Fab, now one of the days she most looked forward to throughout the year had just become something to dread. She groaned as she lowered her chin into her hands.
Chapter Twelve
‘What do you mean he hasn’t spoken to you since it happened?’ Sophie folded up the last of the raffle tickets and threw them in the large bucket on the stall.
‘Just that, he stormed out of his house, told the bloke having a go at me in no uncertain terms to leave me alone, and then stormed right back into his house, shutting the door firmly behind him.’ Gemma straightened a board game. She had been certain he was going to pull her to one side and have a word with her this morning when she’d arrived at the school for the Spring fete, but nothing. He had barely shown his face, other than lapping the playground where stalls and games were set up, inspecting the bouncy castle on the field, and then disappearing again. He’d literally not even looked her in the eye when he’d walked past their stall. He’d greeted Sophie and Florrie and bypassed her altogether. Yes, it might have been because she’d been bending down at the time behind the stall to pick things up, but that was no excuse.
‘Yeah, you kind of were hiding from him when he walked by, though.’ Sophie laughed as she shook the bucket, mixing up the raffle tickets.
‘I was not hiding! I was just getting prizes out of the boxes to put on the table.’ Placing her hands on her hips, Gemma stared at her friend indignantly. She hadn’t been hiding.
‘Right, okay.’ Making a small space between the mounds of prizes, Sophie placed the bucket down again.
‘I wasn’t.’ Gemma repeated herself. Why would she have? She’d done nothing wrong. ‘I just don’t get it. Why wouldn’t he have said anything to me when he’d walked right past me to go back into his cottage?’
‘Because he’d been the one to come out to rescue you. Don’t you think it should have been you doing the talking?’ Sophie rolled her eyes. ‘Thanking him, perhaps.’
Frowning, Gemma bit down on her thumbnail. Should she have thanked him? Is that what he’d expected of her? No, it hadn’t been. He’d not even given her time to thank him if she’d wanted to. The speed at which he’d walked past her and Alfie, she’d have been shocked if she’d had the time to utter one syllable. ‘He didn’t come to my rescue. I didn’t need rescuing.’
‘And there you have it.’ Sophie flung her hand in her direction.
‘Have what? What do you mean?’
‘Your attitude. You don’t ask for help from anyone, and you don’t accept it graciously either. And knowing you, he’d have been able to sense that a mile off. No wonder the poor bloke legged it past you. He was probably worried you’d have a go at him for daring to stick up for you.’ Sophie sighed.
‘Says you, the queen of refusing help.’ Gemma raised her eyebrows. Sophie wasn’t right. No chance. In fact, if any of their friendship group had a problem with asking for help, it would be Soph. Heck, she hadn’t even asked to borrow money to get new trainers for herself when she’d lost her previous job. She’d been walking around with her feet covered in food bags inside her trainers to stop the rainwater getting through the holes forweeks. Gemma had only found out when she’d seen Sophie’s trainers waiting by the bin after she’d replaced them with money she’d got for her birthday.
‘I ask for help. My parents and my brother are always helping out with babysitting.’ Sophie crossed her arms.
‘If it’s something for Florrie, you ask for help. If it’s something you need, you’d rather scratch your eyeballs out.’ Gemma bundled her hair up into a messy bun.
Flaring her nostrils, Sophie shrugged. ‘Fine, we’re both rubbish at asking for or accepting help, but that does probably explain why Mr Higgs is too terrified to speak to you.’
Gemma shook her head. Jonathan wasn’t terrified of her. He wasn’t terrified of anyone. You only had to watch the way he sauntered around the school to see that. He’d only just arrived here, and already he was changing things about the way the school was run. Things which ran perfectly well and seamlessly prior to his arrival. ‘Anyway...’
‘Are you ready here?’ Gina paused in front of the raffle stall and looked over it.
‘We are. Ready when you are.’ Sophie quickly rearranged the bucket.
‘Good, good. We open in two minutes.’ Gina barked before continuing her rounds.
‘She scares you, doesn’t she?’ Sidling up to Sophie, Gemma lowered her voice.
‘Of course she does.’ Sophie laughed nervously. ‘Doesn’t she scare you?’
‘No one scares me.’ Leaning forward, Gemma straightened the sign Florrie had made to tell their visitors the price per go.
‘Liar.’ Nudging her, Sophie grinned before cupping her hands together and calling to Florrie, who had spent the last half an hour enjoying a free play on the bouncy castle along with theother children who were helping on the stalls. ‘Florrie, time to get off now.’
‘Have I won?’ Unfolding his ticket, Percy, a pupil she’d taught a few years previously, held the small rectangle of paper up.
‘135. Yes, I think you have.’ Gemma moved some of the prizes in front of her to reveal a tabletop football game with the number 135 stuck to it. ‘Wow, look what you’ve got. What a lucky ticket!’
‘That’s awesome. Thanks, Miss.’ Taking the game in his hands, Percy turned to show his friends.
Turning to her next customer, Gemma smiled. ‘How many tickets would you like?’
‘Two please, Miss Murray?’ Freddie held his hand out, his palm full of ten-pence coins.
