On coincidences and practical jokes
Today I had a number of small groups from the same school. They come every year. This morning they were playing up a little. By sheer coincidence I happened to find myself rummaging a cupboard I don’t go into very often. At the back are some items of lost property, amongst them a school sweater that has been there at least a year. I double take. The colour is the same. The logo is the same. Someone must have left it last year, or maybe the year before that. I smile to myself, take the jumper out of the cupboard, dust it down and fold it.
When the next group arrive. I hand it to the teacher.
‘I believe this is one of yours’ I say ‘Could I leave it with you?’
The teacher nods.
‘Hmm’, she says, noting the name on the tag. ‘I don’t think he is with us this year, maybe it belongs to a younger brother or sister’
I imagine the conversation on the coach on the way back to school and laugh to myself. I wonder how long it will take for them to work out what happened.
As practical jokes go, it is hardly outrageous, but it was enough to brighten up a dull morning.