Ninja School Mum

by Lizzie Chantree

  ‘How do you know what to teach us?’ asked Allie as Skye noted the look of determination appear on Thea’s face.

  ‘I’d like that point explained to me too,’ said Thea.

  ‘I used to be a gymnast,’ joked Skye, swishing her arms about theatrically. ‘I had to learn to move quickly, listen and have great balance. I was good at cartwheels,’ she sighed dramatically as Leo was about to butt in, ‘but I was rubbish at everything else. I should have been a ninja,’ she laughed at their shocked faces. ‘I’m joking!’ she said quickly. ‘I was a professional rock climber in a former life, but had a fall, so I decided to hibernate here and write a book for climbers like me. I had to settle for being an author and dreaming it all up in my head instead of scaling great mountains and jumping off them.’ She pretended to climb up an imaginary mountain and drop off the side, falling to the floor and spluttering as if she’d just been shot dead. Both kids howled with laughter as she picked herself up. ‘I can certainly teach you both the tricks I practised during my training, though. It might help you plant your feet on the ground when Miles tries to push you over, or dodge out of the way before he gets there. Plus, I went to a self-defence course for fun before I had Leo. I have enough skills to take a man down and make him cry,’ she joked, making them all giggle again at the thought.

  The children looked at each other with glee and appeared to love the idea of thwarting Miles. ‘We’re in!’ they chorused, looking towards Thea.

  ‘I give up,’ Thea said, throwing her arms up in exasperation as she walked towards the house, wiping her hands down her fraying jeans. ‘I’m in too,’ she called out behind her as the other three whooped with joy and danced around the garden.

  Skye noted that Thea didn’t bother to turn round and see what silliness they were up to now but walked through the open door and crouched down in front of Flo, who had dozed off and was dribbling slightly. Thea scooped her up to place her gently back into her pram, setting it just outside the door so the baby could sleep outdoors and Thea could see her if she woke up, which made sense to Skye. She bet Thea was wondering what the hell she had she let herself in for.

  After an hour of assisting the children as they balanced carefully on the logs she had found piled along the back wall of the garden and had arranged across the lawn, Skye started to fire soft tennis balls in their direction for them to dodge. She had bought them when she’d decided it was time to take up tennis, but had been bored within an hour, even though the instructor had been fit and gorgeous. Next, it was time for them to run in circles around the garden, before they all collapsed into an exhausted heap of arms and legs, panting heavily.

  Skye regarded their sweaty faces and thought maybe she had got a bit carried away with the drill sergeant act. She had quite enjoyed bossing them around and they hadn’t complained once. Maybe this was how she should parent in the future? Although she had a feeling that Leo would give her one of his death stares if she tried it when they were alone. Skye, very kindly she thought, told them that there was ice cream in the fridge. Suddenly, in a burst of energy, the children jumped up and ran inside before Skye changed her mind and asked them to do the plank, which involved balancing their bodies on their arms and holding themselves as flat as planks of wood for minutes at a time. Maybe she could introduce that next week? she mused.

  Skye looked at the brick wall at the end of the garden, just in time to see the little face appear again. Within a few strides, she had reached the back wall and placed her toes into the two grooves she had made earlier in the week. You would have thought they were part of the old wall’s natural aging, if you happened to take a closer look. Skye picked up speed as she moved closer and she was standing on top of the wall before the head had time to bob back down again and out of sight. It wasn’t a high wall, as the view to the fields beyond was too beautiful to block out and there were no neighbours other than the manor house and one other cottage nearby.

  Skye glanced at the house and saw Thea dish up the ice cream through the kitchen window. She looked up as if to ask Skye if she wanted any of the lemony treat, then got distracted and licked a drop of ice cream that slipped from the spoon sighing in pleasure, obviously deciding she should have a small cone too, which made Skye smile. So much for the diet she had harped on about.

  Thea scanned the garden and Skye hoped she hadn’t seen her practically parallel climb the back wall, as she jumped down the other side. It wasn’t a huge wall, but it would have looked like Skye was walking on air.

  Skye could imagine Thea frowning and rubbing her eyes, which were already sore with exhaustion through lack of sleep. She would probably think that some of the sponge balls had flown over the wall and Skye had gone to collect them. Either way, thought Skye, Thea would sneakily make a cone for herself and leave Skye to do her own when she came back.

  Chapter Eight

  Emmie gasped as Skye appeared on the wall, almost stumbling off the pile of logs she had built up behind it so that she could see what all the laughter was about. Skye jumped down on the other side and held Emmie up so that she didn’t fall, then gently helped her step back down onto solid ground. Emmie wiped hands dirty from carrying logs on her deep blue leggings and left a big grimy mark, before looking around to see if there was somewhere to run to. As the woman was smiling at her kindly and didn’t look too cross, Emmie stayed where she was. The woman was wearing skinny black jeans and a worn-out black T-shirt with a faded grey motif on the front and she was standing patiently, not saying anything, but looking at Emmie with a question in her eyes as to why she had been peering over her wall. Emmie had only been there for ten minutes and had tried really hard to keep her head down and not be seen. She had heard laughter as she played with Buzz in the fields. Some guard dog he was, as he was currently rubbing his face all over the woman’s arms in welcome as she crouched down and made a fuss of him.

  She had been surprised to see the new boy and that irritating girl, Allie, playing in the cottage garden. It looked like they were having such a brilliant time running around that Emmie couldn’t seem to stop herself from watching. It hadn’t been easy lugging the logs over, but she had been desperately bored and there was no one around to stop her. It was her property, after all, so surely she could do whatever she liked.

  ‘Emmie!’ shouted a harassed voice, which was growing closer. Skye looked up at Emmie, who was rooted to the spot at the sound.

  Skye stood up slowly, which Emmie assumed was to show her she wasn’t so scary. ‘I’m Leo’s mum, Skye. I think someone’s looking for you?’ she said gently, still smiling, which told the very astute Emmie that she wasn’t cross with her and about to yell like her dad. Emmie knew that she was pretty as a picture, with shoulder length dark, silky hair and what her grandma called a striking pair of inquisitive green eyes, which adults always went soppy over, but her mouth was set and her stance was defiant. She was fed up with having no one to play with and didn’t really care if her dad was mad.

  ‘Are you allowed out here on your own?’ Skye asked conversationally.

  ‘It’s my house!’ said Emmie haughtily.

  ‘Oh,’ replied Skye looking surprised. ‘I assumed the owner would be of retirement age, but maybe you’re his granddaughter?’

  ‘Emmie!’ came another cry from just beyond the edge of the field, as her dad vaulted, rather impressively, over a small hedge and landed firmly on his feet. Her dog, Poppy, was close at his heels, although she squeezed through a hole in the hedge which had been made by a badger, almost getting her backside jammed on the way through, which made Emmie snicker into her hand.

  Skye waved her arms to get his attention, then whistled an ear-splitting noise into the air, which made him stop and turn their way. He started towards them with a purposeful stride. It was clear he was cross, from his tautly bunched arm muscles and the way he was gripping his own hands, as if to control his anger. Emmie looked at her father’s face and cringed theatrically. ‘Oh man. My dad is going to kill me!’

 
‘Why?’ asked Skye. ‘Have you wandered too far from home?’ Emmie could see she was trying not to stare at the hunk of man who was heading her way. She made a retching sound, as she’d overheard Mile’s mum describe her dad this way the other day and it sounded revolting.

  ‘I was bored, so I ran off,’ Emmie said simply, as if that explained everything.

  ‘Running off is never a good idea,’ said Skye solemnly, peering into the worried eyes of the child in front of her. Emmie was trying to look confident, but her bottom lip had started to quiver and her skin was prickled with sweat.

  Emmie had no idea that the woman beside her was practiced in interpreting nuances of behaviour and could feel that this meeting wasn’t going to be pleasant, from the Emmie’s reaction to her dad.

  ‘Why not?’ asked Emmie, moving over to hold Skye’s hand. Skye seemed surprised, but smiled as she recognised Emmie’s tactic to outwit her angry-looking father, by letting him think she had been with another adult all along, and didn’t say anything. ‘It’s more fun than sitting around bored on my own,’ continued Emmie, straightening her back and gritting her teeth as her dad drew nearer.

  Skye kept hold of the child’s hand, then leant down and picked a daisy from the ground by their feet, before handing it to Emmie. ‘Because if you ever were really lost,’ said Skye in an even tone, ‘people might think you were still playing and not look for you.’

  ‘Oh,’ was all Emmie said, a little grumpily, hanging her head and staring intently at the daisy in her other hand as her father’s feet came into view and she knew she would have to look up and face the music.

  Zack stared at Skye, taking in her skin-tight jeans and an old black T-shirt, which moulded her curves. He saw she was holding his daughter’s small hand in her own, and looked like he might combust in anger. Emmie braced herself, as she was sure he was about to tear a strip off her for running away, although if he was going to be as mean and moody as he looked now, Skye probably wouldn’t blame her.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ he asked accusingly to Skye.

  She looked into stormy grey eyes, taken aback. ‘I guessed you would be angry with your daughter for wandering off, but had thought you would politely thank me for finding her, not treat me like some sort of criminal. I live here,’ she said simply with an inclination of her head towards the cottage wall. It was clear from her tone that she was trying to keep calm and not knock him to the floor.

  His mouth dropped open and his shoulders sagged, as he obviously realised she wasn’t some random weirdo. ‘You’re the mysterious new tenant?’

  ‘Emmie here heard my son and his friend playing in the garden, then I said the magic words, ‘ice cream’, and she couldn’t resist peeping over the wall,’ Skye explained. Emmie sent her a grateful glance for the omission that she had been spying on them.

  He looked at the small pile of logs that had been dragged up to the garden wall. ‘Do you live in one of the estate cottages as well?’ Skye asked, visibly trying to control her anger at his rudeness but not wanting to tear a strip off him in front of his daughter. ‘Emmie says she lives here too?’

  ‘She does,’ was all he said, before crouching down in front of his daughter and calmly but firmly explaining that she was not allowed this far onto the estate without a responsible… he glared at Skye, adult. ‘I apologise if she disturbed you,’ he ground out before grasping his daughter’s hand and whistling for the dogs. Emmie’s bottom lip wobbled but she wordlessly followed her dad as he strode away, her little legs racing to keep up.

  ‘What an obnoxious man!’ fumed Skye, as Zack strode off in a casual shirt that showed off his pecs and was rolled up to reveal impressive forearms. She stared at him for a few seconds too long for Emmie’s liking.

  As they strode away, Emmie turned and offered an apologetic glance her way and Skye summoned a reassuring smile in return, then did a quick somersault behind his back to release some tension, making the little girl’s eyes go wide in shock, then a big grin appear on her face. She hadn’t seen an adult do that before, other than acrobats on the TV.

  Emmie’s dad was getting impatient with her dragging behind and gently pulled her along, so that she was forced to turn towards home and speed up to match his pace. She chanced a peek up at him, but he was looking mighty angry, so she kept her gaze on the ground and wordlessly followed him. She hadn’t really seen her dad get cross before, and it made her tummy hurt a bit. She could usually get whatever she wanted out of her dad, but this time she knew she had pushed him too far by disappearing without letting on where she was.

  The dogs, knowing something was wrong and that their master was upset, hung their heads too and the morose group strode back to the house, waiting for the telling off they knew they would receive for wandering too far from the main house. Buzz pushed his wet nose into Emmie’s quivering hand in reassurance and she stroked his soft fur in thanks. Maybe dogs weren’t so bad after all she thought. At least they were going to be put on the naughty step with her, she almost giggled, as she recalled a programme her dad had tried to show her once where the parents disciplined their children by shoving them onto the stairs. He had never actually used the technique and she hoped he didn’t try it now. The stair carpet was full of dog hairs! A stupid puppy like the one Miles had would be too small to run in the fields with her, like Buzz and Poppy did. She made a mental note to remember to tell that to Miles tomorrow at school, while she regaled him with her adventure in the woods.

  Chapter Nine

  Skye walked into the kitchen, just as Thea had finished washing up after dinner. ‘Wow! You are a total domestic goddess,’ she said admiringly. ‘I would have left that until the morning, then been annoyed that I was too lazy to do it the night before.’ Thea looked around Skye’s immaculate and fairly sparse kitchen and frowned slightly.

  ‘It’s always more fun to tidy up someone else’s kitchen. I hate cleaning up my own mess. Where did you disappear to?’ she asked, changing the subject and looking too tired to argue the point.

  ‘I saw someone watching the children over the wall.’ Seeing Thea’s horrified look, she held up a hand to stop that train of thought. ‘It was a child. Seems she’d wandered off from her parent. He showed up hollering the place down and I might add, he was pretty mad with her… and me for that matter!’

  ‘What on earth would a child be doing on their own all the way out here?’ asked Thea in an angry voice. ‘What was the dad thinking of, letting her wander around the woods and fields here? It’s so secluded. Anyone might have come across her.’

  ‘He called her Emmie,’ said Skye, recalling the frantic way he had been calling her name and softening slightly at his plight. Then she remembered how rude he had been and her guard rose again.

  ‘Emmie! Oh, that explains it. Well, almost,’ said Thea, frown lines appearing on her rosy forehead, which was flushed from all that washing up as Skye had used every pan in the house to reheat one spaghetti Bolognese. ‘Why was he mad at you, for heaven’s sake?’ Thea already sounded protective of her new friend.

  ‘You know her, then?’ asked Skye, not waiting for an answer. ‘I think he was cross at her for wandering off, but felt that I had somehow coerced her into it, even though I’ve never set eyes on her before in my life. I was very kindly checking that she wasn’t lost. Talk about a caveman with no manners. However worried he was, he could have said thanks for my not leaving her on her own.’

  ‘Emmie is Zack’s daughter,’ said Thea as if that explained everything.

  ‘Zack?’

  ‘He owns the estate.’ Thea leant back onto the kitchen counter and blatantly enjoyed the look of shock on her friend’s face. Skye frowned as she tried to match the deep phone voice with the hot angry guy she had just had an altercation with. Seeing Skye’s confusion, Thea chipped in. ‘His daughter Emmie is in Allie and Leo’s class at school. She’s best friends with …’ Thea looked furtively around for the children, but they had got bored and gone back outside to finish their ice cre
am in the last of the day’s sunshine. ‘Miles!’ she hissed theatrically, grinning from ear-to-ear.

  ‘Miles! What is a sweet little girl like that doing hanging around with a bossyboots like Miles?’

  ‘Well,’ said Thea, drawing out the story, as though she hadn’t had a good gossip for ages. ‘She can be a bit of a handful, so Allie tells me. She’s great with the teachers, but not so much with the other kids. Allie says it’s because she tries to be like Miles. He pretty much controls her and tells her who she can be friendly with. No one else will play with her because Miles gets jealous of any other friendships. We invited her to our house for tea last week, as Allie said Emmie was trying to find new friends, but Miles kicked her and she didn’t come.’

  Anger burned in Skye’s chest for the little girl she had just seen marched away. She hitched her bottom onto one of the four bar stools in her compact kitchen and listened enthralled. It was like a story out of a soap opera, except the story involved kids, for goodness’ sake. Surely one child couldn’t have that much influence?

  ‘What’s his mum like?’ asked Skye, remembering the miserable woman who had dragged her son away without checking he hadn’t hurt himself at school.

  ‘That’s the point,’ explained Thea, resting one buttock on a stool before shuffling her whole body up onto the chair. ‘His mum is really controlling. She’s always scowling, but she’s a major player in the best mates’ club.’

  ‘Best mates’ club? Oh, you mean the mum scrum?’

  ‘Mum scrum?’ laughed Thea, almost toppling off the chair, which was too high for her short legs. She tried to stop herself wobbling and almost landed a kick to Skye’s shin, before she swung her stool round and out of harm’s way. The problem was that she was now facing the wrong way and Skye enjoyed the fact that Thea had no clue how to get down and now both of her buttocks seemed to be welded to the shiny surface. Skye grinned and swung her friend back round to face her. ‘I love that thought,’ said Thea who was flushed and still giggling, making Skye laugh too at the sight of her. She looked like a Rubenesque artist’s muse. ‘I will never look at that impenetrable huddle the same way again. I’ll picture them all in grubby rugby kits and wonder who is going to score!’ She held her sides to stop them hurting from laughing so much.