Page 48 of Plot Twist

‘Maybe you could just pop in and bat your eyelids at her, see if you can distract her from the lecture she’s about to give me.’

‘Don’t take any shit, Becca. You didn’t take time off work lightly, you just lost your best friend,’ Riley reminded me.

I grimaced. ‘Wish me luck.’

I made my way into the office and drummed my fingers against the desk’s wooden surface, waiting for the call to start on my laptop, watching myself looking petrified on screen. My heart hammered in my chest and I swallowed the salty taste in my mouth.

The call clicked to life and there she was, bold as brass, sitting in her large office chair. She wore her usual stern look, verging on a growl.

‘Becca,’ she said. ‘Do you mind if I record this call? I like to keep a record of all my staff admin.’

I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. She was so dramatic.

‘Sure,’ I replied. ‘If you want.’

‘Thank you. I wasn’t sure if you’d come,’ she stated.

‘I accepted the invitation,’ I said. ‘I thought you knew I was coming.’

She raised an eyebrow. ‘Well, you also signed an employment agreement to indicate that you would come to work. Yet, here we are.’

We stayed silent for a second. My mouth fell open and I closed it again.

‘Anyway, I wanted to enquire as to whether or not you have a doctor’s note for this leave of absence you’ve taken without authorisation.’

‘I. . . I haven’t been to the doctor,’ I replied.

Why the hell hadn’t I gone to the doctor? It seemed to be such a simple solution now I thought about it. The doctor would have taken one look at me and signed me off.

‘I. . . I haven’t.’

She pursed her thin lips and raised her eyebrows, jotting something down in her notebook. I wondered why she was bothering to record the conversation and take notes. Surely that defeated the purpose, but I kept quiet. She gazed back up at me through the screen.

‘Look, Mrs Pender, I’m finding my bereavement very difficult,’ I said.

My voice shook as I spoke and I could feel tears threatening in my eyes. I didn’t want to cry, not on the call. Not in front of her.

‘I didn’t know what the right thing was to do or to say,’ I continued. ‘But I knew that I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be in a class teaching children. I’m sorry if I’ve not done things by the book.’

‘Ah yes, the email. Dear Mrs Pender, I’m afraid I am unable to return to work blah blah blah. Best kisses, Becca.’ She looked back up at the screen. ‘I assume you meant “wishes” when you sent it. . . in the early hours of the morning.’

‘Yes, I meant wishes, sorry. I haven’t been sleeping since. . .’

She bent her head down and scribbled more notes before looking up and staring me down on the screen.

‘May I ask where you are just now, Becca?’

‘Just now? I’m in, erm, the office.’

‘In your home?’ she pressed.

I stuttered, feeling trapped. If I said yes, I was lying. If I said no and confirmed I was in Ireland, I didn’t know what she would say or do. Was I allowed to be out of the country? I had a horrible feeling the answer was no.

‘I’m staying with a friend, actually,’ I said, feeling the blood pumping through my veins. I didn’t need to just lie down and take her questions, I could fight back. ‘I didn’t want to be on my own.’

‘Yes, I heard. Look, Becca, I think you and I both know that you’ve crossed the line here so I’m giving you advanced notice of your disciplinary hearing. . .’

‘My what now?’ I blinked.