It wasn’t a surprise that I ended up outside Mrs O’Neill’s room.
‘Brendan,’ she said. That voice. ‘All done?’
‘All done, Miss.’
‘How does it feel? You look very flushed or something.’
‘Do I? Must be the release of it all,’ I said, deciding not to mention the incident with Kevin. ‘I don’t know how it feels, Miss, that’s a good question. I feel a bit numb, I don’t know why, it’s not how I thought I’d be feeling. I thought today would feel, I don’t know … bigger.’
‘Well, the year you’ve just hadwasbig, wasn’t it? A year like no other. I’ve personally never known a student to have a year like it. I don’t mind telling you this now, Brendan, because it’s the last day, but you’ve been in my prayers.’
‘Thanks, Miss. I’ve been praying a bit too, but only recently, St Joseph.’
‘Patron saint of exams, good choice.’
‘And pilots.’
‘Yes, that too.’
‘Because I did pray to him for me and exams but also for Ronan, I’ve had it in my head that Ronan should be flying, not the actual in-the-air sense, but do you know what I mean?’
‘Trying to kill two birds with the one saint, Brendan? Or, well, not kill …’
‘Yeah, maybe more like …launchtwo birds with the one saint?’
‘There we go, bodes well for your English exam.’
We smiled at each other.
‘I’m proud of you, Brendan. I only prayed not because I thought you needed it but because it’s all I felt I could do.You’ve been an exceptional student and you deserve good results.’
‘Ah, I hope so, Miss, I gave it my all.’
My hand went to the inside pocket of my blazer.
‘Miss, can I give you something?’ I took out my wallet and unzipped it. ‘It’s a wee holy medal I found earlier in the year, I forgot I had it until now but it just came into my head for some reason. I haven’t got you a proper present or anything but maybe this is something you’d like?’
‘Oh, Brendan, thank you, it’s a gorgeous wee medal, where’d you get it?’
‘I found it in the car park at St Matthew’s, it’s where I was doing my driving lessons. It’s one of those holy relic ones, it’s got a saint on the back but I can’t make it out.’
‘Thank you, Brendan, it’s lovely,’ she said, flipping it over and bringing it close to her face. ‘No, I can’t see what saint that is myself. Maybe I’ll get it polished up or …’
She seemed to drift off in her thoughts as she continued to stare at the medal in the flat of her palm.
‘Or maybe I’ll just keep it the way it is,’ she said, closing her fingers around it, ‘it’s not really aboutseeing,is it? This faith business.’
She looked up at me and smiled.
The inevitable ‘goodbye’ was coming, I think we could both feel it and didn’t know how to do it.
‘You know, hardly anyone in the class has called in to see me today and here was me thinking I was their special teacher,’ she said. ‘Straight home for you, is it?’
‘Yeah, but then going to Ronan’s for a reunion and a celebration thing too, I think. I haven’t seen him this whole time.’
‘I know, short-term sacrifice for a long-term gain; friends for life, you two.’
‘We really are, Miss. Remember that day I was in here crying and you made me see it the right way with Ronan? “The same old friends but in a new way”? Well, it doesn’t feel new anymore, it’s nearly getting to the “same old friends” part now and I wouldn’t have had that if it hadn’t been for you, Miss.’
