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Surprised at her response, Sophie said, ‘It’s OK. You’re not in trouble. We just need to know what happened.’ It wasn’t strictly true; Cassie probably was in a bit of trouble. But the other girl, Lily, was known for being a bit of a rascal and Sophie knew that, despite her having joined the school late, Cassie wasn’t normally like that. Although, now she came to think of it, she had been a little more troublesome over the past few weeks.
‘Lily stole my pen.’ Her voice was monotone, and she continued to avoid making eye contact.
‘Thank you for telling me. Why didn’t you tell me about it sooner instead of confronting Lily outside like that?’
‘She always takes my things.’ Cassie shrugged, and her face remained unemotional. She had a slightly downturned mouth, which made her look sullen.
Sophie kept quiet. She hoped Cassie would continue and tell her more about what had happened. She felt a little sorry for her, but without Cassie opening up it would be hard for her to support her and fight her corner.
Cassie sighed and shifted in her seat, letting out a long breath. ‘She was waving it around saying it was for babies.’ A tear formed in the corner of one of Cassie’s eyes. She wiped it away quickly with the sleeve of her jumper, and her hair fell back in front of her face.
‘That’s not very nice, is it?’ Sophie said. She brushed Cassie’s hair away again and took another antibacterial wipe to her face.
Cassie shook her head. ‘No. It is a bit of a silly pen,’ she added, relenting. ‘It’s all pink and sparkly and has Lupin Turtle on top.’ Cassie paused to wipe her nose with her sleeve. She let out a big snort and shuddered, holding back her tears.
‘I still love Lupin Turtle, even though I’m a grown-up,’ Sophie said conspiratorially. She went over to the bin to dispose of the used wipes and settled back down into her seat opposite Cassie. ‘Why did you fight with Lily, Cassie?’ Sophie sensed she had broken down a wall and wanted to exploit it while she had the chance.
‘Mum gave me that pen.’
Sophie felt the barrier return almost instantly. ‘I see.’
‘Before she … left.’
‘Ah.’ Sophie couldn’t find the words, and she let the silence stretch for a moment longer. ‘So, it’s precious to you, then?’
Cassie nodded and rolled her eyes. Quite rightly. What a stupid thing to say.
‘But you know, fighting isn’t the way to solve all of your problems,’ Sophie said. She hated this part. The part where she had to explain that fighting was wrong and that she should have spoken to an adult about what had happened. Let’s face it, Lily had been horrible to her and if they’d been grown-ups, Sophie would have wanted to punch her in the face too.
‘But Lily started it,’ Cassie said, sitting up in her seat. ‘I always get the blame for everything,’ she added, slumping back down so that she faced away from Sophie.
Sophie’s jaw set for a moment and then she softened, remembering how hard it was to be a child these days. ‘I know, sweetheart. Sometimes it’s hard to do the right thing when you’re angry.’ She pulled a plaster out of its wrapper and put it over the cut on Cassie’s face. ‘There you go.’
‘Thanks.’ Her arms remained folded, and she turned again in her chair.
‘You know I’m going to have to call your grandma, don’t you?’
‘Really? Do you have to?’ She dropped her head, eyes closed.
‘Yes. I do. She’ll want to know what’s happened to you today.’
‘You mean you want to tell her so she can tell me off,’ Cassie said, lifting her head to glare at Sophie.
‘It’s not like that, Cassie.’ Sophie kept her voice calm, but Cassie’s surliness was causing her blood pressure to rise.
Cassie made no reply, only folding her arms even tighter. If that was possible.
‘Why don’t you spend the rest of lunchtime over in the book corner? You can calm down and stay out of the cold. And you’ll be all ready for your lesson this afternoon then,’ Sophie said, changing tactic. She’d smother her with kindness if that’s what it took to get her to open up.
Cassie nodded and sloped over to the book corner, settling down on the beanbag to read.
When she was sure Cassie had settled, Sophie left her in the classroom and headed over to the office to call Cassie’s grandma.
‘Everything OK?’ Kate asked, following Sophie down the corridor to the office.
‘Yes, I think so. It seems this whole thing was over a pen.’
‘Lily said the same. Do you want me to phone her parents and you do Cassie?’ Kate asked.
