"Are you ready for school tomorrow?" May-Li asked checking in on Jody and Farah before they went to bed. Jody nodded but May-Li noticed that Farah didn't seem so sure. She cursed to herself for not speaking to Farah earlier. She had forgotten that it had been almost 5 years since she was last at school.
"Do you want to come for a chat?" May-Li asked softly. Farah looked around; she was scared to say yes but she knew that she wouldn't sleep if she was still feeling like this. So many thoughts were going around in her head.
"Come with me" May-Li suggested. She knew that face and noticed that Farah was too scared to admit to needing help. Farah got out of the bed and followed May-Li who guided her down the stairs. May-Li was glad that she had settled all the children into bed early as she was expecting something to go wrong.
"How do you feel about tomorrow?" May-Li asked.
"I'm so scared" Farah admitted. "I'm not going to be able to speak"
"Everything is going to be okay. Remember Jody is at your school. She's only in the year above you" May-Li explained, "And don't worry about not speaking. Only do what you are comfortable with"
"I'm going to be so dumb" She admitted.
"You are not. Your reading and writing are fantastic, and you will catch up" May-Li said and Farah nodded.
"I'm going to be taking you into school tomorrow, so you don't need to worry about that" May-Li said trying to make Farah feel better.
"Don't worry about feeling overwhelmed. You are starting school tomorrow, for the first time in what 5, 6 years" May-Li said, and Farah nodded. They spoke for a bit longer before Farah went to bed. She tossed and turned for a while before finally drifting into a sleep.
She felt like she had just fallen asleep with the alarm started going off. She quickly got out of bed and rushed to the bathroom with her wash bag. She smiled noticing that it was free. That was the joys of being able to get out of bed quickly, she could make it before the queue. She washed her face and brushed her teeth before going back to her room. Just as she walked out Jody walked into the bathroom.
Farah decided that she would have time to quickly get changed while the other girl was in the bathroom. Farah looked at her school trousers and then quickly put them on. She had opted for trousers instead of skirts as she felt uncomfortable wearing a skirt. She was scared the same thing would happen as what had happened with her father. Once dressed, she brushed her hair. She didn't want to wear her hair down or in a ponytail but that was all she could do.
Just as she walked out the room, May-Li walked past.
"I think you'll be the first to breakfast" She said, and Farah smiled.
"What's wrong? You look so smart in your uniform" May-Li said.
"I can't get my hair to sit right, I want a French plait" She said.
"Okay, well come down the stairs with me and I'll do it for you now before the other children come down" May-Li suggested, and Farah smiled before agreeing. That made her a lot happier. It might just be a little thing, but it meant a lot to Farah.
As it was the first day back at school both Mike and May-Li were working. The aim was that if there was an issue with a child, the other would be able to get the rest to school. They also went to two different schools. Mike was going to take the younger children to primary school and May-Li would take most of the older ones to high school. Some would walk as they did this normally. May-Li and Mike would enter the school and inform them of any new or changed information. May-Li would take Farah to reception as it was her first day. They had contacted the school last week, so they were expecting her.
They arrived at the school, Farah was completely silent. When they spoke to the deputy again, she was silent. They walked Farah through to the support for learning base.
"We understand you haven't been at school since you were 7 so we are going to start you off in the base until you feel more comfortable and then we will move you into a large classroom" The deputy explained. Farah nodded. She was then spoken to by a teaching assistant and followed her where guided.
"Remember to meet Jody at the end of the day and you will both walk home together" May-Li shouted to Farah who nodded before following the teaching assistant.
"So she is mute?" The deputy asked having been told this on the phone. May-Li nodded.
"She will speak to myself and occasionally two of the other girls at the care home but that's it. She has had a very difficult life" May-Li said not wanting to go into too much detail. She knew that the school would find out what they needed to when they needed to. It was also down to Helen as to what they needed to know.
They spoke about the other children but only what was needed to be known before May-Li left. She arrived back at Ashdene Ridge to see that Mike was already home. She walked in.
"I've just had a phone call from Helen" Mike said, and May-Li sighed.
"She's coming round after school to speak to Farah" Mike said, and May-Li nodded.
"Do you know why?" She asked.
"It's to do with her mother but I don't know anything else. Helen wouldn't say" Mike said. May-Li didn't understand why Helen could be so difficult. How were they meant to prepare Farah if she was unwilling to tell them anything?
It was soon the end of the day and the children started to arrive home from school. Mike had gone to pick the younger children up from primary school and the older children were returning from the secondary school.
"How was today?" May-Li asked as the children entered the house. They all mumbled a response before heading up to their rooms. They knew that they had to do their homework before getting a snack. The younger children would sit at the dining table but most of the others would go to their room which had a desk.
"You can come through here if you want Farah" May-Li suggested, and Farah agreed. She went with the woman.
"Helen is coming over soon" May-Li whispered and Farah nodded.
"Did you have a good day at school?" She asked. Farah shrugged.
"It was okay" Farah said clearly not wanting to speak any more about it.
"Well you know you can speak to me about it whenever you want" May-Li said, and Farah nodded. Farah handing a note to May-Li. It stated that Farah had had a good day at school and her English was very good. Her basic knowledge of maths was strong, but she had some catching up to do. They aimed to catch her up in the next 2-4 weeks and then move her to mainstream.
"Is it okay?" Farah asked nervously.
"Of course it is. I'm so proud of you for today" May-Li said smiling and this caused Farah to relax. A lot of her homework was catching up work that she had been taught but not completed. The girl flew through her homework and was just about to go up stairs for a break when Helen arrived.
"Can we speak in the quiet room?" Helen demanded.
"No, not the quiet room" Farah begged. May-Li nodded and instead they went to the office.
"So I just want to tell you that your mother and sister's funeral will be held in North Ormesby next Monday" Helen instructed "You can go if you want but you don't have to"
Farah still didn't speak to Helen.
"I'll speak to her about it later tonight" May-Li said. She was annoyed. They knew that Farah didn't speak to Helen so she didn't understand why Helen hadn't just told her or Mike on the phone and then they could have spoken to her. The girl had just had her first day back at school. She didn't need the presence of a social worker as well.
Farah looked at May-Li and begged her to let her go up the stairs. May-Li agreed, and Farah left the room. Helen told May-Li and Mike a bit more about the funeral before leaving. Knowing more information May-Li felt more able to answer any questions that Farah might have.
After the meeting she didn't have time to speak to Farah straight away as she had to make dinner. She knew she must do it after that before bed. Dinner went quickly, all the children were hungry after a full day at school and they all told each other their news and spoke about new teachers. The twins weren't too happy as they had been placed in different classes, previously they had always been together, but they said it would be better for their development and confidence if they were separated.
Once the dishes were all washed, May-Li went to see Farah before her shift finished.
"Hey I just wanted to speak to you about the funeral" May-Li said softly.
"I want to go. Will you come with me?" She asked worriedly.
"Of course, both me and Mike will be there. You'll need to miss school for it but that's okay" May-Li explained.
"My mum was a good person, I promise you. She looked after me and she kept Dad in line. He wasn't bad when he was with my mum" She said.
"I understand, don't worry" May-Li said.
"I just feel that I have to defend my mum because of what my dad did. He wasn't like that when she was there, and he was never violent. Not until that one night. He started getting panicky when the doctor thought it was a girl but he has never hurt us until that night. Once Mum was gone, he changed" Farah tried to explain. May-Li nodded holding the girl's hand.
"Will other people be there?" She asked and May-Li nodded.
"Accordingly there has been a lot of talk about your mother since her body was find and some of your old neighbours want to go to the funeral and her old friends" May-Li explained and Farah nodded.
"I don't really remember any of them. I can't remember anything" Farah admitted sadly.
"Maybe seeing some of them will spark some memories" May-Li suggested softly, and Farah nodded. She really hoped that was the case.
"I'm tired. I'm going to go to bed now" Farah said, and May-Li nodded. She was surprised as it wasn't even 8 o'clock yet but she agreed.
"Remember you can talk to me anytime you need" May-Li said before leaving and Farah nodded. It had been a really long day.
Hope this is okay :) Please let me know what you think and if you have any new ideas :)