The school holidays had been over for several weeks. It was now autumn, and winter was fast approaching. Adele’s school teacher, Mr Parry, had been summoned to see the head teacher in relation to an incident. Full of curiosity, he tapped lightly on the office door and stepped inside when beckoned.
‘Oh hello Mr Parry, do take a seat!’ ordered the head teacher, Miss Marchant.
Hardly giving Mr Parry a chance to settle in the seat, she straightaway began to address the matter in hand in her usual authoritarian manner.
‘I have received a report from one of the dinner ladies about an incident involving two girls in your class. I thought I might get some background information from you before dealing with the matter.’
Mr Parry nodded his head and allowed Miss Marchant to continue.
‘The two girls involved were Deborah Clare and Adele Robinson.’
Mr Parry pricked his ears on hearing the name of one of his star pupils, Adele.
‘Apparently,’ continued Miss Marchant, ‘there was a fight between the two girls, but a rather one-sided affair, with Deborah Clare on the receiving end of quite a beating, from what I am told.’
‘Really?’ asked Mr Parry, shocked at this news.
‘You seem surprised, Mr Parry.’
‘Yes, I am. Are you sure there hasn’t been a mistake?’
‘No, no mistake. I trust the member of staff involved, and she knew both girls by name. I must admit I was surprised to hear Adele Robinson’s name when she had such a glowing report last year.’
‘Me too. But not only that, she’s very quiet in the classroom. I wouldn’t have thought her capable of giving someone a beating. I would have thought it was more likely she’d be the victim, to be honest. Are you sure the dinner lady hasn’t got things the wrong way round?’
‘No, Mr Parry, it was definitely as described.’
‘Well, I do have to say, I’m very surprised.’
‘What about the other girl, Deborah Clare? How do they get along together?’
‘Deborah’s a real trier. She’s above average, a likeable girl but a bit mischievous at times. Oh, nothing serious. She just gets a little cheeky, but once I give her a ticking off she usually tows the line. They seem to get along well together, no major problems in the past.’
‘Well thank you for your help, Mr Parry. In view of what you’ve told me, I’ll regard it as a one-off. Can you send both girls to see me after the lunch break please, and I’ll give them a stern talking-to? That should do the trick.’
‘Certainly, Miss Marchant,’ he replied, and as he left her office, he couldn’t help but feel troubled by Adele’s behaviour.
*
Adele felt sick with worry. The dinner lady had just left her and Deborah to go and see the head teacher. Adele knew that there would be repercussions from the fight. She wished that she hadn’t done what she had, but she couldn’t help herself; something in her had just snapped. As she stood in a corner of the playground, she replayed the incident in her mind.
She and Deborah were having a laugh, giving each other donkey rides. Adele’s ride was just coming to an end and Deborah had walked over to the wall with Adele on her back. The wire mesh paper bin was attached to the wall, protruding in an arc shape with the lid slanting downwards away from the wall. It formed a welcoming seat, but one that you couldn’t sit on for too long, because of the slope.
‘Put me down on the bin!’ she said to Deborah, which Deborah did.
But instead of letting go of her legs so that Adele could ease herself off the bin and down onto the ground, Deborah began to pull her legs away from the bin.
‘What are you doing?’ asked Adele, alarmed.
Deborah didn’t answer but Adele could hear her giggle as she pulled her legs further away from the bin until Adele was horizontal.
Adele gripped the wire mesh with her fingers, ‘Put me down!’ she yelled.
When Deborah wouldn’t put her down, she yelled louder. It seemed that the louder she yelled, the harder Deborah pulled.
Adele’s arms had now become fully stretched behind her, and her fingers clung perilously to the wire mesh to prevent herself falling. She felt the metal digging into her flesh, and had visions of her body slamming to the ground, with her head crashing against the concrete.
‘Let go of my legs! Put me down!’ she yelled.
But still Deborah pulled.
When Adele felt her fingers loosening their grip, panic seized her. With a strength that she seemed to muster from nowhere, she tore one of her legs away from Deborah. Her back then slumped towards the bin, dragging Deborah with her. Using her newfound strength, Adele pulled her other leg away from Deborah, releasing her hold, and her buttocks met the top of the bin. By now Adele’s panic had turned to fury and she kicked repeatedly at Deborah’s back.
‘You bitch, I hate you!’ Adele cursed.
Oblivious to Deborah’s agonised screams, Adele continued to kick as rage overtook her. It was only the sight of the dinner lady running towards her that brought her to her senses.
Now, as she thought about the incident, she felt remorseful. If only Debby hadn’t decided to do something so daft. If only she could have persuaded her to stop without losing her temper. But Debby hadn’t stopped. She shouted at her a few times, and she still didn’t stop. That’s what she would say in her defence. She had to pull her legs away; it was her only chance.
But did she have to kick her?
Adele was feeling desperate. Oh God, it’s no good, she thought, I’m gonna be in trouble no matter what.
She thought about what her father’s reaction would be if he found out. She dreaded that even more than she dreaded being summoned to see the head teacher.
The sound of the bell interrupted her thoughts. It was the end of the lunch period and Adele entered the school building in a state of trepidation, to the sound of taunting.
‘You’re gonna be in trouble, Adele Robinson, for what you did to Debby.’
‘Yeah,’ added another girl, ‘Miss Goody Two Shoes is gonna get done, ha ha.’
When Mr Parry announced that she and Debby were to see the head teacher straightaway, Adele felt her stomach sink.
Mr Parry led the two girls down the long corridor towards the head teacher’s office, and told them to wait outside while he knocked on the door. After he had been inside for a few minutes, he came back out, and asked Debby to go inside. He then lowered his eyes towards Adele and told her to wait there until she was called for. She noticed the look of disappointment on his face and felt ashamed. Then, with nothing further to say, he left her standing outside the head teacher’s office, trembling with fear.
After what seemed like an endless wait, Debby came out of the office, and looked away from Adele as she walked past her.
‘Next!’ shouted Miss Marchant.
Adele was already in tears by the time she entered the office and presented herself at the other side of the head teacher’s large desk.
‘Now then, what have you been up to?’ asked Miss Marchant.
‘I… I… I didn’t mean it,’ muttered Adele.
‘Didn’t mean what? And for heaven’s sake, speak up, young lady.’
‘I didn’t mean to hurt Debby,’ Adele sobbed.
‘Well, from what I’ve been told, you’ve got a bit of a temper, haven’t you, young lady?’
Adele, by now very tearful, nodded in response.
‘I can’t hear you!’ thundered Miss Marchant.
‘Yes,’ Adele replied.
‘Yes, what?’
‘Yes, Miss Marchant.’
Adele was so worked up that she thought she would vomit at any minute. To her surprise, just when she reached the point where she felt she might faint, the head teacher seemed to relent.
‘Well, Miss Robinson, although I don’t condone your behaviour in the playground, I have received glowing reports from your class teacher. So, I’m going to let the matter rest on this occasion. However, I would suggest that in future you keep that temper of yours well under wraps.’
‘Yes Miss,’ answered Adele.
‘You may go.’
Adele quickly made for the door, feeling a mixture of relief and shame, but before she could get to the other side, she was stopped by Miss Marchant’s stern tones.
‘And if I ever hear of any repeat of this behaviour, you will be punished severely!’
‘Yes Miss,’ Adele replied as she dashed from the office.
Anxious to be away from the head teacher’s office as soon as possible, Adele rushed down the corridor and into her classroom.
Mr Parry raised his eyes from the papers on his desk and abruptly ordered Adele to sit down in the vacant seat next to Tony Lord, who had a reputation for being the best fighter in the school.
As Adele felt everyone’s eyes on her, a tear escaped from her eye. She was greeted by a barrage of questions from the other children sitting at the table. Adele’s feelings of guilt and shame made her shy away from their questions, even though she could tell they were impressed that she’d beaten Debby up.
‘Why are you crying if you won the fight?’ asked Tony, puzzled.
‘Don’t know,’ muttered Adele, dipping her head.
How could she explain to somebody as insensitive as Tony Lord that she was upset at hurting her friend, and ashamed by her own display of temper? Adele hated violence; she’d seen enough of it at home. It also hurt her to think that she may have gone down in Mr Parry’s estimation.
For the rest of the afternoon, Adele tried to concentrate on her classwork, but she couldn’t shake off the feelings of guilt and shame. As thoughts whirled around in her head, she tried to suppress her sobbing, but still the tears tumbled down her face.
When the bell rang at the end of the day, Adele ran out of the classroom and headed directly for home. She was glad to put the incident behind her. Little did she know that this wasn’t the only time she would be made to feel ashamed.