A Girl's Guide to Fairy Tales

Chapter Twelve (part 1)

Chapter Twelve - Sophie

‘Versace? Armani? Mercedes?’ My class register was like a check-list for the super rich. But instead of having all those glitzy glamorous items before me, I had sniffles, dribbles and tantrums.

And I loved every one of them.

‘Angel? Amelia? Thomas?’ I gripped the pencil tightly as I ticked him off. Thomas, Tom, my Tom, the split, the pain.

‘Mith Dawthon?’

I quickly shook Tom from my thoughts and adopted my happy teacher face. ‘Yes Jack.’ I hadn’t seen him, but having just lost his two front teeth, his squeaks were easily recognisable.

‘Whath wrong?’

I screwed up my face. ‘Nothing sweetheart, I am absolutely fine and cannot wait to learn about fractions today.’

I clapped my hands together and was genuinely delighted because Maddie had made me two chocolate cakes so we could learn all about halves, quarters and eighths the tasty way.

‘No, you are not you today,’ he said in that six-year-old assertive fashion. ‘You’re thad.’

I sat up three inches straighter, making my stomach flatten momentarily. I couldn’t believe it. I had been busted by a child. I flashed my teaching assistant a quick ‘get me out of this’ look and she bounced into action.

The miniature stampede hurried through to the classroom concerned only with the present, while I looked on, drenched with thoughts about my past and more importantly my future.

Come lunch time, which every teacher ate on the run seeing as we were expecting Ofsted any week now, I knew I had to make the call.

‘Hi Clare it’s me,’ I said in a deflated tone.

‘Hello.’

‘Look, I need something new, a new dress perhaps. A party dress,’ I rambled.

‘Right, okay,’ she replied cautiously.

‘And we’re all going to go out Friday night. Is everyone free?’

‘Well I’ll ask but –’

‘No tell them, tell them that we are all going out. I really need to go out.’

‘Yes, alright I’ll tell them then.’

‘So I will need to go shopping but I don’t think I can face the shops so could you come round and we can have a look online together?’