‘Can you stay with me, Miss Murray?’ Trudie gripped the edge of the sick bowl.
‘Well, I...’ Gemma glanced towards the open doorway, surprised to see Jonathan still standing there, dabbing at the water on his shirt with the tissue she’d given him.
‘That’s fine, Miss Murray. You stay. I’m sure your class will be well-behaved.’ Jonathan glanced across to Trudie before disappearing into his office and coming back out with a cup of water. Kneeling down next to Gemma, he held out the cup to Trudie. ‘Try this. It’s straight from the water cooler. Hopefully that’ll soothe your tummy while you’re waiting for Mummy to come.’
Trudie took the cup, immediately guzzling half of the water. ‘Thank you, Mr Higgs.’
Placing his hands on his knees, Jonathan pushed himself to standing before turning and heading towards the door and the children and staff waiting for him in the hall.
Watching him go, Gemma felt a warmth surge through her chest. He was kind and thoughtful. He...
‘Miss Murray?’
Turning quickly to face Joanne, she gulped, hoping she hadn’t noticed her watching after their new head. ‘Sorry, I was miles away.’
Looking over her glasses at her, Joanne nodded curtly. ‘I know. Trudie’s mum is here.’
‘Right, great. Thank you.’ Jumping up, Gemma held her hand out towards Trudie. ‘Are you ready to go home?’
Slipping off the bench, Trudie gripped the sick bowl in one hand and placed the cup on the space she’d just vacated before taking Gemma’s hand. ‘What about my bag and coat?’
‘Oh, yes. Of course.’ How had she forgotten? Normally, after learning a child was going home, she’d run down to the classroom to grab their belongings, but she’d been so distracted with Jonathan, she’d clean forgotten.
‘You run down and get her things, I’ll let her mum in.’ Joanne smiled knowingly.
‘Thank you.’ Turning on her heel, Gemma picked up her pace as she headed towards her classroom. He hadn’t mentioned anything about Saturday night. He’d not even really spoken to her. He’d not said anything in reference to whatever it was that may or may not be going on between them. Or any mention of the problem with the school, but then he wouldn’t really have just begun talking about it all in front of little Trudie and Joanne, would he?
And she supposed she had been actively avoiding him. She could have popped in to see him before school had begun, or faced him when she and Lucy had been taking Alfie for a walk rather than ducking down and hiding.
But there had been nothing stopping him from seeking her out to talk to her either.
Chapter Sixteen
‘What a morning! I’ve had to send home four children with this stomach bug. Four!’ Annie placed her mug of hot coffee on the coffee table in the staff room before flopping into one of the chairs.
‘It just seems to be one thing after another at the moment. They seem to get over one bug and then catch another almost straight away.’ Gemma grimaced as she bit into her sandwich.
‘Yep. It was the same last year, though. The cold weather and having the heating on doesn’t help.’ Annie reached forward and picked up her mug. ‘I’m just hoping my own kids don’t come down with any of it. We’re going up to Scotland for the weekend to visit the in-laws. It’s their wedding anniversary, and they’ve put on this big party. It should be good fun and, boy, do I need a weekend of fun.’
Gemma picked up a paper napkin and wiped a dribble of mayonnaise from her chin. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve got room for me and a little dog, have you?’
‘Haha, my in-laws would love you! Unfortunately, the car will be completely packed out already, and unless you think Alfie will enjoy the company of four Great Danes, then it might not be as relaxing and fun as you’re expecting.’
‘Ah, fair enough.’ Gemma smiled. A weekend of avoiding Jonathan it was then. Although she still had the entire week stretching out in front of her, and who knew what could happen between then and now? One thing she was certain of, though, she’d decided to take matters into her own hands and confront him. Lucy was right, if she did have feelings towards him, which she did, then she shouldn’t let them pass, even if admitting the truth to him made her want to run out of the village and never look back.
‘I do, however...’ Annie paused and looked towards the open door as Jonathan walked in. Placing her coffee mug back on the coffee table, Annie stood up. ‘Hang on, I just need to speak to him about the bicycle shed. The catch is so dodgy someone’s going to get trapped inside one of these days if it isn’t fixed.’
‘Okay.’ Despite trying to focus on her sandwich, she couldn’t help but notice Annie wasn’t the only one who was heading towards Jonathan. Tilting her head, she tried her best to eavesdrop.
‘Will I get an answer on that training request I put in? The course starts next month.’ Adam asked as Jonathan halted to a stop, suddenly looking a little like a deer caught in the headlights as staff members surrounded him.
‘And the bike shed? I sent you an email on Friday.’ Annie questioned as though she hadn’t heard Adam.
Next to her, Lydia patted Gemma’s arm before rising from her chair. ‘If everyone else is asking, I might as well remind him that I’m still waiting for the interactive whiteboard in my room to be fixed. It hasn’t worked all term and I can’t remember the number of times I’ve mentioned it to Diane. Hopefully, a new headteacher means things will actually get actioned around here.’
Gemma gulped as she watched Jonathan trying desperately to answer everyone’s questions without actually committing to anything.
As Lydia approached him, Jonathan held his hands up, palms forward, before turning on his heels and walking away without uttering another word.
