Making Jane Proud

Chapter 19 - Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark

"Good morning roomie."

"My last roommate brought me a cup of tea in the morning."

"Are you telling me I need to up my game, Miss Cunningham?"

"Just saying."

"Did your last roommate do this?" He gently bit her earlobe then kissed his way down her neck to suck at the base of her throat. "Or this?" A large hand cupped her breast and kneaded gently, thumb rubbing over the burgeoning peak. "Or this?" His mouth followed where his thumb had been and Ellie thanked Providence and all the deities that Tom's flat was much closer to her school than the flat in Earls Court had been.

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"That is absolutely the right answer Siobhan, thank you." She glanced at the clock. "All right, the bell will be ringing in a few minutes so pack your books away and make sure your desktop is tidy." There was a flurry of activity as things were put away in cubbies and desks then when the bell rang she dismissed them and smiled at their excited chatter as they rushed off to collect bags and meet their parents or caregivers.

A man waiting outside the classroom caught her eye; he had a dark, irritable expression on his face and she noticed him scowl fiercely when he saw someone. Her gaze shifted: Jerome. Now she recognised the man as Jerome's father – he'd attended a parent teacher evening about six months ago, not long after she'd been told that Jerome's mother had left. It was unusual for him to be here though, usually Jerome's aunt collected him from school and looked after him until his dad got home from work. As she pondered, she saw the boy hesitate to go up to his father, hanging back as if reluctant to go with him. The man said something in a low voice and Jerome flinched, a scared look crossing his face, and suddenly Ellie's senses were on high alert.

"Mr Kowalski, how nice you could come collect Jerome today." She made her way out as quickly as she could and put her hand on her student's shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. He trembled slightly under her touch and her heart pounded with concern for the boy. The man just nodded curtly at her greeting and reached a thick, gnarly hand towards his son. "I hope Jerome has told you how well he is doing in class," she went on quickly in hope of distracting the man as he grabbed Jerome by the shoulder.

"'S tha' so?" She couldn't be entirely sure but thought his speech sounded a little slurred and he reeked of something; she darted a quick glance around to see if any other staff members were nearby but saw none, though a few parents looked her way.

"Yes, he's one of my top students in literacy, you should be very proud." Still worried about the looks she'd seen on both their faces, she hoped to keep him talking until someone came along who could help. Unfortunately the man merely grunted at her comment and pushed his son towards the school gate, obviously not disposed for chitchat. Clutching at straws she uttered, "Perhaps you'd like to come and see some of his work and discuss his progress?" but in answer she received a low growl as the two of them left the school grounds and the matter was taken out of her hands.

She cast some anxious looks at Jerome until they disappeared around the side of a building then rushed to the administration block to report the incident to her cluster group head teacher and the school's welfare officer.

By the time she had finished relaying the situation a number of times as well as writing it all down, then gone back to her classroom to tidy up, do some marking and prepare for the next day, it was getting late as she made her weary way on the tube back to Tom's flat. She couldn't think of it as her flat yet, she'd only been there a week. When she entered a dark and empty room she remembered that today was his first day of horse training; a car had arrived early this morning to drive him to the stables and he hadn't been sure what time they would finish. Sighing, she dumped her bags and headed for the shower.