Inside the office, Mrs Shaw sighed. She put down her cup of coffee. It was cold anyway.
“Come in,” she said.
“Miss! Miss!” shouted Katrina. “Have you seen the Snapchat photos Gina’s been sending round?”
“No,” replied Mr Shaw. “Funnily enough, I don’t go on Snapchat.”
“Well, she secretly took a photo of me and then used those filters to make me look like a cow. An actual cow. Look!”
Katrina shoved her mobile into Mrs Shaw’s face. Yes, Gina had indeed made Katrina look like a cartoon cow.
Mrs Shaw took off her glasses wearily. “Katrina, I can’t do anything about this now. I’ve got to go to the governors’ meeting this evening. It’ll all blow over soon.”
“But Miss, everyone’s laughing at me!”
“Goodbye, Katrina.” Mrs Shaw glared at the door.
Katrina gawped at her, then turned on her heels and stormed out.
The next morning, Mrs Shaw had barely sat at her desk when BANG! BANG! BANG! Katrina erupted through the door.
“Mrs Shaw! Are you going to do anything about Gina? She’s bang out of order.”
“Get out, Katrina!” yelled Mrs Shaw.
At lunchtime, Mrs Shaw was just about to bite into an egg salad sandwich in the dining hall when a smartphone almost knocked her lunch from her hand.
“Mrs Shaw! You’ve gotta do something about Gina. It’s bullying, this, you know!”
The picture of Katrina as a cow hovered in front of Mrs Shaw’s eyes.
“Katrina, if you don’t take that phone out of my face this instant, I’ll be calling your father!”
At the end of the day, Mrs Shaw started packing up. If she left right away, she’d just manage to catch the end of Eggheads. She left her office and turned to lock the door.
“Miss! Miss! You’ve gotta do something about Gina!” Katrina shouted up the corridor. She ran towards the embattled teacher and said: “She’s still sending that stupid cow picture!”
“OK, OK, OK!” yelled Mrs Shaw. “I’ll sort it out tomorrow, if only to stop you coming to find me! Now. Leave. Me. Alone.”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- How would you describe Mrs Shaw?
- What would you do if you were in Katrina’s place?
- Has there ever been a time when you’ve asked for something to be done and no one listened to you? What did that feel like? What did you do?
This story is based on Luke 18:1-8. Read the passage with the group and compare it to this one. Discuss what Jesus might be saying through this story.
