‘Thank you, Miss Morgan.’ Mrs Denby reached over to squeeze her daughter’s hand. ‘And thank you for… well, for everything. It’s just been…’
Clara gave her a sympathetic look. ‘One step at a time.’ She glanced between them. ‘And remember, if at any point you need a break, just come and see me. I’ll speak to Miss Ritchie and Mr Addison and let them know that if you need to leave class at any time, then that’s ok. Just let them know you’re going. We’re here for you, Isabella. And we want to make this as smooth as possible.’
All in all, the meeting went pretty well. After Clara showed them out, she checked Adele’s office. But her door was shut, and the meeting sign was up. This was another problem. It was all very well saying you needed to talk about something, but the times never married with when people were free.
At break, she caught Polly, and they chatted about Isabella. But Sam wasn’t in the staffroom, and neither was Isaac. That wasn’t unheard of, especially for Isaac. He quite often avoidedthe staffroom, but something made her think that today it had more to do with troublesome pupils than anything else.
Kerr was there, sitting with his long legs stretched out in front of him. He leaned back and raised his hands behind his head, showing off a broad chest beneath his sharp white shirt. Clara held her breath. Would there ever be a time she didn’t find him hot as hell? He tilted his head, bringing him closer to Eddie, and said something to him. Eddie rolled his eyes but grinned into his tea. Clara headed over and took the seat next to Kerr.
‘Hello,’ he said, clapping his hands on his knees. A powerful scent caught her off-guard. It was Kerr’s version of the Lynx effect. It embodied him somehow, so strong, raw, and yet with a sweetness. She’d sat close to him before and noticed it often, but today it didn’t hit her where it usually did. Not when it was accompanied by images of his beautiful girlfriend waking up next to him with that scent all over her.
‘Are you alright?’ Eddie asked her.
‘Um… Yeah. Just the inspection, you know?’ Clara swallowed and laid her coffee cup on the low table in the middle of the room. That was certainly a good excuse if nothing else.
‘Don’t,’ Kerr muttered. ‘I’m in denial.’
‘I hear you’ve been having some problems with Max Lyndell,’ Clara went on. ‘Did something happen before half term?’
‘Ugh.’ Kerr’s smile dropped, and he ran his fingers around his stubbly jaw. ‘I don’t think I’ve come across such a disruptive pain in the arse. And you know what? Normally, I let the low-level shit wash over me. It doesn’t bother me. I remember being like that myself not so long ago, but Max is something else. He’s borderline psycho.’
‘I’m trying to build a picture of what’s happening with him. Does he have any noticeable triggers?’
Kerr shook his head. ‘His trigger in that corridor before half term seemed to be me talking. I was at the door of Lissa’s room,waiting to speak to her, and having a conversation with some pupils, and literally every time I opened my mouth, Max would hit me with smart-arsed comebacks until they got so rude that I took his head off. I hate losing it like that, but he just pressed all my buttons – he was worse than the interrupting sheep.’
Clara patted his arm just under his rolled-up sleeve, wishing the second her hand touched his skin that she hadn’t. She moved it very quickly. ‘Don’t worry, it happens to everyone. I need to find Adele, but actually…’ She looked up at the clock. ‘I might see if I can catch Sam first. I need to tell him about Isabella.’
‘Ah.’ Eddie leaned forward to look past Kerr. ‘Is she coming back?’
‘Yes, but not to every class at once. She’s starting with two and building up from there.’
‘I’m glad she’s coming back. Such a sad thing to happen.’
‘It really is.’ Clara got to her feet and went to rinse her mug. As she left the staffroom, the bell rang, which didn’t really give her much time to talk to Sam, but it would only take a couple of minutes. She made her way up the stairs, mingling with the pupils on their way to class.
A few of them said hello, and a boy held the door for her at the top of the stairs. ‘Oh, thank you so much. Such lovely manners.’ She smiled as she passed him and went into the corridor. Isaac was just inside his class talking to a pupil, and she gave him a little wink as she headed next door to Sam’s room. He was standing just outside his doorway, with his back to her, and a group of pupils around him. They were third years but looked very short next to him. Clara thought he must be around six foot, though she wasn’t sure. Kerr was probably the tallest teacher in the school – or maybe Gil the headteacher, but Sam couldn’t be far off. He had on his usual black blazer, which made his shoulders look wide and strong. She approached from behind;his low voice sounded as calm as ever, even though the pupils were clamouring around him about something.
‘There’s always a way,’ he said. ‘But whichever way you choose, it’ll mean compromise, and I mean actual compromise, not just one of you deciding your way is right and completely dismissing the other. When you’ve finished working on the book report, you can spend some time doing that. We’ll have a little look at compromise and collaboration first.’
One of the pupils had spotted Clara behind Sam and was looking at her, then him, as if trying to draw his attention to her.
‘Mr Addison,’ the pupil said, pointing her head Clara’s way.
‘Oh, hello.’ Sam looked around and smiled. ‘Is everything ok?’
‘I just wondered if you had a couple of minutes to chat about Isabella Denby, but you seem busy already.’
‘It’s ok.’ He looked at the pupils who were at the door. ‘Go in just now and we’ll talk more in a moment.’ He waited until they were in before turning to Clara. ‘They’re doing a project and it’s really good, but there are some issues about all of them wanting their own way. Half the class still hasn’t arrived yet though, so tell me.’
‘Well, I had Isabella and her mum in this morning, and they’ve decided that she’s going to come in for a couple of classes this week to start her off and we’ll build up from there.’
‘Ok. Sounds sensible.’
‘She picked your class as one of them.’ Clara patted his arm and smiled. ‘Because she says you’re always so nice.’
He smiled and glanced at his feet, his cheeks going slightly pink just above the line of his neatly trimmed beard. ‘That’s very kind of her.’
‘She wanted me to check with you – and Polly, her other choice – that you were ok with that.’
