Unexpected Pause

To those of you who thought I should be wearing tennis shoes for my Two Hat Day, I was wearing 3 inch heels, a swishy black skirt and a black and white "art deco" blouse. Before the morning was half over my feet were aching. A campus big enough to house 650+ students comfortably has a bit of sprawl. It's quite a jaunt from place to place. So, after I left the Kindergarten PD I still had 10 minutes before I was expected in class. I thought that would be a great time to visit the lady's room, so I went to the teacher's lounge. Almost the moment the door closed behind me the intercom flicked on. It was the Assistant Principal, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now going to Code 3. Secure your classroom doors." The P.E. teacher and the copy machine maintenance guy were in the teacher's lounge. The PE teacher hopped up and locked the doors. We all sat to chat and wait for the drill to be over. We chatted for quite awhile. The maintence guy asked, "How long is a Code 3 drill?" The PE teacher said, "I don't think they're usually this long." I asked, "Did the AP say it was a drill?" None of us remembered hearing that word. We were silent for awhile. We heard foot steps outside and somebody rattled the door handle. None of us moved. We just looked at each other and waited. Finally the maintenace guy said, "Well, my tools are still in the truck, but at least I can open the machines up and get ready to work." The PE teacher grabbed the newspaper and offered me a section. I took my sandals off and put my feet up. A goodly time passed. The PE teacher said, "This has to be real. I wonder what's happening?" I suggested he pop outside, then come back and tell us. He put his feet up and settled farther into his chair. "Naw, I'm comfy," he answered. "Maybe later." About 10 minutes after that we were given the all clear sign. I slipped my shoes on and we went outside, each stopping like Weebles and rocking back on our heels. A police helicopter was hoovering directly above the school. "That looks pretty real," I said. Shots fired in the vacinity, we were told. Another teacher said what I was thinking. "You know, most of the time I hate these cinderblock walls and the fact that we have no windows, but today I feel pretty good about it."