Déjà vu

I'm sitting in the office of a foreign language department in an institute of higher education. My boss has gone out for coffee with a colleague and I have been left here to answer the phones. This feels extremely familiar.

Of course, the foreign language is English (not French) and the institute of higher education is a computer science school (not an American university). My boss is E, not Jeanny. And to be fair to Jeanny, she would only leave me alone for her classes and her lunch break. And I had to do a lot more when Jeanny was gone than answering the phone. Especially when she took the whole day off... Managing all of the stressed out people who come into the French department at Tulane needing Jeanny is not easy. Luckily I can delegate, and have memorized my lines: "Jeanny isn't here right now/today. She's at class/at lunch/out of town. She'll be back in a few minutes/in an hour/tomorrow. No, I cannot let you into her office." Ah, I miss it. I am oddly looking forward to my work-study next year - Jeanny said she'd take me back.

Anyway, my one student didn't show up for class today so now I am sitting in my boss's office, hoping he will come back from coffee having decided he doesn't have anything for me to do.