“We?” she asks, obviously more switched-on than I am.
My mother looks at me as my daughter goes to stand by her side.
“I’ve got a job. Kind of.”
“Please, don’t tell me you’ll be teaching at the school,” my daughter groans, horrified at the idea of having to share yet more space with me.
I shake my head. “I’m going to be a coach for a team of kids.”
“So what does the school have to do with it?”
“It’s the school team, but it’s extra-curricular. They train after school.”
“I don’t understand, dear…”
“There’s a tournament coming up that’s sponsored by Intersport. It’s for all the schools in the county; a GAA tournament.”
“Oh…” my mother exclaims, surprised.
“The Abbey is taking part, and they needed a coach, so…”
“Well, that’s two lots of good news, then!” My mother: always positive.
“Did she bribe you?”
I still have no idea how she got expelled. Oh, wait, I remember: vandalism, obscenity, and all the rest.
“I wouldn’t exactly call it bribery.”
“What do you mean?” my mother asks, confused.
“We reached an agreement, that’s all.”
“Did you sell yourself out just so I could get a place?”
“I didn’t sell myself out. She asked me if I was interested in a job, and I accepted.”
“And it has nothing to do with the fact that I was waiting for a place at that school?”
“Must be a coincidence.”
“Of course, it’s definitely a coincidence,” my mother says, trying to keep everything under control. She comes towards me and kisses me on the cheek. “I’m so happy for you both.” She moves back over to Skylar and wraps her arms around her; as usual, my daughter stands there passively, her arms frozen at her sides. She lets my mother squeeze her and stroke her cheek, before turning away and leaving us alone.
“I didn’t think she was such a badass.”
“What?”
“The head teacher.”
I don’t know how to respond. I don’t know what’s going to come out of her mouth next.
“She’s really got you nailed down.”
“That’s not what happened.”
“So you’re trying to tell me that you like the idea of training kids in a shitty school, in a shitty town, in a shitty—”
“Do you really need to keep usingthatword?”
