Adventures and Dramas in the Nursery

Chapter 14

That afternoon, as Autumn was walking out of the office, needing to stretch her legs, she caught a glimpse of two pre-school parents gossiping about which school their children were going to. They immediately noticed her presence."Autumn!" one of the mothers exclaimed, clearly wanting to involve her, much to Autumn's dismay."Yes?" Autumn responded stoically, realizing there was likely a complaint coming."I just had the...pleasure of meeting your new receptionist," mentioned the parent with a clear hint of displeasure."Okay?" Autumn replied, waiting for the inevitable critique."She's a...character, isn't she?" the parent continued, still not explicitly stating what displeased her about Agatha, their new receptionist.At that moment, the other parent, a softly spoken woman, interjected, "I thought she was quite nice.""I agree," Autumn responded. Then, turning back to the busybody mother, she asked, "Was there something I could help you with?""No, no, we were just talking about our children going to school in September," the mother replied. With a not-so-hidden attitude of superiority, she announced, "Mine is going to Cranford.""Cranford. Really?" Autumn said, not particularly interested but curious about where the conversation was heading.Not taking the hint that Autumn didn't care, the mother continued, her tone now condescending as she addressed the other parent, "Yes, unfortunately your little one didn't get into Cranford, did he? You're stuck with Jarvis.""Yes, that's right, but we never applied for Cranford. Jarvis was our first choice," the softly spoken woman replied, ignoring the condescending tone."Oh, I'm sure he'll be fine," the busybody mother said dismissively.Fed up, the other parent chose to remove herself from the situation. "I best be off. I'll see you later.""Bye," Autumn said. Within seconds of the door closing, the gossiping mother resumed, "Oh, such a pity for her, isn't it?""Why is that?" Autumn questioned, ready to respond to the oblivious gossiper."Well, Cranford is a very highly regarded school, and her little one is stuck with Jarvis.""Pray, what's wrong with Jarvis School?" Autumn asked."Well, it's not very highly thought of, is it? It's quite common."At that moment, Autumn made eye contact with the softly spoken mother, who had come back in to retrieve a forgotten comforter and overheard the conversation."Didn't they get an outstanding on the last Ofsted report?" Autumn asked."Yes, and how they managed to get that, I have no idea. Personally, I think they bribed someone, because when I drove past it, the type of people I see coming out of that gate—honestly, as a parent, I wouldn't imagine sending my child to a place with those kinds of people," the mother responded incredulously, still oblivious to the subject of her gossip.Now fed up with the discussion, Autumn congratulated the mother on her child getting into Cranford, backhandedly insulting her with, "I'd say you're going to fit right in there."Not realizing the insult, the mother assured Autumn, "Oh, I intend to. Anyway, I'll see you later. Bye-bye!"As soon as she was out the door, the softly spoken mother quietly told Autumn, "My little one forgot her nap snuggly."But Autumn, uncharacteristically, saved her response for damage control. "Jarvis Infants is a very good school.""It's not Cranford, though, apparently," the mother said with a look of defeat.But Autumn had information that the mother didn't. "You wouldn't want to send your child to Cranford.""According to some, it's the best school around," the mother replied, beginning to doubt her initial choices."The best if you have a lot of money. It's where my brother and I went to school.""You went to Cranford?""Mm-hmm. Believe me, you'd absolutely hate it there. It's very 'keeping up with the Joneses.' You wouldn't want that for your little one either. The parents' differences often trickle down to their children," Autumn explained, making a point of showing she had been there and done that, and still suggested against it."I see, but the things she was saying about the parents at Jarvis and the way she was judging them..." the mother started."...is her projecting. The only way she knows how to fit in with the Cranford crowd is to put down the Jarvis parents," Autumn finished.Finally understanding that the gossiping mother was talking rubbish, the softly spoken mother smiled and replied, "I really appreciate that, Autumn. Thank you." She walked off to the baby room to give little Phoebe her comforter, just as Marjorie came out of the office."Okay, I was shamelessly eavesdropping from the office, but Reece told me you two went to a private school. Is Cranford a private school then?""Mm-hmm," muttered Autumn, adjusting her braces."But she was late on last month's childcare fees! How on earth is she affording to send her little one to Cranford?"Staring at Marjorie with a look of deadly seriousness, Autumn said, "My best estimate is that she'll last about a term before those two little ones are reunited once again at Jarvis Infants." With that, she ended the exchange and walked up to the staff room to refill her water bottle, desperately hoping to hide her sickness from Marjorie for as long as possible.