‘Yes, Miss Murray,’ Lucy deadpanned before laughing and taking the milk from the fridge. ‘He really has upset you, hasn’t he?’
Pouring the water from the kettle, Gemma stirred with a little more vigour than necessary. ‘He’s not upset me, just annoyed the hell out of me.’
‘How? Why?’ After topping the mugs up with milk, Lucy picked one up.
‘Let’s go and sit down, and I’ll tell you all about it.’ Picking up her mug, she led the way through to the small living room and sat down, curling her feet up under her and wrapping her hands around the mug, the heat of the ceramic a welcome distraction to her thoughts. As she reported the recent events to Lucy, she felt herself relax as Lucy commented and questioned her. ‘And that’s where my life is at. I literally can’t escape him.’
Placing her mug down on the coffee table, which sat on the cream rug in front of the sofa, Lucy began to laugh.
‘Why are you laughing? What’s funny about having a nightmare boss who lives next to you?’ Frowning, Gemma watched as Lucy wiped tears from her cheeks.
‘I’m so so sorry. I just...’ Leaning forward, Lucy began to laugh again, deep guffaws from the pit of her stomach, the kind which were contagious.
Shaking her head, Gemma began to join in. Was it funny? Feeling as though she was on probation both at work as a teacher and at home as a neighbour? But what else could she do? She either buried her head in a cushion and cried, or she saw the ridiculousness in the situation as Lucy seemed to have and laugh. After what felt as though half an hour had passed, she gulped a lungful of air and pointed towards the wall. ‘Shh, he’ll likely bang on the wall if we don’t stop.’
‘Has he? Has he seriously banged on the wall?’ Lucy wiped her eyes again, the laughter subsiding.
‘No, but he probably will.’ Gemma took a sip of her hot chocolate and leaned her back against the sofa cushions. ‘Heck, I think I might have to leave my job and move.’
‘Don’t you dare.’ Lucy rolled her eyes at her. ‘We’ve only just got Hannah back. I won’t allow you to go and disrupt our friendship group again.’
Gemma grinned. Even though the last thing she’d wanted was to go out down the pub, she was glad Lucy had popped by. She’d needed this. She’d needed the laughter she’d brought with her. ‘I won’t, but that does only leave one option.’
‘Pitchforks at the ready?’ Lucy went to stand.
‘Haha, no. It means you’ll have to come round and cheer me up every evening. I don’t think I can get through another day of Mr Sunshine, both at work and at home, without you making me laugh again.’
‘Well, I’m pleased I’m appreciated.’ Lucy downed the rest of her drink and stood up for real this time. ‘Though I’m going tohave to head home now. I’ve got to sort resources out for guides tomorrow, and I won’t have another chance because of work.’
‘Okay, thanks for coming, though. Honestly, I really needed this.’ Leaning forward, she placed her mug on the coffee table before standing up and following Lucy out into the hallway.
‘You’re more than welcome. Give me a shout if you need me.’ Lucy slipped her shoes and coat on before turning to her and holding her arms out.
Sinking into Lucy’s embrace, Gemma grinned. Whatever was going on at the school or even with Jonathan next door, she had her friends, and there was no chance she would allow anyone to run her out of the village or away from the job she loved. ‘I will. Thanks for listening to me complaining.’
‘It’s not complaining, and you have nothing to thank me for. The number of times I’ve cried or ranted at you, Soph and Hannah, you still have another hundred hours of moaning to catch me up.’ Stepping back, Lucy looked down at Alfie, who was sitting on the doormat beside Gemma, and waved at him. ‘See you later, troublemaker.’
Smiling, Gemma opened the door and scooped Alfie into her arms before watching Lucy disappear from view. She glanced quickly in the direction of Jonathan’s door, relieved he hadn’t taken this moment to come storming out and have another go at her. Closing the door behind her, Gemma lowered Alfie to the floor. ‘Right, little one. We’re sleeping in the living room tonight, so I’m going to grab my duvet and pillow. You stay there because the last thing I need right now is to end up tripping over you down the stairs.’
As if understanding her. Alfie sauntered back into the living room.
After taking the stairs two at a time, Gemma grabbed her duvet from her bed, bundling it in her arms before stacking a pillow on top. Sleeping on the sofa might not bode to be the mostcomfortable night, but if she could avoid another 5 am wake-up call from Mr Sunshine next door, then it’d be worth it.
Chapter Ten
As she approached the school entrance, Gemma picked up her speed and pulled her fob from her coat pocket, ready to let herself in. Jonathan’s car had still been parked outside his cottage when she’d left, but she tended to walk to school unless she had a stack of books to mark or resources to take in, so he may well have done the same, and one thing she was sure of was that she didn’t want to run into him.
Reaching the glass door into the school foyer, she paused and looked towards the headteacher’s office as she pocketed her fob again. There was no sign of him. In fact, there was no sign of anyone. Joanne, the school secretary, wasn’t even at her desk, which could only mean two things: she was either grabbing a coffee or was in the office with Jonathan. She winced. She didn’t envy poor Joanne having to work so closely with their new headteacher.
Gemma walked down the long corridor towards Early Years. The rain had subsided sometime last night, and it was actually sunny outside. Perfect. The kids would get out to play for definite today, and she might even mix a few lessons up and take them out for a phonics treasure hunt first thing, just in case the weather changed.
Pulling the door open to the large shared area, Gemma could hear music blaring from Annie’s classroom. Alanis Morrisette, one of Gemma’s favourite artists too. Just as she turned to go into her own classroom, Annie peered out from her doorway and grinned.
‘Morning, Gem. Looking forward to another bright and beautiful day?’
Gemma grinned. As much as Annie was the school gossip, she was also the one to cheer everyone up. ‘Morning. Let’s hope so.’
‘I’m sure it will be.’ Annie popped back into her classroom, and the volume of the music was turned down before she walked out again and headed towards Gemma. ‘Dare I ask how last night went with the dog and the headteacher?’
