Hi guys. I hope you enjoy the chapter. There is a poem in it that I just wanted to tell you about. I wrote it for my Dad, who most of you know, passed away in November. I didn't think he would mind me sharing it with you. Other characters do compliment the poem and I worried that I would come across arrogant. It's their opinion – not mine – but compliments were necessary to the story. I have spent a long time puzzling over whether to include it or not because the words are pretty much part of my soul. But even though this is a public forum, I feel like we're a close-knit little community here – me, other writers, all out lovely readers and reviewers – so I decided to just go for it. So, yes, I shall stop waffling now and let you read on! Love IJKS xxx
***
Chapter Fifty-One
It was the last day of term and staff and pupils alike were looking forward to the holidays. Charlie was driving to the city to spend a couple of days with her parents and then bring Ruby back like she did before. She was very much looking forward to spending time with her kid sister. When she was younger, friends had found it bizarre that she wanted to spend time with a child but she loved her and they were close. Hugo had never understood it either. But she was looking forward to Ruby becoming older so they could gossip together and share secrets. And these days, she looked forward to eventually being allowed to introduce Joey to her as her girlfriend. If anyone would get it, Ruby would. She was the one person in the world that Charlie wasn't afraid of telling. The only drawback to Ruby's visit, however, was that she and Joey would be limited on their time together. It would be hard to bear but she hoped they would both cope.
"Okay everyone," she said cheerfully. "I hope you all did your assignments because it's performance time."
A groan rang out amongst her students.
"Glad you're all so excited about it!" she said. "Who's first up?"
***
Half an hour later, lots of people had read their poetry out. Bea had proudly shared her words with the class, Aden had largely mumbled through his, Shane's poem about Angel had provoked lots of embarrassing 'awws' and Angel had disappointed him by writing about feminist issues instead of about him.
"Who's next?" Charlie asked.
Her eyes met Joey's. Her partner immediately shook her head. She didn't want a turn. Her first instinct had been to write about Charlie but she wasn't sure she could keep everything disguised so she'd chosen another topic.
"Joey?" Charlie requested cheerfully.
Joey sighed, considered protesting but knew it wouldn't do any good so she hauled herself to her feet. She stood at the head of the class, clutching her sheet of A4 paper. Gazing out at the class, including Charlie who was perched just at the side, she took a breath.
"Get on with it," Bea said unkindly.
The interruption made her falter.
"Be quiet," Charlie warned.
She turned back to Joey.
"In your own time," she said.
Joey took another breath. This wasn't like their performance of Jerry Springer. That was funny and entertaining. This was serious. This was real.
"The poem is called 'Live On' and it's about my little sister," she said, her voice shaking a little.
She glanced back at Charlie, encouraged by her kind expression. Joey began to read.
I love you and I miss you.
Every day I'm surprised by how the world shows me your face,
Reminding me of you
And promising that you live on
In some other existence
Where you're happy and you're safe.
To know you is to love you
And to lose you fractures my soul.
I'm not sure I'll ever reconcile my heart.
I try not to look back with regret
At every moment of breath
That I wasted in not telling you that I love you
And that I would miss you more
Than I thought I could.
Life is a construct of memories
So I know that so long as those who knew you,
Those who loved you
Live on
You'll never get lost in history
And so you will never die.
She finally looked back up from her paper. Nobody moved. Charlie took a deep breath, surprised by how the poem affected her. Joey offered a small smile and sat down.
"That was lame," Bea said.
"Shut up, Bea!" Charlie snapped without thinking.
The teenager gave her a challenging look. Telling your student to shut up was possibly not the smartest move she'd ever made.
"I didn't mean it quite like that," she said, not quite able to apologise. "But that poem was not lame. And even if it had been, it's not polite to say so."
"I was just voicing an opinion," Bea said.
"Well, I thought it was good," Aden said, speaking up for his best friend.
"Me too," said Belle.
Shane, Angel and Chris agreed. Joey smiled at them gratefully, saving her most relieved look for Charlie.
"It was very moving," Charlie told her. "Very moving. Who's next?"
***
After class, Charlie asked Joey to stay back. As soon as they were alone, she told her that she thought she was brave for sharing her poem.
"I know you didn't really want to," she said.
Joey nodded and shrugged.
"It was hard to read," she admitted.
Charlie squeezed her hands.
"I'm proud of you," she said. "And I can guarantee top marks."
Joey chuckled and briefly lifted Charlie's hands to her lips.
"Will I see you tonight?" she asked. "Before you go away to see your family?"
The sadness in her voice was unmistakable. Charlie couldn't help but feel it too. She was surprised by just how much she was dreading being away from her for all of three days.
"Count on it," Charlie promised with a cheerful smile.
They smiled at each other before Joey reluctantly went on her way.
***
"Hey, guys. Who am I?" Bea said before pretending to cry.
Joey stopped very still at her locker as she watched the school bully fake cry and wail about her dead sister. Aden caught his best friend's look.
"Joey..."
He tried and failed to stop her. She marched over to Bea and her gaggle of friends and pushed her hard into the locker from behind.
"What the...?" Bea exclaimed.
She turned around quickly, coming face to face with her enemy. Joey's jaw was set her expression fierce.
"Did I hit a nerve?" Bea mocked, pushing her back.
Joey barely hesitated as she landed a punch square in Bea's face. Before anyone could stop them, they were in an all out brawl.
"Hey!" boomed a male voice.
Both girls ignored Fisher as he attempted to break them apart. Joey was too furious to do anything but continue shoving Bea. She'd never hated her so much before in their entire lives. Behind her desk, Charlie looked up when she heard the commotion. Home time was always busy and chaotic but this was ridiculous. Leaping up from her chair, she headed into the corridor, immediately horrified to find Joey in the throes of assaulting Bea, who, to be fair, looked as if she was giving as good as she got. Hurrying forward, Charlie grabbed hold of Joey and pulled her back. The teenager struggled but eventually gave in and settled while Fisher stepped in between her and Joey.
"What on earth is going on here?" the headmaster demanded.
Joey was breathless. She had a cut lip and a bleeding nose. Bea's cheek was already swelling and unbeknownst to everyone else, she had a headache forming.
"She just attacked me!" Bea declared.
"That's right," her boyfriend chipped in. "Bea wasn't doing anything. Joey just jumped on her."
"You fucking liar!" Joey yelled.
"Joey!" Charlie warned.
It was times like these when she found her job and her relationship most difficult. She'd kept a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder in case she launched herself at Bea again.
"What happened, in your opinion, Joey?" Fisher asked her reasonable.
"She was... She was... Oh, forget it."
She pushed away from Charlie and stormed out of the building.
"I'll take this one to my office," Fisher told Charlie. "Can you go after Joey?"
"Sure," Charlie said, hurrying after her.
***
As soon as she was out in the sunshine, Joey hurried away from the building, pausing only when Charlie called her name. Sighing, she turned around and waited for the teacher to catch up with her. Charlie jogged up until she was in touching distance and gently reached for her hands, gazing into her eyes.
"What happened, Joey?" she asked, her voice full of concern.
"Why don't you just tell me off for hitting her and then let me go?" Joey asked sadly.
She knew she'd overstepped the line and as much as Charlie cared for her, her girlfriend wouldn't be able to protect her.
"I don't want to tell you off," Charlie replied. "I just want to understand what happened."
"It doesn't matter."
"What did she say to you?"
"She was making fun of me. About the poem. About my sister."
Charlie sighed and squeezed her fingers gently.
"Look, wait here. I'll talk to Mr Fisher and come back for you. I'll take you home."
Joey nodded and sat down on the floor. Charlie gave her an affectionate look and headed back into the building.
"Miss Buckton, what's going on?" Aden asked.
He and his friends had been worriedly waiting for news in the corridor.
"She's fine. She explained. I'm going to drive her home."
She kept her eyes on Aden, hoping he wouldn't give anything away. He nodded in understanding and then she walked to Donald Fisher's office.
"Come in!" the head teacher called through the wooden door.
Charlie entered and saw Bea sitting across the desk from Fisher.
"Did you catch up with Joey?" Fisher asked.
"Yeah. She's pretty upset."
"She's not the only one!" Bea remarked.
Charlie rounded on her.
"Did you make fun of her losing her sister?" she demanded.
Bea looked a little startled. Both Charlie and Fisher's eyes were boring into her. She wasn't used to getting into trouble. She denied the accusation.
"I don't believe you," Charlie said.
She turned to her boss.
"Mr Fisher, Joey isn't the kind of person who'd just attack someone for no reason. And she's far too upset to be lying about what Bea said to provoke her," she said.
"She attacked me at the beginning of term!" Bea pointed out.
"And when she was punished for it, she told me exactly what you said," Charlie said, her voice full of warning.
Bea swallowed and shrank a little in her chair.
"What do you think should happen, Miss Buckton?" Fisher asked.
"I think in this case and with it being the end of term, we should just forget about it. Bea's hurt and Joey's even more hurt. I think they've caused each other enough suffering without us making it worse."
Fisher nodded and agreed. He dismissed Bea, who eagerly left the room. Charlie just hoped she wouldn't go for Joey outside.
"I said I'd drive Joey home," she told Fisher. "Is that okay?"
"That's fine," he replied. "Make sure she's alright. Joey can be tricky but I've known her for her entire life. And losing her sister... even when she was so young herself, it almost tore that family apart. She certainly hasn't been the same since."
Charlie sat down in the chair Bea had vacated.
"What was she like before it happened?" she wondered.
"She was a real daddy's girl," he told her. "She spent all her time with him and she adored both her parents. She was very family orientated. Then... well, I get the feeling that they pushed away. She became fiercely independent, always determined to stand on her own two feet. She became harder, tougher... But she's a good girl beneath all the attitude."
"I know," Charlie said. "I've become quite fond of her. She's a good student and a sweet girl. When they fought before it because Bea was saying horrible things about me and Joey wanted to stand up for me."
Fisher nodded.
"She seems happier now that she has you as a teacher," he said.
Charlie was torn between feeling pleased and feeling frightened that it was obvious that there was a connection between teacher and student.
"Right," she said, getting to her feet. "I'd better go and catch up with her. See you in the new term, Sir."
"Goodbye, Charlie. Have a good holiday."
***
Joey remained on the floor outside. She watched her friends walk home gravely and then Bea and her gang leave the school, bitching noisily about her and Charlie. She didn't have the energy to be angry anymore. She played with the grass beneath her body and waited for Charlie, hoping that she could make it all better. She attempted to smile when she saw Charlie standing over her, extended her hand and pulled her to her feet.
"You certainly know how to end the school term in style," the older woman commented.
Joey genuinely smiled and walked beside her towards the car park. Climbing into the car she now knew so well, Joey strapped herself into passenger seat.
"Where to, m'lady?" Charlie asked with a grin.
"Our tree house sounds good right about now," Joey told her as Charlie started the engine.
"Our tree house?" Charlie asked with a raise eyebrow.
"Yeah," Joey replied with a slightly blush. "It is ours. I think so anyway."
Charlie also blushed and pulled away from the school. She'd already dumped her stuff in the car before she'd collected Joey, not wanting to force her into helping with the loading.
***
Pulling up outside Joey's house, Charlie cut the engine.
"Will you come in?" Joey asked hopefully.
Most of their car journey had been in silence but they'd held hands for most of the way, playing with each other's fingers.
"Mum and Dad's cars aren't here so we could actually hang out in the house. If you wanted."
Charlie smiled and nodded.
"I'll park round the corner and join you," she said.
While her boss knew she was taking Joey home and he might not object to her going inside, the chances were that she would stay for a while and she didn't want to be caught out. Joey smiled and climbed out.
"See you soon," she said as Charlie started the car again.
Joey watched her drive off and fished her keys out of her pocket as she walked up the garden path. It had been such a strange day. She'd begun by bearing her soul to her classmates and finished with dried blood on her face and a lump in her throat. She should have known that Bea would have teased her mercilessly about it but she hadn't thought that even she would stoop that low. Letting herself in, she headed into the kitchen and made two coffees. She was just adding milk when there was a knock on the door. She happily let Charlie in and they fell into each other's arms as soon as the door was shut. Joey's lips found Charlie's but then she was forced to pull away, wincing. Charlie looked at her injuries and sat her down in a chair. Scanning the room, she located some kitchen roll and dampened a couple of sheets with warm water. Perching on a chair in front of Joey, she gently began to wipe the dried blood away. Joey winced again.
"Sorry," Charlie said. "It'll be over soon."
"Do I get rewarded with a kiss when it is?" Joey asked.
Charlie chuckled.
"If you can handle it," she promised.
"I assure you I can," Joey said. "I just forgot the cut was there and the pain took me by surprise that time. That's all."
Charlie succeeded in clearing up her wounds.
"I think you're good," she said. "No need for stitches or anything."
"Good," Joey said.
She just about managed to purse her lips, silently asking Charlie for a kiss, which she was immediately granted.
"I made you a coffee," the younger girl said.
"Thanks," Charlie replied.
Joey stood and picked the drinks up, gesturing for Charlie to follow her into the lounge. Settling themselves on the sofa, they put their drinks down and snuggled into an embrace.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Charlie asked after a few moments of silence.
She felt Joey shrug.
"There's not much to say," she said. "She started taking the piss out of me so I went for her. I know I shouldn't have but..."
"I get it," Charlie said. "You don't need to explain. I mean, obviously I don't condone violence but I understand."
She stroked Joey's hair gently and felt her relax in her arms.
"I wrote you a poem too, you know," Joey said.
"You did?"
"Yeah. I'll send it with you tonight so you can read it while you're away."
"Can I read it now?" Charlie asked with a little whine.
Joey shook her head. She couldn't take the embarrassment.
"I'll miss you while you're away," she said. "You'll keep in touch, won't you?"
"I will call you every single day and we'll find a way to hang out when I get back."
"It'll be hard with Ruby and everything," Joey pointed out.
"I know," Charlie said. "But we'll make it work."
They cuddled closer and simultaneously closed their eyes, promptly falling asleep.
