She sat at the corner of the class, nagging, nagging…. failed to realize that the other person have enormous amounts of tasks to do.
Time is precious, no one is prepared to lose time within this three hours’ work – what we so called ‘the three hours golden moment’.
“My husband has gone through redundancy…. ” She said.
“Oh God! What is she nagging about again?” Elizabeth searched through the pile of books looking for her students’ homework; she is panic. She wished Gabriel would never open her mouth to speak at this time. “How could she?” Elizabeth complained silently. Now, she heard children running around in the class noisily, at the same time, she is trying to hear what Gabriel try to tell her. “She is begging me to give her the advice. No, I cannot help her. I need to concentrate on my tasks or else; I would not be able to get it through by the end of the day.” She whispered.
Gabriel is still nagging in the background. “Last night my husband was preparing his speech in court….This person in his workplace sacked him without reason. Replaced my husband with another….er ….teacher aid…its’s like a teacher got sacked, and then, replaced by a teacher aid….” she said.
“Oh God! What on earth was Gabriel talking? Didn’t she know that I have plenty of work to do? She is such a selfish person! Don’t tell me all this….it does not make sense….” Elizabeth whispering did not answer a word of what Gabriel had just said. “Just ignore her, I got plenty of work to do… don’t tell me this in here.” She said that in her thought still ignoring Gabriel.
Gabriel mumbling and nagging like an old woman. She is like a lost soul unable to unentangle her family problem. “My husband gone through the frustration, thinking that he should not lose the job!” continued Gabriel.
This time, Elizabeth managed to answer an “Uh!” back to her work again.
Suddenly, a child was crying in the background. “Gabriel, can you please solve the problem yourself? You cannot possibly tell me all this – your house problem to me here – can’t you see we have so many children to look after?”
Gabriel looked up and realised that she is in the class, a real classroom. “Sorry, Elizabeth! I was so preoccupied with my husband’s problem that I forgot about I am in school right at this moment.”
“That’s all right!” said Elizabeth. “I forgive you. Next time, when you have a problem, think, what you should not do. You should not tell me anything in the classroom full of children. Tell me at the end of the class, or, you can call me we can chat on the phone.”
“Oh, thanks, Elizabeth. I’m so sorry if that’s annoying you,” replied Gabriel still thinking that she is right.
Elizabeth ignored her colleague’s behaviour, and wished she could quickly go home and have a good shower; it is all she wants.