A word to the wise:

[conuly]

If you're going to sneak around "late" at night (like, 8:30 - these kids were young) doing nefarious things at your school (or any school!)? Do it without the shushing.

Those brats made a lot of noise for people ostensibly wanting to be quiet. I heard the schoolyard gate (this is the school cater-corner to us in the back), but I would have ignored that, gates clank open and shut all the time without meaning anything. But that first urgent SHHH! got my attention, and all the further "shush!" and "shh, be quiet!" and "don't make so much NOISE!" and "ssshhhhh!" just reinforced the message: Somebody was Up To No Good.

I ended all of this with a well-timed HEY, and got a view of them dashing down the parking lot into the street down the hill. Hilarious, really. I don't think they'll be back tonight - the early hour, combined with their height (they were all the height of the average ten year old, and while any one ten year old could be very tall or short, a bunch of kids the same size are likely the same age as well) and their amateur ways (shushing each other? really?) makes me think I gave them the adrenaline rush of their lives and they ran back to be in bed before lights out.

Tomorrow I'll pop by the church which runs the school and let them know some kids (probably THEIR kids, I can't imagine kids that age wanting to vandalize somebody else's school and it only runs up to the 8th grade) are poking around wanting to cause trouble. Maybe they'll finally fix that fence of theirs. One end is "locked" but it gaps wide enough to let a small-sized adult through and I often see children hopping out of that fence during recess to fetch balls and whatever. Nothing criminal, but they could just as easily ditch, right? At the very least, if the other gate had been locked the kids would've dashed towards that exit and then had to dash back towards me, and THAT would have had me rolling on the ground laughing.

Comments

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

Cater-corner - is that what they say in NYC, or is that just a you-ism (or your family-ism)? Growing up in Minneapolis/St. Paul, I've only ever heard kitty-corner.

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

NM (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/catercorner)

[conuly]

In NYC we actually say crosswise or diagonally. Catercorner is something I picked up on the 'nets - I googled the term "kitty-corner" once and then picked my favorite variation of it.

[gingembre.livejournal.com]

I say "catty-corner"

[gingembre.livejournal.com]

Actually, more like "cat-a-corner"

[leora.livejournal.com]

"catty-corner" is what I was taught in childhood. Which, fortunately, let me figure out "kitty-corner" pretty easily when I later encountered it.