“Speaking of the fire…” Mrs Temple pulled Jude back from getting lost in the past. “We’re joined this morning by members of our local emergency services, who’ve kindly agreed to speak with us about preventative measures, emergency protocols, and, most importantly, safeguarding the children in our care. Please welcome firefighter Reece Morgan, paramedic Trent Lawson, and PC Freddie Webb, who will each be giving a brief presentation. I encourage you to take notes, ask questions, and treat this as a vital part of our ongoing commitment to student welfare.”
Well, that brought Jude back to reality.
Three men crossed the hall towards the lectern, uniforms crisp, carrying a quiet authority, drawing every gaze without them trying. Jude looked up, tapping his pen on his notepad,and had a quiet reminder of why falling for easy smiles and handsome men wasn’t something that ever went his way. And how Freddie, right there, was living proof of how not ready he was.
Freddie smiled. Brief, but genuine. A nod of recognition to Jude, but nothing more. He was too caught up in his own life now. His own romance and love story that had gone exactly his way. But Jude returned it, polite, restrained. Their history barely counted. A few coffees, a handful of quiet conversations, a couple of sweet kisses and a very awkward dinner ending with Freddie’s childhood sweetheart walking back into his life and sweeping him off his feet. And in hindsight, it had been for the best. The last thing Jude needed was to get tangled up with law enforcement. Not when he’d spent so long keeping his past buried.
So he turned back to his notebook, pretending to focus as Reece launched into a well-rehearsed fire safety briefing on the different extinguishers, evacuation routes, and common staff room hazards. Jude scribbled the occasional note, though mostly out of habit. In truth, he was listening more than writing. Letting the easy cadence of Reece’s voice blur into background noise. After that, Trent knelt beside a training dummy, demonstrating CPR. Then Freddie stepped up to the lectern.
The shift in the room was immediate. Not because of Freddie himself, but because of what he represented. Police. Authority. A reminder that the reason a copper was standing in front of a hall full of teachers wasn’t routine. Conversations ebbed away. Pens stilled. Even the air seemed to quiet. Everyone knew whatever he was here to say, it needed listening to.
“I’m PC Freddie Webb, Worthbridge community policing team. Lead safeguarding liaison for the borough. Today’s focus is grooming, gang exploitation, and how those patterns are evolving, particularly with vulnerable young people.”
And there it was. The reason for the hush. The collision between the kids these teachers saw in their classrooms and the risks waiting for them the moment the bell rang and the gates opened at three o’clock.
“I know it’s a heavy topic. I also know it’s easy to assume these things won’t happen in towns like ours. That grooming gangs are something that happens elsewhere, at other schools, in other cities. But these networks are smart. They’re opportunistic. And they target the kids we least expect.”
Jude leant forward.
“Grooming doesn’t always look the way we imagine. It isn’t white vans and strangers. It’s social media DMs. Flattery. Gifts. Emotional manipulation. And increasingly, it’s peer-to-peer. Young people being used to recruit other young people.” He glanced across the room, eyes catching Jude’s again. “Teachers are on the front line of this. You’ll see the changes first. Withdrawn behaviour. Sudden money or tech. Obsession with a new ‘friend’ they won’t name. Fear around phones. Secrecy. You might not be sure what it means. But if you notice a pattern—say something.We’d much rather be called too early than too late or not at all.”
He clicked again. The screen behind him filled with local resources. Numbers. Contacts. Signs to watch for. Jude jotted them down, heart tight. Not just for the kids. But for himself. There was something about hearing those words striking a little too close to home, reinforcing the reason why he was here. Why teaching had become more than a job. Because he’d once been one of them. A vulnerable kid. Overlooked. Easy to miss.
And no one had helped him.
Well, someone had. And that’s why Jude understood firsthand how vulnerable young kids responded all too easily to flattery and empty promises.
The session wrapped for a break, and Jude left, slipping out before the usual teacher chit-chat could pull him in. He glimpsed Freddie and the others near the stage, shaking hands with Mrs Temple, and so made his escape. He needed a minute.
The staff toilets were mercifully empty, and he chose a cubicle instead of the urinal, closing the door behind him to breathe for a few beats. To calm his trembles. He flexed his hands into fists, then out again.One. Two. Three.Once stable,he stepped out, took his glasses off to splash cold water over his face, then stared at his reflection in the mirror.
Get it together.
He then wiped his glasses on the hem of his shirt, pushed them back up the bridge of his nose, squared his shoulders, bracing himself to yank open the door. And when he did, he walked straight into Freddie.
“Hey, Jude.” Freddie offered a quick smile, but it didn’t quite land, as if he’d been waiting. Or hoping not to run into him. Maybe both.
Jude tilted his head. “Most people sing that line, y’know.”
Freddie huffed out a quiet laugh, tucking his hands into the front of his stab vest. “Yeah. Not much of a singer.”
“No?” Jude gave a faint smile. “Won’t be seeing you down the Dog and Duck karaoke, then, no?”
He went to slide past, but Freddie blocked the narrow space between them.
“Jude…?”
Jude stilled. Turned. Faced him.
Freddie scratched the back of his neck. “I’ve been meaning to… call you. Pop by.”
Jude blinked behind his lenses. “Oh?”
“To see how you were doing. If you’re okay. Not seen you around this summer. At the karaoke night or, well, anywhere you used to be.”
Jude looked down at the polished floor, at the faint scuff mark near Freddie’s boot, anything but Freddie himself. The words were kind. Enough to make his chest tighten. It was easy to forget how nice Freddie could be. Even after he’d drifted. After Nathan had come back and pulled him into something intense, complicated, and real. Jude didn’t begrudge it. How could he? Nathan and Freddie had finally found their way back to each other. They had a love that never really left. Probably never would.
He knew what that was like.
