“Miss, why’re you laughin’?”
I looked at Caleb, still smiling. “I know the lad who wrote that. He goes out with the Bronagh written on the desk. They’ve been together since they were in sixth year.”
Caleb blinked. “If he goes out with her, why did he call her fat?”
See? It wasn’t a compliment.
“He is from New York, and apparently in America if the word fat is spelled with a ‘ph’ at the start it means it’s a good big. He really likes her big arse.”
Caleb laughed, “Okay, that makes sense.”
No, it didn’t!
I shook my head and stood up from my seated position. I walked over to the desk and looked at the writing Caleb was talking about. Bronagh Murphy was written in capital letters while the rest was in lower case letters.
I’d bet my life that Bronagh carved her name into the desk over the years in school, and Nico added the rest to it when he moved here.
What a fucker.
I snickered to myself as I took out my phone, took a picture of it, and sent it to Nico and Bronagh with the caption: Vandalising school property. I’m ashamed to know both of you.
Nico instantly replied with a ton of laughing emoji faces and it made me snort.
“Why did you take a picture of it?” Caleb asked me.
“So I could send it to them. Chances are, Bronagh will kill Nico for writin’ it in the first place.”
Caleb snorted, “You’re a shit-stirrer.”
Usually, I’d scowl at a kid for using bad language, but in this instance, Caleb was spot-on.
“I know. It amuses me.”
Caleb laughed as I returned to my desk and sat down with a sigh.
“When is your baby due?” he asked.
I counted on my fingers. “Nearly ten weeks left.”
“Ah, that’ll fly in.”
I grunted, “Not when you’re the pregnant one.”
Caleb laughed but said nothing.
“So,” I began, “what did you do to get stuck here on a Friday evenin’?”
Caleb smirked. “Got caught in the girls’ dressin’ room with Charlotte Price.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Please don’t tell me you were doin’ what I think you were doin’.”
Caleb held up his hands. “The teacher who caught me didn’t see anythin’ because I pulled - I mean, I walked out before they could see any hanky-panky. You can’t get in trouble when there is no proof. I just got detention for being inside the girls room, not for shaggin’ Charlotte.”
The dirty little bastard.
“Condoms are left in the school reception for a reason, I hope you know that.”
Caleb continued to smirk. “I do.”
I shook my head.
Men were all the same.
“Are you really gonna keep me here until six, Miss?”
I looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was only twenty to six. I wanted to leave just as much as Caleb did. I caught his gaze and gave him a stern look. “If anyone asks, you didn’t walk out of this school until after six. Understood?”
Caleb stood up and saluted. “You’re brilliant, Miss.”
“I know.”
Caleb laughed as he swung his bag over his shoulder and headed for the door.
“Are you walking or do you have a parent to collect you?” I asked for my own peace of mind.
“Me da is in the car park.”
I nodded. “Okay, off you go.”
“See ya, Miss.”
I smiled then looked down at my own bag when Caleb all but ran from the room. When I no longer heard his footsteps patter down the hallway, I gathered up all of my things. I was moving at a snail's pace because I was tired. I was ready for this day to be over. When I got my things together, I hooked my bag strap over my shoulder, groaning under the weight. With a sigh, I moved away from my desk and towards the classroom door.
I looked up to where I was going and gasped when I realised I wasn’t alone. There was a man standing in the doorway of the classroom. A familiar man.
“Oh, hello.”
The man smiled. “Hello, Aideen.”
I stared at the man, and suddenly a sick feeling consumed my stomach. I recognised him as the man who I spoke to briefly in the hospital and later in the pub a few weeks ago.
What on earth was he doing here?
“Can I help you...?”
“Philip.”
Right, he already told me that before.
“Sorry, Philip.” I smiled, forcing sincerity onto my face. “Can I help you?”
He nodded his head. “Yes. You can help me a great deal, actually.”
I could?
I furrowed my eyebrows together. “Okay, what can I help you with?”
“You can sit down so we can have a little... chat?”
No.
That was the first thing my mind and gut screamed.
“I’m sorry, sir. It’s after hours and as you have no child that is under my care during school hours, you will have to set up a formal meeting.”
Philip chuckled, “Sorry, I phrased that as a question, when it should have been a demand.”
A demand?
“I beg your pardon?” I asked with a shake of my head.