Guests at a recent Karratha dinner reportedly let out a collective groan after a teacher referred to their work schedule as “10 & 2”.
“For fuck’s sake, I thought she was having a laugh,” said Michael Sanford, 32.
But she was deadly serious.
The line went down like a lead weight at the table after a lengthy monologue by teacher, 23-year-old Sandra Stephens.
Ms Stephens, a Year 7 teacher in her second tour at Karratha Senior High School, had spoken for 15 straight minutes to gradually diminishing interest about the trials and travails of being a teacher.
Among them were not the 9am-3pm work hours, or the 10 weeks of holidays a year.
When Michael, the only one at the table of seven brave enough or shitty enough to interject, suggested it sounds like a pretty sweet job compared to – say – slugging it out in the middle of bumfuck nowhere on a minesite, Ms Stephens’ eyes widened as she retorted with a pre-prepared defence.
“Sometimes we have to work longer hours than that, you know — sometimes I don’t get home until 4:30,” she said.
Mark Webb, 26, quietly interjected when Ms Stephens regaled the table with a story about accidently cutting her thumb on an exposed staple while marking papers.
“Last week on site someone got their arm stuck in a crusher,” he said deadpan.
“Took em 6 hours to get him out and by then his arm looked like spider web confetti.”
Ms Stephens was quick to rebuff Mr Webbs anecdote with one of her own about her whiteboard markers causing carpal tunnel syndrome.
By now it was getting late and the mood had changed, and each of the guests were glad to call it a night. “And not before time,” another guest, Phillip Hunter, 24, said, raising his hand to show his forefinger and thumb pressed closely together. “I was this close to king-hitting her.”
