#by /u/DiaPsalma1

[petty-revenge-stories]

So you need to hurry up to get to a wedding? Too bad.

I work at a preschool in Sweden, (so sorry for my swenglish :) ), and have been doing that for many years. I get along pretty good with my coworkers/parents and the kids like me a lot. The past few months tho I have started to get annoyed with two of my co-workers that work together in the same (section?) in the preschool. They are in their mid 40:s but are acting like teenagers, always looking at their phones, showing each other stuff on them and giggling a lot. To be fair, I have only seen them doing that on their breaks, (that almost every time are more than the 30 min. we are suppose to have), but I don’t mind that so much, I believe that you can do what you want on your own free time and I hope that they don’t that stuff when they are working with the kids.

However I have noticed that pretty much every time we are outside in the yard/playground with the children they either stand at the (sandbox?), and talk to each other or other co-workers, not work related things, or just plain stand there and looking somewhat bored. Never play or do anything with the kids, and almost never open the (shed?) for the toys. I even had to help children that needed help that was just a few meters away from them because they didn’t notice them, to busy with talking to each other. I have tried to talk about this issue on our monthly meetings but it is like it’s going in thru one ear and out of the other ear with them.

So my frustration and annoyance with them just got bigger and bigger as the time went on and I started to call them ”the teenagers”, as a joke but with some truth in it. (they didn’t mind, I can have a brutal sense of humor sometimes, my co-workers are used to it). The children in my preschool is divided in groups of how old they are. So 1-2 years old go together, the 3 years old go together and the same for the 4 years and the 5 years old. I work with the 4 years old children. With this system, when many new children come to the 1-2 year section they get to many and we need to move the oldest children in every section, like an domino effect. So under the month of July we moved some of our 4 years old to the 5 years old section and took a few from the 3 years old section, many of their children and ours was already on vacation with their parents. One of the kids that came over to us have special needs and have like an (assistant?) that followed to our section. (They had 2 special needs kids there in the 3 year section), so there where 4 people working there with the assistant. (It is just me and my co-worker that works in mine).

After we got to know the new children and because we had very few of them we started to get ready for the big cleaning we have every year, (we usually merge with other preschools during the summer). We are supposed to take away toys and stuff so the cleaners can…well, clean. One of those days we decided to get out with the children, the assistant took them outside and I went to get my shoes, my co-worker stayed inside to put things away for the cleaning. I got my shoes and went back and started to talk with my co-worker about what to take away first, (we wanted to leave a space untouched so the kids had somewhere to play until the last day before we merged with the other preschools, and also a bit how we should work with the special need child).

When we where just done talking and I joked with her as I was on my way out and made her laugh, one of the ”teenagers” entered our section. She looked annoyed and walked towards my co-worker. As I know that she can complain sometimes about petty things I didn’t bothered and went out to play with the kids. But when we came back inside again and my co-worker told me what the ”teenager” said, I got pissed. Apparently she was wondering why the assistant was still with us and didn’t come back to them, then she had the audacity to say that we where just standing and talking to each other and not working! My co-worker was confused and asked her if the other special need child where there with them? and that ”Teenager”, said…no. So she wanted the assistant back that was there for now ”our” special need child when they already had 3 teachers there with 4-5 kids! WTF!! That was the last straw!!!

On the next day, (a Thursday) I was sitting in our breakroom and was reading the newspaper. In enters the ”Teenager”, that complained to my co-worker, from now on called ”T”, and me; (still pissed off), so calling myself ”PO”

T: Hi!

PO: Hi. (I say behind my newspaper, can’t even look at her. She sits down and start using her phone, as usual. After a minute or two she started to talk to me again.)

T: I’m going to my cousins wedding tomorrow.

PO: Oh, thats nice, (don’t really care).

T: Um, yeah, the problem is that I close the preschool tomorrow so I don’t know if I will make it in time, she says and looks expectantly at me. Ah, now I know what she is after. We both know that I work to 17:00 and she is supposed to work to 17:30 the next day. The unsaid question was floating around in the air. I just look at her for a few seconds and say:

PO: ”Well…that sucks”, and then continued to read the newspaper, making sure it hides my face because I can't stop smiling from ear to ear. She huffs but doesn’t say anything more.

The next day, Friday, is moving on quickly and about 15:00 I went out again with ”my” kids. I notice that the group with the 3 years old is out too but I can only see the substitute with them. not the ”Teenager”. (The irony). It took almost an hour before I see her, I’m guessing she was inside preparing for the cleaning or just check everything so it’s done when she close the preschool. The other staff is starting to drop off and soon it’s just me and her and a few kids from all the sections. I play a game with all of the children and we have really fun. The ”teenager” doesn’t join us, just standing at the, (guess where? yup, the sandbox), and watching us.

When the time is about 16:40 it’s only one child left and it’s time to gather the toys, (we are supposed to help each other with that). I start to pick the toys up and after a minute I realize that I’m alone outside. I see through the window that T have taken the kid inside. Aaand now I’m pissed again. I know she will take her time in there and let me pick up everything alone. So i think to myself, if you act like an asshole, so can I. I pick everything up and put it in the shed. After that I go inside to my section and look really carefully at every door, window and toilet making sure everything is closed and locked, I even go the 5 year section that are next door to us and check everything there too, of course very thoroughly. When i was done i walked to our changing room. When I reached it I saw that ”T” stood in there with her arms crossed and with a annoyed face.

T: Where have you been? It’s after 17:00 now. The last kid have already been picked up.

PO: Is it? I said and looked at my watch. ”Sorry, lost track of time”. I start to get my things and are not moving very fast too by the way. T is standing at the door and waiting for me to get out so she can lock the door and put the alarm on. I put on my headphones. (I like to listen to music when I walk home).

T: (Very annoyed), ”you can do that outside”.

PO: Huh? (Takes out my headphones). She repeat herself. ”Oh yeah, sure!”, putting them back in again and then go outside after grabbing my backpack. I start to walk across the parking lot. Halfway thru she passes me and get to her car and sit down on the driver seat. When she was starting up the car and got ready to back out she realized that I was standing behind her car and was looking at the preschool yard. She rolled her window down and yelled:

T: What are you doing?! (I walked up to her window and said).

PO: Um, why didn’t you lock the toy shed?

T: What?! You where the last one there!

PO: True, true, I said nodding me head. ”But you where with the last kid and sometimes she goes home later. She must have something to play with, right?” She huffed at me.

T: Can you close it for me? she asked.

PO: Sorry, I´m busy, need to go. (I wasn’t busy). ”And it’s you that are the one that close today so it is your responsibility to make sure everything is closed and locked. Technically you are still working since it isn’t 17:30 yet”. (It was about 17:15 ish). ”Bye! Have fun at the weddiiing!” I started to walk away and put my headphones in again but with no music. I heard how she opened the car door and ran to the shed to lock it. But when she got there she didn’t find the key at the usual place, (hanging on a hook outside of the shed). I was walking alongside the fence of the yard and could still see her and the shed.

PO: ”I’m pretty sure I put the key on one of the shelves inside!” I yelled at her. I could see, even from that distance, that she looked at me with murder in her eyes. She went inside and started to look for the key. I was now at the end of the fence but hid behind a tree because I did not wanna miss this, heh. I could still somewhat see the shed and I could definitely hear her inside. It sounded like she was getting desperate in there because now I heard how things hit the floor as she was throwing them of the shelves. Apparently she gave up but as she was about to walk outside the shed she must have seen that I had put the key above the (doorpost?). She quickly locked the door but must have been so stressed out so instead of just putting the key in her pocket and bring it back after the weekend she actually went to the (entrance?), punched in the code, locked up the door and throw in the key, wasting another minute on that. She then muttered and complained so loud as she was walking to her car that I almost could hear her, like 10 meters away.

When she finally drove away I looked at the time. 17:23. I chuckled all the way home with a big grin on my face. I got a few weird looks at me. Petty? Hell yes! but worth it.

(source) story by (/u/DiaPsalma1)