‘Eek, eek, eek.’
It took all of Pippa’s self-control not to fetch her phone and take a photo. Kam looked up and caught her eye and started to giggle.
‘National curriculum, they said, early years learning goals, safeguarding, but no one ever mentioned rogue rodents. I haven’t had any training for this.’
Pippa giggled back. ‘It’s on the job. Right, let’s not be quite as gentle. You stop your eeking for a minute, as charming as it is.’
‘I couldn’t let you be the only one who has a special bond with animals,’ he referenced their first meeting in the car park and she couldn’t help but grin. He really was too cute for words. She knew you weren’t supposed to be attracted to your boss, but she defied anyone not to fall a little bit in love with this man trying his damnedest to coax out the badly behaved school pet.
‘It does seem to be a theme in my life at the moment.’
Kam looked at her quizzically but she decided not to expand. It felt more than a little bit wrong even thinking the word ‘taxidermy’ in the current situation.
‘If I stop “eeking” as you call it, then what is your plan, hmm?’
‘I’ll clap my hands this side and scare him out. We can move that big block there and that one there and funnel him towards you.’
‘Brilliant plan. You’ve obviously had practice at this. What if he has a heart attack? He’s already had a scary kind of day.’
‘Did you just swear Mr Choudhury?’ shouted Ellie from the carpet, ‘My daddy says swearing is not okay, doesn’t he, Sam?’
‘Yup.’
‘Although, my friend Angelina says that daddies talk nonsense.’
‘Thank you, Ellie. I don’t think Mr Choudhury did swear,’ Pippa jumped in.
‘My daddy also says you shouldn’t fib, not even little ones.’
‘Okay, Ellie, just give us a minute more so we can catch Squeaksy and then we’ll be back with you. You’re all being very helpful,’ Kam addressed the children on the carpet, presumably aware that this may not be his finest teaching moment.
Pippa knelt down the other side of the cabinet and clapped at ground level, running her hands from one side of the cabinet to the other as she did so. Sure enough, Sir Squeaks-a-lot – clearly in fine cardiac health – nipped out the other side straight into Kam’s trap and into his hands. He cupped them around the little thing and raised them into the air, holding the hamster firmly and looking very Lion King.
The whole class cheered as Kam held him aloft and Pippa ran around the side of the cupboard, so caught up in the moment, so proud of their teamwork that she forgot where they were and threw her arms around Kam, heard a whooping noise come out of her mouth and kissed him in a celebratory fashion on his cheek. The class were all whooping and hollering alongside her, and as she planted the kiss Alfie and Harry both wolf-whistled.
Pippa immediately jumped back, but not before Kam had blushed to the tips of his hair and Rosy Winter had opened the classroom door.
Oh my goodness! What a day!
Don’t. I haven’t stopped laughing all evening. Lottie is worried that I’ve finally crossed the line into hysteria.
Crossed? Surely that happened years ago!
Cheeky.
Do you think I’ll have a job to return to on Monday?
Nah, you’ll be out on your ear now! I’m joking, you’ll be fine. Anyway, it was my fault.
True.
Ooh, unless Harmony kicks off about Sir Squeaks, then we’ll both be desperately begging for jobs elsewhere just to escape her.
I’ll start looking tomorrow ;-)
Chapter Thirteen
Kam had been mortified when Rosy had walked in on him and Pippa in what could easily have been mistaken for a lover’s embrace. The headteacher had said nothing at the time but had called him in for a chat at the start of his second week to discuss how everything had been going. This was his worst fear, that he would be cast out on his ear just as he was trying to build a career in Cornwall. His whole plan rested on getting a job here; if he messed up his professional reputation this early on – he knew how teachers talked – then he was going to have to admit defeat and start from scratch somewhere else, andthathe really didn’t want to do. He wanted to be able to show his parents, and himself, that he had been right to take this leap, that it wasn’t an ill-measured gamble.
