‘Go on…’
‘The other fella was Freddie Boyle, the so-called pig farmer. Mr Good Samaritan himself.Now, this Freddie is a very large man, and he says, “when is that fecking teacher going to make up her mind?” Except he didn’t say fecking. And Brian tells him not to worry and it’s in the bag. And then Fat Freddie gives this huge laugh, a chortle really…’
‘A chortle?’
She nodded. ‘And says they’ve got it for a fecking song, except again they used the other word. Twenty grand, said Brian, andwe’re going to make 100 times that, once the apartments are sold. So, at this point, I am rigid and pressed against the wall, not daring to breathe and praying Huan won’t wake up, ears straining.’
‘I wasn’t going to sell anyway,’ I said. ‘But it’s good to have suspicions confirmed.’
A cough and we both looked up, startled. Brian was standing at the door of my office. ‘Why don’t we have a nicechat about everything? I think you just might be tired. You’ve had a long school year. The protest must have been such a strain,’ he wheedled. ‘They’ve put some real pressure on you, haven’t they? Why don’t we take a deep breath and just have a nice little chat?’ He glared at Mary. ‘Just the two of us…’
‘One moment, Mr Crowley,’ commanded Mary, pulling herself up to her full height. ‘Will youhold on for one moment please? Ms Thomas and I are discussing something of utmost importance. And it cannot wait.’
‘What are you discussing?’ he said, suspiciously.
‘We need to discuss changing from Barry’s teabags to Lyons,’ she said, desperately. ‘It’s a big decision and very urgent.’ We looked at each other, panic in our eyes.
‘Well, if you call that urgent, then obviously you haven’t spentany time in the private sector.Thisis actually urgent. Ms Thomas? The papers? Can we get on? Let’s have a nice chat and we can get it all sorted out in a jiffy. I now you are a sensible woman. And the fairer sex aren’t normally known for seeing sense, but I am sure that you can be persuaded to do the right thing.’
‘It’s all right, Mary,’ I said, straightening up. ‘We can decide about the teabagslater.’
I followed him back into my room where he flung himself down in the chair, his giant bottom hanging over the edge of the seat. I remained standing, my hand resting on my desk to give me stability and to make sure I felt as strong as I needed to be.
‘Brian, I would like you to leave my office immediately and if you do not hand in your resignation as a member of the board by the end ofthe school day, I will begin a thorough investigation into this proposed deal.’ I was bluffing, but I kept my face straight and my voice firm. And I seemed to have hit a nail on the head.
‘What?’ He tried to laugh. ‘What are you saying?’ But then he stood up, angrily, his chair falling back. ‘You know you are the same as that lot out there.’ He jabbed his thumb in the vague direction of whereArthur, Leaf, Robbo, Nellie and my mother were. ‘I thought you were different. Married to Michael Fogarty. But that’s obviously gone to pot. Foggy and the secretary. What a cliché. Ha!’
‘Good day to you,’ I said, standing up and walking to the door and opening it where Mary had been hovering. ‘Mr Crowley?’ I held out my arm towards the door to Mary’s office. He left, reluctantly, and as he walkedpast, he pushed us with his shoulders, jostling us. We watched as he walked down the corridor to the main entrance. But then he turned and called back.
‘Fuck you Foggy!’ he snarled, his little crocodile teeth bared at us.
Mary and I looked at each other, open mouthed.
‘Oh my word,’ said Mary, shaking her head.
‘Lucky escape,’ I said. ‘Now, you have to tell me everything. But first of all,tea. Six sugars. Anything to stop the shaking. And then I have a couple of phone calls to make before the special assembly.’
*
The girls all filed into the hall. Huan, who was in a sling wrapped around her new mother, had become quite the star attraction in school, all the girls gathering around wanting to look at this baby who had lost her birth mother but had found a new one in Mary Hooley.There was excitement and chatter in the air.
On stage behind me, were Red’s drama group, one of the children in a red curly wig, the others dressed as raggedy orphans.
‘And now,’ I announced, ‘on stage, is the Star of the Sea drama group with songs and selected scenes fromAnnie!’
We all joined in with the final rousing reprise. ‘Tomorrow! Tomorrow, we love ya tomorrow!’
Red gave me a bigthumbs-up as we all sang lustily, fuelled by the thought of the long school holidays, the sunshine and golden days ahead.
‘You’re only a day away… tomorrow, tomorrow, we love ya tomorrow, you’re only a day awaaaaaaay!’
I stood in front of the school.
‘Thank you girls, for that wonderful production there. I can see we have a few budding actresses on our hands. Now, before we say goodbye forthe summer holidays I have something to say. You see, girls, sometimes life can get difficult. Things can happen in school or at home and they are not easy to deal with. But we are here, not just to teach you but to support you, to take care of you. So always come to us and tell us how you are feeling. We are on your side.’
I looked around at the faces of these lovely girls, all of them listeningintently to every word. ‘You don’t have to tell me now, but does anyone have anything they are dealing with that they are finding difficult?’
One hand crept up slowly, then another, then another… until there were twenty or so small hands in the air.
