Prank Calls

After taking my boys out of Catholic school and putting them into a public charter school, I blogged about the transition. If you haven't already, you can read about it HERE. When I received a little flak about it, I posted again HERE. And I haven't said too much since, despite numerous occasions when I've endured the underhanded comment about "public school kids," or the slightly more passive-aggressive comment about how "permissive" parents are in the charter school and thus, by inference, how "ill-behaved" the children. My son Oliver made his First Holy Communion last week, with his former peers from the Catholic school, along with some children from the new school. I heard a couple of comments, if you can believe it, again, about the "rowdy" public school kids.

Frankly, I've been letting this stuff roll off my back -- after all, don't I have BIGGER things to worry about, to feel anxious about, to actually be going insane about? (And if you're a new reader to my blog, you might have some reading to do). I feel slightly irritated about it but in general, I'm not falling for the bait.

The boys are happy, thriving, doing well academically and behaving nicely in their new PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL.

But let me get to the gist of my story.

On my way out of Target yesterday, I picked up the messages on my home voicemail, one of which was a teeny tiny girl voice, speaking to Henry, my ten year old boy. I'm typing it small to illustrate how tiny this voice was and then when it got big and erupted, well, you get it...

Hiiiiiii, Henry! This is Blankety-blank (I'm not using the real girl's name, but she's someone at the charter school)

Can you call me on my cell phone? My cell phone number is (here she passes the phone to another girl who then speaks)
213-458-6666

Call me!!! (And then there's a very exaggerated, loud KISS sound)

GIGGLE, GIGGLE, GIGGLE

And the message is over. I did one of those lookatthephoneand shakeitmoves and then I dialed into voicemail and listened to the message again. It didn't sound like the girl from his school and I thought I detected, even, a slight Asian accent was it in the voice of the second girl? Anyway, I continued on home wondering if it was a prank or whether it could possibly be that at age ten years old Henry had somehow gotten mixed up with a rather forward girl? (And there's my Catholic girl self coming in, in spite of it all).

I mean, do children still play pranks in this day and age with the telephone? And pretend to be someone they're not to tease a goofy boy?

When I got home, Sophie's caregiver said that the phone had been ringing off the hook for half an hour and that when she finally answered it, little girls started giggling and asking for Henry, claiming to be Blanketyblank. She said they were giggly and very rude.

RUDE and STUPID as it turns out. Because SURPRISE!!!

We have Caller ID. I called the number and a man answered the phone.

Hi! This is Elizabeth, Henry Goofitygoof's mother. Have you been calling my home?

Who? I don't think so.

Well, your number appears on my caller ID numerous times and I'm wondering whether it might be your child?

BLOBBITYBLOB, the guy yells, COME IN HERE RIGHT NOW!

And the two giggly girls come running. There's a bit of commotion, a little foreign language thrown around that I don't understand, and then some profuse apologies.

No problem, I say, and hang up.

HA!

CATHOLIC SCHOOL GIRLS!

(and I'm feeling just a teensy-tinesy bit SMUG.

And here I'll leave you with an old tune:
WARNING: LYRICS MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO SOME!