I had her fill out a paper and under her breath so no one could hear her, she called me a bitch. I looked at her and told her to straighten up or I was going to have her leave. So, I referred her to the secretary next to me. (of course she was black also) Not even 2 minutes later her mother was in my face asking what had happened and if I had really told her daughter that I was going to kick her ass out of the office. Please understand that this student is well known to me. I hear from her teachers every day something negative about this child. I looked at mom and told her she had cussed me out under her breath. I then told her, “Mom, you and I never have had a problem.” I looked at the girl, “You and I have always had a problem.” Of course the girl threw a huge fit at her the top of her lungs stating how I was lying and that she had witnesses. I looked at her witness. It was another student of mine whose credibility was questionable. So, mom took her back to an assistant principal to complain. I do not know what transpired. I just continued to help until the line was gone by 1:30 in the afternoon.
So by the end of the day, I was known in the attendance office as the “racist bitch”. It was a wonderful way to end my day. NOT! I left early since I had sacrificed my lunch to help.
I was upset and began wondering if I really was prejudiced. I replayed everything in my mind. If I am racist, I should be against all the Hispanics that have prevented me from getting a better job. But, I treat everyone equal. Or at least try to. My husband of course saw I was upset and subsequently became upset also. He took my cell phone away, told me to take a hot bubble bath and come down to watch a show with him before I worked on my homework. There is nothing like a hot bubble bath to calm me down (and a glass of wine works also). During my time alone in the bath, I prayed for those young people. I prayed that God would give them a dose of what they had given me today.
The following day, our parent liaison came in asked me what had happened. He had come out of his office when he heard the black guy yelling. Then he had heard my name being thrown around and under a couple of buses back by the Assistant Principal. I told him what had happened. He looked at me and told me not to worry, they were crazy. That is the point. I deal in crazy everyday. Why was Tuesday so different. Who knows.
I do know that praying helped me. I really wanted to choke the young man and spank the young lady. But, bodily harm is not good enough. So, I gave it to God. What He can do will out surpass anything evil I can come up with.
Neither assistant principal that had to deal with the accusations of the young girl have come to ask me my side of the story. Either they discount the girl due to her past behavior issues, or I will be thrown under the bus at review time. Maybe they sent the parent liaison as their information gatherer to see if talking to me would even be worth it. It doesn’t really matter that much. Time goes on, more people see me every day. It is just one bad out of several hundred good. God has my back and those two will be dealt with on His terms.
So, whether I really am a racist bitch or not, it is not for them to determine.