1411: Part 25

Kristina didn’t quite remember how she got here; it had all been a bit of a blur ever since Mark had walked in. Stormed in might have been more accurate; regardless, she felt dazed, confused, and not really up to whatever was about to happen in this small room.

She was sitting in a small chair next to the Head’s large, comfortable-looking swivel chair. Across the room from her was Edward, Mark and Edward’s mother, whose name Kristina didn’t know. The Head had stepped out for a moment, leaving the four in uncomfortable silence. Mark still looked as if he might snap at any moment, though he was leaning more towards “emotional breakdown” than “jealous rage” right now, and Edward’s mother’s face was unreadable. Edward, meanwhile, stared at the floor, his cheeks flushed.

Eventually, the Head walked back in, relieving some of Kristina’s tension. She was just starting to think she ought to say something to break the silence, but had come to the conclusion that she really had nothing to say right now.

“Hello,” said the Head. “I’m Mr Thompson, the headteacher here.”

Thompson was only a year older than Rhodes, but he looked about twenty years older. While Rhodes looked like a kindly uncle coming gracefully into middle age, Thompson’s worn face and greying hair made him look more like a world-weary grandfather. Right now, he looked particularly tired. Kristina found herself wondering what he spent his days doing, since his door was usually closed and it was pretty rare the staff would see him at all; most matters of school business, be they discipline or dealing with parents, went through Rhodes rather than Thompson.

This must be serious to involve the Head, thought Kristina. She shook her head. Of course it’s serious. A man burst in to Parents Evening yelling and screaming, and collapsed on the floor in tears. What a silly thing to think, Kristina.

She felt oddly detached from this whole situation now she wasn’t the centre of attention. She almost felt like she could float right out of her body and watch the meeting unfold from outside; she wasn’t even sure what she was doing here. Although the incident in the main hall had involved her, she didn’t quite know how she could contribute to this meeting, whatever it was.

“We have a problem,” said Thompson. “There is obviously some sort of… history here.” He gesticulated in the general direction of Mark and Kristina, then continued. “I take care not to involve myself in the private lives of my staff, but when something spills over into the professional space, I cannot help but pay attention. Would anyone care to explain the situation, please?”

Silence. Kristina felt like she was a naughty child being admonished for a major misdemeanour, even though she knew she hadn’t really done anything wrong. She glanced over at Mark, who didn’t look in any fit state to talk right now.

Eventually Edward’s mother spoke up.

“There’s a bit of background we need to talk about,” she said. She looked from Edward, to Mark, to Kristina. “And then we need to figure out how we’re going to resolve this.”

Thompson nodded. No-one else said anything.

“As I’m sure you know, Mark and I are no longer together,” she began. “We tried to stay together for the sake of Edward, but it simply wasn’t working.” She sighed. “I knew that Mark wouldn’t be capable of taking care of Edward by himself, but he insisted. He insisted so much he spent more money and time than he had fighting me for legal custody of Edward. There was nothing I could do; even though I knew the situation wouldn’t be good for anyone, Mark was too stubborn to give up.”

Kristina looked over at Mark as Edward’s mother said these things. He was tapping his feet and wringing his hands, but still he said nothing.

“Edward occasionally contacted me in secret,” she continued. “He told me how Mark was neglecting him; how he was angry and frustrated; how Mark would hit him in anger; how Mark would lock him in his room when he didn’t want to deal with him. I wanted to help him, but the first legal battle against Mark had cost me almost all the money I had; I couldn’t afford to fight him again.

“But Edward kept contacting me. He wouldn’t give up. He wanted to escape so badly, and I felt so bad for not being able to help him. But I was living in a one-bedroom flat and struggling to get by, so my situation would have barely been better than what Mark could offer, though I would have at least treated him better.”

“I’m confused,” said Thompson. “If the situation at home was so bad, why didn’t this get reported to Child Protection?”

“It was an irrational fear on my part,” continued Edward’s mother. “I worried that if they took Edward away from Mark, they’d look at my living situation and deem me unfit to take care of him, either. I didn’t want him to end up with some foster family he didn’t know; that would just make his emotional problems even worse than they already are. At least in my mind. I know now that I should have done something sooner, and I regret that I didn’t.” She turned to her son. “I’m sorry, Edward.”

Thompson turned to Kristina, who was shifting uncomfortably in her chair.

“And I’m not clear how you’re involved, Miss Charles. Would you care to explain?”

“I—” Kristina began, but before she could start mumbling her way through an explanation, she was interrupted.

“It’s my fault,” said Mark with a cracked voice, sounding utterly defeated. “I… used to work with her friend. We had been flirting at work for a long time, and eventually we agreed to go out. But I had been such a mess ever since she left…” – here he gestured to his ex-partner – “…that I was having trouble dealing with… being normal.” He took a deep breath and continued. “I thought things were going well. I craved intimacy, both emotional and physical, and I thought I had found it in Maxine. But I went too far, and when she resisted, I became angry and… did some things I regret.”

Kristina was surprised he was being so open about what had happened. She had expected him to lie, cheat and become aggressive, but seemingly the simple presence of the woman he had once loved had reduced him to little more than a shell of a man. His voice was cold and emotionless; there was no sadness, no anger, no bitterness; nothing.

“Very well,” said Thompson. “Can I please ask you to wait outside for a moment? I need to speak with Miss Charles privately for a moment.”

Edward’s mother nodded, and was first to stand. She ushered Mark out of the room ahead of her. Edward trailed along, still staring at his shoes, his feet kicking the floor as he walked.

Thompson closed the door after them.

“Anything else you can tell me?” he said, standing in front of the door with his arms folded.

Kristina felt a little uncomfortable.

“Not about this situation,” she said. “I can tell you that Edward seems to have been responding well to music lessons, and has actually been doing quite well.” She hesitated a moment before continuing. “He has also been getting on well with Sian Beaumont in the music class. She’s been helping him out a lot, and they seem to have made quite a friendship out of it. Unfortunately that seems to have had a negative impact on Sian’s own friendships, as we’ve seen recently.”

“Hm,” said Thompson, stroking his chin. “Anything else?”

“No, I don’t think so,” she said. She paused. “Err,” she began. She considered whether or not now would be the right time to reveal her plan.

“Yes?” he said.

“N-no, nothing,” she said. “Would you mind if I… if I just went home now, please? It’s been a difficult day.”

“Of course,” he said. He stepped aside from the door and opened it. She passed through, not stopping to speak to Edward and his parents on the way past. She just wanted out, right now.

 

*  *  *  *

The following morning, Kristina woke up late. She could have probably made it in to school if she threw on her clothes and ran, but all motivation had left her.

She fumbled around on her bedside table for her phone, but when she pressed the button to wake it from sleep, it became apparent its battery had gone flat. Groaning, she reached down beside the bed to grab the charger cable — why did they make them so damn short? — and plug it into the phone. Then she lay back and closed her eyes for a moment, hoping she wouldn’t fall asleep.

A few minutes later, after successfully remaining awake, she grabbed her phone, which now had enough charge in it to wake up. She dialled the school’s number; she knew that, given how late it was, she’d have to actually speak to someone rather than leave an answerphone message, but it was better than leaving them high and dry.

“Hello,” she said with a cracked voice. She didn’t clear her throat to fix it; the more ill she sounded, the better. “It’s Kristina, I’m afraid I’m not very well today so I won’t be coming in.”

It was technically a lie, but she really didn’t feel like she had the energy to face school today. She tried to avoid pulling a sickie if she could possibly avoid it, but today she felt like she had earned it.

The inevitable question came. Did she have any cover work for her classes?

“I’ll email some through to Martin,” she said. She had no intention of doing so, but it was easier to say that she was going to send something. Then she hung up before there could be any more questions.

She lay back, closed her eyes and this time allowed sleep to claim her once again.

*  *  *  *

She wasn’t sure how long she’d slept when she awoke again; her mind had been bounced around by some truly peculiar dreams. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for a while, not wanting to move. All her joints ached, and she just wanted to lie still for hours.

She stared at the ceiling for a while, closed her eyes and felt herself falling asleep again. But she forced herself awake again, rolled over and pulled one leg out of bed, then the other, sitting up groggily as her feet hit the floor.

She grabbed her phone. There was a missed call from school on it, and another from a mobile number she didn’t recognise. Probably Martin asking where the cover work she promised was.

She dismissed the notifications and opened up her contact list. She scrolled through until she found the number for her local doctor’s surgery.

“Hello,” she said as the receptionist answered on the other end. “I was wondering if you had any appointments today.”

There was a pause as the receptionist checked.

“There is?” Kristina said. “Okay, I’d like to make an appointment, please. Thank you.”

This was it. There was no turning back from here, but she no longer felt any regrets or hesitation; this was the right thing to do.