William loved being part of Kate's choir. Singing made him feel alive and his body thrummed with the music for hours after each practice. He'd been a member of the choir since he first started at Sulgrave Heath, but it had been much more fun since Kate took over as choir leader at the beginning of the term. Kate was enthusiastic and engaging and she made them really think about the music — not just the notes but the lyrics too, stressing how the lyrics often gave a voice to the social movements of the times in which they were written.
After the huge fight at home, the choir was one of the few things that would take William's mind off it all. He hadn't seen his dad since the selfish bastard had left. It still upset him. It would go round and around his head until it squeezed everything else out. He just couldn't believe his dad had been so stupid. Why would his dad do it? It wasn't like his mum and dad didn't still have sex; he heard them every now and then when he was revising late at night and they thought he was asleep. It would almost be worth ripping his ears off if it meant he never heard that again...ugh! The only solution was to grab his headphones as fast as he could and be transported away by his beloved Florence + The Machine! And why did his dad think she wouldn't find out? How stupid did he think she was? Selfish bastard. And now Mum had kicked him out. Served him right. William hated his dad for hurting her. She deserved so much better.
Kate clapped her hands to get the choir's attention for the last run through of the program and William mentally stepped back into the music. He was standing on the stage, surrounded by the rest of the choir while they had their final rehearsal in preparation for the Yorkshire Schools Choral only four days away. The modern medley was strong but the altos kept getting lost in the mid section of Mozart's Requiem and Kate was guiding them through it one last time. Watching Kate carefully for the cues, he found solace as he disappeared into the music.
As the choir started singing again, Caroline slipped inside the hall, resting against the wall half way down to enjoy the acoustics. She watched Kate directing the choir, the tall woman cutting a striking figure of athletic grace as she moved. Caroline stared in admiration, her eyes travelling along Kate's arms and down her back until they reached the unmerciful distraction of her arse. Caroline had little choice but to let her eyes linger, mesmerised by the beauty of Kate's motion while her mind wandered.
As the choir sang the melancholy but moving final piece, Caroline lost herself in thoughts of home. She hoped that she might be able to use the coming weekend — while William was away — to help Lawrence come to grips with the new family arrangements. He'd not been coping well and John's lackadaisical attitude toward the boys was not giving Lawrence the rock he needed; one parent was not enough at the moment. It was easier with William. He was older and had a more sophisticated understanding of relationships, but more than that, William was so similar to Caroline that he could see through the facade that fooled so many others. He'd understood just how hurt she'd been and he'd chosen a side in the parental war. When he wasn't studying or out with friends, they'd developed a habit in the evenings of sitting on the couch together reading, each slouched against an armrest while his long thin legs draped comfortingly over hers. They had their books and frequent cups of tea and sporadic conversations, both happy to be distracted and delighting in the other's gentle company. Lawrence joined them, producing constant verbal responses to whatever video game he was playing, accompanied by the cacophony of tuneless sounds seemingly designed to grate on the ears of everyone else in the vicinity.
All in all, she and the boys were settling into a new familial pattern, but other than having to call on her mum more often to keep an eye on things when she had a late night at work, their life had found a new equilibrium fairly quickly.
Caroline brought her mind back to the choir. Watching the students instead of Kate, it was obvious the choir hung on every inflection of beat and tone, each one under the considerable influence of an excellent conductor. She knew William wasn't the only student who loved the choir; Kate and the upcoming trip was a blessing to them all.
As the Requiem drew to a close, Kate gave the students some final encouragement before reminding a couple of them to turn in their parental permission slips the next day. Then, as she always did, she ended the practice with her popular music trivia game she used to underscore the importance of the lyrics. She would pose a question and the first one to answer correctly received a point and the student with the most points at the end of term could choose a song for the choir to perform in the final concert of the year. William was currently in a three-way tie for first place and the competition was keen.
Kate noticed the students looking down the hall and as she turned, she spotted Caroline standing, almost hidden by a buttress. A shiver ran down her spine; how long had Caroline been there, watching her? The thought of being quietly observed made her skin tingle — the hair on her body stood to attention as if aware of every glance. She gathered her wits and nodded to her boss to acknowledge her. Thinking on her feet, Kate resorted to an old favourite of hers for the quote.
"Since Dr. Elliot has just joined us, I think today's music trivia question will be in her honour. Who is the artist who said, 'I fight authority, authority always wins',"she challenged with a playful smile.
Some of the students understood the sly jab and laughed, albeit a little awkwardly, as laughing at the expense of the Head Teacher was a fool's game. When there were no takers from the stage, Kate gestured to Caroline, requesting an answer. Caroline chuckled, playing along. "That's an easy one, Miss McKenzie. It's John Mellencamp, the artist formerly known as John Cougar Mellencamp."
Kate grinned as the students looked stunned their head teacher knew about Mellencamp, and she saw Caroline's street cred instantly rise for some. "Very good! Remember, when words fail, there's always lyrics." Kate wrapped it up. "Folks, that's it for today. Have a good night and don't forget the bus leaves on Friday at 3pm sharp."
The students filed out of the hall a little quieter than usual thanks to the presence of the boss. As William detoured down the side aisle to meet his mum, he reached his hand out to touch hers. He gave it a squeeze as they made eye contact. She leaned toward him and said she'd meet him and Lawrence by the car in twenty minutes. Unaware they were being watched, Caroline smiled at William, the affection between them as apparent as the sadness.
The subtle contact confirmed for Kate that something indeed was off with William and possibly for his mum too. Kate had noticed he seemed preoccupied lately. She'd wanted to ask him why, guessing he was probably worried about his exams until she'd heard whispers a few days ago about Caroline's husband leaving her for another woman. There were a mixture of snide and supportive remarks in the staff room, most running along gender lines, but Kate had managed to stay out of the thick of it.
"That was a clever quote," Caroline began as she walked towards Kate. She presumed Kate wasn't having a dig at her, so she explored further. "Were you trying to give them a signal to behave at the School's Choral this weekend?"
Kate smiled wryly. "I'd like to think they're sharp enough to get that finer point, but I doubt it. Well done you for knowing Mellencamp." She gathered her sheet music and pens and ambled towards Caroline who was looking up at her from in front of the stage. "You're a bit of a dark horse, aren't you?"
"A bit of luck," Caroline admitted, as Kate walked down the stairs to stand next to her. "It was on the radio this morning during our drive to school. I'm surprised William didn't get it. Glad you picked that one of his, and not 'I Need a Lover'," she chuckled. "My roommate at university used that song as her battle cry after a bad break up the end of our second year. Not sure what signal that one might have sent to the students." Despite the droll comment, Caroline's smile instantly disappeared and she looked distracted, which was even more unusual for her than it was for William.
"Are you okay? You just seem—"
"I'm fine. All good," Caroline jumped in, not wanting the probing to continue.
Kate stood there silently, wondering what to do next. Caroline clearly wanted something. She was just about to ask when she realised Caroline was transitioning from boss to mum. Kate breathed a little easier and gave her a bit more time.
"Kate, I hate to ask, but would you please keep an eye on William while he's away? It's a tough time for him—" Caroline awkwardly waved a hand in the air, "—exams coming up, you know how it is." Caroline wasn't comfortable with the misdirection, but she hadn't checked if William was happy for Kate to know yet. Of course, she also knew that this was less about William and more about herself. She hoped that Kate would do this small thing without too many questions. Now they were starting to get to know one another outside work, she didn't want the blurring of the fine line between colleagues and friends to be difficult for either of them.
The first time they'd bumped into one another in a cafe; the second time she and Kate had actively planned to meet for coffee one day after work. This had been prompted by Caroline's realisation that although she didn't miss John, the potential for adult conversation was something she did miss. They'd been good friends at the start, even before John had become enamoured and pursued her with the vitality of youth and an obsessive, if cerebral, lust. Now their marriage was dead, she grieved the friendship she hadn't realised they'd lost. He'd been her confidant when she was younger, before their relationship had been desiccated in the furnace of work and children and time.
She had friends from her Oxford days, but she'd never had the time to make new friends in Harrogate while raising two boys and climbing the ranks. Manoeuvring through the school gates the previous week, she noticed Kate's car in the staff car park and remembered how much she enjoyed bumping into Kate in that little café. Perhaps it was time to make an effort.
Later that same day, when she found herself leaving a language department meeting two steps behind Kate, she called out to her and when they were on their own, she asked Kate if she'd like to meet for coffee. Kate was elated about it for days but was beside herself with nerves as the day dawned. She'd tried on half a dozen outfits before deciding her favourite work outfit would have to do or she was going to be late for school. She managed to get through the morning without drama but could barely function in the afternoon and kept lessons light; not that the students would have ever noticed.
They went to the same café. Although the conversation stayed on fairly safe topics, it had been fun seeing Caroline loosen up a bit more. She was starting to reveal herself as William and Lawrence's mum, rather than just the Head Teacher and it was a side to her boss that she rather liked. What had become intriguing, as they'd enjoyed their coffees, was that John wasn't mentioned at all. To anyone else it might have been unnoticeable, but to Kate, the hole in the conversation was obvious. It was only a few days later the rumours about Caroline's marriage began swirling around the school.
"Sure. Sure. Happy to." Kate nodded a little too vigorously, trying to show support. There was a torrent of questions she wanted to ask based on her suspicions but there was no way she was going to broach the topic; she didn't know Caroline well enough for that sort of conversation yet.
"Thank you Kate. I do appreciate you keeping an eye on William." Caroline gestured to the end of the hall and they walked toward the door, footsteps echoing among the rafters. "Is there anything you and the choir need for Friday?"
Just as Kate started to answer, Caroline's mobile rang and her attention immediately flew to the screen in her hand before she poked at it with a finger. She tilted her head, lean neck and blonde hair moving with long-practiced grace to make way for the phone. "Mum," she said, barely listening as she mouthed an apology to Kate before turning her attention to Celia's demands.
"That's fine. I think we're all set," Kate responded quietly to Caroline as she held the door for her to slip past, the tantalising notes of Caroline's perfume encouraging Kate to breathe them in and she swayed as if pulled in their wake. As they said a silent goodbye so as not to disturb Caroline's call, the gentle smile Caroline offered thrilled Kate more than she could say. She clung to the memory of it long after Caroline had sailed down the corridor, hips moving to the mesmerising beat of her heels on the tiled floors. Kate knew she had a crush on the Head Teacher, but clutching her music tightly to her chest, she was past caring. It was what it was. She just had to deal with it as best she could.