The Hot Cross Buns Fiasco

 

The other day, my colleagues and I put on a morning tea for all the Teachers at school.

 

Morning tea at school is a big deal.  It’s taken in turn, by faculty.  One week Science, next week Maths and so on.  Put on a good morning tea and people will smile at you for the rest of the day, put on a bad one and it’ll be talked about for the next week.

 

Being Easter, my ten staff room members and I threw in ten bucks each.  One of the ladies put in an order up at Baker’s Delight.  We had Hot Cross Buns, butter, coffee and tea and of course, Easter Eggs.  The buffet looked like an Easter dream.  Lots of everything.

 

 

I was on playground duty during recess but from what I was told when I arrived, the staff had loved it.  It may have been the approaching long weekend but everyone seemed excited by such a generous and timely Easter morning tea.  Success.

 

 

Just before the end-of-recess bell rang, a colleague of mine who helped to organise the catering, suggested to the milling crowd that as there was lots left over, people should take some for lunch and for anyone who missed out.

It was a bad call.

 

 

People started swiping napkins full of buns, handfuls of eggs…

It was chaos.

 

 

My eyes darted around the room and I quickly located and marked a certain staff member who I shall call, “Eats Like a Horse but is Stick Thin”.  Known for eating much more than their fair share at every opportunity.

Every possible and free opportunity.

 

ELAHBIST made a break for the extra supplies, where I was standing.  In quite a loud teachery voice, I said that the full bags weren’t for the taking.

Take that!

 

ELAHBIST RAN back to the serving table to load up on buns…  They were quicker than me, older but more nimble. And more cunning! Somehow, they had pilfered one of the spare Baker’s Delight bags.  I’d been blindsided.

 

 

What ELAHBIST did next will go down in staff room folklore:

 

ELAHBIST FILLED UP THE EMPTY BAKER’S DELIGHT BAG WITH HOT CROSS BUNS AND THEN, IN ONE QUICK MANEUVER, SWIPED ONE OF THE FULL BAGS ON THEIR WAY OUT!

WTF?

 

Who steals Hot Cross Buns?!

ELAHBIST does!!

 

 

My staff room was in disbelief, then we were angry; there would be no Hot Cross Buns for us to take home and we’d paid for the bloody whole thing!

 

 

We were in shock for the rest of the day, so much so that we were compelled to declutter our tiny kitchenette for the first time in the five years I’ve been there.

 

Knee-deep in mismatched crockery we laughed to ease the Hot Cross Bun pain.

 

“Do you think ELAHBIST would want this?” a colleague announced, holding up a dirty, chipped coffee mug, circa 1980. “Or this?” A mug with someone else’s name on it.

 

 

Oh well. I hope ELAHBIST enjoyed their Hot Cross Buns today.

I hope they didn’t swallow any moldy bits.

 

 

I love hearing stories about office goings on.  One of my favourite shows is The Office.

Do you have any experiences with an office weirdo?

 

 

Happy Easter!

 

Robo X