Edith gets into trouble at school

Age 10

Letting out a sigh, Tommy reaches over, lifting the ringing telephone to his ear and barking a greeting as he continues to run his finger down the ledger in front of him. For some reason, the numbers weren't adding up today and a raging headache was pounding behind Tommy's eyes, the shrill ringing of the phone doing nothing to help with this.

"Mr Shelby, this is Headmistress Peters at St Mary's. I have your sister Edith here in my office. I think it would be good if you could come in for a meeting please." The stern voice on the other end of the line replies, Tommy dropping his head to his hand with an internal groan.

"Now?" He huffs, pinching at the bridge of his nose as she replies.

"Yes, now."

"I'm on my way."

Stalking down the hallway towards the head mistresses office, Tommy ignores the ardent pleas for him to stop, coming from the ladies in the front office, deciding instead to take himself off to the room he had visited himself as a child, on many an occasion. Hearing her brothers footsteps on tiles ahead of her, Edith's head snaps up to meet Tommy's gaze as he passes her, knocking on the double doors to the head mistresses office.

"Mr Shelby." Headmistress Peters greets him, giving Edith a pointed look as she appears in the doorway. "You had better come in too Miss Shelby." Taking her seat behind the desk, the headmistress clasps her hand in front of her. "Now, Mr Shelby, your sister here, has been involved in an altercation with another child today."

"An altercation?" Tommy repeats, raising his eyebrows. "Meaning?"

"A fight." The older woman clarifies, raising her eyebrows at Edith who glares back at her, fighting the urge to jump up and interrupt the infuriating woman who had ignored her all afternoon.

"Ah."

"Yes. And as you well know, Mr Shelby, fighting is not tolerated here at St Mary's." Tommy nods his head, glancing over at Edith who was now peering up at him, eyes wide and pleading, silently asking for him to stop and listen to her.

"Of course." Tommy knew how the Headmistress worked, having been his teacher when he had attended St Mary's as a child, and then becoming Headmistress during Ada and John's time at the school, often being called in for some kind prank either of his younger brothers had pulled.

"And therefore-"

"I didn't-" Edith exclaims, stopping abruptly as Tommy turns to look at her, her mouth wide open as she freezes, meeting his eye.

"Edith." Tommy scolds, giving Edith a pointed look as she shrinks back in her chair. "Do you interrupt adults?" At Edith's shake of her head, Tommy turns back to the older lady in front of him, nodding for her to continue.

"As I was saying," she begins again, clearing her throat as she leans forward in her chair. "Fighting is not tolerated in this school, and Edith will therefore be sent home, with immediate action, for the remaining duration of the week."

"I understand."

"But Tommy!" Edith tries again, rising from her chair to grip Tommy's arm tightly.

"Edith." He bites out, shaking his arm free of her tight grip, raising his hand to stop her from continuing again. Taking a moment to pause and gather his thoughts, Tommy waits until Edith had settled herself back into her chair before continuing. "Having said that..."

"Yes?"

"I'm just wondering what exactly happened."

"Well, like I said-"

"You've not given me any information." Tommy cuts in, resting his elbows on his knees. "I know my sister Miss Peters, and Edith would not willingly get into a fight if she was unprovoked-"

"Well-"

"So what I would like to know, is what provoked such a reaction, from a usually gentile young girl."

"As I-"

"Would you not agree, Miss Peters, that Edith has never shown this type of behaviour before?"

"I would...however-"

"And that she gets good grades?"

"Yes. But that is besides the point-"

"And has never had to be spoken to within this office before?"

"Yes."

"Good. So we're on the same page." Tommy states, rising from his chair. "I will speak to my sister once we get home, and I will get to the bottom of this incident, as it appears you yourself have not. I shall then bring Edith back into school tomorrow with a full explanation, ready to rejoin her class. Thank you Miss Peters." Taking Edith's coat from the back of her chair, Tommy holds it out, allowing Edith to slip her arms into the wool jacket. Once she was bundled up and ready to leave, Tommy tucks her hand in his, nodding a goodbye to the Headmistress who was sat dumbfounded at her desk, watching the two siblings leave her office.

Upon exiting the school building, Tommy loosens the tight grip he had held on Edith's hand, the young girl letting out a sigh of relief at the realisation that her brother wasn't as angry at her as he had first appears.

"Tommy, she was actually fine!" Edith protests, bouncing on her toes to look up at Tommy who shakes his head, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

"Edith, we'll talk when we get home."

"I didn't even hurt her! She was being a baby!"

"Edith, I said we will talk about this later." Tommy repeats, holding his hand up to silence Edith who lets out a groan, tugging on his hand to get his attention again.

"She was saying mean things about Finn! I didn't like it. And you always say that me and Finn have to look out for each other and stick up for each other! So I did!" She was right, of course she was, Tommy had told them both, when Ada had left school, that they were to look out for each other now, to stick by one another. His heart swelled to hear that Edith's actions had been prompted by her protectiveness over her older brother; he had known there would be no way, even despite her wicked temper, that Edith would intentionally hurt another child out of malice. Her siblings, now that was another story; Tommy would often (both before and the short amount of time following the war) be called back from the betting shop to pull at least two of his siblings apart from a brawl on the rug. "Tommy please! Listen to me!" She tries again, continuing to tug on his hand.

"Later, Edith." He states, pinching the bridge of his nose once more, the pounding headache behind his eyes still worsening.

"But Tommy-"

"Enough!" He shouts out, coming to a stop, Edith staring up at him with wide eyes once more, nodding slowly. "Later. Do you understand?" Satisfied with her nod in response, Tommy takes Edith's hand once more, leading her silently the rest of the way to Watery Lane.

"Go to your room, Edith." He tells her as they enter their house, meeting their Aunt in the hallway who had been patiently awaiting their return.

"But Tommy!" She cries, tears welling in her eyes.

"Edith Mary, go upstairs." Polly states softly, yet firmly, pointing in the direction of the stairs.

"You're not listening to me!" Edith weeps as she stomps up the stairs, slamming her bedroom door behind her.

"So?" Polly asks, eyeing Tommy as he drops into the chair opposite her at the dining room table, pouring them both a generous helping of whiskey, sliding a glass over to her nephew as he leans back in his chair.

"That women is ridiculous." He grunts, lifting the glass to his lips and swallowing the drink in one gulp.

"Well I could have told you that." Polly replies sarcastically, shaking her head in amusement.

"She clearly hadn't gotten to the bottom of the situation. Just saw our name and thought the worst. That much was obvious."

"And Edith? What did she say?" Grunting again, Tommy reaches forwards for the bottle of whiskey, pouring himself another drink before replying.

"I haven't let her tell me her side yet. Not properly. She needs to calm down first. You could practically see the steam coming out of her ears in that office."

"Wonder where she gets that from." Polly comments mockingly, raising her eyebrows at her nephew as Tommy gives her a withering look. "Give her a little while. She'll tell you exactly what happened. If I know anything about our Edith, it's that she'll have a good reason behind her actions."

Inching Edith and Finn's bedroom door open nearly an hour later, Tommy peers inside, heart breaking slightly at the sight of his baby sister curled up on the rug by the unlit fireplace, tears flowing silently down her cheeks. Wordlessly, he lowers himself to her level, watching as she sniffs, swiping the back of her hand under her nose before rising and throwing herself, sobbing now, into his arms. Tommy sighs, hesitating for a moment before wrapping his arms around his tiny sister, allowing her to let her anger out in the form of her sobs before speaking.

"What happened?" He asks as she relaxes against him, sobs turning to sniffles.

"She was being mean." Edith chokes out, looking up at Tommy who nods. "Who?"

"Jennifer Smith."

"How?"

"I heard her saying that Finn was stupid. Finn's not stupid!" She cries indignantly, Tommy's heart swelling once again at her statement.

"And what did you do?"

"I pulled her hair." Edith states quietly, ducking her head in embarrassment.

"And?" Tommy prompts, sensing there was more to the story.

"And kicked her." She replies sheepishly, peering up under her eyelids as Tommy curls a finger under her chin, tilting her head up.

"Where?" He asks, keeping his finger under her chin to keep her eyes locked on his.

"In the shin."

"Did she fight back?"

"Uh huh." Edith nods, reaching out to fiddle with the buttons on Tommy's jacket.

"And did you get hurt?" He asks, sighing as she nods, replacing his finger with his whole hand, cupping her chin gently as he searches her eyes.

"Uh huh."

"Where?"

"My head." Turning in his lap, Edith points to the back of her head, hissing as tiny gently parts her hair, running his fingers across the large egg on the back of her hair.

"How did this happen?" He asks softly, tucking his hands under Edith's arms and turning her so that she was facing him again, this time the young girl not needing prompting to look up at her big brother.

"She pushed me to the floor." She states, scowling at the memory.

"And what did you do?"

"That was when I pulled her hair."

"So you kicked her first?"

"Yes." Tommy sighs again, running a hand across his face; for someone who had been adamant that she told her side of the story, it sure was taking a lot of prompting on his part to get the full story out of his sister.

"Tell me the whole story. From the start." Taking a deep breath, Edith twists her hands together in her lap, ducking her head down with a frown as she recalls the story from the start.

"I heard Jennifer saying mean things about Finn and I went over and she said mean things to me too. And so I kicked her and then she grabbed me and pushed me and I banged my head but I managed to pull her down to the floor too and then I pulled her hair. And then Isiah was there and he pulled her off me and then I got taken to the office 'cause she was crying." Following along with Edith's rambles, Tommy nods slowly as she slumps in his arms, suddenly exhausted from the whole event.

"Do you think that was the right thing to do?"

"No." Edith whispers with a shake of her head, biting her lip as she looks up at Tommy again who was tearing out of the window over her shoulder, considering how to continue. On the one hand, he couldn't fault Edith for doing exactly what he had asked of her, standing up for her brother. On the other, this was hardly what he had meant, however he should have known from years of experience with Arthur, John and Finn, that his words were rarely taken the way he had intended. Having said that, he didn't want Edith thinking she could get into fights like this and get away without any consequences. Breaking out of his thoughts, Tommy glances towards the door at the same time as Edith as the front door swings open and slams against the wall downstairs.

"Edith?" Finn shouts, letting the front door slam shut again as he bolts into the house, racing up the stairs towards their shared bedroom, throwing that door open too in his quest to get to his sister. "Edith." He breathes out, out of breath as he pauses momentarily in the doorway before rushing into the room, pulling his little sister into his arms. "Are you ok?"

"I'm ok." She reassures him as he cups her cheeks in his hands, gently turning her head from side to side to check for any obviously injuries. "Just bumped my head."

"Let me see."

"I'm ok Finny." She protests, reaching up to cup her hands around his, widening her eyes as he cuts her off.

"Let me see." He growls, Edith turning in his arms, pulling her hair apart at the back of her head to show him the bump. Finn hisses under his breath as Edith turns to face him again, shaking his head. "She's gonna get it tomorrow...hitting on a little girl-"

"No she won't, Finn." Tommy cuts in, shaking his head at his brothers pointed glare. "It will be dealt with. But not by you."

"Isiah?" Finn asks, rising to his feet, ready to bolt to the door and down the lane to his best friend's house.

"No." Tommy states, reaching out to stop Finn. "Miss Peters."

"Oh come on, Tom! She won't do anything!" His brother protests, stomping his foot against the ground, Tommy frowning at the movement, giving him a pointed look.

"We don't need anymore trouble Finn. Got it?" Finn grumbles under his breath as Edith steps backwards, falling back into Tommy's lap, curling herself up against his chest once more as he tucks his arms around her. "Finn. Got it?"

"Yes. Yes, I get it. Fine." Finn huffs, dropping down on to the rug beside his siblings. "You didn't have to do that Edith."

"Yes I did-"

"No. I can look after myself. Don't get yourself hurt or in trouble because of me." Finn cuts her off, crossing his arms over his chest.

"But Finn!"

"Edie. Listen to your brother." Tommy chides gently. "You did the right thing standing up for Finn, but next time...?"

"Don't start a fight." Edith fills in, peeking up at Tommy who nods, running his hand over her head.

"That's right."

After dinner that evening, John sticks his head around Edith's bedroom door, mug of warm milk in hand. Edith glances up from the book perched on the cushion beside her, grinning up at her older brother as he silently holds the mug out to her, throwing her a wink as he steps into the room, pushing the door shut behind him.

"Hello trouble." He calls, dragging the chair from beside the fireplace over to the bed, dropping down on to it and pressing the mug into Edith's hands. "What have you been up to? Eh?"

"Are you gonna tell me off too?" She asks, peering over the rim of the mug at her brother who shakes his head, leaning back in his chair and kicking his feet up onto the bed.

"No. I think Tommy did enough of that for all of us." He tells her, Edith frowning as she brings a hand up to rub at her already red eyes.

"You heard that?" At John's nod, she groans, dropping back against the pillows. After their conversation and Finn's interruption, Tommy had sent his youngest brother from the room, placing Edith on the edge of the bed, and giving her a grand telling off for her actions; he was sure that his youngest sister would never willingly get into a fight like that, at least with people around to witness, ever again.

"You learnt your lesson?" John asks, Edith nodding in reply, curling up on her side to watch her brother as he leans forward in his chair. "How's your head?"

"Sore." She replies, closing her eyes as he runs a hand over her head gently, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"I'll tell Aunt Pol. I'm sure she's got something to help." He tells her, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she nods. "Good girl, Edie." Peering up at her brother, Edith's eyes widen at his whispered statement. "But don't do that again, eh? You tell one of us, and we'll deal with it, ok? You keep your hands clean, and your head down. Got it?"

"Got it." Edith whispers in reply, throwing her arms around his neck in a tight hug. "Will you come and see me tomorrow? Tommy says I can only leave my room to go to the bathroom and school for the rest of the week! I'll get bored Johnny!"

"Ah...we'll maybe you should have thought of that before you got into a scrap, eh?" Edith opens her mouth to respond, shutting it again promptly at the twinkle in John's eyes, noting the sarcasm in his tone. "I'll sneak a mug of warm milk up to you, and tuck you in, how about that?" Edith nods frantically, grinning up at John who rolls his eyes, pressing a finger to his lips. "But shush, don't tell Pol and Tom, eh? It's a secret." Edith nods again, pushing up on to her knees to lean forward to hug her brother again.

"A secret." She repeats, holding her pinky out to John who curls his pinky finger around hers.

"But hey, you need to promise me not to be getting into brawls again. Ok? Or the deal is off."

"I promise!" Edith replies enthusiastically, bouncing on her knees.

"Good. Right, now lay down. Let me tuck you in, I need to get home." Sliding down under her covers, she lets John place her book on the side beside her now empty mug, tucking the covers tightly around her, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she lets out a long yawn, reaching her arms up at the last moment to hug him once more. "I love you Edith Mary."

"I love you too Johnny." She yawns, her eyes remaining open as he walks backwards out of the room, finally letting sleep take over as he shuts the doors, her eyes flickering shut.