Between the Prison and the Sewage Works by Maryline Suchley (snow like ashes txt) 📖

get you an early birthday present.’

After a breakfast cooked by Ángelmí, they caught the bus to Lewisham. While waiting at the station a voice shouted.

‘WHORE, PROSTITUTE, BITCH.’

‘Shit what’s that!’ asked Ángelmí clearly shocked.

‘Sounds like Levi Lambert,’ Mara replied.

‘He’s warped and he hates me, but the feeling is pretty mutual and I refuse to teach him.’

‘What kind of school is it? A school for delinquents?’

‘Pretty much,’ Mara sighed.

Predictably the West End was busy but Ángelmí said he wanted to take her to a particular jeweller where she could look for something.

‘Oh no this shop is far too expensive, I’m only your sister!’ exclaimed Mara, as they approached the shop door.

‘Don’t worry about it, anyway I need to get a watch.’

‘The watch you have there looks pretty good?’ Mara said looking at the pricey Cartier watch on his wrist.

‘Yeah, but I need something a bit dressier.’

‘Dressier!’

Mara looked at the jewellery on display through the pristine glass cabinets while Ángelmí tried on watches. There were indeed some beautiful pieces with price tags to match. She settled on a simple diamond necklace that wasn’t too expensive, as she didn’t feel comfortable picking something costly.

‘It’s very nice, why don’t get the earrings to match,’ Ángelmí suggested as he put he necklace around her neck.

‘No, no, the necklace is enough,’ she replied.

‘I’ll go and pay for everything.’

Mara continued to browse, looking at other necklaces, some of which were half her year’s wages.

‘Come on I’ll take you for a drink then we can go out for an early dinner. We won’t have a late one because my flight tomorrow is early.’

Dinner and drinks were indeed much quieter than the previous night but very enjoyable. Mara relented after being quizzed several times and told Ángelmí about James, while trying not to sound too smitten with him. To Mara’s surprise he was quite supportive and didn’t make any jokes.

Ángelmí left Sunday morning getting a cab straight from her flat to Paddington to catch the Heathrow express. Before he left he told her to think about coming out to Hong Kong to work and said that he missed her. Sitting in her flat Mara felt empty and lonely, she realised how comforting it was having company. She later found a box left on the kitchen bench. They were the matching earrings for the necklace Ángelmí had bought her. With a note saying, be yourself, choose your life, happy birthday sis. Love Ángelmí.

Since her talk with Mark, Mara had been thinking about how to find out the connection to Frank Frawley. She had gone into school early and logged onto the computer to search the school intranet system. She found nothing. She tried the internet, this time looking to see if there were any public records online listing teachers employed in Greenwich Borough; there weren’t.

This is bloody useless. Mara thought as she logged off.

Password! She said to herself. If I can get the code to Alan’s office I can get in a look at his records and search around. I’ll do what the kids do when I’m in the computer room; watch to see what password I type in. I’ll think of some excuse to see him as he’s going into his office, perhaps I can turn on the water works and he’ll ease up a bit. It’s worth a go, I need something on him if my going to pass my probationary year, I can’t face another year of teaching.

The staffroom was now filling with teachers for morning briefing. Mara searched for James but she couldn’t see him so sat down in an empty chair. Meanwhile the only surviving RE teacher was staring at the cover list on the notice board looking very annoyed.

He’s obviously got caught for cover and is not happy, smirked Mara. He then looked around the room and left before the briefing started.

That’s odd behaviour even for a teacher. Mara thought.

To Mara’s repulsion Piles came in and sat next to her frantically scratching his beard.

‘Ello,’ he leered.

‘Hello,’ Mara replied pulling her shirt collar up in reaction to his roving eyes.

‘I had a dream about you,’ he said looking her up and down.

‘Oh really, good was it!’ now trying to think of an excuse to move.

‘Yeah, I dreamt that me and you were kissing in the prep room and we started to get a bit more loving so I said I would lock the door but the other teachers were looking in cheering and......’

She immediately leapt up before he could say anything else and walked over to the kitchenette.

What a horrid disgusting creature, she thought as a chill ran up through her spine. She made a cup of tea and looked for somewhere else to sit. By now James had come in and sat down so she went over and joined him.

‘Hi James, nice weekend?’

‘Yeah and you?’

‘Yep had a couple of good nights.’

James seemed somewhat distant and he didn’t sparkle like he usually did.

Alan started the briefing forcefully.

‘Good morning, only a couple of things from me. Firstly the Police contacted me yesterday, a detective would like to come back to the school and interview a few people. I will let those people know this morning along with your interview times.’

Mara now felt a rush of blood to her face and her nose was starting to sweat. Had she caused this re interviewing?

‘Secondly, we have set up a retraining programme for those teachers that were outlined in the inspection as having serious weaknesses. These teachers will attend special classes on various days after school; again I will notify those staff involved.

That will definitely be Roger. Mara thought.

Jim read his usual instructions and Joyce dutifully scribbled them down. The bell rang for period one.

Mara learned later that morning that Daniel was absent. His lessons were being covered by other teachers including the mysterious RE teacher. Out of curiosity she nipped into the prep room to look through the adjoining door to Daniel’s classroom. The Manuelle teacher was sat in a chair reading a book while the students were colouring in a poster.

At morning break she opted to go to the staff room because she wanted to avoid Piles in case he felt the urge to tell her more intimate hallucinations. Looking in her pigeon hole she found two notes. The first message informed her that she had an interview with the detective at one thirty in her classroom. The second note was from Alan instructing her that she was in the special needs class for teachers.

WHAT! NO WAY!

Now fuelled by anger, she was determined to let Mark know everything she could think off about Alan’s activities. The time for prudence had passed.

Mark came to her room at one thirty and greeted her warming.

‘How are you doing Mara?’

‘Good.’

‘Did Ángelmí get off okay? I do worry about him.’

‘Yeah no problems, why are you worried about him?’

‘Uh, he’s having a few problems at the moment.’

‘Problems?’

‘I’m sure he’ll tell you. As you’ve guessed I didn’t forget about what you said on Friday. We’ve decided to perhaps look into it a further.’

‘You didn’t tell the headmaster what I said. Did you?’

‘No off course not! But I wanted to go through it all with you again officially in a statement, which I can take now.’

Mara told Mark everything she could think of, even about being unjustly picked on. Mara wasn’t sure if he believed her as he suggested talking to Alan and clearing things up. Mark thanked her for the information and said he would try and keep in touch.

Mara thought about what Mark had recommended and decided that this might be good advice; she would go and see Alan, speak to him about her assignment to this cabbage class and if all else fails, see if she could find the code for the door. After lunch she walked to the admin area and asked the secretary if Alan was available.

‘He’s away at a meeting, try again later,’ she replied.

Mara attempted to see Alan again after school but he still wasn’t back.

She asked one of the secretaries if she could make an appointment with him. After rummaging around her desk she said she would have to go and get his appointment book from his office.

Of course! The secretaries are going to know the combination, in case he meets with an unfortunate end! She realised, watching her open the door. She could just make out a 2599, or was it 1599. The secretary disappeared behind the door. Meanwhile one of the other secretaries was sighing and mumbling trying to send a fax.

‘Margaret this bloody fax machine is playing up again, do you wanna have look?’

‘There’s no point asking me, the thing is always chucking a spaz. The person to get it going is Doug’

‘I’ve got to get these figures to Ministry before three thirty, I’ll have to go and find another fax machine.’

‘What’s so important that it can’t wait until tomorrow?’

‘It’s the list of long term supply teachers we have had; the school gets refunded on the cost if they are covering a teacher for more than seven days, and according to these figures we’ve had quite a few; it’s all about money. If I don’t get the info to them today then there’s a two week delay and Joyce won’t be happy.’

The secretary returned from Alan’s office apologising that she took so long, saying she couldn’t find his appointment book and that he must have it with him.

‘I’ll try tomorrow,’ replied Mara, consciously running over the numbers in her head so that she wouldn’t forget.

It was Tuesday and Mara had the special needs class to look forward to after school. She felt humiliated at being put into the same teaching category as Roger. Daniel had come back from his sick day and told her he saw her in a jewellery shop trying on necklaces.

‘What else are you supposed in a jewellery shop Daniel lap dance?’ she asked him mockingly.

‘Can you lap dance?’ he grinned.

Mara was just glad he didn’t come over to see her; how could she explain this moron to her brother.

The new student teacher arrived at school keen and enthusiastic, something Mara vaguely remembered from first week of teaching college the previous year. The only enthusiasm she had for the job these days were the weekends and holidays.

He seemed to have a nervous twitch which Mara knew would immediately be picked up by the kids and cruelly used to taunt him. However he was taking a couple of her classes which freed her up.

A note arrived via child post during the day from Jim informing her that training was to be in the art room at three thirty.

Mara submissively walked to the art room for the cabbage course. She was the first one to arrive and saw James clearing away equipment.

‘Hi Mara, sorry I’m not going to be able to chat I’ve got incompetent teachers coming in here to be retrained,’ he joked.

Feeling mortified Mara told him she was one of those hopeless teachers. James looked blankly at her, apologised and left the room without finishing his tidying up.

‘Bloody great! I can’t even blame this on Alan as it was OFSTEAD inspectors who assessed me!’

Roger came into the room and Mara felt a sense of relief; imagine if he didn’t need retaining, it would mean that she was a worse teacher than him. Next came Piles, followed by the Manuelle guy, Mat and six other teachers who belonged to various other departments, all had their heads hung low as if they had been repeatedly beaten on their foreheads with a rolled up newspaper.

Roger sat next to Mara and appeared to be a little vacant but in good spirits.

Jim was the last to enter the room exposing his colossal incisors as he beamed at his subordinates.

‘Good afternoon everyone, as you all know you’ve all been chosen to participate in the retraining programme. You shouldn’t feel worried or embarrassed; it’s just another form of professional development.’

Jim spent twenty minutes talking about strategies to manage poor behaviour, to which Roger nodded obediently, frowning intensely as he