Chapter 10
TEN
ERICA
Tuesday was the second day of Mollie’s suspension. There was already a standard ‘Return to School’ meeting booked for Wednesday morning, but when Erica had called Celeste last night, she’d said she had a free period just before lunch and told her to come in.
Erica hadn’t been inside the school since before Easter. Before the residential trip. No one had told her explicitly that she couldn’t set foot on school grounds, but she’d been suspended on full pay until the outcome of the investigation. How ironic that her suspension would be decided either way this same week.
Parking in the visitors’ section felt strange, having to speak to the office on the intercom even stranger. The squeak of the heavy wooden door into reception was familiar, but the smell of paint and carpet adhesive was new. The entrance had had a refit since Erica was last there. The royal blue carpet and grey walls had a very corporate feel that she wasn’t hugely keen on. From her seat on a square grey armchair, she scanned the newly displayed photographs for any students that she might recognise. It was a blend of nostalgia and self-torture, her stomach clenched in the hope that she wouldn’t see him in any of them.
It was a relief that the receptionist was new and wouldn’t recognise her. She was able to smile and take a seat rather than endure a polite catch-up on everything that had happened since she’d left. ‘I’ll let Miss Winters know that you’re waiting.’
She and Celeste had arrived at the school at the same time – Erica taught English, Celeste taught computer science – and they’d hit it off straight away. Celeste had a sharp sense of humour that’d had Erica’s shoulders shaking like they were two badly behaved students in their induction meeting. Back then, Erica hadn’t had children, and they’d both been a regular feature of the group who decompressed after a week at the whiteboard with a visit to the local pub. Sometimes Andrew would come and meet her after work; he and Celeste got on well, too.
Since Erica had had the children, Celeste had been promoted twice and was now a member of the Senior Leadership Team. It was funny to think of her being so important. If Erica hadn’t had so much to deal with at home, would she have been promoted in the same way? Would she have even wanted it?
The door to the side of reception swung open and Celeste flew through with her arms ready to engulf Erica in a tight squeeze. ‘Hello! Sorry, I was meant to be waiting to welcome you.’ She lowered her voice. ‘Are you okay? Is it weird being here?’
Erica smiled as she released her. ‘Very. Thanks so much for seeing me on such short notice.’
‘Don’t be silly. I’ve been meaning to call you about something, actually, but time just runs away, doesn’t it? Let’s sign you in.’
Following in Celeste’s wake to her office, Erica couldn’t help but admire her friend. Celeste was one of those women who always have everything under control, never look stressed, always have a smile for everyone. Her long blonde hair ended in a perfectly straight line at her shoulders. Her make-up was subtle and flawless, crisp suit and black wedges plain but probably expensive. It wasn’t surprising that she’d been made responsible for overseeing the pastoral team working on student behaviour: no student was stupid enough to take her on. More importantly, she was so universally liked that they didn’t want to.
Her stride was almost twice Erica’s and she spoke as fast as she walked. ‘So, how have you been?’
‘I’m holding it together. Well, I was until this happened, too. I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch. Things have been tough.’
She waved away Erica’s words. ‘Don’t apologise. You’ve had more than enough to be dealing with. How’s Ben? Does he like the new school?’
Celeste was glancing left and right as they walked. Maybe Erica wasn’t supposed to be here? ‘He’s doing great. Look, I’m not going to get you into trouble by coming in, am I?’
A shake of the head was followed by a blush that contradicted it. ‘I did double-check with the head that it would be okay. I’ve had to promise not to talk about anything other than Mollie.’
Nerves at being here weren’t helped by the corridors that brought back a host of memories as they made their way to Celeste’s office. Photographs of smiling students on the wall wearing science goggles or throwing javelins or painting on canvas. As they turned the corner, she spotted one of Mollie.
The photograph had been taken in her first year. Only two years ago and yet she looked so different. This Mollie was a child, bright-eyed and enthusiastic. The Mollie of now was pushing firmly on the door of womanhood and, this week at least, looked as if she’d had every ounce of enthusiasm squeezed from her.
Celeste’s office was small but she’d managed to stamp her personality onto it. The walls were purple and all the stationery on the desk in the centre of the room matched it perfectly. ‘How the heck did you get John to paint it this colour?’
John, the site manager, was well known for his firm belief that there should be one colour palette throughout the school: a kind of orangey magnolia not seen anywhere else on earth. The door clicked shut behind them. ‘I didn’t ask him. I just did it myself. Do you like it?’
‘It’s great.’
Erica took the seat she was offered and Celeste slid into her own on the other side of the desk. ‘So. How’s Mollie doing? Has she told you anything else about the incident?’
Celeste was being very tactful by using the word ‘incident’ rather than ‘theft’. Now it was Erica’s turn to blush. ‘No. She won’t talk about it at all. I really don’t know what to do. She’s just completely closed off about it. What do you think happened?’
Last night in bed, she’d gone through all the possible reasons that Mollie might need money. Now she was fully expecting to be told that Mollie was having friendship issues, or maybe even a problem with a boy. She’d been a teacher; she knew what happened at this age.
But Celeste shook her head. ‘I asked around her teachers and there’s nothing. No evidence of anything changing. She’s a model student. Working hard. Polite. Engaged. Everything you could want.’
It made no sense. Erica knew that there weren’t always tell-tale signs when a student was going through something. Girls, in particular, were very good at putting on a brave face and pretending to the world that they were fine. Still, this didn’t help her to uncover what’d been going on. ‘Really? No one? Not even her English teacher, Miss Martin?’
Mollie loved her English teacher, would often hang around after class to tell her what she was reading or show her the latest poem she’d written. That’s what made it even more incredible that she was the one Mollie had stolen from. Of anyone, Erica might have expected that Miss Martin would know what was going on behind Mollie’s smile.
But Celeste was shaking her head. ‘No, I asked Sarah Martin and she was just as blindsided as everyone else. No one can believe that Mollie stole the money. Sarah offered to speak to her, but I said to hold off until I’d met with you.’
It might be a good idea, but the way Mollie had looked last night, now was possibly not the right time. ‘What about the other teachers? Is there anything going on in Mollie’s cohort?’
Celeste raised an eyebrow. ‘There’s plenty going on in that cohort, but not to do with Mollie. The only thing that we can think of was that Mollie seemed pretty disappointed that she didn’t get the school council role.’
School council? That didn’t make sense. ‘But she’s too young. Why would she be applying for that?’
‘It’s one of the ideas from the new deputy head. He’s trying to address some of the lethargy by giving the younger students some status and responsibility.’
Mollie hadn’t mentioned that at all. ‘I didn’t even know that she’d applied.’
Surprise flashed across Celeste’s face, but she spoke quickly to smooth over the hurt in Erica’s voice. ‘It was only a couple of weeks ago. Maybe she hadn’t got around to it. Look, it might be a good idea for you and Andrew to come and talk to her tutor. Between the three of you, maybe there’s something we’re missing. You’ll have a back-to-school interview tomorrow morning, won’t you?’
Again, Erica felt her face redden. Back-to-school interviews were for the misbehaving kids. Not for her Mollie. ‘Yes. I think that was on the letter that Andrew showed me.’
Celeste narrowed her eyes. ‘How are things between you and Andrew?’
How to sum it up in a word? ‘Civil?’
Celeste sat back in her chair. ‘And are you…I mean…Tell me if I’m prying, but are things really over between the two of you? It was all so sudden. You moving out with Ben. Is that really the end of your marriage?’
If she was surprised by the directness of Celeste’s question, she could understand it. Every time Celeste had seen them, Andrew had been the model husband. In many ways he was a model husband. Then she thought about the way he’d spoken to her yesterday. The fact that he wasn’t wearing his wedding ring. ‘To be honest, I don’t know what’s happening right now.’
Celeste nodded. ‘Look, I’ve wanted to tell you something, not known quite how to raise it.’
The serious look on her face increased the temperature in the room by a few degrees. But before Erica could ask what it was, there was a knock on the door and Celeste raised her chin and the volume of her voice. ‘Come in.’
The door was pushed open roughly and the face that came around it made Erica gasp. It wasn’t possible. Mussed dark hair, untucked shirt: the boy’s sullen stance was echoed in his voice. ‘Miss Clarke says I have to come and work with you.’
Unable to tear her eyes away, Erica held her breath. No. It couldn’t be him. It couldn’t. Her eyes must be playing tricks on her.
Celeste pointed back out of the room. ‘Okay, Michael, you can work at the desk outside. I’ll come and speak to you in a moment.’
He didn’t move to go. ‘She said I was being rude but all I said was?—’
‘Michael.’ Celeste’s voice was firm, but not unkind. ‘You can see that I’m in a meeting. I will come and speak to you, but you are going to have to start work and I’ll be out there shortly.’
His scowl took Erica right back to that day. Once he’d closed the door, she stared at Celeste, waiting to be told that she’d imagined it. ‘That boy…’
‘His brother. They’re like clones of one another. In every way.’
Erica felt cold. ‘And is the mother…’
‘Still a nightmare? Yes. She has a new boyfriend at the moment, so we haven’t seen much of her. Michael is having a rather tough time here, although he does have to make his own dinner every night and he’s up on his Xbox until the early hours so it’s not surprising that school and following rules is rather a struggle.’ She paused. ‘Obviously, I shouldn’t have said any of that. Old habits die hard with you in here.’
Erica smiled weakly; her heart rate was still slowing down. ‘Looking at him…it just brought it all back.’
Celeste tilted her head to the side sympathetically. ‘I can imagine. I’m sorry. Just really bad timing.’
Now the shock had left her, Erica felt a coldness she couldn’t shift. ‘It’s Thursday, you know. The panel.’
Celeste had already said that she couldn’t talk about it, but she leaned forward and lowered her voice. ‘It wasn’t your fault, Erica. You know that, right? Whatever they say, it wasn’t anyone’s fault.’
Her head knew that, but her stomach didn’t. Even the thought of what happened that day made a shiver run down her spine. Swallowing down the lump in her throat, Erica tried to smile. ‘Well, I’d better go and leave you to speak to him. What was it you wanted to talk to me about?’
For the first time, Celeste looked uncertain and nervous. ‘Actually, it’s not important. I really should get to Michael. Shall I call you in the week? Maybe we could go out and have a proper catch-up?’
Who knew when she’d be able to get a night off? But she smiled. ‘That would be great. Maybe you could come to me? It’s difficult for me to get out because of Ben.’
Celeste frowned. ‘Has he stayed over at the new school yet?’
She shifted in her seat: she hadn’t come here to talk about Benjamin. ‘Not yet. He’s not ready.’
‘What about you? Are you ready?’
Her friend knew her well. ‘You’re beginning to sound like Andrew.’
Pushing her chair back on its wheels, Celeste held up her hands. ‘Ignore me. I just miss my pal.’
‘I miss you, too.’
And she missed being here. She missed having a life when she was just ‘Erica’ and not someone’s mum or estranged wife. But seeing that boy outside Celeste’s office was a stark reminder. She’d seen what could happen if you took your eye off of someone else’s child and she couldn’t risk that for Ben. He needed her and that’s where she had to be.