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She shouldered her bag, but before she had a chance to move towards them, Darcey-Mae’s mother rushed forwards from the playground to greet the pair. She didn’t seem to spot Amy in the shade of the Jubilee Tree but Oliver’s dad did, and he caught Amy’s eye and grinned as Mrs. Fenton swept Oliver into the midst of the concerned P.T.A. parents.
Amy looked down at the ground. He clearly didn’t know her; he wouldn’t be smiling at her if he knew who she was — or rather, who her son was.
‘Look, here he is! Poor little darling. He’s suffered so much. Oliver! Oliver, how are you? How is he, Mr. Sutherland?’ Soon they were all out of sight behind the fence and she sat back down again. Her hands were trembling. Perhaps in the end it was for the best that she hadn’t started a row with the P.T.A. It was the last day of term so there would be no schoolyard politics for six whole weeks, and everyone would have forgotten what Harry had done by the new school year.
‘He’s fine, nothing to worry about. Just got a bit upset again, didn’t you, Olly?’
Oliver didn’t get a chance to reply, because Mrs. Fenton answered for him. ‘And of course he’s upset! Who wouldn’t be! Forced into a cupboard by that bully and locked in there in the dark, all alone!’
‘That isn’t what —’
‘Ahhhh, he’s been crying. Brave little soul! Let me see, I’ve got some sweets here. Would you like one, Oliver? There, that’s better, isn’t it? You can come around and play with Darcey-Mae after school if you like, that’ll cheer you up, won’t it? She’s Oliver’s girlfriend, you know, it’s so sweet! Playground sweethearts, that’s what they are.’ There were murmurs of appreciation from the gathered parents. ‘I could make you some pizza for tea, Oliver, that’s your favourite, isn’t it?’
‘Thank you, but we’ve got other plans,’ Mr. Sutherland said. ‘We’re going on holiday tomorrow morning, so we need to get the van ready.’
‘A holiday! How lovely, you’ll be able to get away from it all.’
That was exactly what Amy was thinking. She and Harry were going on holiday themselves in a couple of days, setting off on Monday after Harry had spent his regular weekend with his dad. No more getting up at six-thirty every morning, no more hiding from the other parents in the school garden, no more ‘little words’ from the headteacher after class every day … bliss!
The school bell rang, and excited children streamed out of the classroom waving overflowing schoolbags and end-of-term reward certificates at their parents, who rushed forward to meet them.
‘I got a gold certificate for being the shining star of the year!’ Darcey-Mae Fenton shrieked. ‘And an attendance award, and a class helper one too!’
Darcey-Mae and her mum were instantly recognisable as mother and daughter, with the same long, straight blonde hair and nasal voice. It was no uniform day and they were even dressed in matching pink shirts.
‘Of course you did, because you’re Mummy’s little shining star!’ Mrs. Fenton hugged her daughter.
Harry came out last of all, head down, clutching a battered certificate and followed closely by the headteacher, Ms. Lewandowska, who hovered behind him, as if trying to make sure he didn’t do anything untoward.
‘There you are!’ Amy moved towards the cloakroom door, now the P.T.A. parents were too occupied with their own offspring to notice her.
‘Hi, Mam. I got a certificate for tidying up the art things.’
‘Well, that’s great, Harry!’
Ms. Lewandowska hadn’t said anything yet so maybe it was going to be okay, and she wasn’t going to want to talk about Harry’s behaviour after all. Amy took Harry’s school bag from him, as well as a carrier bag which, she was relieved to see, contained Harry’s missing PE shoes and at least one of the school jumpers he’d lost earlier in the term. ‘Come on then, let’s go home and —’
‘If we could have a little word about Harry, Ms. Harris?’ Ms. Lewandowska gestured towards the main entrance. ‘Perhaps you’d like to come round to the front door. We can go into my office that way.’
