This one’s a poet. Therefore not simply fucktard, but fucktard who cannot pay mortgage.
‘Hello everyone, and thanks for coming,’ says the mousey voice at the podium. ‘I am Sheila Berridge, head of child protection services.’
Manon’s phone vibrates.
You don’t know that. He might be laureate-in-waiting. Anyway, I admire you for being dating daredevil. B
Manon yawns, hears the words ‘cross-sector involvement’ and ‘joined-up thinking’ waft across the room towards her.
‘We all need to be aware of the crisis in our children’s homes and how this spills out into all our sectors.’ Sheila Berridge warns of unprecedented numbers of children entering the care system as more and more families bump and skid below the poverty line. There are currently sixty-seven thousand children in care in England, she says.
Davy leans in to Manon, whispers urgently, ‘Sixty-seven thousand. That’s a city three times the size of Huntingdon.’
‘A city of children,’ says the woman at the podium, as if she and Davy are telecommunicating, ‘children with their attachments broken, the majority – seventy per cent – having experienced abuse or neglect. Once in care,’ she continues, trying to get above the shuffling and bleeping and restlessness of the room, ‘many children experience the instability of multiple short-term placements. They are more likely to go missing, making them vulnerable to harmful situations such as sexual exploitation.’
‘I see this all the time,’ Davy whispers to Manon, ‘at the youth group. I mean, they’re children.’
‘The pattern of neglect,’ says Sheila Berridge’s harried voice, ‘is getting worse. We know of gangs of men who prey on girls in care, getting them addicted to alcohol and drugs, then grooming them for sex. Paedophiles are operating in many care homes. This affects all of us, every agency in this room.’
Manon looks to the other side of her, away from Davy’s keen expression, and sees Nigel yawning. He casts her a look as if to say, ‘Boring, huh?’
‘We must be aware of how difficult these children are to help,’ says Sheila Berridge, her voice now raised and powerful, ‘and to be mindful that they must be listened to, however much they change their stories, however dangerous and unpredictable they seem. We must listen to what they tell us. We must take them very seriously indeed.’
Davy
He smiles at Davy, proffering his hand warmly. About my age, Davy thinks, bit younger maybe, so why do I feel inferior in front of Rollo Hind, whose face is friendly and open – unlike his father’s.
Inferior’s too strong, Davy thinks, sitting behind the table while Manon fiddles with the recording machine. There’s been quite a bit of preamble, along the lines of: ‘Good flight?’ and ‘Thanks for coming all this way, sir, we really appreciate it’, and ‘How was Buenos Aires?’
Suburban, he thinks, putting his finger on it. He feels suburban next to this tall, tanned chap. Perhaps it’s the hair. Davy’s just sort of sits there, on his head – it’d be pushing it to call it a ‘style’ – whereas Rollo Hind has a natty quiff, up from the parting, a bit rockabilly, a bit mod; dead sharp. Or the bright blue eyes, sparkling out from his face, a golden shimmer at the temples. Rollo Hind seems all Hollywood, while he and Manon, their complexions the colour of canteen mash, are rocking the fifteen-hour-shift look.
‘You had a text conversation with Edith on Tuesday, thirteenth of December, which was quite self-questioning, wasn’t it?’ Manon says.
Davy has read the texts, extracted by Colin from Edith’s phone, which had been conducted over WhatsApp, the free texting application.
E: Do u think of yourself as good person, Rol? I mean, do u think your goodness innate?
R: I’m definitely good, yes.
E: But don’t u think everyone thinks they r good, even if they r bad? A bad person wd prob say, ‘I’m essentially good, but there are these extenuating circumstances.’
R: Don’t know what u r on about. Btw, have you seen Natalie Portman in Black Swan yet? She’s HOT.
E: But do u think your goodness innate, or are u good because u hv been told to be good, because u r conforming to societal norms?
R: FFS, Smelly, what’s brought this on?
E: Wondering: what’s core, as in part of self, or what’s there because society demands it. Or is goodness genetic?
R: Not in our family. Praps skipped generation?
E: Don’t joke.
R: What’s up with u?
E: U r lucky, Dad never expected much from u.
R: Thanks! Low expectations = freedom. Listen, am knackered, sis. Can u have yr existential personality crisis some other time?
E: No worries. Love you, Rol.