‘Bearing up well under the circumstances.’
‘Okay, then. We will all have to keep a close eye on her. I’ve called in an extra counsellor, but can you stay close to your office during break periods and lunch so you’re available for the children? I will also hold a general assembly this morning, to let the students know where they can get support, and I’d appreciate your attendance. I’ll talk about Sophia too, of course. What a nightmare. How much could Georgia tell you about what happened?’
I try to gather my thoughts into a coherent explanation. ‘The car came out of nowhere and bowled them all over before they knew what was going on. Danny Atherton saved Georgia by lifting her clear at the last second, otherwise she might well be in a similar state to Sophia. I don’t think it’s sunk in, to be honest. Can you make sure that all Georgia’s teachers tell her she can go home at any time? She still wants to run in the school championships tomorrow too, which I am strongly against, but I don’t want to upset her any further right now.’
‘Of course, of course. I’ll talk to Mr Freeman, and I’ll try to have a word with her too.’
‘She was up half the night giving statements to the police, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she falls asleep in class.’
Chris nods. ‘I’ll try to contact Sophia’s parents again later, to see how she is and what more we might do to help. Meanwhile, if you feel any conflict of duty, then I’ll ask Mrs Wilson to step in.’
Since I job share with Lucy Wilson, it isn’t usually a problem having my own children at the school. If they needed any kind of guidance, then Lucy would take care of them. But occasionally I fear I’ve made it harder for them – and for my nieces too – by being around. Zac will always chat to me at school, but more than once I’ve noticed Georgia spot me coming towards her, only to pretend she hasn’t seen me, change direction and hurry away.
I can only hope she doesn’t do that today. I have an overwhelming urge to stay close to Georgia right now, as though she might need my protection. She might not like it, but sometimes I have to remind myself that my job isn’t to be her best friend. My priority is to keep her safe.
I am so lost in these thoughts about Georgia that I jump when Miss Hobbs, one of the administrators, knocks on the door with a pile of paperwork in her arms.
Chris is watching me. ‘Are you sure you’re okay?’
I get up quickly, nodding. ‘I’m fine, thank you.’
Miss Hobbs gives me a sympathetic glance as I go past.
I head briskly to my office to get myself sorted before assembly begins. While my workspace is the size of a cupboard, I do have a long vertical window that frames a stunning view. I can see not only the peaks of Loughrigg and the Langdale Pikes, but the northern edge of Lake Windermere is just visible beyond the woods to the south. It’s a vista I can easily get lost in while processing my thoughts, and when I don’t have a client I spend quite a lot of time staring across the valley. However, when I’m with someone I move my chair so my back is to the view, and instead I let them look out as they talk to me. While I rarely mention it, I hope it helps convey an ever-present backdrop to the problems in their lives.
Leticia Jenkins is waiting outside my door for her appointment, and she gives me a small smile as I approach. I curse the assembly, because now we’ll have to reschedule, and this girl really worries me. A few years ago I came across perhaps one girl a year with an eating disorder; now there are two or three, sometimes more. Leticia is one of the most determined girls I’ve seen, but she has channelled her single-mindedness into controlling her food consumption. While she is a competent all-rounder at school, she is excelling at this. Everything hangs loose on her. There would be no point in her wearing the bangles that are popular with many of the girls at the moment because they would fall straight off her snappable wrists. When she sits down to talk to me her knees often crack, and her face is beginning to show signs of lanugo, the downy hair that plagues the malnourished.
However, in recent weeks Leticia has begun to open up to me. Not about her anorexia, but about other things that bother her. I have been able to give her a few tools to cope with the times she feels most stressed and out of control, and I sense we are finally making progress. I have taken special care to make myself available to her as a reliable source of support. I don’t want to do anything to break this fragile web of confidence that we have woven together. It doesn’t escape me that I have managed to break through this girl’s defences but I cannot yet bring down my own child’s barricade.