It wasn't the aliens...this time

On Monday evening, when I got home, I planned to turn my room upside down until I had solved the mystery of my missing cellphone. That morning, I had looked under the bedclothes before throwing a huge load of clean washing from the kist next to my bed onto the bed in my search for the phone. So now I worked my way down the pile of clean clothes, folding and packing clothing away in the cupboards as I went. Eventually I was down to the loose sheet and the mattress - lifted the sheet to throw it in the laundry and there was the phone lying innocently on the bed about where my legs would be. I still don't know how it got there from next to my pillow or how I hadn't seen it that morning when I was looking through the bedlinen but I was very grateful to get it back. The very nature of cellphones being portable is irritating to me because they can end up anywhere. At least a landline is always in one place, firmly attached to the wall by its cord!

On Wednesday, I got a phone call from the school again (I'm almost on a first name basis with the receptionist) to say that Bradley has twisted his ankle and sprained it and could I fetch him. I was a bit livid since it was only about 10.15am by then. I couldn't believe that he had injured himself that early in the morning, apparently jumping from a wall by the swimming pool. "Everybody was doing it, Mom!" But only Brad got injured. He had to get signatures from all the teachers for that day's lessons so that they knew he had gone home. And that's how I came to find out about two LO (Life Orientation) assignments due respectively in February and that day, which Brad hadn't done. He told the teacher that his work was at home. When I picked him up I berated him for doing this last minute thing again because last week alone he was off school for 3 days and could easily have completed these assignments. So when we got home, it was me and him sitting on the couch to complete assignments. I coloured in and searched for pics while he filled in the worksheets and used the stencil. We worked until late with a break for me to cook some supper and then I sent Brad to bed. I still stayed up and washed dishes and cleaned the living area because I knew we would have to carry on in the morning to finish the assignments. Dael had friends over. They are friends of his and 'S'. They arrived with a bottle of alcohol and mixer. Dael built a big bonfire and cranked up the music but Brad and I slept through it.

In the morning, I got up to make coffee and carry on and found two extra people sleeping in my lounge, the two friends from the night before. So I couldn't have carried out my normal morning chores anyway, with two sleeping bodies in the lounge. I woke Brad and we carried on with the projects, only stopping to get ready for work and school. Brad was limping badly and had bandaged his foot. He had to go to school though to hand in the projects and to write a test. I ended up picking him up again before the end of the school day but his foot was quite sore by then.

He is off school today although he was supposed to attend a two-hour detention today after school from 1 to 3pm. A special warning letter had arrived in the post, no less to advise me of this detention - for bunking geography on the 24th February. I was prepared to fight because I thought that this was the day he had bumped his head at the swimming pool and I had picked him up early. He was unfazed though and admitted with a grin that he HAD bunked geography and stayed in the library instead. Okay then boykie, enjoy detention! I phoned the school to let them know he was off and I'm sure they'll reschedule this delightful activity for next week.