Learn some binomials with a story: The lost padlock key

Free illustrations of Locker

On a warm December evening after a stunning day out and about in Abel Tasman, New Zealand, I was in my dormitory, searching for my key high and low. Pockets, rucksack, bum bag. It was nowhere to be found.  I had been kayaking and hiking so that key could have ended up anywhere. Even deep down in the Tasman sea for all I knew. Inside the locker were my tablet, documents, valuables, and other bits and pieces I needed for travelling.

As it happens, this was terrible timing indeed. Shortly before Christmas Day, I was staying at a youth hostel in a little city on NZ’s south island. A bus taking me to the ferry terminal was due early in the morning and I needed to have everything packed to leave the hostel bright and early. Well, not ideal but then again, nothing a locksmith can’t fix, I told myself. However expensive the after-hours service may be.

I went down to the reception desk to explain the situation and inquire about locksmiths in Nelson. A young girl was in charge. The rest of the staff had left for the day.

Sitting behind her spick and span desk she made it crystal clear. “There is nothing you can do now. Everything is closed.”

Free vector graphics of PadlockHer message had come through loud and clear. However, I insisted “But, surely there must be a business that offers assistance outside regular working hours.”

“This is a little place with local businesses; most people must be at home now with their families, gearing up for Christmas celebrations,” she explained.

Great! So I was stuck here until who knows when. A friend was expecting me on the North Island. There were plans to celebrate Christmas with his family, plans to go hiking, and bookings made and paid for. What a mess!

“My manager might be able to help but you will have to wait till tomorrow morning,” she concluded.  

Seeing that there was nothing I could do, I thanked the girl and went to bed. All this uncertainty had settled in me. I tossed and turned for what seemed like hours before I finally dropped off. 

Inevitably, I was awake before sunrise. Everybody in the hostel was still sleeping so, quietly as a mouse, I went down to the kitchen to have breakfast. Sipping a coffee in this peace and quiet was comforting and I told myself, “Everything will be fixed and my NZ travels will continue.” After all, this was not the first setback I’d had and would probably not be the last one.

Again and again, I went to the manager’s office to check if he had arrived and then back to the empty dining room. Back and forth. Eventually, I saw light in his office. Tripping over my words, I told him how desperately I needed to open that locker. “No worries. I’ll fix it and you will catch the ferry,” he promised reassuringly. The receptionist must have filled him in and he was prepared for the task at hand.

Free vector graphics of PliersHe picked up a bag off the floor and produced a massive metal cutting tool. Bold cutters, I learnt later.  “Not the first backpacker in this predicament, right?” I said. “Around ten so far this year, give or take,” he replied with a wink. We went up to the dormitory where he knelt down by my locker and confidently broke the padlock with a precise move. Once the locker was open I felt a sense of relief washing over me. My precious stuff was right there! My holiday could go on as planned.

I offered to pay for the service. He refused. I insisted. “But you have been so helpful and …..” I couldn’t finish my sentence. “No ifs and buts” he interrupted, “go and catch that ferry to be on time for Christmas celebrations”.

While on the ferry, I added “always take a spare padlock key ” to my mental list of dos and don’ts when you are travelling.

Live and learn!

 

For a previous post on binomials (Out and about and other binomials), click here.