Roundtable

I got a message on my school phone the other day from a company looking for teachers to participate in a roundtable discussion. The caller said that if I was interested to please call back as soon as possible. I was just about to delete the message when they said the magic phrase..."You will be compensated for your time!" Now I'm all about being compensated for my time. Especially when the girls' training fees for soccer are due. So I called the company back and they gave me the particulars....2 1/2 hours of time, group of 8 teachers blah blah blah and $125 at the end of the night. I told them to count me in! So last night, I let Ryan take the girls to soccer and I headed out to Scottsdale. The company sent me directions so the place was relatively easy to find. The front of the building was really nice, but I was in Scottsdale after all so I didn't expect anything less. According to the map, the only parking was in the back so I headed that way. Big difference between the front of the building and the back. I had to drive down this totally dark alley that was more than just a little bit creepy. As soon as I parked, I jumped out of the car and made a beeline for the door. It was locked, of course. As I was trying to figure out what to do, a cleaning lady came out of the elevator. When she saw me she came to the door. I tried to ask if I was in the right place, but just my luck, she didn't speak a word of English. After a lot of gesturing I finally showed her the map and she let me in. The building was pretty dark and looked deserted. I took the elevator to the third floor. When the doors opened, I seriously considered taking the elevator back down, getting in my car and driving home. It was very dark with just one light that kept blinking on and off just like in the horror movies. I was beginning to think that maybe the phone call was a prank. Maybe there wasn't any roundtable. Maybe someone was just using that as a cover to lure women to a deserted building to do....whatever. I could see the headlines...."Soccer Mom Lured From Home With the Promise of Money for Her Kid's Soccer Fees"...Ok, I can be more than just a little paranoid. Anyway...I decided to press on and besides I'd come this far. I wasn't leaving without my $125. I walked through a maze of dark corridors and abandoned offices until finally.... I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. The office I was looking for and it was full of people....and they were teachers....and at the end of the night I got my $125!