Hopefully this is ok :)
Set a few days after part 3 (but some bits may indicate it's the same day - I'm sorry if this happens, I did try to remove all instances of this!)
"Are you sure you're ok baby girl?" Jac was watching her daughter carefully, the way she seemed to be shovelling her breakfast cereal down, her eyes glancing every so often towards the kitchen doorway and the clock that hung above it.
"Yes" was the answer she received in a very small voice between mouthfuls. Jac was hesitant to send her daughter to school after the events of the previous few days and yet when they had awoken – for Jac had once again found herself sleeping alongside her daughter - Millie had almost bolted from the bed in haste to grab her uniform .
"You can have day home with Liam; watching films, playing with your toys" Jac tries to make it sound like the better option though most children wouldn't take much persuasion, still hasn't she once taken sanctuary in her school away from her mother. Only Millie had no reason to seek sanctuary. The child shook her head.
"I have reading today and I have to go" she answers having finished the cereal. She jumps down from her chair and takes her bowl to the sink, placing it within the soapy water before she looks about the room for her shoes.
"I don't mind if you miss it and Liam would love the company" Jac tries to reason, she is almost sure is being unnecessarily concerned, that it is just Millie coming to terms with everything but there is something niggling in the back of her mind, that mingles with the guilt she feels.
"I have to go" the child turns to her, hands on hips and a look beyond her years colouring her in that moment "If you don't take me, I'll go on my own. I'm a big girl now" it's an expression she hasn't used in years and yet now it has an angry edge unlike the times she had used in previously. Jac frowns.
"Don't take that tone with me Millie" her voice is low, a warning and she watches as Millie's hands drop away from her hip and she retreats in the direction of her school shoes.
"I'm sorry" the girl whispers as she pulls the shoes onto her feet struggling with the buckle but pulling away when Jac approaches to help. When she finally manages she stands but shows no pride in the achievement.
"Looks like your nearly ready" Jac says sadly glancing at the clock which tells her they are well ahead of schedule yet Millie is already grabbing her bag.
"Then we can go?" The child asks in a rush and Jac raises an eyebrow somewhat bemused by the sudden love of school her daughter is developing; her little academic star.
"Soon" Jac informs her going to do to washing up before they leave otherwise it'll just be waiting until she gets home tonight and to kill some of the time because there is no point leaving this early.
"NOW!" Millie shouts the word, it's an order and Jac turns startled and she sees Liam appear in the doorway, an expression she cannot read on his face.
"Millie" Jac warns her daughter
"We Go Now" Millie sounds so much younger yet the angry undertones make her seem older.
"Listen to your mother Amelia" Liam warns her now and Millie frowns startled at the sound of his voice.
"Sorry mum" she whispers as she shrinks away placing her bag on the ground rifling through it as if that is of the utmost importance. Jac gives Liam a smile and mouths her thanks. Before she finishes her task.
"Right Millie time to go" she says finally "remember Liam's picking you up and if your good hes going to take you to the park" Jac smiles at the idea of it.
"We'll have fun wont we?" Liam questions "you loved the swings and the roundabout last time didn't you?" Millie glances between the adults, she sees the look in both of their eyes and she stands grabbing her bag and walking to the door.
"Yes" she says softly as she passes between them, eyes trained firmly on the door.
Jac walks with her daughter in to the school playground, Millie having run ahead of her most of the way in her apparent rush to get there. It's been a while since Jac has had to call out after her daughter to warn her to be careful of the busy traffic and to wait at the pavement edge. She had considered her daughter to be careful in that respect, already having a good awareness of danger and how to avoid it; only today that seemed to have dropped from her head and instead she was single minded in her pursuit.
"Ms Naylor" Jac looks up to see Millie's teacher, it appears the woman has been standing in wait for the pair of them as it draws attention from the other parents who are littered around the ground. Jac knows that the gossips have probably spent their time trying to work out who the teacher was waiting for and, now they will start to dissect why she is the chosen one, "I'd like to have a word with you" the woman adds, leading the mother in to the classroom, "you play out here for a bit Millie, Miss Pearce is out there if you need anything" she directs this too the child before she indicates for Jac to step in to the classroom.
"Is there something wrong?" Jac asks a little dumbly. The logical part of her mind tells her it is a stupid question, that something being wrong is the only reason she'd find herself standing in the classroom with her daughter's teacher. The logical part tells her that she has her own concerns that something isn't quite right but another part tells her she is being stupid. That she is seeing things that don't exist.
"I do have some concerns" The teacher starts, her voice soft. It's a voice that Jac thinks the woman uses when one of the children is hurt or scared, it's a voice that strikes a note of panic in Jac. It reminds her of the voice that 'kindly' teachers would use with her when she was a child, "take a seat" the teacher indicates one of the low chairs designed for the children and Jac views it with contempt but still she eases herself down on to it. In that moment, she is reminded of another time when she had sat on a small chair like this, in the garden with him. How they had sat in front of the little playhouse, a plastic representation of what he wanted with her – a home. How differently things had turned out to be.
"Concerns?" Jac nods a little preparing herself for the words the teacher is about to say. The woman heads to her desk and grabs a slim file, and for a second Jac has a vision of that file years down the line; a file much thicker, a file reminiscent of her own.
"Our primary concern is related to Millie's behaviour" the teacher opens the file and reads the sheet, though she has no real need to, "she's been increasingly aggressive and very quick to anger" Jac thinks back over the morning and her daughters tone but she pushes the idea away, she knows her own temperament and it seems that it is a part of her daughter also, "She also seems to get very frustrated with herself and displays behaviours which, I'll be frank, are not consistent with her age. At times she is acting much younger but at others much more grown up. It's making it harder for her to develop relationships with her peers, though she is withdrawing from them also preferring to play alone which again makes things more difficult"
"She's had quite an eventful few days" Jac informs the teacher and she watches as the teacher shakes her head, perhaps regretfully although Jac isn't entirely sure.
"Things have been building over a number of months" the teacher answers, looking back at the file. She can remember the child that had started at the school a year ago, a child who had been full of hope and promise and she thinks of the child now, two months in to year 1, "have you noticed any changes in Millie's behaviour at home?" the teacher asks, watching the mother carefully. Jac frowns and twists her lips before she glances around the classroom, at walls decorated in the children's artwork, at the book corner, the draw with her daughter's name printed on it along with a picture of a stethoscope which Millie had chosen as her symbol.
"She's fine" Jac answers, turning back to the teacher though she doesn't quite give her eye contact. She doesn't want her daughter labelled as a problem child, or a child with issues. She wants her normal little girl and besides she doesn't want people prying in to her home life. If they start digging too deeply, Jac is worried they'll find out too much and she'll lose everything she has.
"You haven't noticed any of these signs?" The teacher sounds surprised, but she notes how the mother is unable to meet her gaze, the way she seems to be so very uncomfortable now.
"Perhaps it's a problem here" Jac counters, though she knows it's unreasonable. Her daughter had been in such a rush to get here that it makes no sense and besides she knows the behaviour isn't limited to the classroom. The teachers runs a hand through her hair, feeling like she is getting nowhere with this woman.
"Millie seems to enjoy school, she is naturally clever and has a thirst for learning although this has tapered with the changes in her behaviour" the teacher responds, "It's been noted that she becomes more agitated as the school day starts to come to a close, we've had days where she has become very distressed at home time, we have tried to catch you to discuss this" the teacher adds, thinking of the other child, how they had been affected by Millie's outbursts.
"I'll have a talk with her" Jac speaks, shifting in to a standing position. She needs to get out of here.
"Ms Naylor, I'm not sure you understand the seriousness of this" The teacher informs her, Jac frowns, disliking the woman for doubting this about her.
"I am well aware of the seriousness of what you are saying and you can be assured that I will talk with my daughter to get to the bottom of the issue" Jac knows she is sounding harsher than is required but she cannot help it. Everything seems to be pressing down on her and there is no air here, in this room. She cannot breathe, she is suffocating. The image of her daughter flickers in her mind. This is her fault. Everything is her fault. Liam is right. She walks from the classroom. The teacher's eyes watching her as she goes, burning in to her spine; the teacher makes a mental note as she watches the woman walk away.