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15
Charlotte
There was a lot of catching up to do at school, but at least it felt good to be back doing what she knew best. The kids had missed her, and to her surprise, had made her a condolences card. While some of the messages perhaps meant better than they sounded—‘don’t worry, Miss, you’re way too young to die too’, ‘my grandma smells, so you can air the house out now’, ‘if she left you any money, how about a class trip to Alton Towers?’—the simple act of it sent her into floods of tears, to the point where she had to send little Katie Lincoln off to Amy Clairmont’s class next door in search of tissues.
There was also a card from the other teachers and a large bouquet of flowers. Charlotte felt compelled to say something at the lunchtime meeting, but only managed to burst into tears again. With Jennifer patting her on the shoulder and Amy holding another box of tissues ready, she told them how she was thankful for their support and that she hoped everyone would have a good Christmas.
Then it was back to playing catch-up with her class’s Christmas preparations. December might be well underway, but she promised the kids would get to do what every kid dreamed of with their Advent calendars: open more than one day at a time. To whoops and cheers she announced that if they didn’t finish preparing until Friday, they would have to open the first four days all in one go. A true luxury.
In the last lesson of the day, they set up the tree in the corner, then put an elf on a shelf in the room, one which Charlotte would move each evening before going home for the kids to hunt for the next morning. The kids, of course, were banned from touching it, after one boy from her class last year dropped it down the toilet.
As the kids filed out at the end of her first day back, Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief that she had simply been able to survive. So much had changed since her last day yet so much was also the same: old Mr. Wilson still couldn’t smile, Becky still kept pulling Katie’s hair, Reggie kept running up to Bennie every time he wanted to fart, and Billy Toad had a fresh hole in the sole of his shoe.
After tidying up the scattered chairs and picking up any dropped stationery before the cleaners came through and hoovered everything up, she headed back to her desk in the staffroom. There was a note on her desk from Maud to call Lisa Cole at Brentwell Children’s Home, so she grabbed a coffee then called back. Lisa answered on the second ring.
‘Hello, this is Charlotte Harding from Brentwell Primary. Is that Mrs. Cole?’
‘Oh, hello. Please just call me Lisa. You called me a couple of weeks ago about doing some volunteering at the children’s home.’
Charlotte clicked her fingers. ‘Oh, that’s right, I did. Wow, I completely forgot. I’m afraid my grandmother just died last week. It completely threw me.’
‘I’m so sorry to hear that. If this isn’t a good time, I’d be happy to speak to you again on a different day, or if you’ve got too much on your plate—’
Charlotte grinned. ‘It’s Christmas. There’s no such thing as too much on your plate, not at this time of the year, is there?’
‘Well, I suppose not.’
‘I’d love to volunteer. A couple of things, though. My grandmother had a dog which I’m solely responsible for. I’m trying to figure out someone to pet-sit him from time to time, but I’d be keen to bring him with me, if that’s all right.’
‘Oh, sure. As long as he’s not something big and scary.’
‘He’s a springer spaniel.’
‘Oh, like that dog in Lady and the Tramp?’
‘No, that’s a King Charles. He’s kind of like that, but a bit bigger.’
‘Oh, right. I’m afraid I’m more of a cat person. As long as he’s not likely to bite anyone, that would be lovely.’
‘No, he doesn’t bite. He likes to chase tennis balls.’
‘I’m sure the kids will love him.’
‘Great. When would be a good time?’
‘Well, we have a couple of other volunteers who come in tonight, just to play games with the kids. If you’re free?’
‘Ah … tonight I have something on. How about tomorrow?’
‘Great. You can meet some of the kids and generally have a look around. I understand you already know Michaella and Johnson?’
‘Yes, they’re both in my class. It will probably horrify them to see me outside of class.’
‘See the human behind the teacher mask?’
‘Something like that. Okay, then, I’ll pop over tomorrow evening. Is there anything in particular that volunteering entails?’
‘Nothing really. The kids we have here come from a variety of backgrounds. They get looked after financially by the government, but what they need more than anything is attention and love. People willing to prove to them that they’re worth something, that society doesn’t want them to fall through the cracks.’
