CHAPTER 10

‘Joe’s coming to see us!’ Larry was waving the iPad in the air as he slid into the kitchen in his socks.

‘Whoa, there, son!’ Mr Bass tried in vain not to spill his cup of tea as Larry screeched to a halt. Boris barked in surprise and helped to lick up the mess on the floor.

‘He’s flying over from Ireland to ride at the big meeting next week,’ Larry continued, oblivious to the chaos he had caused. ‘He’ll come down on Monday.’

‘That’s perfect.’ Charlie looked at the calendar on the wall. ‘I’ve got netball practice on Tuesday and Polly’s lesson on Wednesday, but Monday is clear.’

She ran down the drive with Boris panting behind her to catch the bus to school.

‘Morning, Mrs Wheeler!’ she called out cheerily as she swung into the bus.

‘Morning, love. Your brothers on their way?’ Mrs Wheeler peered past Charlie to see the two boys lumbering slowly up the newly surfaced drive, pushing each other on to the verges as they came. ‘In your own time, boys!’ she called out.

Harry looked up and sprinted towards the bus.

‘Last one there’s a loser!’ he shouted back at his brother, after he’d gained an essential advantage.

Harry reached the bus first. He put his finger and thumb on his forehead in the shape of an L.

Charlie waved at Boris, who barked his goodbye and turned on his heel to trot back down the drive, one hind leg lifted as he hopped along. She wondered if her Border terrier had more brain power than either of her brothers.

‘Maybe they’d be more comfortable if I took them in your horsebox!’ Mrs Wheeler joked. ‘I’m assuming that’s why you asked if I could drive it?’

Charlie laughed.

‘Don’t worry about that, Mrs Wheeler. I’ve sorted it all out.’

As the school bus pulled into the car park, Charlie saw the dark green Range Rover.

Mrs Williams waved. ‘Charlie!’ She waved her arm to beckon her over. ‘A word, please.’

Charlie’s breath caught in her throat. What if Mrs Williams had found out about their secret lesson? She walked over slowly.

‘I hear the therapy went very well?’ Mrs Williams looked curious rather than cross. ‘I’d love to know more about it. Polly was very tired afterwards, but she wouldn’t tell me what exercises she’d been doing. We’re going to the doctor this afternoon for her latest assessment and I think she’ll be impressed.’

Mrs Williams patted Charlie on the back approvingly and then said, ‘Polly tells me she’s seeing Miss Cameron again on Wednesday. I can cancel my plans and come along. I’m intrigued.’

Charlie’s mouth opened and shut, but no words came out.

‘You just need to let me know where and when. I’ll not cause any bother, I promise. Polly said parents weren’t allowed to come to the sessions, but your mother was there, wasn’t she?’

‘Um …’ Charlie didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to tell an outright lie, but she knew Mrs Williams would be horrified if she knew Polly was riding Noble Warrior.

‘It’s c-c-complicated,’ she finally stammered. ‘You’ll have to ask Polly. She might not be ready yet for you to see her … performing.’

‘Oh? It’s a performance thing, is it? I thought it was therapy. I’m not sure Polly is ready to perform! She’s never liked being judged. Wouldn’t that be a bit unfair?’

‘Yes, no, well. Um, it is therapy.’ Charlie had to think quickly. ‘But it’s also building up to a performance and I think Polly wants it to be perfect before she can show you.’ She smiled in what she hoped was a comforting way. ‘Got to dash – going to be late for class.’ She didn’t allow Mrs Williams the chance to say anything more. She knew she would be in enough trouble without adding more lies into the mix.

She ran into the classroom and slipped into the chair next to Polly just as the bell went for lessons to start. Dr Patterson swept into the room and demanded silence.

‘Today we are going to study ourselves.’

Polly and Charlie looked at each other and made a face.

‘What?’ Polly mouthed.

Charlie shrugged and shook her head.

‘Poor body image and low self-esteem are two of the biggest factors affecting the mental health of our pupils,’ Dr Patterson went on. ‘Who here thinks they have the perfect body?’

One boy put up his hand. He was the captain of the school football team.

‘And why do you think that, Eric?’ asked Dr Patterson.

‘I don’t really need to answer that, do I?’ Eric replied. He stood up and lifted his arms to flex his muscles. ‘You can see for yourself!’

His friends laughed and cheered.

‘Thank you, Eric,’ said Dr Patterson, ‘for demonstrating so clearly the myth of Narcissus.’

‘What’s that when it’s at home?’ Eric mumbled.

‘Who is that, Eric, might be the more pertinent question. He was a beautiful young Greek hunter who fell in love with his own reflection in the water.’

‘And what’s so wrong with that?’ Eric asked as he ran a hand over his cheek and chin. His friends laughed again. ‘Totes understandable.’

‘He tried to kiss himself and drowned,’ Dr Patterson said as she walked towards the windows to pull down the blinds. The rest of the classroom sniggered as Eric abruptly stopped preening himself. Dr Patterson wheeled the large television in front of the white board and turned down the lights.

‘I want to use this morning to discuss how we can help each other by building our confidence in the way we look and how we feel about our bodies. First of all, I’m going to show you a film and then we will talk about the issues it raises.’

Polly shifted in her chair. Charlie knew this lesson was not going to be easy for her. She noticed a shape outside the classroom door and wondered who was listening in on the lesson.

Soon she was concentrating on the film, which showed children of all shapes and sizes while a voiceover explained that all bodies change with age. It also explained how behaviour can change and that hormones create all sorts of strange reactions and emotional swings.

‘That must be why Harry and Larry are always fighting,’ Charlie whispered. ‘It’s all that testosterone kicking in.’

Towards the end there was a montage of different people doing sport. They included a girl with an artificial leg, two children zooming along a path in wheelchairs, a swimmer with restricted growth, a single-armed javelin thrower, a one-legged high jumper and a visually impaired sprinter.

‘Now,’ said Dr Patterson, leaving the room in the dark, ‘who thinks they have the perfect body?’

Every single pupil started murmuring in the affirmative.

‘Interesting. Let’s hear why you’ve changed your minds,’ she said. ‘Who wants to go first?’

Polly raised her hand and Dr Patterson nodded at her to speak.

Polly put both her hands on the desk and pushed herself to her feet.

‘I used to think my accident had ruined my body and ruined my life.’ Her voice was quiet but steady. ‘But I am learning to think differently.’

She paused and Charlie squeezed her arm in support.

‘I don’t want to limit myself by avoiding the things I think I can’t or shouldn’t do. I don’t want to stay out of the room because I’m too scared to join in.’

‘Can you give me an example?’ Dr Patterson asked.

Polly swallowed and hesitated.

‘Netball,’ Charlie whispered.

Polly laughed nervously, but then said, ‘I suppose I need to believe that I can still be part of a team – the netball team, for example – even if it’s not as a player.’

‘That’s interesting.’ Dr Patterson looked round the classroom. There was the sound of a chair scraping back and Flora Walsh got to her feet.

‘That’s a cool idea,’ she said. ‘We need all the help we can get if we’re going to beat St Mary’s!’

‘I have loads of notes. I can come to every practice session and, if you want me to, I can draw up a training programme –’ Polly was talking quickly and confidently now – ‘and find out what you should be eating and how much you need to sleep to get the best out of yourselves.’

‘Yeah yeah,’ came a voice from two rows behind. The words dripped with sarcasm. ‘And once you’ve magically turned us into the best team in the country, I guess you can show us how to do the ladder drill without falling over like your friend.’

Charlie turned round, and even in the darkened classroom she could see Nadia’s beady eyes staring at her with hatred. She didn’t know what she or Polly had done to deserve such venom.

Polly sat down as fast as she could and bowed her head.

‘You have been very brave, Polly. Thank you,’ said Dr Patterson.

‘That’s not brave,’ Polly muttered audibly. ‘You should see me riding Charlie’s racehorse!’

There was a fraction of a second’s pause and then a strangled screech pierced through the door.

‘What?’

Charlie’s blood froze. She thought that silhouette had looked familiar. Mrs Williams had heard every word.