Dee Taylor, as team captain, had selected her team’s positions. Goal shooter – Adam; Wing attack – Hayley Price; Goal Attack – Barbara Crook; Centre – Annette Woolf; Goal Defence – Kate O’Brien; Wing defence – Dee Taylor; Goal Keeper – Lauren Mathews.
Jenna Murray had been chosen as Goal Keeper for the girls’ team as she was close to Adam’s height.
When both teams had donned their bibs Eleanor Stannard announced, “I’ll toss the coin and Dee can call.” The girls won and the teams went to their respective places, Adam in the goal circle with Jenna Murray. Standing side by side there were few who would not admit they made a handsome couple.
“So, it’s your job to stop me scoring,” he said to Jenna, and then whispered in her ear, “I believe that’s something you’re already familiar with.”
She gave him a thin smile, finding his close presence unsettling, especially seeing how attractive he looked in shorts. She was saved from having to reply by Eleanor Stannard blowing the whistle for the start of the game.
Dee Taylor was the only teacher who’d played netball since last year’s game and the girls took advantage of their rivals’ slower and less agile reactions and soon had the ball in the net.
But the next centre pass was caught by Hayley Price who threw the ball to Adam.
“Shoot, shoot,” shouted Dee Taylor, but as Adam leapt up to drop the ball into the net Jenna prodded him in the ribs and he collapsed and dropped the ball.
“Contact. Obstruction,” called the teachers.
“I didn’t touch him, did I, girls?” Jenna appealed to the spectators with a conspiratorial smile.
“No contact. No obstruction,” they shouted their agreement.
Eleanor Stannard’s age precluded her from dashing about the court, which should have ruled her out as umpire, but as there was no one else they had an informal arrangement to allow the spectators to call the disputes. As she hadn’t seen the transgression she was forced to agree.
Adam threw his hands in the air and appealed to Eleanor Stannard, “What sort of rules does this game have?”
“It would appear to be a few new ones,” she said, blowing the whistle for another centre pass.
The girls scored their second goal amidst loud cheering from their supporters. But when the ball was again in the teachers’ circle Adam was ready. He leapt to catch it, but Jenna intercepted it and was about to pass it on when Adam lifted her effortlessly into the air like a ballet dancer.
She felt his hands round her waist like a lightning bolt. He slowly lowered her to the ground, placing her outside the court. As she slid down his body her bare legs came into contact with his and her pulse raced.
“Offside,” he called, grinning down at her.
There were immediate roars of, “Contact. Obstruction,” from the girls, followed by chants of, “Sin-bin. Sin-bin.” Eleanor Stannard was forced to acknowledge the transgression and blew the whistle and pointed to the vaulting box.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to go in the sin bin for five minutes,” Jenna said sweetly, but her voice and her legs were slightly unsteady.
“What! Aw c’mon,” said Adam, turning to appeal to the girls.
“Sin bin, sin bin,” they chanted.
“Who made up these rules?” he complained, climbing into the box and raking his fingers through his hair. The head girl had the job of keeping the score and timing the transgressors and took it very seriously, pressing the stop watch immediately Adam was standing inside the box. He waited a couple of minutes and then asked to see the stop watch. Taking it from her he stopped it and cleared the screen and announced, “Time’s up,” and climbed out of the box.
“Siiirrrrr,” protested the head girl, but Adam was already back on the court.
The girls had scored four goals, but the teachers were now getting into their stride and their main objective was to get the ball to Adam. He put two into the net while neatly side-stepping Jenna’s attempts to block him. But Barbara Crook now had the ball and was preparing to shoot. Jenna was jumping up to deflect Barbara Crook’s aim. Adam put his hands round Barbara Crook’s waist and picked her up out of Jenna’s reach allowing her to drop the ball neatly into the net.
When he put her down she turned laughingly to him and Jenna felt her stomach lurch, a feeling that was so unfamiliar that she didn’t at first recognise it as jealousy. All the months Barbara had spent flirting with him and he hadn’t responded – but seeing him with his arms round her had released feelings Jenna had tried so hard to bury. The cries of, “Contact. Contact,” brought her back to the game.
“But she’s on my team,” pleaded Adam. “It can’t be an obstruction.”
“It’s not an obstruction,” confirmed Eleanor Stannard. “It’s called cheating. Goal disallowed.” She pointed to the sin bin.
This time the head girl was not going to be tricked and kept the stop watch out of Adam’s reach, attaching it to the clipboard she was using to record the score. Glenda McKenzie was sitting close by with her circle of friends. “Has Sir been a naughty boy, then,” she said, smirking up at him. He didn’t respond, but Lisa noticed the slight tightening of his jaw. Only two of Glenda’s friends sniggered, the rest remained in an uncomfortable silence, no longer willing to back her up.
Several girls who’d heard the remark muttered, “Shurrup, Glenda.” It appeared that Glenda McKenzie’s influence was waning – and Adam’s gaining.
While Adam fumed in the sin bin the girls scored another two goals. But when he returned to the court he dodged and outwitted Jenna and scored two goals in quick succession. He was shooting for his third goal when Jenna tilted the goal post and the ball went wide. She grinned triumphantly and turned to the girls who laughed and cheered.
But then she found herself swept up in his arms and carried towards the sin-bin. She instinctively pushed against his broad shoulders in an attempt to struggle free, but he was laughing down at her and she knew it was hopeless to resist. His hair was flopping untidily over his brow, his eyes glinting with humour and he had a faint five o’clock shadow. She felt a sudden unwelcome jolt of desire rise from deep within her and when he deposited her in the box her arms lingered round his neck fractionally longer than was necessary. This time it was Barbara Crook’s face that wore a frozen, badly masked smile of envy. Even Lisa, standing on the sidelines could recognise her expression for what it was.
When the game finally ended, to the relief of most of the staff who were unused to the exertion, the head girl was asked to reveal the score. But she looked at her clipboard somewhat perplexed. Her neat three had been turned into an eight, and a seven into a lopsided four. So instead of the girls winning seventeen to thirteen, the staff appeared to have won eighteen to fourteen – and Sir was wearing a mischievous grin. Sir was apparently very competitive. There was uproar from the girls’ team and Adam confessed. “Okay, you were so good I felt you needed a handicap. Congratulations on winning.”
Although Adam had turned the game into a semi-farce everyone had enjoyed the fun and Lisa realised that Adam’s relationship with girls had grown from them respecting his authority as head to respecting him as a person; someone they liked and wanted to please. It was close to the end of the school year and the meeting of the governing board was in a few days. It was time for a discussion on the renewal of Adam’s contract and she felt sure they would want him back, unaware how drastically things would change in the coming weeks.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Blustery gusts of rain lashed the window of Lisa’s office on the first day of the new school year. A typical September day, it was cold and windy with leaves rising in swirling eddies and she was glad to be inside. She finished stapling the last sets of the exam results and took them through to the head’s office. “Twelve sets, just as you asked,” she said, placing them on the desk. The hand that reached for them caught the light from the desk lamp and it glinted on the shiny new wedding ring.
“Thank you, Lisa,” said Jenna. “We’ll
discuss them at the staff meeting. It seems that overall there has been an improvement on the previous year’s pass rate, and in some cases quite a big one.”
“So the board’s faith in Adam was justified,” said Lisa. “And now they’ll be relying on you to continue the upward trend, which I’m sure you’ll manage,” she added with an encouraging smile.
Lisa returned to her office knowing it was going to take some time adjusting to all the changes. She picked up the first of three framed photographs that were propped on her desk. Andrea had taken it in the last week of the school year. Adam was sitting at his desk with the rest of the teaching staff gathered round. So much had happened during the eight weeks since it had been taken.
The second picture had been taken in South Africa in a chapel in the Drakensberg Mountains of KwaZulu Natal. A beaming Jenna and Andrea were walking down the aisle as a newlywed couple. Behind them the pulpit was bathed in sunlight that streamed through the huge glass window that made up the entire end wall of the stone and thatch chapel. It framed the Cathedral Peak Mountain Range that towered above it. A smiling Annette Woolf was looking on, persuaded by Jenna to be a matron of honour and therefore have her travel arrangements paid for. They’d been married by Andrea’s widowed uncle, a church minister. Lisa had heard that he and Annette had indulged in some lively conversations about religion during their two-week stay at the resort. He’d even persuaded Annette to take a helicopter flip over the mountain range.
The third photograph was the one she’d been hoping for, but thought would never be realised. A grinning Nicole was looking up adoringly at her groom. Adam was dressed in his naval uniform; her arm was through his, his hand on hers. They were married beneath a bower of red jade vine in the garden of Adam’s Honolulu home. His face wore such a look of loving affection that it made her heart melt. Neil had been his Best Man and she’d been Matron of Honour. It had been a perfect day, followed by a perfect night. Lisa patted her stomach. She was sure that was the night she’d conceived. The memories took her back to the last days of the school term – days that had been a whirl of emotions.
She remembered the final staff meeting before the end of the school year when Adam had broken the news that he would not be renewing his contract. He’d waited a few moments while they recovered from their shock and disappointment before explaining his reasons. “For quite some time the drug rehabilitation centre we founded in Hawaii has been looking into ways to keep the children from returning to drugs once they’ve left the centre. If they go back to the same environment and friends they begin the cycle all over again. However, after negotiations with the US Government, and with the help of private funding, we are now able to open a school for troubled teens. It will be incorporated into a working cattle ranch on the Hamakua Coast and the children will help to run it.. I’ll be overseeing the project, and then I’ll be taking over as Head.”
There was a stunned silence until Eleanor Stannard said, “Congratulations. That’s an admirable project, and you’re the ideal person for it.”
“If you need a cookery teacher I can make myself available,” said Barbara Crook.
“I think it’ll be a while before we’ll be looking for teachers. But I’ll keep you in mind,” replied Adam with a grin.
“And just as I was getting used to you,” sighed Lauren Mathews.
Hayley Price gave a slow smile, “Don’t forget the importance of art in revealing a child’s personality – especially when it’s a troubled child.”
“I’ll be sure to remember all the skills I learned here,” said Adam, closing his file and handing it to Lisa.
“Congratulations. You’ve got the right skills for the challenge,” said Jenna Murray quietly.
Lisa already knew about Adam’s plans as she’d been at the board meeting when he’d resigned. It had come as a shock to everyone, but he’d compiled a report with recommendations for his replacement.
He’d left it until the final day of term to announce his resignation to the girls. The day had begun with morning assembly followed by speeches and awards, beginning with a presentation to Fred and Brenda Smith who were both retiring, Fred long overdue and persuaded by Brenda that it was time they enjoyed what was left of their time together. Sue Lawrence and the kitchen staff, who had crowded into the back of the hall, nudged each other and grinned when Adam called Fred and Brenda onto the stage. Both were overcome with embarrassment when Adam gave a speech of thanks and the girls all gave three cheers.
Brenda was forced to accept a tissue from Eleanor Stannard in order to dab away the tears. Then Adam handed Fred an envelope before opening a large flat cardboard box and taking out a garland of fresh flowers. He draped it round Brenda’s neck and kissed her on both cheeks, “Aloha,” he said.
She was flustered into a stammer. “Oh, it’s ll...lovely,” she said, drinking in the sweet smell of jasmine that had been woven into the arrangement. It was beautiful, but she was mystified as to why she’d been given a garland of flowers and not just a bouquet.
“It’s an Hawaiian lei,” said Adam.
When Fred opened the envelope and took out the folded paper his eyes widened. “Is this what I think it is?” he asked Adam.
“Yes, it is,” he replied, and turned to Brenda. “It’s two plane tickets to Hawaii. And the use of the guest cottage in my Honolulu home, and there will be a car and driver available for as long as you like.”
It was all too much for her and she had to sit down. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she’d ever actually go to Hawaii.
The girls had organised a collection and the governing body had given them a generous long service bonus and Adam had completed it by offering the use of his guest cottage.
“You can go any time you like, but I’ll advise you which months will be the best,” said Adam.
And then Brenda asked the one question that goes through every woman’s mind on such occasions, “What am I going to wear?” There was a burst of laughter and she joined in, laughing at herself. The kitchen staff, craning at the back of the hall, demanded to know what she’d said and the words were relayed from the front causing a ripple of laughter like a Mexican wave.
Fred put a comforting hand round her shoulders. “You can get the sewing machine out, love. It’ll keep you busy now that you’re retired.”
But Adam whispered in her ear, “The swimming pool is very secluded,” and winked, and she playfully slapped his arm.
Fred wanted to know what Adam had said and she replied with pursed lips, “Never you mind, I don’t want you getting any ideas.”
Although it wasn’t clear to the audience what the exchanges had been about, there was another burst of laughter, and then Brenda turned to Adam, “I don’t know how to thank you,” she said and hugged him. Fred shook Adam’s hand and then led his wife off the stage and down the steps wiping his eyes with the back of his hand as Sue Lawrence led them all in singing ‘for they are jolly good fellows.’
After Fred and Brenda had disappeared through the hall door and the girls had settled down he threaded his way to the front of the stage and addressed the senior girls who were leaving, telling them they were on a new journey in life and wishing them well in their further education and jobs.
This was followed by the announcement of the new head girl, deputy head girl and prefects, who all filed onto the stage to receive their badges and sashes from Eleanor Stannard, the girls trying to hide their excitement with a calm and dignified demeanour.
Then it was time for the awards ceremony and the girls sat up in anticipation. There were certificates for academic and sports achievements, most improved, girls voted most helpful and most popular.
When everything appeared to be over Adam raised his hand to silence them. “I’ve got another important announcement,” he said. He looked down and seemed to be composing himself before looking up again. “This is a sad day for me as it’s also my last day as Head of St Mary’s.” There were gasps of shock and dismay and he had to raise h
is voice. “I’m returning to Hawaii as head of a school for troubled teens.”
Some of the girls broke down in tears, while others glanced at Jenna Murray to see her reaction, but her face remained impassive. Perhaps Glenda McKenzie had been wrong in suggesting that Adam and Jenna had been having an affair.
He went on to tell them how much he’d enjoyed his time at St Mary’s, and he hoped he’d be leaving a positive impression.
Eleanor Stannard stepped forward to thank him on behalf of the girls, and to present him with a gift from the staff. It was a pair of gold cufflinks with the school crest.
The girls filed out abuzz with speculations. Who was going to take over as head?
The school closed early at two o’clock and Barbara Crook had organised a leaving party for Adam in the staffroom. There were snacks, and she’d also brought a couple of bottles of wine, strictly against school rules, but who was going to tell? They presented him with a mug inscribed with the school crest and a packet of herbal tea bags.
He had a gift for each of the staff, sent from Hawaii by his sister.
He went to each of them in turn, first drawing Lisa to her feet. “Thank you, Lisa, for not only being my secretary, but also my friend and confidante. I couldn’t have done the job without you.” There were several small boxes laid out on the coffee table. He opened the first one and took out a strand of delicate gem-like shells and placed it round her neck kissing her on both cheeks. “Aloha. It’s a shell lei,” he explained. “From the Hawaiian island of Ni'ihau. It’s a symbol of affection given on arriving or leaving.” Inside the box was a pamphlet describing the lei and its traditions. Lisa fingered the tiny shells, which ranged in colour from pure white to soft pink, deep brown, burgundy and olive green and had been threaded in a neat pattern.
“Adam, it’s beautiful. Thank you so much. I’m going to miss you, and so is Neil,” she said, giving him a fierce hug.
With the Headmaster's Approval Page 18