TRIGGER WARNING: Possible suicide

Thanks to Gypsy Abby for her excellent ideas which I've been pleased to include here.

Mrs Beauchamp made sure Ethan had plenty to do to keep him occupied, and she kept updating him on Cal's progress. Ethan felt so sorry for Cal when she told him about the horrible itching and feverishness.

"You won't get it, will you, Mrs Beauchamp? I don't want you being poorly like that!"

She was able to explain that it was almost only children who caught chicken pox so she'd be safe.

By the end of the second week Cal was fit to read in bed, so Mrs Beauchamp set the class a project.

"I want all of you to make a card for Cal in Ms Chao's class. She's pleased to help and she'll give you all the paints and cardboard that you need."

Ethan couldn't wait to get stuck in and was hardly able to focus his attention in maths class. (Mr Keogh had told them that they were nearly grown up now and that maths was the right word for sums.) Mr Keogh forgave him because he knew how hard Ethan was trying to be good about Cal.

"I tell you what, Ethan, you get your maths right tomorrow and I'll see if Ms Chao will let Dervla sit in her basket next week while you draw her."

"I'll be stu-pen-dus!" beamed Ethan.

The drawing class was really enjoyable to start with. One side of the boards that Ms Chao gave out for everybody to paint on was for a picture, and the other for a messge. Jeff did a wonderful picture of a kitten who was carrying a big basket of bones tied up with cellophane and ribbon to a puppy with a bandage round its head. The message was 'Get well soon my friend.'

Robyn was going to do flowers and then wondered if Cal might not like them. She decided to draw a beautiful tree with "Best wishes from Robyn and her Tree of Health" as the message.

Max drew a picture of a vet's surgery with lots of pups and kittens with various injuries, and a poor overheated penguin.

"Poor penguin" said Ms Chao.

"Well if we could do two pictures, the vet's going to bring him a big basin full of ice that he can sit in."

"And what's the message?"

"You are not alone", beamed Max.

Zoe was nearly told off by Ms Chao for drawing a man who looked very much like Mr Ashford, with his leg up in plaster in a hospital ward, and the message was "Even bad guys should get well soon."

"I thought it would make Cal laugh", she explained and Ms Chao said nothing further.

Ethan didn't do a picture but he did his nicest writing ever and made it big so it fitted the whole card. It said "Get well soon even though you're a pain in the bum."

"No job for you at Hallmark Cards then Ethan" said Ms Chao drily.

Lofty had done his best drawing ever. A boy looking just like Cal standing by a promenade with big lights shining on it, and looking out to sea. His message went "Good things will happen when you get well. Please get well soon."

Ms Chao had just told Lofty how good his drawing was when disaster struck. He reached for a water jar to rinse his paintbrush in and it tipped over, leaving his drawing a soggy mess.

Eyes wide with shame, Lofty bit back tears.

"Ah, Ben, that's bad luck. But don't worry. I'll give you another piece of card and a paintbox and you can do it again at home."

"T-thank you Ms Chao."

"I tell you what, Ben, why don't we all come over and help you finish it?" Robyn suggested.

Lofty thought of his mum and wanted to make an excuse, but then he got a little defiant. He'd been invited to Mrs Beauchamp's and she was like Cal and Ethan's mum, why shouldn't he have friends over to his house?

He picked the wrong day for it.

Julia had been irritated since lunchtime. She was almost feeling the knives in her back after a discussion with the women in her team, she had let it slip that Ben's clumsiness annoyed her.

"Julia, wake up and smell the coffee! You've got a good little kid there. Dave's been taking money from my purse-"

Lisa chipped in:

"Morris spat at me the other day!"

"If Ben did anything like that he'd be very very sorry", Julia said coldly.

"Well, appreciate him, then! Bloody hell!"

Now she was heading for home, ready for two co-codamol, a cup of coffee and a nap.

She couldn't believe it when she heard the childish giggles and shouts coming from her son's room.

"Benjamin! Get down here NOW!"

Lofty hurried downstairs, the other kids behind him.

"Hi Mrs Chiltern", babbled Ethan nervously.

"How dare you invite a gang of kids here without consulting me first!"

"Ben's not given us any food, Mrs Chiltern, we just came here to help him do his drawing again… um, I mean, finish his drawing."

Jacob meant to be helpful.

"Let me guess. He spoiled his drawing. He was clumsy, as usual. He can buy a card tomorrow, it's all he's fit for. You lot, out!"

Jeff had had enough.

"You're rotten to Ben!"

"OUT!"

When the last child had fled round the corner, Julia turned on Lofty.

"What in hell were you thinking? You wait till your dad gets home from his conference and he finds out about this."

Lofty, pushed to the limit, suddenly yelled:

"You don't say anything kind to me about anything, ever!"

Julia's rage was white-hot.

"Get to bed. You can have an empty gut tonight. Go on, out of my sight."

Lofty sighed and went to pick up Eric Chiltern.

"NO. You do not take your cat to bed when you're in disgrace. In fact, seeing as you're so mouthy, you're not fit to look after a cat. I'm giving him away tomorrow."

Lofty's cry was heartrending:

"NO mum, PLEASE!"

"He's going and that's my final word. Now get to bed. Look at you, you're a waste of space!"

Lofty fled, almost tripping up on the stairs.

He couldn't sleep. His mum's words kept going round in his head. "Waste of space… I'm giving him away tomorrow…"

Lofty thought about running away with Eric Chiltern… but supposing one of those men who took slaves got him? They'd probably kill poor Eric Chiltern and not think twice about it. I AM a waste of space, he mused, I daren't even run away from home. He knew what he had to do. He didn't think his mum was cruel enough to hurt his cat after he was… well, after.

He managed to climb up on to a stool and then up to his parents' medicine cupboard. He knew he should leave his mum a few tablets in case she got a stress headache when she found out what he'd done. Heart pounding, tears running down his face, he carefully counted out the number of tablets that he thought would be enough to make him die.