Peer Pressure (5 page)

It never bothered Katy, the idea of being alone. In a strange sort of way she had always had more fun on her own, being in total control of what she did or was going to do. She felt there was a certain dignity to it.

The idea of
‘me time’
took on a whole new meaning when you had a child. It was work, a full time job, and the only activity that didn’t involve your offspring usually involved going to the bathroom; that or sleeping.

At least now, with school term finally underway, things would get back to normal.

Once Jodie had left for school, Katy would begin a routine that was almost second nature to her. Breakfast dishes would be slid into the dishwasher and another pot of coffee brewed. Katy would then head out into the garden to drink it, weather permitting of course. She also allowed herself her only vice, smoking two cigarettes in a row. This was probably the only thing her daughter didn’t know about her. Katy had never been a smoker, until Jodie was around the age of fourteen.

Katy sat down on her back door step and sipped from her faded ‘Best mum in the world’

mug, an old mother’s day gift. The garden was still in bloom, although the Scottish weather had not been kind to her tulips and, despite the earlier rain, the sun was finally beginning to shine. She lit her cigarette. No going back now, she thought. A deep inhale and her routine was completed. Satisfied, she stood up and walked slowly up the garden path, sipping her coffee as she went.

She would be back to work tomorrow, behind her desk taking calls from prospective first time home buyers and filling out paperwork; while playing the occasional game of solitaire on the office computer or updating her Facebook status from
‘bored’
to

‘borderline suicidal.’

She often took the first day of term off; she saw it as a little reward to herself after eight weeks of picking up after her daughter.

It was amazing just how much of her time was spent filling the washing machine or chauffeuring her daughter from whatever concert she went to with the gaggle of noisy opinionated teenagers known as her friends.

All this while still working a full five day week at the estate agents, where she daily had to fight off the unwelcome attention of her manager Ted, a greasy looking weed of a man, with a face like a doomed bollock.

They had had their two weeks together of course. Mother and daughter had taken the train to London for a few days of sightseeing, shopping and spa treatments. These days Katy would see Jodie for roughly five weeks out of fifty-two. It used to be more, but as Jodie had grown older, she and her mother inevitably saw less of each other. Katy put this down to the pressure on teenage girls to socialize, to develop skills around others (particularly the opposite sex) that would be helpful in later life, something they just didn’t teach enough of in school. If she was completely honest, Katy knew that her daughter felt a certain amount of embarrassment to be seen out with her. It was only natural. What teenager ever wants to be seen with their parent? But the small age gap between them only made things harder, especially when it came to dealing with men.

’You never told me you had a sister!’
may seem like a cheesy line, but it takes on darker connotations when it isn’t an unrealistic concept.

A cat meowed. Katy looked up to see it perched on the top of her fence. She walked slowly up and reached out her hand to stroke it. The cat purred, rubbing its head up and down her arm. The cat then jumped down into the next garden along. Katy poked her head over the fence, looking for it, only to be greeted by a woman’s face. Katy stepped back, a little startled, before giggling at herself for reacting as she did. The woman poked her head over the fence, smiling at Katy as she did.

“Sorry. Did I frighten you?”

Katy smiled and took a quick sip of her coffee, a few splashes of which were now dripping down her t-shirt.

“No, I’m sorry. I was looking at the cat.”

“Ah, the cat. Her name’s Millie. She’s curious around new people.”

The woman couldn’t have been more than forty five, with short, curly hair and kind eyes.

She extended her hand awkwardly over the fence to Katy.

“I’m Gillian. I guess you’re my new neighbor.”

Her hand shake was firm but friendly.

“Oh, you just moved in next door? I noticed the house had been sold.”

“Yes, yesterday. I’ve been left unpacking the boxes, while the men of the house go about their man-like business.”

“Right, right”, Katy nodded.

“Actually, I prefer it that way. My husband, he’d only screw it up.”

“Of course,” Katy laughed.

“And you are?”

“Sorry, of course, I’m Katy. Katy McPhee. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Don’t worry about the cat. She’s curious, but won’t do her business in your garden, I promise.”

“That’s fine.”

“My husband, on the other hand, I can’t make any promises about.” She winked and with that her head disappeared back over the fence.

Katy giggled to herself and turned, starting to walk back down the garden path towards her door, when she heard Gillian’s voice call after her.

“Katy?”

Katy turned to see her new neighbor’s face poking back over the fence.

“You don’t have time for a cup of coffee do you?”

Rob grabbed a huge, hardback dictionary from his desk and handed it to one of his new students, a scruffy looking boy with a vacant expression on his face.

“What’s your name?”

“Jon.”

“Okay Jon, here’s what we’re going to do. I want you to open that dictionary at a random page and read out the first word you see.”

Jon blinked, slightly confused by the request. Rob noticed his less than enthusiastic response and added:

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Jon replied, “It’s just...why?”

“It’s a simple exercise, Jon, don’t be afraid. It’s called ‘loosening up’. I’m new to this place and it’s a good chance for me to learn your names.” Rob paused briefly, walking back to sit on the edge of his desk, before adding: “and it’s a good time-filler, don’t you think?”

The class said nothing. Even Jodie, who knew this was added as sarcasm, didn’t dare respond. She’d made that mistake already and wasn’t about to repeat the humiliation a second time in the same class.

“That was a joke, guys, but never mind. Right, Jon, take it away.”

Jon slowly opened the dictionary, feeling its hardcover thud against the surface of his desk. It opened at page four hundred and twenty-three and Jon read out the first word he saw.

“Incessant.”

Rob nodded.

“Good. Now”, Rob pointed at a girl sitting near the back of the room, “You, what’s your name?”

“Susan.” she replied.

“Susan, do you know the definition of ‘incessant’?”

Susan thought for a moment.

“Something that doesn’t stop?”

“Not bad,” said Rob. He turned back to Jon, “Jon, would you read out the definition?”

“It’s an adjective, meaning unceasing, repeated.”

“Good. Now pass the dictionary to Susan.”

Jon closed the book and turned in his chair, handing it to Susan. She opened it, falling upon page seven hundred and seventy.

“Sarcasm.”

Rob smiled a little.

“Well, being your age, I’ll just assume that you all know the definition of that one.”

The class laughed, a sound that gave Rob’s confidence a boost.

Looking around the room, he could see an almost physical change in the way the students sat, as though everyone was relaxing into the exercise a little more.

“Right, who’s next?”

Susan handed the book forward to Jodie. Jodie, however, was focused on Rob, still smiling from his joke. It was only when Susan prodded her in the back that she snapped out of it, suddenly feeling a pang of nerves as she realized not only that it was her turn, but that Rob’s eyes were focused solely on her.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Jodie...”

“Okay, If y...”

“McPhee,” she interrupted.

“Sorry?”

Jodie panicked. Quickly, she tried to compose herself, clearing her throat and cocking her head slightly, as if she had meant all along to give her full name.

“McPhee. Jodie McPhee. That’s my name.”

Jodie’s brain recalled in horror, screaming at her,

‘Oh God. Nice one, asshole!’

Rob smiled as warm a smile as he could. He could see she was nervous, although if he was honest with himself he couldn’t work out why.

Meanwhile, all Jodie could sense was an overwhelmingly long silence while her cheeks began to burn. Rob broke the silence.

“Well, Jodie McPhee, pick a word.”

There were a few choice words running through her head at the moment; none of which were appropriate for class. She opened the dictionary and read out the first word she saw.

“Goatsucker.”

She had already read it out before she realized what had happened. Her brain, however, was right on the case.

‘You fuckwit!
Why are you doing this to us?’

The class, meanwhile, went berserk, trying to stifle their laughter, but it was to no avail.

Rob walked back to the front of the class, his back turned from his students, so as to shield the fact that he had found it just as funny as they had.

He composed himself, before turning back to face Jodie, who had slipped down in her seat a little and was currently turning maroon with embarrassment. She didn’t make eye contact with him, what had she done to deserve such bad luck this morning? She was fairly certain that no-one in the history of the world had made a worse first impression.

Rob tried to continue.

“Okay. Unusual, but it’s in there. Does anybody know the definition?”

Jon couldn’t help himself,

“I think we’re looking at it!”

Some of the class giggled, while a couple of others made inhaling noises of faux shock.

Rob rolled his eyes.

“Anyone else, that isn’t a smart-ass?”

“That rules me out,” quipped Susan, to more giggles.

Then an unfamiliar voice spoke up, from near the front of the room causing everybody, even Jodie, to look up.

“It’s a type of bird.”

The voice was male and belonged to what appeared to be a new student, who stood in the doorway, where he had been standing for the last few minutes, looking for the right moment to interrupt. Rob looked surprised and asked,

“Does it really?”

The kid nodded entering the room and closing the door.

“They’re nocturnal,” the boy continued, “Is this sixth year English?”

Rob walked over to the boy.

“Yes, it is. What’s your name?”

“Sean Lewis. Sorry I’m late, but I don’t know the place yet.”

Rob almost felt he had a kindred spirit.

“You’re not alone, Sean. Take a seat and pick a word from the dictionary.”

Sean smiled and walked to the first empty desk he could find. The scratch of a chair being pulled out told Jodie he was sitting to her left.

Jodie didn’t look at her rescuer; she was still embarrassed, but grateful that the pressure and, indeed, attention was now finally off of her and onto Sean. She didn’t notice, either, when he leaned across to her and placed his hand on the dictionary.

“May I?” he whispered. Jodie didn’t look at him, but sat back a little, letting him slide the book towards his desk. He turned it to a random page and read.

“Complacency.”

Rob slowly walked round his desk and took his seat, looking out on his now complete classroom and considering the word.

“Complacency?”

Sean read on.

“It means smugly self-satisfied or calmly content.”

Rob smiled to himself and nodded in acknowledgement. Jodie had finally plucked up the courage to look Rob in the eye, but his gaze was elsewhere. She then turned to her left, only to see Sean staring back at her. Feeling slightly uncomfortable at the unwanted attention he was giving her.

“What?” She whispered.

Sean nodded downwards. Jodie’s eyes followed, only to see that he was merely trying to hand the dictionary to her to pass on. Again, the pangs of embarrassment came back. She tried to give a polite smile, even mustering up a “sorry,” before taking the dictionary and passing it on to the boy sitting to her right.

Sean couldn’t help but look at Jodie; she looked like she was going to pass out.

“Are you all right?” he whispered.

He was genuinely concerned, but he would get no response. And for some reason this question, above all others Jodie would be asked today, was the one she didn’t have the answer for.

Lunchtime couldn’t have come quick enough for Jodie. Following the disaster of first period English, she then had to endure a grueling morning of art class, followed by two periods of geography. All the while unable to concentrate, her mind focused on one thing and one thing only.

Mr. Peer.

She couldn’t stop thinking about him. How young he was, how good looking and more importantly how confident he seemed, so much more so than your average teenage boy.

The lunch hall was full when she arrived. Scanning the room, she spotted Laura sitting at a table to the side, who gave her a warm wave.

Jodie waved back and motioned to her that she was going to join the lunch line. She grabbed a tray, still damp from being cleaned, and scanned her choices.

They were limited.

Some sort of pasta type substance drizzled in tomato sauce, row upon row of baked potatoes so shriveled and crisped as to render them almost unrecognizable and chips, endless chips. She settled on the pasta. She grabbed a bottle of water, paid and headed over to Laura’s table.

She was almost at the table when she stopped dead in her tracks, as Mr. Peer entered the canteen with the rector. She was staring for a good twenty seconds, watching as he was taken over to one of the faculty tables and was slowly introduced to various members of staff, before Laura snapped her out of it with:

“Hey! Goatsucker!”

That did the trick.

Jodie blinked back to reality and moved rapidly towards Laura’s table, sitting down beside her and smacking her across the back of the head.