Chapter 53
FIFTY-THREE
Nancy could feel Lara’s nerves as they were buzzed into the school by Esther. Mr Whitman came out of his room to meet them. Inside his office, he directed them not to the armchair seating area but to the more formal table and chairs on the other side of the room. Then he closed the door.
‘Is Miss Young not joining us?’ asked Nancy, surprised.
‘It’s difficult to get cover for her this morning,’ said Mr Whitman, not looking her in the eye.
This announcement put Nancy on the back foot.
Although how much Miss Young would have helped was debatable.
She’d shown signs of being supportive in the past, but equally, had clammed up in the presence of her boss.
Perhaps it was better without her. In any event, Lara running out of school was a strong reaction to everything that had been going on.
Nancy felt certain Mr Whitman would take the bullying far more seriously now.
He had safeguarding issues to contend with.
At long last, the situation had to be tackled.
‘I’m very glad to see you safe and well,’ Mr Whitman said to Lara.
Lara nodded nervously. She was sitting at the table, looking as if she’d rather be anywhere but the head teacher’s office.
‘Do you want to tell me a bit about what happened yesterday?’ His voice was gentle, encouraging.
Lara shrugged and Nancy knew she was struggling. ‘I needed some space,’ she said.
‘Space from what?’ asked Mr Whitman.
There was a moment before Lara answered. ‘Rosie,’ she mumbled, so quietly she was barely audible.
‘You haven’t been getting on too well recently, have you?’ asked Mr Whitman.
Lara shook her head.
Nancy frowned. That wasn’t quite right. It was more than that. Much more. Rosie had been systematically tormenting her daughter.
‘I know it’s sometimes hard being around people you don’t really like but that’s not an excuse to run away from school. You do understand that what you did is very serious, don’t you?’
Nancy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She saw tears gather in Lara’s eyes.
‘Hang on a minute,’ said Nancy. ‘Rosie has been bullying Lara. Constantly—’
Mr Whitman held up a hand. ‘Please, Mrs Miller. I know things have been difficult for Lara and I sympathize’ – he looked genuinely empathetic – ‘but I don’t need to tell you how important it is that your daughter remains in school for her own safety.
’ He turned to Lara and said kindly: ‘We really can’t have children wandering around Ripton by themselves. We need to know you’re safe.’
Lara nodded mutely.
‘If you ever feel like you need to get some space again, then you can come and see me.’
Lara nodded yet again and Nancy could tell there was no chance of that ever happening. Her daughter would rather die than go and knock on the head teacher’s door.
Mr Whitman turned to Nancy. ‘I know you have concerns about Rosie, and we have put a mechanism in place. Rosie and her friends will be spending two or three breaks a week with the class teaching assistant talking through friendships; how to be a good friend to others; and if you’re not able to be their friend, then how to learn to walk away. ’
Nancy’s mouth dropped. ‘Is that it?’
Mr Whitman looked surprised. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, is she not going to be punished?’
‘For what exactly?’
‘All the things she’s said and done to Lara!’
‘Mrs Miller, as I’m sure you appreciate, it’s often very hard to ascertain exactly what has happened and when between children. As much as the teachers keep an eye, they can’t watch every child twenty-four seven.’
‘They don’t have to watch every child. Just Rosie,’ snapped Nancy. She could see Lara staring off into the distance.
‘And they will. But we also want to take some proactive steps. Previous situations have shown us that talking to children who have issues with friendships and workshopping with them often has a very positive outcome.’
‘Workshopping?’ repeated Nancy, aghast. ‘What is this, some kind of corporate “getting to know you” bullshit?’
Mr Whitman frowned at her use of language.
‘And what exactly happens in these workshops?’
‘The girls will be encouraged to articulate what they find difficult about certain friendships and how best to navigate them. Often they use role play.’
Role play? She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She was trying to see his point of view, she really was. But she was highly dubious that a child as devious as Rosie would fall for such a pile of touchy-feely crap.
‘Mr Whitman, with all due respect, I do not think for one minute this is going to change things.’
He frowned and glanced at Lara as if to remind Nancy that she should be remaining positive for her own daughter’s sake. It riled.
‘Mrs Miller, I think you need to have a little more faith. It has certainly worked in the past and I see no reason why it shouldn’t work again. We need to at least give it a try.’ He paused. ‘We should also remember that Rosie has been through quite a tough year.’
Nancy was staggered. ‘What?’
Mr Whitman realized he’d been insensitive, attempted to cover.
‘I know that’s not an excuse and I know she’s not the only child with big life-changing challenges to overcome’ – here he glanced at Lara – ‘but we need to look at the whole picture.’ He took a breath and laid his hands flat on the table, brightening his tone.
‘Right, well, I need to let you know that we will not be punishing Lara for leaving the school as she’s already been through enough. ’
Punishing Lara? Nancy was so shocked she didn’t know what to say.
Mr Whitman smiled at Lara. ‘Are you ready to go back to class now?’
Lara obediently stood, just as there was a knock on the door and Esther put her head round.
‘Your next meeting’s arrived,’ said Esther.
‘Great. I’ll be there in a minute,’ said Mr Whitman.
Nancy saw Lara give her a tiny wave as she slunk out of the door. Esther held it open wider and smiled at Nancy. The implication, whether deliberate or not, was clear. Her time was up.
Mr Whitman stood. ‘I know it can seem unfair and all you want is to protect Lara but we would please urge you to trust us to make the right decisions. This kind of thing happens a lot in schools, and you’d be amazed at how in another few weeks or months it can all blow over.’
He sounded experienced, he looked confident, he seemed so convinced, it was hard not to be reassured by him.
And part of Nancy desperately wanted to be reassured.
But the only thing she knew for certain as she walked back across the playground was that she was stuck in a system.
A system devised and managed by the school.
A system that, as a parent, you had no power to change.
She headed home, wrapped up against the cold. When she got back, she felt as rudderless as ever.
Nancy took her coffee up to her room and stepped out onto the balcony. She took a few deep breaths, trying to work out what to do. But she had no answers. She realized she was just waiting to see what happened next.
As she gazed out across the grey water, she noticed with a shock that she could no longer see the chimney pots. And the church spire was almost swallowed up by the rising water. She’d become so used to seeing them and now they’d vanished beneath the reservoir.
She gulped for breath without really knowing why.