hall.
Dizzy had seen it, too. ‘Oh no you don’t, missy!’ he called as he rushed out after her.
David Devereux had joined Emily near the technician’s desk, where she stood with wires and plugs in her hands. He had Dolly with him – she didn’t look frightened. She was young enough to think the finale might have been part of the show.
‘Emily!’ said David. ‘Girl, that was brave of you.’
‘ Now we can have the denouement,’ said Emily, shaking a bit – with shock, she thought, rather than electrical energy.
David reached over and grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him, and he kissed her.
So that’s what you do when something I say isn’t particularly funny , thought Emily. She resolved to be less amusing in front of handsome actors in future.
David’s phone rang, and he answered it, ‘Yes, yes… Yes! Yeah, I can. Yeah. OK, buddy,’ while nodding and pretending to listen to Dolly, who was asking him a question.
‘Daddy,’ she said, ‘is this my new school?’
‘No, babe.’ He finished his call. He put his hand on Dolly’s head, smoothing her gorgeous curls, and he smiled at Emily.
‘But I like it here, Daddy. I like Toto. I liked the ninja part at the end.’
David laughed his beautiful laugh, as if inviting the angels to join in. He said, ‘Yeah, babe. It’s great, isn’t it? But I just got the call. We’re moving to LA.’
***
A little later on, in Victoria’s kitchen at her house opposite the flat where Emily lived, Dr. Muriel – jacket back on, stick propped against the desk – poured tea for Victoria, Emily and a hatless Morgana while they discussed the day’s events. It was five o’clock, and they were all rather hungry, so Victoria split and toasted eight spicy fruit tea cakes, two at a time, in her expensive stainless steel toaster, and Emily stood next to her and buttered them and piled them onto a plate. Victoria was back in her jeans, white T-Shirt and pewter shawl, something like her fifth costume change of the day.
It had already been agreed that they had all been wonderful, and very brave, and they had praised each other accordingly. Now they were pondering the motives of the person who had nearly killed a hundred children on a Saturday afternoon in south London.
‘Seema sent those poison pen letters?’ asked Morgana.
‘It was a bit of a giveaway when she produced another one this morning, saying it had been sent to Showstoppers instead of being sent to your house,’ said Emily, taking her place at the table and picking up her cup of tea.
‘As if I didn’t have enough to worry about,’ said Victoria, ‘with the end-of-term show.’
‘That was rather the point,’ said Dr. Muriel. ‘Seema thought the letters would tip you over the edge and you would stand down from running the school and let her take your place. She was very jealous of your success.’
‘And like a lot of people who aren’t very bright,’ said Emily, ‘she couldn’t see why you were in charge and she wasn’t. She liked following processes, and she found your creative management style irritating and threatening, especially your last-minute changes of plan. She thought that all she had to do was replace you, instead of learning the skills that would earn her the right to take over.’
‘But I don’t get it,’ said Victoria, bringing the plate of tea cakes to the table and taking a seat next to Morgana. ‘How did she know about the video?’
‘You told her,’ said Dr. Muriel, stretching for a tea cake. ‘You told everyone.’
‘Yes, but not until today.’ Victoria nudged the plate in Dr. Muriel’s direction so she could reach the food without embarrassing herself.
‘You told me yesterday,’ Emily said.
‘You must have told Seema about the video a while ago,’ said Dr. Muriel. ‘I’d guess it was not long after your tutor’s widow sent it to you out of the blue.’
‘Poor Bill,’ said Victoria, chomping on a buttery toasted tea cake. ‘I don’t
Dizzy had seen it, too. ‘Oh no you don’t, missy!’ he called as he rushed out after her.
David Devereux had joined Emily near the technician’s desk, where she stood with wires and plugs in her hands. He had Dolly with him – she didn’t look frightened. She was young enough to think the finale might have been part of the show.
‘Emily!’ said David. ‘Girl, that was brave of you.’
‘ Now we can have the denouement,’ said Emily, shaking a bit – with shock, she thought, rather than electrical energy.
David reached over and grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him, and he kissed her.
So that’s what you do when something I say isn’t particularly funny , thought Emily. She resolved to be less amusing in front of handsome actors in future.
David’s phone rang, and he answered it, ‘Yes, yes… Yes! Yeah, I can. Yeah. OK, buddy,’ while nodding and pretending to listen to Dolly, who was asking him a question.
‘Daddy,’ she said, ‘is this my new school?’
‘No, babe.’ He finished his call. He put his hand on Dolly’s head, smoothing her gorgeous curls, and he smiled at Emily.
‘But I like it here, Daddy. I like Toto. I liked the ninja part at the end.’
David laughed his beautiful laugh, as if inviting the angels to join in. He said, ‘Yeah, babe. It’s great, isn’t it? But I just got the call. We’re moving to LA.’
***
A little later on, in Victoria’s kitchen at her house opposite the flat where Emily lived, Dr. Muriel – jacket back on, stick propped against the desk – poured tea for Victoria, Emily and a hatless Morgana while they discussed the day’s events. It was five o’clock, and they were all rather hungry, so Victoria split and toasted eight spicy fruit tea cakes, two at a time, in her expensive stainless steel toaster, and Emily stood next to her and buttered them and piled them onto a plate. Victoria was back in her jeans, white T-Shirt and pewter shawl, something like her fifth costume change of the day.
It had already been agreed that they had all been wonderful, and very brave, and they had praised each other accordingly. Now they were pondering the motives of the person who had nearly killed a hundred children on a Saturday afternoon in south London.
‘Seema sent those poison pen letters?’ asked Morgana.
‘It was a bit of a giveaway when she produced another one this morning, saying it had been sent to Showstoppers instead of being sent to your house,’ said Emily, taking her place at the table and picking up her cup of tea.
‘As if I didn’t have enough to worry about,’ said Victoria, ‘with the end-of-term show.’
‘That was rather the point,’ said Dr. Muriel. ‘Seema thought the letters would tip you over the edge and you would stand down from running the school and let her take your place. She was very jealous of your success.’
‘And like a lot of people who aren’t very bright,’ said Emily, ‘she couldn’t see why you were in charge and she wasn’t. She liked following processes, and she found your creative management style irritating and threatening, especially your last-minute changes of plan. She thought that all she had to do was replace you, instead of learning the skills that would earn her the right to take over.’
‘But I don’t get it,’ said Victoria, bringing the plate of tea cakes to the table and taking a seat next to Morgana. ‘How did she know about the video?’
‘You told her,’ said Dr. Muriel, stretching for a tea cake. ‘You told everyone.’
‘Yes, but not until today.’ Victoria nudged the plate in Dr. Muriel’s direction so she could reach the food without embarrassing herself.
‘You told me yesterday,’ Emily said.
‘You must have told Seema about the video a while ago,’ said Dr. Muriel. ‘I’d guess it was not long after your tutor’s widow sent it to you out of the blue.’
‘Poor Bill,’ said Victoria, chomping on a buttery toasted tea cake. ‘I don’t
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