by Suzy K Quinn
From SUZY:
Every page in this book is a connection between us – author and reader.
I am so grateful you have chosen to make that connection.
I love talking to readers, so feel free to get in touch:
Email: [email protected]
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Don’t Tell Teacher
Suzy K Quinn
ONE PLACE. MANY STORIES
Copyright
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2019
Copyright © Suzy K Quinn 2019
Suzy K Quinn asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Ebook Edition © March 2019 ISBN: 9780008323165
Version: 2019-02-21
For my little girls, Lexi and Laya – sorry this isn’t a bedtime
story. You can read it when you’re older :) xx
Contents
Cover
About the Author
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue
Lizzie
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Lizzie
Lizzie
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Lizzie
Ruth
Lizzie
Lizzie
Lizzie
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Lizzie
Lizzie
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Ruth
Kate
Lizzie
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Kate
Ruth
Lizzie
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Kate
Ruth
Lizzie
Olly
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Lizzie
Kate
Lizzie
Olly
Kate
Olly
Acknowledgements
About the Publisher
Prologue
We’re running. Along wide, tree-lined pavements, over the zebra crossing and into the park.
‘Quick, Tom.’
Tom struggles to keep up, tired little legs bobbing up and down on trimmed grass. He gasps for breath.
My ribs throb, lighting up in pain.
A Victorian bandstand and a rainbow of flowerbeds flash past. Dimly, I notice wicker picnic hampers, Prosecco, Pimm’s in plastic glasses.
No one notices us. The frightened mother with straight, brown hair, wearing her husband’s choice of clothes. The little boy in tears.
That’s the thing about the city. Nobody notices.
There’s a giant privet hedge by the railings, big enough to hide in.
Tom cries harder. I cuddle him in my arms. ‘Don’t make a sound,’ I whisper, heart racing. ‘Don’t make a sound.’
Tom nods rapidly.
We both clutch each other, terrified. I shiver, even though it’s a warm summer’s day.
Tom gives a choked sob. ‘Will he find us, Mum?’
‘Shush,’ I say, crouching in my flat leather sandals, summer dress flowing over my knees. ‘Please, Tom. We have to be quiet.’
‘I’m scared.’ Tom clasps my bare arm.
‘I know, sweetheart,’ I whisper, holding his head against my shoulder. ‘We’re going away. Far away from him.’
‘What if he gets me at school?’
‘We’ll find a new school. One he doesn’t know about. Okay?’
Tom’s chest is against mine, his breathing fast.
He understands that we can’t be found.
Olly is capable of anything.
Lizzie
Monday. School starts. It won’t be like the last place, Tom knows that. It will be hard, being the new kid.
‘Come on, Tommo,’ I call up the stairs. ‘Let’s go go go. We don’t want to be late on our first day.’
I pack Tom’s school bag, then give my hair a few quick brushes, checking my reflection in the hallway mirror.
A pale, worried face stares back at me. Pointy little features, a heart-shaped chin, brown hair, long and ruler-straight.
The invisible woman.
Olly’s broken ex-wife.
I want to change that. I want to be someone different here.
No one needs to know how things were before.
Tom clatters down the polished, wooden staircase in his new Steelfield school uniform. I throw my arms around him.
‘A hug to make you grow big and strong,’ I say. ‘You get taller with every cuddle. Did you know that?’
‘I know, Mum. You tell me every morning.’
I hand him his blue wool coat. I’ve always liked this colour against Tom’s bright blond hair and pale skin. The coat is from last winter, but he still hasn’t grown out of it. Tom is small for his age; at nearly nine he looks more like seven.
We head out and onto the muddy track, stopping at a blackberry bush to pick berries.
Tom counts as he eats and sings.
‘One, two, three, four, five – to stay alive.’
‘It’s going to be exciting,’ I coax as Tom and I pass the school playing field. ‘Look at all that grass. You didn’t have that in London. And they’ve got a little woodland bit.’ I point to the trees edging the field. ‘And full-sized goalposts.’
‘What if Dad finds us?’ Tom watches the stony ground.
‘He won’t. Don’t worry. We’re safe here.’
‘I like our new house,’ says Tom. ‘I
t’s a family house. Like in Peter Pan.’
We walk on in silence and birds skitter across the path.
Tom says, ‘Hello, birds. Do you live here? Oh – did you hurt your leg, little birdy? I hope you feel better soon.’
They really are beautiful school grounds – huge and tree-lined, with bright green grass. Up ahead there is a silver, glimmering spider’s web tangled through the fence wire: an old bike chain bent around to repair a hole.
I wonder, briefly, why there is a hole in the fence. I’m sure there’s some logical explanation. This is an excellent school … But I’ve never seen a fence this tall around a school. It’s like a zoo enclosure.
I feel uneasy, thinking of children caged like animals.
A cage is safe. Think of it that way.
The school building sits at the front of the field, a large Victorian structure with a tarmac playground. There are no lively murals, like at Tom’s last school. Just spikey grey railings and towering, arched gates.
A shiny sign says:
STEELFIELD SCHOOL: AN OUTSTANDING EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENT
HEADMASTER: ALAN COCKRUN, BA HONS SEMPER FORTIS – ALWAYS STRONG
The downstairs windows have bars on them, which feel a little sinister and an odd paradox to the holes in the fence. And one window – a small one by the main door – has blacked-out glass, a sleeping eye twinkling in the sun.
The playground is a spotless black lake. No scooter marks or trodden-in chewing gum. I’ve never seen a school so clean.
We approach the main road, joining a swarm of kids battling for pavement position.
Most of the kids are orderly and well-behaved. No chatting or playing. However, three boys stand out with their neon, scruffy shoes, angry faces and thick, shaggy black hair.
Brothers, I decide.
They are pushing and shoving each other, fighting over a football. The tallest of the boys notices Tom and me coming up the lane. ‘Who are you?’ He bounces his football hard on the concrete, glaring.
I put a hand on Tom’s shoulder. ‘Come on, Tommo. Nearly there.’
The shortest of the three boys shouts, ‘Oo, oo. London town-ies’.
I call after them, ‘Hey. Hey! Excuse me—’
But they’re running now, laughing and careering through the school gates.
How do they know we’re from London?
‘It’s okay, Mum,’ says Tom.
My hand tenses on his shoulder. ‘I should say something.’
‘They don’t know me yet,’ Tom whispers. ‘That’s all. When they get to know me, it’ll be okay.’
My wise little eight-year-old. Tom has always been that way. Very in tune with people. But I am worried about bullying. Vulnerable children are easy targets. Social services told me that.
It will be hard for him …
As the three black-haired brothers head into the school yard, a remarkable change takes place. They stop jostling and pushing each other and walk sensibly, arms by their sides, mouths closed in angry lines.
Tom and I walk alongside the railings, approaching the open gates.
It’s funny – I’d expected this new academy school to be shiny and modern. Not to have grey brick walls, a bell tower, slate turrets and bars.
I sweep away thoughts of prisons and haunted houses and tell Tom, ‘Well, this is exciting. Look – there’s hopscotch.’
Tom doesn’t reply, his eyes wide at the shadowy brickwork.
‘This is my school?’ he asks, bewildered. ‘It looks like an old castle.’
‘Well, castles are fun. Maybe you can play knights or something. I know it’s different from the last place.’
‘Castles have ghosts,’ Tom whispers.
‘Oh, no they don’t. Anyway, big nearly-nine-year-old ghost-busters aren’t afraid of ghosts.’
We move towards the school gates, which are huge with spikes along the top, and I put on an even brighter voice. ‘You’re going to do great today, Tom. I love you so much. Stay cool, okay? High five?’
Tom gives me a weak high five.
‘Will you be okay, Mum?’ he asks.
My eyes well up. ‘Of course. I’ll be fine. It’s not your job to worry about me. It’s mine to worry about you.’
Tom turns towards the soulless tarmac and asks, ‘Aren’t you coming in with me?’
‘Parents aren’t allowed into the playground here,’ I say. ‘Someone from the office phoned to tell me. Something to do with safety.’
Two of the black-haired boys are fighting in a secluded corner near a netball post, a pile of tussling limbs.
‘Those Neilson boys,’ I hear a voice mutter beside me – a mother dropping off her daughter. ‘Can’t go five minutes without killing each other.’
The headmaster appears in the entranceway then – an immaculately presented man wearing a pinstripe suit and royal-blue tie. His hair is brown, neatly cut and combed, and he is clean-shaven with a boyish face that has a slightly rubbery, clown-like quality.
Hands in pockets, he surveys the playground. He is smiling, lips oddly red and jester-shaped, but his blue eyes remain cold and hard.
The chattering parents spot him and fall silent.
The headmaster approaches the corner where the boys are fighting and stops to watch, still smiling his cold smile.
After a moment, the boys sense the headmaster and quickly untangle themselves, standing straight, expressions fearful.
It’s a little creepy how all this is done in near silence, but I suppose at least the headmaster can keep order. Tom’s last school was chaos. Too many pupils and no control.
I kneel down to Tom and whisper, ‘Have a good day at school. I love you so much. Don’t think about Dad.’ I stroke Tom’s chin-length blond hair, left loose around his ears today. More conventional, I thought. Less like his father. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘I’m scared, Mum,’ says Tom. ‘I don’t want to leave you alone all day. What if Dad—’
I cut Tom off with a shake of my head and give him a thumbs-up. ‘It’s fine. We’re safe now, okay? He has no idea where we are.’ Then I hug him, burying my face in his fine hair.
‘I love you, Mum,’ says Tom.
‘I love you too.’ I step back, smiling encouragingly. ‘Go on then. You’ll be a big kid – going into class all by yourself. They’ll call you Tom Kinnock in the register. Social services gave them your old name. But remember you’re Riley now. Tom Riley.’
Tom wanders into the playground, a tiny figure drowned by a huge Transformers bag. He really is small for nearly nine. And thin too, with bony arms and legs.
Someone kicks a ball towards him, and Tom reacts with his feet – probably without thinking.
A minute later, he’s kicking a football with a group of lads, including two of the black-haired boys who were fighting before. The ball is kicked viciously by those boys, booted at children’s faces.
I’m anxious. Those kids look like trouble.
As I’m watching, the headmaster crosses the playground. Mr Cockrun. Yes. That’s his name. He’d never get away with that at a secondary school. His smile fades as he approaches the gate.
‘Hello there,’ he says. ‘You must be Mrs Kinnock.’
The way he says our old surname … I don’t feel especially welcomed.
‘Riley now,’ I say. ‘Miss Riley. Our social worker—’
‘Best not to hang around once they’ve gone inside,’ says Mr Cockrun, giving me a full politician’s smile and flashing straight, white teeth. ‘It can be unsettling, especially for the younger ones. And it’s also a safeguarding issue.’ He pulls a large bunch of keys from his pocket. ‘They’re always fine when the parents are gone.’
Mr Cockrun tugs at the stiff gate. It makes a horrible screech as metal drags along a tarmac trench, orange with rust. Then he takes the bulky chain that hangs from it and wraps it around three times before securing it with a gorilla padlock. He tests the arrangement, pulling at the chain.
‘Safe as houses
,’ he tells me through the gates.
‘Why the padlock?’ I ask, seeing Tom small and trapped on the other side of the railings.
Mr Cockrun’s cheerful expression falters. ‘I beg your pardon?’
‘Why have you padlocked the gate?’ I don’t mean to raise my voice. Other parents are looking. But it feels sinister.
‘For safeguarding. Fail to safeguard the children and we fail everything.’
‘Yes, but—’
‘Mrs Kinnock, this is an outstanding school. We know what we’re doing.’
I pull my coat around myself, holding back a shiver. It’s a very ordinary wool coat, bought while I was with Olly.
I was a shadow then, of course. Hiding behind my husband.
I’m hoping that will change here.
‘It feels like I’m leaving Tom in prison,’ I say, trying for a little laugh.
Mr Cockrun meets my eye, his hard, black pupils unwavering. ‘There is a very long waiting list for this school, Mrs Kinnock. Thanks to social services, your son jumped right to the top. I’d have thought you’d be the last parent to criticise.’
‘I didn’t mean to—’
‘We usually pick and choose who we let in.’ The politician’s smile returns. ‘Let’s make sure we’re on the same page, Mrs Kinnock. Not start off on the wrong foot.’
He strolls back to the school building, and I’m left watching and wondering.
When I get back to our new Victorian house with its large, wraparound garden and elegant porch pillars, I sit on the front wall, put my head in my hands and cry.
I try not to make a sound, but sobs escape through my fingers.
Things will get better.
Of course I’m going to feel emotional on his first day.
Lizzie
I’ve been invited to a party, but I’m on the outside, not knowing what to do with myself. I’m not a skier or snowboarder, so I’m … nowhere. Standing on the balcony, looking at the mountains, I feel very alone.
Morzine is one of the world’s best ski resorts. I’ve heard it described as ‘electric’ after dark. Tomorrow, the slopes will be tingling with pink, white and yellow snowsuits. But tonight, they’re white and calm.
It sounded so adventurous, being a chalet girl out here. But the truth is, I’m running away. Things with Mum are unbearable again. I thought they’d be better after university, but if anything they’re worse. Her need to tear me down is stronger than ever.