The Learning Curve (47 page)

While some of her staff were preparing for the trip, Henrietta James stood looking out of the living-room window at the neat little garden beyond, her long hair and smooth skin belying her true age. A robin was pecking at the hanging bird-food. She’d give herself another five minutes before putting the vegetables on. She heard her mother shuffle in behind her.

‘I see you’re all packed, then.’

She nodded.

‘I shan’t call if anything happens,’ her mother informed her, sitting down with a groan. ‘No need to spoil your holiday.’

‘It’s not a holiday,’ repeated Henrietta, turning to face her mother. ‘It’s work.’

Her mother tutted. ‘You’ve retired, girl. Leave on a high.’

Henrietta thought of the puzzle cheat and then went into the kitchen to get the vegetables started.

At about the same time, Oscar was sitting on top of his Samsonite suitcase while Mark tried to shut it through his legs. It had been a fun day. They’d started packing straight after breakfast. Every now and then his dad had asked a packing question, and it had been his job to phone Daisy and repeat the question, so she could ask her mum. Lilith had then told Daisy the answer, Daisy told him and he told his dad. It had been the most fun packing ever. He went to bed early but couldn’t fall asleep for ages.

In direct contrast, Mark went to bed late and fell asleep instantly. He had known that once he’d handed in his resignation at Heatheringdown, lots of things would fall into place. He enjoyed his job, but when he’d got the phone call from Fortune Green School – Heatheringdown’s feeder senior school and the school Oscar would be going to in September – offering him the same post but for significantly more money, he knew he would be mad to refuse. Lilith had been right. He simply wasn’t earning enough. Yes, they had plenty of savings, but it took courage to live off savings. This way, he would be able to live off his current earnings instead of his past earnings and still be able to walk into school with Osc (until Osc would be too cool to walk in with his dad, of course).

And then as soon as he’d handed in his resignation, everything made sense. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was hopelessly in love with Nicky Hobbs
because the thought of not seeing her every day depressed him. He hadn’t even left the school yet and already he was missing her. It hurt him every time they said hello in the corridor, because he knew it was only for a few more days. It hurt every time he saw her car in the car park and knew that he’d missed bumping into her. It hurt every time Oscar talked about her, because he wasn’t with her and was jealous of whoever was.

And so, after much persuading, Oscar agreed to go on the school trip with him. At first he’d been so adamantly against going that, to get him to agree, Mark had been forced to tell him about his new job, after swearing him to secrecy. It had worked. Oscar was persuaded. Not only was he persuaded, he was thrilled. Not about the trip – that would be awful – but about starting senior school in September at the same time as his dad. He wasn’t scared any more.

Mark had known that there was every chance Oscar would come round to the idea of the school trip before he himself had. But he hadn’t realised quite how quickly that would happen. They hadn’t even left home yet and already the boy was enjoying it more than he was. In fact, he could honestly say that he’d never hated packing for a holiday so much in his life. He had allowed what he’d thought was a generous half-day for it, but it had just gone on and on. By lunch-time he’d had a shopping list of necessities he’d never realised were necessities before, because five-star hotels supplied them as a matter of course. As the packing had expanded to fill the entire day, he’d begun to have serious doubts about his decision to go on this trip with Oscar. What sort of place expected you to bring your own soap?
How could anything be defined as a holiday, when you had to carry the most basic contents of your own bathroom cabinet there with you? After they’d labelled everything (what for? So a thief would know the name of the person whose item he’d stolen?) they went to the local chemist where he discovered the existence of holiday-sized containers.

Then later, while he’d been preparing an easy pasta dinner, it had suddenly occurred to him that during all his previous holidays he had had an au pair keeping house during his absence. He would have to remember to cancel the milk last thing tonight and the newspapers tomorrow morning and empty his fridge of anything that might go mouldy within the week. And empty the kitchen bin ready for the dustmen later in the week. He would have to ask Lilith to put out the bins the night before the dustmen were due. This holiday had better be good, he thought. And then he thought of Nicky.

By the time he’d finished clearing up from dinner, packed his own bag and clambered into bed, he needed a holiday. And not one where they didn’t supply the bloody soap. He shut his eyes and imagined Nicky packing for the same trip. He wondered if she’d ever been on a holiday where she didn’t need to pack her own soap. He saw her lying by a pool in a bikini. The next morning he woke with a start. He stared ahead of him, and saw Nicky lying by a pool in a bikini.

A mile away, Nicky opened her eyes and lay quite still for a while. She mentally ticked off all the items on her packing list. Then she got out of bed, opened her wardrobe, pulled out a pretty fuchsia cardigan and a pair of strappy sandals
and tucked them on the top of her luggage. She stopped and stared at the two short skirts lying on the top, before a slow smile widened her lips. She stretched across to her phone and dialled Ally’s number.

CLAIRE DROVE NICKY
to school so that Nicky’s car wouldn’t be left unattended in the car park for a week. It was a Saturday morning and they were the first ones there. As they sat in the car, facing the entrance, waiting for everyone else to arrive, Claire plonked a paper bag in Nicky’s lap.

‘What’s this?’ asked Nicky.

‘It’s a paper bag,’ said Claire.

Nicky opened it. Inside was a pair of earrings, a necklace and bracelet.

‘The girls chose them,’ said Claire. ‘They’ll go with the skirts I told you not to pack.’

Nicky blinked. ‘How did you know I’d packed them?’

Claire shrugged. ‘When did you ever listen to me?’

Nicky gave a tight grin and Claire said, ‘it’s a pleasure.’

When the coach turned into the car park, they got out of the car and lugged Nicky’s hold-all across the empty playground. The day wasn’t going to be a stunner, but youth was on its side and the early-morning air was fresh, bordering on frisky.

‘Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,’ quipped Claire, as they kissed goodbye, and Nicky stopped herself from
saying, ‘What, like leave it too late to have children?’

She stood at the coach door as it sighed and slid open. The smell of coach hit her in the back of her throat.

‘Morning!’ said the coach driver as he stepped down. ‘Just you, is it?’

‘Looks like it,’ said Nicky.

He took her bag and placed it in the boot, then ambled back to stand next to her.

‘I hate coaches,’ Nicky said quietly. ‘I always forget till I have to get in them.’

Two people carriers turned into the car park, packed with at least five children each.

‘I hate kids,’ sighed the coach driver. ‘I never bloody forget that.’

Nicky grinned. She took out her copy of the list ready to tick off names. She smiled at the two mums as they approached.

‘Will they serve cheese there?’ greeted one before she’d reached her.

‘I don’t know,’ Nicky said. ‘Why?’

‘Well, he hates it. Won’t eat it.’

‘Is it an allergy?’

‘Might as well be, he hates it that much.’

‘Did you fill that in on the form? Because if you did, it’ll be fine.’

‘What form?’

‘The consent form you sent back. There was a section on allergies.’

‘Well, it’s not an allergy.’

‘No. But he won’t eat it.’

‘Won’t go near it. Won’t be in the same room as it. Mr Pattison knows.’

‘Ah well, that’s all right.’

‘Is Mr Pattison coming?’

‘Yes.’

‘Where is he, then?’

Nicky smiled. ‘I don’t know. Shall we phone him?’

‘Go on, then.’

Nicky dialled his mobile. She was put on to voicemail.

‘Hello, Mr Pattison, it’s Miss Hobbs. I have –’ she asked the mother’s name – ‘Mrs Jennings here who just wants to check that you are cognisant of the fact that Jamie will not, at any point on the holiday, be in the same room as cheese.’

She rang off.

By now the coach was surrounded by cars, like a mother pig with her suckling piglets. Parents milled round the car park trying to ignore their nerves while children raced round, slowly getting on them. Nicky placed her handbag on the very front window-seat of the coach, on the left, and then returned to the car park, where she roamed around chatting to parents and ticking names off lists. She spotted Martha-Plus-One approach. She checked that there was only one piece of luggage, but still had her doubts that the boyfriend wouldn’t try stowing away in the boot.

When Miss James was dropped off by a male ‘family friend’, Nicky stared. The headmistress wore pink tracksuit bottoms and matching jacket over a spotless white T-shirt. Nicky stopped herself from greeting her boss with a kiss and made do instead with a hearty hello. As the family friend drove away, they stood side by side, observing the gathering.

‘Nice weather for it,’ said Miss James after a while. Nicky asked her if she wanted to meet the driver and then watched her as she obligingly wandered up to the coach door, her
clean white sneakers crunching on the gravel, and offered him her hand. It was as if she’d already retired, and in doing so had shed a decade in age. Which begged the question that, if Nicky were to take her place, would she look a decade older?

She looked down at her watch. Still half an hour to go before take-off. Where the hell was Rob? Just as she thought this, his car turned into the entrance. He roared right up to the coach and leapt out of his car.

‘Morning, sunshine,’ he greeted her, his usual private wink at the ready.

‘Are you going to leave your car here all week?’ asked Nicky.

‘Yep,’ he muttered. ‘With any luck it’ll get stolen.’

‘Why are you late?’

‘Bloody overslept, didn’t I?’ he muttered.

‘It’s OK,’ she said. ‘We weren’t going to leave without you. I’d have got the coach to pick you up from your home if I’d had to.’

He allowed her a small smile. ‘I’m sure you would have,’ he said. He indicated Miss James with his head. ‘Did she say anything?’

‘Yes,’ whispered Nicky loudly. ‘She said, “I’ll show that Pattison to be late on my shift.”’ She shrugged and opened her eyes in innocent wonder. ‘I wonder what she meant by that?’

‘Ha ha,’ he said, his eyes still on Miss James and he went to greet her. Nicky watched him apologise repeatedly to her. Her observation was interrupted by a cheery hello. She steeled herself and then turned to Amanda. Her lower jaw slowly gaped open, like a Thunderbird puppet’s lower jaw.

‘All aboard!’ sang out Amanda.

She was wearing a light summer dress, high-heeled wedge espadrilles, big floppy hat and sharp shades. She looked ready for a cruise. Or rather, she looked gorgeous, and ready for a luxury cruise. Glossy lipstick brought out the pink, healthy glow in her cheeks, exemplary use of expensive foundation gave her the silken complexion of a Hollywood starlet, and when she lifted her shades, Nicky found herself looking into immaculately eye-lined, enhancingly eye-shadowed, meticulously mascaraed eyes. Every single eyelash was standing to attention. She stared for a while, wondering what life must be like for a woman like Amanda. What did she do when everyone else was writing their New Year’s Resolutions? Exfoliate?

‘Wow, Amanda!’ she managed. ‘Dressed to kill, eh!’

‘Oh, I wouldn’t say that!’ grinned Amanda. ‘Dressed for a summer holiday, more like!’ She took her time to look Nicky up and down. ‘Are you coming with us?’ she asked innocently. While Amanda then made a great display of greeting Rob, Nicky found herself unable to function. Her brain was clogging up with all the different answers she should have given.

She caught sight of Ned, at the other side of the car park. Even at that distance she could make out the stoop of his shoulders. He walked slowly from the passenger seat to the boot of the car, took out a small case, and walked slowly to the driver’s seat, where his wife sat. He bent down while she opened the window, kissed her, turned and approached the gathering. When he saw Nicky, he gave a little nod before studying the ground in front of her feet. She put her hand on his arm.

‘Ned.’ He stopped. ‘Good luck with the job interview.’

He looked at her. ‘Thanks,’ he said and stepped up on to the coach. He half turned towards her. ‘You too.’

There was a sudden glut of arrivals twenty minutes before the coach was due to leave and both pupils and teachers started boarding. Nicky looked down her list. Daisy, Oscar, Mark Samuels still to come. She pressed her biro against Mark’s name until it made a dent in the paper. She added a dent on one or two random names.

She looked up and grinned at the surprising sight of Ally and Pete approaching.

‘We thought we’d come and see you off,’ said Ally.

‘And laugh,’ added Pete.

‘Oh, thanks, guys!’ Nicky grinned.

Janet, Miss James’s trusty PA, who had less choice about being on this trip than the two Deputies did, loomed towards them. She’d had to get a temp in to cover her while she was away, which everyone knew meant she’d be working overtime or after term time to catch up. But everyone also knew that Miss James couldn’t possibly do without her, even on a school trip.

‘Hello!’ said Nicky.

‘Oh, piss off,’ muttered Janet, low enough for none of the kids to hear, and got on the coach.

Nicky looked at Ally and Pete.

‘You lucky, lucky bastards,’ she whispered.

‘Luck’s got nothing to do with it,’ laughed Pete. ‘It’s sheer lack of ambition.’

Then they followed Janet into the coach to wish everyone a hearty bon voyage.

Lilith’s car turned into the car park and drove right up to
the coach, parking next to Rob’s. As soon as she parked, all the doors flew open and Daisy, Oscar, Mark and Lilith leapt out. Mark ran to the boot and started unpacking luggage straight into the coach’s boot while Lilith hugged Daisy, and Oscar ran to Nicky. She ticked his name off the list and he climbed inside the coach without a look back. After she’d marked Daisy in, and waved hello to Lilith, she turned her attention to Mark.