The Teacher's Secret (35 page)

And although the bloke kept on nodding, Terry saw his eyes cool and his head move back. He knew, then, that he wouldn't be getting the job; it didn't matter how good he was, it didn't even matter if there was no one else on offer.

Sid's looking at him, but what's he going to say? That he can't even get himself a job taking out the rubbish?

‘I'll keep an ear out,' Sid promises him. ‘I'll tell you if something comes up.'

Thanks
, he wants to say, but instead of the word that awful taste rises up again. He grimaces as he tries to swallow it back down. Beside him, Sid is quiet.

‘At school,' Terry says finally, his voice thick, ‘what's news? With the kids, I mean?'

Sid screws his eyes up like he's trying to get a good look at something across the water. ‘Ethan Thompson got himself in trouble last week.'

Terry raises an eyebrow. ‘What happened?'

Sid shakes his head. ‘He was having a go at the new kid.'

‘What new kid?'

‘Can't remember his name. Something posh. Benedict, Nathaniel, something like that. Foreign kid. Ethan got stuck into him, so the boss hauled young Mel and Adam into the office.'

Terry makes a clicking noise with his tongue. ‘Silly little bugger. Thing with Ethan is that he's got to learn how to control his temper; force himself to simmer down. It's always been his problem. Soon as it looks like he's going to blow up, that's when you've got to get in quick, work out what it is that's got him so upset then get him to settle. You know what I used to do with him? I'd make him count. When I'd see he was about to explode, I'd pull him aside and say,
Right, mate, before you do anything, count it down and when you get to ten, work out whether the idea's still a good one.
Oftentimes, that's all you'd need with Ethan. Because he's a good kid, really, just a bit of a hothead. Probably needed running out. Get rid of the excessive energy.'

He looks across at Sid. ‘Listen,' he says, ‘if you get a chance—don't make it a big thing—just say I told him to keep his nose clean.'

Nina

Friday afternoons are for art, and today Nina has given them the theme
Animals of the Rainforest
for inspiration. On each table she has set out an array of paints, cardboard and craft materials. At the front of the classroom are pictures of rainforest animals. Each child has to choose an animal as a basis for their own painting or collage. It's a good idea, she thinks. More than that, it's part of her plan to slowly transform the room into a fabulous rainforest scene: first, by hanging the animal creations from the ceiling, next, by covering the walls with an assortment of painted trees and vines. She might even get some cheap brown matting to cover the lino. That way, as soon as the kids walk into the room, they'll be stepping into their very own 6F magical rainforest.

But right at the moment, Elsie is demanding most of her time. The project she's chosen is an ambitious one—too ambitious, perhaps, but Nina doesn't tell her this. Instead, she sits beside her and together they trace the outline for a large toucan. It would be easy enough to cut out the toucan and paint it in bright colours,
but Elsie is set on making a collage. And so, painstakingly, they rip up yellow, red, blue and green crepe paper, then roll each tiny piece into an even smaller ball. When they have enough of each colour, Nina uses a thick paintbrush to coat the paper toucan with glue and, once she thinks Elsie can manage it alone, leaves her to cover it in paper balls.

At the back of the room, Kurt, Ethan and Cody are huddled together in a group. They have chosen gorillas as their animals and, at Nina's suggestion, are using strips of black crepe paper as fur. Kurt has elected himself the silverback of the group, so, as well as black strips, he needs a line of silver to run down the back of his gorilla. Nina doesn't have silver crepe paper, but she does have a roll of silver ribbon she lets him use. The final result is fantastic, she tells him. It's so fantastic that Cody and Ethan are at her for some silver ribbon, then, too. But because there's only ever one silverback in a group, not three, Kurt vetoes the idea. Cody and Ethan don't push it.

She's already screwed hooks in the ceiling—one for each student—and cut lengths of green ribbon to attach to the artworks so they can be looped onto a hook. That way, instead of leaving them on the desks to dry, each picture can be hung up straightaway. Sid has lent Nina his stepladder and if they stand on the top rung, all of the kids—apart from Bridie, who lets Nina do it for her—can reach high enough to loop their own ribbon onto their own hook.

When Kurt climbs up to hang his silverback, he starts to snort as though trying to swallow back a laugh. And if that's his aim, he's unsuccessful, because soon he's laughing so hard Nina worries he'll lose his footing.

Just dealing with him—day in, day out—is exhausting. ‘Enough,' she tells him, ‘that's quite enough.' She has no idea what he's finding so funny, but as they take turns to put up their own gorillas, Ethan and Cody also start to guffaw.

Only when the rest of the artworks are up does she notice. It is then she sees that, to each of the three gorillas, a large penis and scrotum have been attached. And because the oversized genitals, all three of them, have carefully been covered in strips of black crepe paper, they're not immediately obvious.

After the surprise of it, her first reaction—if she's honest—is one of admiration: that these boys, so lethargic with the rest of their work, have managed such a creative collaboration. Still, she uses her disappointed voice as she orders the three of them up to stand in front of her desk as she tries to work out what she's going to do: give them a dressing-down there and then, send them straight to Laurie or ask them to take down the gorillas and start again. In the end, she settles on an apology, neatly written and at least five sentences long.

When, later, the bell has gone and the classroom has emptied, Nina lines the stepladder up under each of the gorillas and, scissors in hand, lops off the offending parts.

Immediately, she regrets it. Because, in the end, what exactly was the problem? What exactly had they done wrong? Simply copied, more or less, what they had in front of them: a naked gorilla. And what's the issue with that? Perhaps there is none. Perhaps the problem is hers.

Don't be so stupid.
It's Steve's voice that fills her head then.
They're a bunch of idiots who spent the afternoon drawing oversized dicks. I'd be giving them a whack across the ears, not some award for creative bloody effort.

This makes her smile. For a moment, it almost makes her laugh until, once again, she remembers and, once again, there is a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Sitting down, she takes a deep breath then picks up the first of the three apologies that have been left on her desk.

It is Ethan's and it is short.

Cody's is shorter still.

By contrast, Kurt, who usually writes little, has filled the page.

The anger that radiates from the page so shocks her she finds herself on the verge of tears. Don't, she mutters, as she lets the page drop from her hands, don't, don't, don't. She's managed worse than this. Kurt is always tricky so she shouldn't take it so personally. She certainly shouldn't be crying about it. But, to her horror, she finds that she is, that she is hunched over her desk, weeping.

A knock on the door startles her upright.

‘Come in!' she calls out, trying to stop her voice from catching. As the door handle turns, she picks up the letter and tries to appear busy. When she looks up, she finds Tania Rossi at the door.

‘Tania,' she says, surprised. ‘Hi.' And as Tania starts to walk over to her, she lowers her eyes so Tania won't see that they're swollen. If the other woman notices, she says nothing. She just hands Nina a school jumper.

‘I picked this up in the playground,' she tells her. ‘Another Kurt Ward special. I thought I'd leave it with you, ready for him to lose again on Monday.'

Nina gives her a wry smile. ‘Thanks.'

Tania looks up at the animal display. ‘Nice.'

The compliment warms her. ‘You think?'

Tania nods. ‘Brightens the room up no end.'

‘We only just finished them,' Nina tells her. ‘The kids really got into it.' She doesn't mention the penises.

‘Good to have a bit of colour back—the room was looking pretty bare there for a while.'

‘Thanks,' she says cautiously. She's not sure if Tania's having a go at her or not. ‘I'm keen for the kids to connect with the space. You know, feel that it's theirs, as a class.'

Tania purses her lips tight. ‘Well, they've always been pretty connected, this group—they're a little bunch. Terry was good at that: getting them all to work together, keeping them motivated.'

Nina fixes a smile on her face. ‘Really?'

Tania nods. ‘He was a bit of a rock star. To the kids, I mean. Teachers like Terry, they don't come along every day.'

Nina tenses at the slight. ‘I thought there were problems,' she ventures.

Tania lifts an eyebrow. ‘Problems? What sort of problems?'

Nina can't tell whether she's just playing dumb. ‘You know,' she says, trying to keep it vague, ‘safety issues, protection.'

Tania stares at her. ‘What do you mean?'

Nina hesitates. ‘I'm not really sure,' she says. ‘I just heard there were some safety issues.'

Tania looks dubious. ‘Safety issues?'

When Nina shrugs, Tania shakes her head. ‘Don't know about that,' she says drily, ‘but there's one thing I can tell you: the only unsafe practice I've seen in here all year is that stepladder stuck in the middle of the room, ready for some kid to fall off and break their arm.'

Nina flushes. ‘I needed to get the kids' paintings up before the weekend.' She's sounding defensive but she doesn't care.

‘Relax,' Tania tells her. ‘I wasn't meaning to have a go at you. I know it must be hard, coming after Terry and all. I mean, they're big shoes to fill, aren't they?'

Nina blinks in astonishment. Clearly, the woman has no idea.
He's not some hero
, she wants to snap.
He's a bloody menace.

‘Especially after what happened,' Tania continues.

Nina says nothing.

‘Terry was pushed out,' Tania explains. ‘You know that, don't you? That's what happened. Laurie made it impossible for him. Gave him no choice but to get out.'

Nina can't believe what she's hearing. But before she can respond, Tania has started to leave. ‘Got to go,' she says, flashing Nina a quick smile. ‘Enjoy your weekend.'

Dumbfounded, Nina watches as Tania heads towards the door. When she reaches it, she stops. ‘By the way, have you started preparing for the show yet?'

Nina frowns at her, confused. ‘What show?'

‘The Year 6 show. The Year 6 kids put it on for the rest of the school. Like a farewell concert. It's a big thing.'

Nina feels her heart sink. ‘I didn't know.'

Tania smacks her lips together as she turns to leave. ‘Better get a move on, then.'

‘What sort of show do they do?' Nina calls after her. But Tania has already gone.

Propping her elbows on the table, Nina drops her head into her hands. Another thing. Another thing to think about. She's not sure she's got it in her.

Sid

Sid takes a look at his watch. It's well after four o'clock and with everyone gone for the day, the school is quiet. He's just got to nip up to Terry's room to grab the ladder back from the new teacher, then he'll be off as well. Not too soon, either. It's been a long week already. The truth is, he's not getting any younger, and today he feels his age. Not that he wants to admit it. Because it's not like he's ready to be put out to pasture. He's just a bit tired.

To perk himself up, he breaks into a half-run on the way to the classroom. When he reaches the hall, he starts to pick up the pace. The classroom door, that'll be the finish line, he thinks, but once he reaches the foyer, he decides to push it a bit harder by running through the door and across to Terry's desk. The new teacher has moved it over to the other side of the room, so that'll add a couple of metres and give him a longer home stretch.