Echoes Down The Corridor

Caught In The Act

…They were so wrapped up in their own little world, they didn’t notice store room door burst open…

 “Oh My God!” Caroline Parris exclaimed in fury. “What the Hell are you doing to that child, Sarah? In a classroom?! Get out of here now!” She spluttered, unable to form coherent sentences in her head due to the scene she’d just burst in on. She certainly hadn’t expected to see that when she followed the pair down the corridor.

Quaking with fear, Sarah took a deep breath, planted a soft kiss on Abby’s forehead, and slowly shuffled down the corridor behind Caroline, reluctant to face her fate.

 ***In the Deputy Head of English’s Office***

Caroline shut the door of the office slowly, now able to contain her anger. She took one look at the usually poised woman sat in front of her: the quivering wreck a mere shadow of her usual self. She took a deep breath, and began to speak:

“At what point did you think what you were doing in there was in any way right?” Caroline said, calmer than before. “Hmmm? Sarah, look at me,” she commanded, as a tear-stained face slowly glanced up, fear shining in the younger woman’s eyes. “I’m going to be honest with you; I’ve had an inclination that something more than the norm has been going on between you and Abby Williams for a while. On my part, I was probably wrong to overlook what I knew, but I did for 2 reasons: a) I had no solid evidence that something was going on, and b) I truly believed that you wouldn’t do anything to harm Abby – I saw love between you, and wasn’t going to come between that so long as the relationship remained relatively platonic.” Caroline took a deep breath, not liking the way this conversation was heading. Sarah was still locked in a trance; her demeanour resembled that of a child.

“However,” Caroline continued. “What I just witnessed wasn’t mutual love: you were devouring that poor child. Your actions were filled with lust and desire – the love wasn’t there. And in the eyes of the law, that child is too young to withstand your desires: what you did constitutes abuse Sarah. Have you been abusing her?” Caroline posed the question without malice; in truth, she desperately hoped the answer would be an honest ‘no’.

“I…I…I never meant to hurt her…” Sarah chocked out between heaving sobs. “I love her. So much, it hurts. And I know it isn’t right, but I do. I would never, ever intentionally hurt her…” she trailed off.

Caroline sighed: Sarah was avoiding the inevitable.

“Whether you did it ‘intentionally’ is not the point, and I can perfectly see that you have deep affection for this girl. But, with or without intent, you can’t deny the fact that, as you have a position of trust over her, you may have unintentionally caused her harm – is a naïve Year 11 really old enough to understand the emotions and affections we do? In the eyes of the law: no. She isn’t emotionally an adult, thus the law is there for her protection. So I need an honest answer from you: have you had sexual intercourse with Abigail Williams?” The question was more direct this time, and Sarah was unable to avoid giving a response.

“…Yes…” The almost silent response eventually came from Sarah, accompanied by a slow nod.

“Oh My God,” Caroline whispered slowly, unable to contain her anger. “Would she back this up? If I brought her in here now, would she be honest with me about the nature of your relationship? I need to hear the victim’s side of the story.”

Sarah flinched at the reference of ‘victim’ to her girlfriend. She couldn’t believe what she’d done: how she’d hurt Abby. What had she been thinking, starting a relationship with a teenager? When did this become right in her mind? Abby is a child; she shouldn’t have been subjected to the advances of an adult. How much did she understand about what had transpired between them both?