She arrived in to find Marisha wearing athleisure bottoms and a hoodie by some upmarket brand, with not a knicker line or a bulging zip in sight. She took centre stage at the top of the class and raised her arms like an evangelical preacher.
‘Now, boys and girls, as you all know, there’s only six weeks until the summer holidays.’
A big cheer rocked the classroom.
‘I know, I know, we’re all looking forward to it. But wouldn’t it be great if we had somethingfantasticto show your mummies and daddies?’
There was another cheer. This was way more user-friendly than Marisha’s usual no-nonsense tone.
‘So, you know what we’re going to do? Aplay. Won’t that be great fun?’
Cassie was shocked, then furious. Marisha knew exactly what she was doing, she knew Cassie’s background. Was that how Marisha was planning to punish her? By completely sidelining her?
‘And Cassie, who we all know used to be an actress, will assist. It’s quite a common thing, you know, children, that when people have tried to do something and maybe it hasn’t gone as well for them as they might have wished .?.?.’ Here she allowed a little aww. ‘They find themselves teaching it.’
Cassie was stunned. This was jaw-dropping, even for Marisha. Little Sophie put her hand up.
‘My mummy says she saw Cassie on TV on the ad for a deodorant.’
Suddenly, there was a clamour in the class, as the children all piled in to share, ‘So did mine.’
‘That’s quite enough. Now, children, you have to understand that doing ads is what some actors do when they can’t get proper acting parts, like in a real theatre or a television programme.’
A forest of hands shot up.
‘Or like in the movies?’
‘Exactly.’
‘LikeTransformers?’
‘OrMaleficent?’
Cassie felt the pressure building up in her chest. She couldn’t just sit and listen to this slanderous rubbish. ‘Actually,’ she projected, ‘I think you’ll find that lots of very famous people do ads. That’s how they can make a lot of money very quickly.’
This was a direct dig at Marisha and her government salary.
‘So, Cassie, are you minted, then?’
Cassie laughed kindly. ‘Unfortunately not, Rowley, but I would argue that ads can be an art form. Some of them can look as good as – or sometimes even better than – the movies.’
Marisha picked up that she was starting to lose the room.
‘All right now, boys and girls, I’ve chosen a lovely play. We’ll know all our words and when to say them and where to stand. Won’t that be great?’
The way it was presented sounded to Cassie more like the changing of the guard than a creative endeavour, but what the hell, Marisha was the one in charge.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. The children didn’t seem to notice that there was a stand-off between their two teachers, but Cassie was acutely aware of the chilly atmosphere. Marisha had a way of aiming her charm like a laser beam, so she could sparkle at the children on either side of her, while leaving Cassie out in the cold – a classic bullying technique where nobody else would even notice.
Just before the end of class, at two thirty, she made the announcement. ‘Boys and girls, listen up now, tomorrow after lunch we’ll be holding auditions for the play.’
Was it her imagination or was Marisha trying, and possibly succeeding, in nicking her identity? She was regretting more and more her unguarded openness on the first day.
* * *
Even on the screen, Josie looked visibly tired. She was now seven and a half months pregnant.
‘God, this baby weighs a ton. I think it’s going to be a sumo wrestler.’
