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The next day she dropped Ollie off at breakfast club as usual and went into her office. Her backside had barely hit her chair when Andrew appeared in the doorway.
“Kristen, can I speak with you for a moment, please?”
She shot straight back out of her chair and exchanged a glance with Anna, who was already at her desk on the other side of the room. “Oh, sure. Of course.”
She followed him out and into his office. It was still early, so the other children and parents hadn’t shown up yet, and the school was quiet, but she was surprised to see Margaret Dean sitting in the office as well.
“Good morning, Margaret,” she said to the head of the school Governors.
Margaret gave her a tight smile but didn’t say good morning in return.
“Please, sit,” Andrew said, gesturing to a chair on the other side of his desk.
Unease twisted like a whirlpool inside her.
“I’m afraid I’ve had a complaint from one of the other parents that you threatened to hurt their child. I’m sure you understand that this is a serious matter, which is why I’ve had to bring Margaret in to oversee this meeting”
Her mouth dropped open. “By one of the other parents, you mean Rachelle Hurst?”
“I’m afraid I can’t disclose who made the complaint.”
She clenched her teeth. “That’s okay. You don’t need to.”
“So, you admit the conversation happened? That you threatened to hurt the boy?”
“I was angry and frustrated. He’s been picking on Ollie constantly—physically hurting him—as you know. I’ve come to you about this several times now, and nothing changes. You haven’t made any attempt to discipline him, when the kid should have been suspended by now for what he’s put Ollie through.”
“Kristen, when I’ve spoken to the boys before, Ollie says they’re playing, and things just get a little rough.”
She snorted. “Yeah, right. What else is he going to say when you have the other boy sitting right there? Ollie is terrified of him. He’s not going to tell tales.”
“But I think you’re missing the point, Kristen. You can’t go around threatening the children, especially not when you work here. The most important part of our jobs is making sure the children are safe during their time here.”
“Ollie hasn’t been safe!” she blurted.
He lifted a hand to silence her. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to suspend you, effective immediately, while we look into matters further.”
“You have got to be kidding me.” Her mind pulled in at the edges, and she gripped the armrests of the chair, suddenly feeling like this was all a bad dream and she wasn’t quite there anymore.
“Frankly, I’ve been a little concerned about your performance at work lately. You’ve taken time off, and I’ve found you sneaking off to make personal phone calls during work time, which you know isn’t allowed.”
She could hardly believe it. This was so unfair. “I’ve had some family emergencies I’ve had to deal with. But tell me, Mr. Larsen, is this suspension about my work performance, or what I said to Rachelle, because it can’t be both.”
“It’s the threat, Kristen. I just thought I’d mention the other concerns so you can give them some consideration during your suspension.”
She clamped her jaw together, resisting the urge to tell him to fuck off. She needed this job, and she’d grovel to get it back, if she had to, even though every time she saw Rachelle in the playground or at school meetings, she was going to want to claw the other woman’s eyes out. That bitch. That fucking bitch.
She got to her feet, her legs wobbling beneath her. Her stomach felt weak and her hands were shaking. Her thoughts immediately went to Ollie. She was going to have to go and see him before school started. He’d want to know why she wasn’t in the office as normal. With everything else going on, it just seemed wrong that he was going to have this thrown at him as well.
A couple of steps took her towards the office door, but then she stopped and turned around.
“You know, I wouldn’t have needed to resort to this if you’d just dealt with Felix Hurst properly.”
She didn’t let him reply, knowing she was horribly close to tears and not wanting either of them to see them. Yanking open the door, she put her head down and went back to her own office. She needed to collect her coat and bag, and let Anna know she’d be working on her own today. Who would they bring in to cover her while she wasn’t there? There was no way Anna could handle everything by herself. It was hard enough when one of them had a day off, never mind a suspension. If he brought in Rachelle to cover her job, she thought she might scream.
Anna looked up with concerned curiosity as she walked in. Kristen went straight to her desk, swiping any personal items into her handbag.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I’ve been suspended.”
“What? Why?”
“I threatened Rachelle that I’d hurt Felix if she didn’t do something to stop him bullying Ollie. Apparently, that’s a safe-guarding issue now that needs to be looked into.”
“I can’t believe Rachelle ratted you out. What a bitch!”
Kristen shook her head, her anger deflating to sadness and regret. “It’s my own fault. I never should have said it. I was just so angry. Now I have to go and tell Ollie that Mummy won’t be at school for the foreseeable future. With everything else going on, I really don’t know how he’s going to take it.”
Anna rose from her desk and put her arms around Kristen and hugged her tight. “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry.”
The tears threatened again, and she waved at her face and blinked quickly to hold them back. “It’s okay. Don’t be nice to me. You’ll make me cry.”
“Okay.” She gave her a sympathetic smile. “But call me if you need me, okay? I can always drop Ollie home to you if you feel you can’t face coming up here.”
“At least he won’t need to go to breakfast or afterschool club,” she said, trying to think of the silver lining. Damn, she needed this job, though. What was she going to do if she got fired? She didn’t have any savings, and she still needed to pay the mortgage. Thank God for Haiden and the hosting money. If she didn’t have that coming in, she’d be beside herself right now. Shit, she already was beside herself. She loved her job. She prided herself in working for a living, and still being there for Ollie. This wasn’t how she’d intended for things to go at all.
With a heavy heart, she picked up the rest of her things and left the office. She crossed the playground to where the building for the breakfast club was located.
One of the women who worked there looked over at her, a question in her eyes.
“I just need to speak to Ollie a minute,” she said.
The woman nodded. “Of course. Ollie, your mummy’s here to see you.”
Ollie dropped what he was doing and ran over to her, slamming into her legs in a hug, as though he hadn’t seen her for days, not the fifteen minutes since she’d dropped him off. She hugged him back and then dropped to a crouch, so their faces were level.
“Ollie, I’m not going to be in the office for a while. Something has happened, and I need to go home. I just wanted you to know so you didn’t get a surprise when you saw I wasn’t there.”
His little forehead wrinkled in a frown. “Why won’t you be there?”
She wasn’t sure how much to tell him. “I said something I shouldn’t have, and now I’m in a bit of trouble for it.”
His chin trembled. “So, you’re like... in time out?”
She forced a smile. “Yeah, something like that. Time out for grownups. Hey, but the good news is that it means you won’t have to come to breakfast club or afterschool club until this all gets sorted out. So, I’ll be here to pick you up at the end of school like the other mums.”
A smile spread across his face. “I get to go home straight after school?”
“Yep.”
“Cool.” He threw his arms around her neck and hugged her again, and then spun back around and ran back to where he was playing with a car garage set.
Kristen got to her feet and made her way over to where the woman who ran the breakfast and afterschool club was filling in some forms, a cup of coffee on the table next to her.
“I don’t know if you overheard, but Ollie won’t be coming to breakfast and afterschool club for the next couple of weeks.”
“Right. Do you want me to keep his spot open for him? I will have to still charge you for the time, though, even if he’s not here. It’s a place another child could have.”
With so many parents both needing to work these days just to pay the bills, the club was an invaluable resource. She didn’t want to give up the spot, but she also couldn’t afford to keep paying for something she didn’t need.
“No, that’s okay. You don’t need to keep it open. I’ll figure something out.”
Her stomach sank, unsure if she was making the right choice. If she was allowed back into her role, she might struggle for childcare if she’d given her place away. But if she kept the place, she’d be spending money she would end up desperately needing if she didn’t have a job.
She’d just have to take her chances, and hope something could be arranged when this all got sorted.