The Custodian 2

Hi All,

Custodians don’t save the world every day, but there’s always attacks from the unknown, recalcitrant teachers who think they know what’s what, mice, board members who think know it all, or bad guys wanting to do bad things. Not to worry. Us professional Custodians are highly trained to take care of any situation. Especially ones specific to Greenwood Elementary school.

If you have forgotten all that the custodians do, here is the second of 4 stories featuring The Custodian to help you remember. I hope they will help you appreciate us custodians whether we’re taking out the trash, mopping a floor, saving the world or saving a girl.

Cheers.

The Custodian 2

A little girl around 8 wandered onto Greenwood Elementary school grounds from a large family group in a park next door.

The Custodian, 40s, a regular guy wearing khakis and a T-shirt, emptied trash from a classroom. He saw the girl. Looked from her to the family who hadn’t missed her yet, back to the girl. He scanned the school, nobody around. He moved toward her.

Later, a call came through on his radio. “Custodian, would you come to the office right away. We have a small emergency.”

Outside the office a group of adults talked. The group included the Custodian, the principal, a handsome Hispanic woman, two cops, a detective, and a few teachers.

The detective, a-seen-it-all man in his 50s, said, “So you sent the girl back to her family?

The Custodian nodded.

“Okay. We need to search the school, every room, every closet, every cabinet, every nook and cranny.”

The Custodian searched by himself. He unlocked and entered a door between the Boys’ and Girls’ bathrooms. He entered a long narrow space crammed with supplies, chairs,

playground equipment and plumbing.

He flipped the light switch. The light didn’t work. With a small flashlight he moved through the space. Halfway in he pushed aside an old file cabinet. Behind the cabinet – more plumbing, and the girl. She was tied up, mouth taped over. Her wide-open eyes followed the Custodian’s every move. He knelt beside her, put a finger to his lips for quiet.

She nodded quick little nods of assent.

He gently brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. He gives her a one finger wave then returns to the main space and moves the cabinet back.

When the door thumped shut she was left in total darkness.

Sometime later, after dark, she heard sounds of the door opening, then closing. She saw flickering light from a flashlight. The file cabinet moved aside with a screech. Behind the approaching bright flashlight was the dark shape of a man.

“Come on, Sweetheart. I’m your daddy now and I’m going to take you home. It’s way past your bedtime.”

The man picked her up, carried her to the main space, and pushed the cabinet back in place. At the main door he paused, listened. He opened the door, stepped out into the night. As the door swung shut behind him a fist came out of nowhere, smacked his jaw. He was out. The Custodian caught the girl as the man dropped.

In his arms, her eyes smile at him, not scared at all.

Two cops lead the handcuffed man, one of the teachers in the previous group, past another group of cops, paramedics, the principle, the Custodian, and the girl’s parents.