For the remainder of the school day, Anna had pupils asking her about Brett during lessons.

Then she had staff asking her about her and Brett at break and lunch or whenever they passed in the corridor.

And always she gave out the same reply.

' I don't wish to talk about it with you.'

One person who had not approached her was Grantly, whom she had expected to be one of the first to speak to her. After all, he was Brett's grandfather, and surely would have figured that out by now.

By three thirty, she was glad when the bell rang and she could leave behind the whispers that were now following her everywhere.

Standing by her car in the car park, she saw Brett - whom she had been waiting for - approach Tom's car with Mika.

Anna went over to him and called out his name.

He turned around and looked at her coldly, though the look on his face faded when he saw just how tired and dismayed the woman looked.

' Yes? ' he asked, keeping his voice indifferent.

' Would you come round to my house please? We have to talk about this.' she pleaded.

' I'm not sure I'm ready,' he said, ' I just can't believe that all my life I thought I was one person but then it turns out I'm someone completely different.'

' But you're not,' Anna tried to reason, ' You're still you.'

Brett shook his head, ' No. I can't talk about this now. I'm going to Mika's. I'll see you around.'

With that he climbed into the back of Tom's car and Anna knew that for now, she couldn't do anything but wait for him to come to her whenever he was ready.

--

It turned out that Brett was ready sooner than Anna had expected.

That same night, she was marking a batch of homework from the year 9 classes that she taught when the doorbell rang and she opened the door to find him stood on the doorstep.

As she ushered him into her home, she caught sight of Tom looked out of the upstairs window of his house across the street and strongly suspected that he had played a part in persuading Brett to come over the road.

Anna followed him through to the kitchen, where he sat down on one of her pine chairs, and she sat opposite him.

' Can I get you anything? ' she asked nervously, ' Tea? Coffee? Ornage juice? A biscuit or something? '

' No,' said her son firmly, ' I just want to know what on earth is going on. I want to know why, if you're my mother, you left me to be raised by someone else and why everyone has been lying to me about my parents my whole life. Just tell me what's going on Anna.'

Anna nodded bravely, ' OK, so when I got pregnant I was still in high school as you know,'

' Yeah. I worked it out - you were only 14 when I was born.' Brett nodded.

' Well obviously I hadn't planned to get pregnant, I didn't even have a boyfriend, but things happened and I did. My parents took me out of school and we moved away from Rochdale, to London,'

' Why did you have to move? ' Brett asked.

Anna bit her lip. She was trying to avoid telling him that his fther had raped her.

' Um... your father didn't make things easy ans it was neccesary for us to move. So I was homeschooled unitl you were born. There I was, a 14 year old, still in school, no boyfriend, no idea how to look after my self let alone someone else, only a child myself, with a new born baby.I couldn't raise a child, it would have been unfair on you when I didn't have a clue about anything. I was only just a teenager, you have to remember. Surely you can understand why I had to have Roger and Amy - my brother and his wife - look after you? They could give you everything, wheras I couldn't even look after you.'

Brett nodded, ' I suppose so, but all those years...'

Anna now nodded, ' We agreed... back then.. that we would tell you when you were old enough to know - when you were 16 - because that would be best. I was only a kid, Roger, Amy and my parents insisted on it, and being a kid, I agreed. '

' Did you ever regret it? '

Anna's eyes widened, ' Oh yes! Every day, I thought about it, and every day, I wished I could have looked after you myself. There were so many times when you were younger that I wanted to just tell you, but Roger never left me alone with you long enough. I tried to visit all the time, and just phone up, but as you already know, he didn't want me getting too close and he would make up his excuses. And then in September when I moved here I was desperate to tell you even more - you were 16 now so I could, and I got to see you more without Roger being around all of the time and when we got closer and I got to think of you as my son, and you're always round at the house and I.. I got scared.'

' You were scared? '

' Yeah. I was scared that if I told you the truth, you'd freak out about it and never want to talk to me agian. I wouldn't blame you after we've kept the truth back for so long, but i only hope things can work out all right.'

Brett leaned forward and took Anna's hand, ' Of course things can work out, it's just so much to take in. But I want us to be able to be a proper family as much as you do... maybe it's too soon now, but in time...'

' Oh yes,' Anna whispered, eyes glittering with glee.

' As much as I love Roger - I can't call him dad now, can I? - it's never really been right has it? I'll always be grateful to him for raising me, but this is what's meant to be. I should be with my real parents.'

On the word 'parents' Brett stopped talking and looked at Anna curiously, and she knew what was coming.

' Hey,' he said curiously, ' Who's my dad, then? '

Anna sighed, ' He was - well, is - about 10 years older than me. Yeah, he was Roger's age, so he was 24 at the time. He was just an unemployed drug addict who lived around here somewhere. He's no one important.'

' If he's really as bad a person as you say, then why were you ever with him? '

Anna refused to meet his eyes, ' We were never together. It was a one off.'

' But why, if he was just a waster? '

Anna knew that she was going to have to tell him this - no more secrets.

'Before I tell you - just remember that you are nothing like him.'

Brett looked a little confused,' Um, OK.'

' Let's just say that your father was a man who always got what he wanted, regardless of whether other people wanted to give it to him.'

Brett paused a moment before answering, ' So you mean to say that he forced you into it? '

Anna nodded silently.

Brett squeezed her hand, ' What... what his name? I'm sorry, but I just want to know who exactly my father is.'

Anna shook her head, ' No, it's OK, you deserve to know. His name was Phillip... Phillip Budgen.'

Brett looked rather suprised, ' Budgen? Budgen? Tell me that's no relation to old Budgen from school.'

Anna supressed a smirk, ' I'm sorry, but your grandfather is Grantly Budgen.'

' Oh my god.. why me? why, God, why me? '

Anna laughed and he laughed with her.

' Ah well,' he said, ' Maybe this means I'll get higher grades in English.'

Anna frowned, ' But Tom - I mean Mr Clarkson - is your English teacher.'

Brett smirked, ' You can stop calling him 'Mr Clarkson' you know, you're not fooling me, I know you're both head over heels.'

' Shut up. Back to the point, you won't be getting special treatment in English because your grandfather doesn't teach you.'

' No, but he's head of the department. Plus my future step-father is my teacher.'

Anna swatted his arm, ' Tom isn't your future stepfather,' she insisted, blushing furiously, ' We've only been dating a few months.'

Brett shrugged, ' Whatever you say.'

Anna shook her head at him, then checking her watch, looked up at him, ' It's getting late, you should be going home.'

Brett agreed, ' I have to talk to Roger and Celia.'

She walked him to the front door and said her goodbyes.

As she watched him leave, she realised how lucky she was that Brett seemed to be accepting things and seemed happy.