Apples of Life

Chapter Eight ~ Things started to look up.

Mum collected me from Mrs Jackson and thanked her kindly for looking after me, luckily Mrs Jackson had decided not tell mum yet what I had done, so I was safe for the time being at least.

When we got home, mum told me to go and change and come down and sit at the kitchen table whilst she prepared dinner.

Dad was by now home from work, bathed and had changed into his own home clothes. Andrew would be home soon, although he was bought home by car as he went to a new school which was still a bit of a way from home, but he was able to go there in a car and come home every day too.

I went and changed and put on my slippers and made my way back downstairs to the kitchen where mum and dad were talking about what had happened in the meeting with the headmistress and teacher at my school.

Mum did not looked best pleased at all, and as I came into the kitchen, dad asked me if I had, had a nice time at Mrs Jacksons and I replied yes, I had, whilst seating myself at the table where dad was also sitting.

Mum busied herself preparing dinner, and dad and her continued their talk of my school and what had happened.

From what I could understand and work out of what mum was saying, my teacher had said that I was a very lazy little girl who refused to learn anything and in turn she had felt this was disrupting her class greatly. My teacher had strenuously denied smacking, let alone even touching me, and from this the headmistress had implied that perhaps it was my mum who had smacked me that day and made those marks on me?!

Mum was furious about that, and shouted back in her own defense, that yes, I could be a little naughty at times at home but she hardly ever had to smack me, and that not by any means would she ever have smacked me so heavy handedly, and how dare the school accuse her of such a terrible thing!

Mum asked me once more, was I totally sure I had got it right and that it was my own class teacher that had smacked me several times so hard, or perhaps had I been playing at lunchtime and one of the other children might have smacked me a few times in play a little too hard?

And did I know that telling lies about people was very wrong and very serious indeed?!

I nodded that I knew, and I again told mum and dad what had happened, and then I started to cry as by now I thought I really was in some kind of trouble.

Dad reassured me that everything would be alright and that mum just wanted to be doubly sure that I was telling the truth. Mum nodded and said that she did believe me and that I could get down from the table and go and play for a bit until dinner would be ready.

I nodded and wiped away my tears, and got down from the table and left the kitchen to go and play.

As I left the kitchen, I heard mum say to dad, that she knew the teacher was lying, and that she knew she had done wrong and was probably trying to cover up to save her own job. Dad agreed and asked what would happen now?

Mum went on to explain that the school still wanted me to attend there and that they felt the best solution would be to put me in another class with a different teacher, and as luck would have it, my new teacher was to be one of the ladies that my mum knew at church and mum knew she was a very good teacher and would look after me, and encourage me more with my school work.

I really wasn't sure what I thought about this as I climbed the stairs to my bedroom, but having had such a horrid teacher so far, I did know for certain that I really didn't want another mean teacher, teaching me ever again!!

Andrew came home from school as I was playing in my bedroom and he popped his head round my door to make sure I was ok.

I told him I was but a little bit scared of going back to school and I didn't really have any friends to play with at break and lunchtime and that I often felt lonely.

Andrew came in and sat on my bed and he told me he knew what that could be like and he asked me if there was anyone I liked at school who could be my friend?

I nodded that yes there was, her name was Tracy and I liked her a lot but she wasn't in my class. So my brother said when I went back to school, I could try asking Tracy if she would play with me? I said I would try and smiled up at him grateful for my big brothers advice.

Then mum called us down to dinner, and the rest of the evening we watched tv and chatted about our day until it was time for my bath and bed, as I had school the next day, and I would be starting in a whole new class with a brand new teacher.

And so I went back to school the next day to start in my new class with my new teacher.

I made doubly sure I stayed away from my old teacher as I still didn't like her very much at all, and especially more so now as she had not told the whole truth about what happened that day, and it had been brushed under the carpet as mine and my mums word against hers and it was to be discussed no more.

I settled in much better in my new class and I even made some friends. There was Tracy who became my special best friend who looked after me at playtime and was a ball of energy who often made me laugh, and Jawaz was another friend I made and he lived not far from where I did and we were delighted when we discovered that we both lived in the same type of home as each other.

I had a little bit of a crush on him and even more so when he invited me to his birthday party as that made me feel I finally had made some truly nice friends and I didn't feel quite so alone at playtime anymore.

I even started to concentrate more in class and joined in with the lessons and tried hard to keep up and get my work done.

All in all, things were looking much better and brighter than before and I actually started to enjoy going to school and learn and play with my friends.

Mum was happier that I had settled more and when I was a butterfly in my school play, mum was so very proud of me indeed as I was very shy and it took a lot of coaxing from my new teacher to move around on the stage and fly around like a butterfly as part of the character for the play.

But as with all good things came not so good things too, and sadly some more was yet to come for me and my family.