Crazy shepherds

“Thanks a lot, I appreciate your help” Miss Gloria said while eyeing the gate man from the corner of her eye.

The gateman was murmuring to himself while going back to his shade near the gate. Mr. Fred has been in that work for ten years now. In his years there, the woman he just directed to the headmistress office is up there among the psychos he has seen looking for work there since he started working there. To think that three among the seven he have seen succeeded in getting teaching work there baffles him.

He has wondered for the umpteenth time if he should not apply too to teach instead of the pension less gateman's job he had been on for a decade now. It seems as if securing teaching work now is based on taking shower and wearing clean clothes. Never on qualifications anymore. If some of these psychos he has seen and talked to like this one in front of him few minutes ago would even have the gut to come here looking for work, why not him?

“ Am I to believe that these psychos passed through tertiary institution?” he queried himself aloud.

“Excuse me sir, are you talking to me?” 

He turned to see miss Gloria he has dismissed about five minutes ago standing about five feet away eyeing him.

“No, just follow the direction I gave you. You would not miss the office. If you do, ask questions”

“Ah, ok, thanks”

He stood watching the woman who in turn eyed him askance and loitered a bit mopping particularly at nothing before heading towards the headmistress office. Not before throwing another side glance towards the gateman.

Mr. Fred signed loudly and thanked heaven a lot that his kids are not schooling there. He wondered how the teachers of some of these teachers he has seen and talked to here did not detect that all is not well with them from primary to tertiary level. “how do they even pass exams?” he shakes his head. Now, they come here wants to teach these kids. Shit.

“Can one give what he doesn't have? No, it is from your bounty that you can only give” he concluded that the nation would harvest in future society of full of psychos.

Meanwhile, miss Gloria he considered crazy was only reminiscing on good only days she spent as pupil there. She left there 25 years ago and never visited. Now, she came looking for work in her alma mater and was surprised to see how the place has changed. She was starring at the new block that was erected where she used to run around during break time with her friends during her days there. Only three blocks were erected and yet, they were enough to transform the compound into beauty it is now. No flowers, only three blocks and fresh paints. Even some mango trees that used to be there are all gone.

    She was wondering about the sanity of the gateman. While admiring the school compound, she had kept eye on the gateman Wondering why he was eyeing her in such manner and occasionally talking to himself. “How come the school management have not noticed that all is not well with the gateman” she asked herself. “How can they allow him to be interacting with the kids during break time, he might injure them one of these days?” she concluded.

She was comparing the school now with the image of the one in her mind when she heard the man voice. She had thought he was addressing her, only to turn and found out he was talking to himself that loud. She filed the issue in her mind, hoping to raise the issue with whoever is the headmistress there now.

“How can they employ a madman in a school with underage kids like this?” She queried out aloud.

A teacher coming down from first floor heard sound and turned.

“Sorry miss, are you talking to me?”

“No, I am talking to myself. This is the way to headmistress office, right?”

“ Yeah, second office by your left”

“ Thanks a lot”

“You are welcome”

The teacher eyed her till she was out of sight. He was wondering what the country have turned into. How can the government that claims to be interested in the welfare of her citizens allow a young lady like this woman to be going bonkers.

“ I am sure it is bad economy. Now who knows if it is alms she is looking for from the headmistress. How can she be talking to herself in a quiet steps alone”

He was still starring at her back long after she was gone that a teacher that has passed for the second time was wondering why he was starring at an empty space for three minutes now.

“Mr. James, is all well?” 

“Yeah, just wants to talk to Mrs. Jane, I hope she is in the classroom”

“Which classroom?”

“ I think she has class with form two pupils”

“You came from where, staffroom?”

“Yeah, I believe she is in form two down there”

“She is in the staffroom, I am the one that has class with form two. She is in the staffroom”

“ I came from there, I am not sure she is in there”

“ Not sure, and you are coming from there?”

“ Of course. I didn’t hear her voice”

“ Her voice or her you are looking for?”

“ They talk a lot in there, through their voices, you can tell who is or who is not there”

“ O!, Then, go to form two. Maybe you would hear her voice there”

He was still starring at the empty space when the woman left for her class. She was in the classroom writing on the board when the kids burst out laughing. She turned to see Mr. James peeping at her from the window. When their eye fixed each other, Mr. James burst out in high pitch laughter that made the kids to join him. The woman shakes her head and recalled the man behaviors three days earlier and now this.

“ I need to watch this guy well, I am not sure all is well with him in the head. How can you trust him with kids” she queried aloud.

She didn’t realized she was talking out her thought and that made the kids to start eyeing each other and wondering if their teacher has gone bonkers. For five minutes now, she had been writing and cleaning on the board without talking to anyone. 

Mr. James has to cross the headmistress office to get to the staffroom, on nearing the headmistress office, he overheard her saying to the lady that was talking to herself at the steps:

“We need all those documents especially the medical one I spoke of in detail. It is more important than your qualifications. We wants to do comprehensive medical checkup of all our staffs. You have to submit it before interview.”

Mr. James stood there eyeing them from the window. Smiling to himself on how the headmistress was quick to notice that the lady was crazy. The lady was first to saw him and concluded that people like that must be reason why the management wants to do comprehensive mental health check for all the staff. The gateman seems to be healthier than most of the teachers.