‘Phoenix!’ called the woman. ‘Come and apologize!’
But Phoenix either couldn’t or didn’t want to hear her and the woman let out a semi-exasperated sigh.
‘I’m Lorna,’ she said, holding out a hand but still keeping it close to her body, a bit like a T-Rex. ‘Chair of the PTA.’
‘Nancy,’ she said, shaking Lorna’s hand. ‘Brand-new parent.’
‘Welcome to Ripton,’ said Lorna warmly. ‘Once you’re here, you’ll never leave.’
Nancy turned to her daughter. ‘This is Lara.’
‘Nice to meet you, Lara. Whose class are you in?’
‘Miss Young.’
‘Oh, you’re with Phoenix!’ said Lorna. ‘And Miss Young’s lovely. Everyone here is lovely.’
That was statistically impossible, thought Nancy, but nevertheless nice to hear. It was good to know she’d moved somewhere friendly.
‘I met her earlier in the week when I was in for a PTA catch-up. We’re really lucky to have her. She’s only young – twenty-five – but was one of the best teachers at her previous school. It was a real coup to get her – she had three other offers locally!’
Phoenix was busy kicking his football against a wall. Lorna rolled her eyes in a faux-vexed fashion. ‘Practise. That’s all he does. We’ve got our eye on Kingsgate for secondary. You know, the private school. It’s the best educational establishment for miles. Their results areincredible.’ She lay her hand briefly on Nancy’s arm and lowered her voice. ‘We’re hoping...well, I shouldn’t really say, but we’re secretly hoping he’ll get a sports scholarship. But keep it to yourself.’
Nancy gave a perplexed nod at this premature intimacy and made a mental note never to tell Lorna anything remotely confidential.
‘Anyway, let me introduce you to some of the other mums.’ Lorna coasted around. ‘Oh, there’s Erin. Erin!’
A woman dressed in expensive running gear nonchalantly walked over with a girl in tow.
‘Put me to shame, you do,’ said Lorna, looking at Erin’s outfit.
‘It’s only 10K. Sets me up before I get to my desk,’ said Erin.
‘10K! I couldn’t even run for the bus. Let me introduce you to my new friend, Nancy. Nancy, Erin used to play netball for England.’
‘Wow,’ said Nancy.
‘World Championships. 2008.’
‘Did you win?’
‘No,’ said Erin abruptly, her gaze suddenly elsewhere.
Sore subject, mouthed Lorna. ‘They were robbed,’ she said out loud, her voice loaded with sympathy. ‘Erin has also just bought the local paper, theRipton Gazette. One of the few still with a proper print run.’
The girl standing beside Erin looked at Lara. ‘Which school are you going to next year?’ she demanded.
Lara was taken aback. ‘I don’t know.’
‘This is Tilly,’ said Erin. ‘She’s in Year 6.’
‘How far can you swim?’ asked Tilly. ‘I can swim three kilometres. No one believes me – well, except for Rosie because my mum told her it was true.’
God, she wasn’t backwards in coming forwards, Nancy found herself thinking. She expected Erin to rein her daughter in from the boasting, but she said nothing.
‘Oh, there’s Hannah,’ exclaimed Lorna, waving at another mum in the playground. ‘Hannah’s a farmer. She has six hundred acres, mostly sheep and arable. Her son is Jakob, he’s in the same class as ours.’
Nancy saw a woman in scruffy jeans and a long-sleeved pink striped shirt walk over. She had dark curly hair that was tied up roughly on the top of her head and the bluest eyes Nancy had ever seen.
