Another Little Voices pamphlet; a whole pack of them. The local chapter was sponsoring a fundraiser at school in about a month. The fundraiser, I knew about. We always did a fall festival or makeshift carnival or some such as a way to get extra school supplies. This year’s sponsor Brollish had neglected to mention.
These advertisements would have to go home in students’ backpacks by the end of the day.
Pamphlets in hand, I made to go to the staff bathroom. “Don’t do what I think you’re gonna do,” Tracy jokingly called out to me.
I grinned, and handed them back to my assistant. I wasn’t going to use them to wipe my ass or flush them in the toilet…but the thought had occurred to me. “Pocket these for me till we get back in the classroom.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
The knob to the men’s room wouldn’t turn. “Occupied,” a far too familiar voice, with more than a hint of anticipation. Damnit, Raine. “Out in just a couple minutes.”
Locking me out of the bathroom….
Really?
My four-year-olds had more creativity than that.
All I had to do to circumvent Forrest’s terrible plan to deny me toilet access was to go into the women’s room. Both bathrooms were unisex and single occupant. Nobody was going to bat an eye at me going into the women’s room; especially if Raine had sequestered herself in the men’s.
The only problem I had was that I had to do a kind of a balancing act on the too wide rim of the toilet. Difficult. But not impossible. I’m a Little. I’m used to working in a world that’s too big for me.
After flushing and walking out, the wheels in my head started to turn. It’s surprising how well one can think with freshly emptied bowels. By the wall were a pair of tiny wooden wedges. They were intended to act as a kind of door prop. Leave the bathroom doors open and slide a wedge under them so they wouldn’t budge. No need to knock or worry about walking in on somebody who forgot to lock the door.
During high traffic times such as in the morning, such things were forgotten. People had too much to do to bother kicking away a wooden triangle and replacing it just before the buses came.
“Miss Forrest?” I called out in my most pathetic sounding voice. “Miss Forrest? Are you still in there?”
“Just a minute,” the giant bitch practically sang out.
I picked up the wedges. “But Miss Forrrrrrest,” I whined. “I really have to go!”
“Just a minuuuute!”
“But I don’t wanna be laaaaaate! You know what will happen if I’m late!” I slid both wedges under the door. Not even Amazon strength would be able to budge them from the inside. Physics was in my favor.
“I’m almost reeeeady!”
The bell rang, and I walked away, shaking my head. Time to go to work. I chuckled under my breath as I heard the knob twisting. I could almost hear her starting to bang on the door as I walked outside to go meet Tracy, Beouf, and yes, Zoge. At least Forrest wouldn’t poop herself. My plan was kinder than hers in that regard.
