There is a series of codes, forms, and protocols that swing into effect in case the school gets threatened. The trend seems to be to throw a mountain of bureaucracy at the threat to vanquish it. In fact, tomorrow we have a Lock Down Drill. French deals with these "threats" in his own way.
A young guy in his early twenties came in to our computer lab a while back. This intruder was soaking wet with sweat, his hair was long and stuck to his face; the worst part was that his knuckles were bleeding. He came in, sat down at a computer and started to check his email. He acted like this was the most normal thing in the world; very casual.
This young fella had been spotted coming in and had taken off from the admin team. The school went into full lock down: doors locked, windows covered, huddle in the corner...police on their way. French stepped up.
French went right up to the guy and asked to speak to him in the hall. They talked like they were old buds. French handed him a handkerchief for his bloody hands and walked him to the back door. The intruder left the building and French locked the door behind him.
Once a school is in lock down it is a long process to get it off that designation. As we waited for the official all clear French regaled everyone with "the story" (even though it was "all clear"). Everyone asked: "What did you do?" He answered each question the same way: "I talked to him".
The lock down and police sweep continued for three hours. I like French's direct method better.
Posted to this fine site:
Imperfect Prose
