Wisps of Cloud (10 page)

"It's Wednesday. If possible, can you tell us by Friday afternoon and if you accept, be ready to start there on Monday week?"

"That's only ten days."

"It is, I know. That is why I decided to speak to you directly rather than over a phone or by email."

Karla nodded. "But you can't tell me any more about what made Ted walk out like that."

"A little but most of the information is confidential." John said. "Some of it hasn't even been told to their board. If you agree to keep it so I can fill you in with most of the details."

Karla grinned. "Like I agree on the bible not to disclose anything I hear?"

"In this day and age that will not be necessary. An oral agreement not to disclose confidential information will do."

"Okay" Karla replied. "I agree." She listened as the man gave her a fairly detailed account of the last ERO visit to the school and the follow up meeting. "Is he being brought up on criminal charges?" she asked.

"Not at the moment but he was told it would happen if he didn't resign from his position as from the end of this year,"

"So he got the huff and walked out?"

"That's about it." John Cosgrove stood up and extended his hand again. "Think about it Karla," he said. "You will be helping a small school get on its feet and your position here will be secure for the two terms that you are away."

"Thank you," Karla replied. "I'll get back to you by Friday evening."

"Good," John replied and handed her a business card.  "My personal number. A text message as a reply will do. If you agree, an official secondment will he sent back by email so you can begin on Monday week."

*

It was two thirty-five by the time Karla headed back up the internal stairs towards her room. The noise from her room, though could be heard from along the top corridor. She grimaced and flung the classroom door open. Inside the children were whooping around with stuff and little people spread everywhere. Murray was nowhere in sight.

She clapped twice, glowered and clapped twice again.

Everyone stopped, twenty-seven heads turned and almost in unison the children stopped shouting and sat cross-legged on the carpet. Only then did Karla see Murray squatting on the floor in the wet area of the room. He was trying to wipe up a puddle of spilt glue. Luckily, it was on the tiled section of the floor and the carpet was spared.

"I am annoyed," Karla said in little more than a whisper. "You will pack up without a sound then go to you places on the carpet and sit down. You have five minutes. Do it!"

The children stood, glanced at each other and methodically set about putting the art gear away. They all had prearranged duties so soon glue brushes were washed, tops put on pallets, newspaper from under the chart rolled up and deposited in the bin and everything else done. With Karla and also a flushed looking principal watching, they manoeuvred the mosaic to one side of the room and carried their desks back into place on the other side. Chairs were placed on top of the desks and finally, they sat on the carpet in three crescent shaped lines to wait.

"Thank you," Karla said. "That was much better. Do you want me to read another chapter from our story?"

"Yes, Miss Spicer," the children replied.

Murray walked up to her. "If you leave us, you will be missed," he said in whisper and turned to the children. "Can I come back and visit again sometime?" he asked.

"Only if you read us a chapter of our story," a little boy called out from the back row.

Murray turned and grinned at Karla. "Oh, I will," he said and went to leave.

"So what do we say?" Karla asked her class.

"Thank you for looking after us Mr Narwood," the children called out in unison.

Murray smiled, gave Karla a nod and retreated out the door.

*

Karla awoke in the middle of the night feeling awful. Her head ached and her stomach was churning. She rolled over, reached for her watch and saw it was a little after two. Outside, the southerly storm had arrived in earnest and the room temperature was close to zero. She switched on the light and reached for two remotes. One turned up the heater and the other, the wall mounted television. She flicked between the channels but there was nothing playing except an ancient movie, an overseas news outlet and shopping adds. She switched the set off, grabbed a jersey to pull on and sat up.

She sighed. In theory she should feel thrilled about being offered the job at Top Plateau School but the opposite emotions filled her mind. She always had mood swings this time of the month. It wasn't the tiny school itself or the fact that it was run down. She could cope with that but the isolation and thought of living alone in a large house just surrounded by paddocks played on her mind.

Sure, she had lived alone for almost a decade in her little house but there were neighbours only a few metres away across the drive and out the bedroom window. Both immediate neighbours were couples about her own age with children that she could hear playing on most days when she was home. Also, the few times she had ever had problems someone was there to help. There was that broken pipe last year and later that drunk had staggered up her driveway. The police had arrived mere moments after her call and took him away. What would happen if the same thing happened way out in the country?

She moved her knees up under the blankets and her mind turned to Tui Park. Why was Val such a bitch? The associate principal was quite a good teacher, if somewhat formal but seemed to resent everything she had done herself for the school. Without her, Tui Park would be so much better. Murray too… he was hopeless in her classroom but she had to admit an informal activity such as art that he had arrived in the centre of, didn't help. He must have been a good teacher in his day or he would never have become principal.

Was it worthwhile giving up such a good position and city life for the relatively unknown country life? On a cold spring day like the one outside it would be far different from the hot summer when holidaymakers flooded Riversdale Beach. On the other hand, without the horrible politically correct climate of a big school and Murray and Val 'has-beens', it could be the break she needed. It was only for a term and a half anyway.

No, it was too big a step!

Almost without thinking, she picked up her iPhone and selected a name.

"What's wrong Karla," Ryan's voice sounded worried. Her photo must have come up on his mobile.

"Nothing bad," she said. "I can't sleep and I'm feeling sorry for myself. I just wanted to hear your voice. Sorry I woke you up. Go back to sleep. See you in the morning."

"About the job at Top Plateau or the shambles Murray created in your room?"

Karla gasped. "How did you know about both those things? I've told nobody."

Ryan chuckled. "Chrissy told me about Murray in your room and…"

"Chrissy! How did she know? Her classroom is right along the other end of the block."

"The whole school has heard about it. You know the school grape vine is faster than Twitter or Facebook."

"So they all know about the ministry guy coming and the job offer, too."

"No, that's confidential. That is one thing Murray is discrete about."

"So how did you know?"

"Dillon Gosnell called me. I knew the offer was coming before you were approached but couldn't say anything."

Karla frowned. She remembered the surname.

"Is he the husband of Sharon Gosnell, the relief teacher at Top Plateau?"

"More than that; he's the chairperson of their Board of Trustees."

"I see and he called you… When?"

"Yesterday. Well, two days ago from the time right now, I guess."

"Why?"

"He wants me to twist your arm into accepting. Apparently, he rung around and found out about how well you've been doing at Tui Park."

"Well, I've decided to turn it down, Ryan."

"What?"

"You heard. I… oh I don't know. I guess it is just too far away and out in the country. I've always lived in the city." There was silence on the phone. "Ryan, are you there?"

"Yes. Look, I'm coming around."

"I can't have sex. I know I'm old fashioned but it's my period and …"

"I know that, too."

"How?" She was aghast.

"That calendar on your bedroom wall has a row of discrete little felt-tip dots on it. You're a couple of days late, if I remember."

"Three actually," Karla retorted but smiled to herself. The old rogue! "It's okay. Thanks for the chat. See you at school."

"No. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

The call was disconnected.

"Damn," Karla muttered. For no reason at all, she burst into tears as she wiggled into her dressing gown and went to turn on the gas heater in the living room.

*

Ryan arrived twenty-fi
ve minutes later. When she greeted him at the door she was swept into his arms and given a bruising kiss before he shut the door and almost carried her across to the couch. There he gently lowered her down and sat beside her.

"Okay, this crap about being scared of living alone in the country. It doesn't wash, you know!"

Karla stared at him. "And why not?"

"Because you are going to accept the position and I'm coming with you."

"As simple as that?"

Ryan nodded.

"So what about your job at Tui Park, your house, this home of mine and …" She stopped when arms pulled her in and she was smothered with another kiss.

She responded but pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "Well?"

"My job here is on a month's notice by either party. They can fire me after a month and I can also…"

"Okay," Karla replied. "Your house?"

"Similar. I only lease it and can cancel my tenancy agreement with six weeks notice." Ryan glanced around. "As for this place, I think you should keep it. My house on Top Plateau is furnished and we can come back here on weekends, every weekend, if you wish."

"But you'll have no job there!"

"No problem. I'll do what I was doing a decade ago, that is work for Clive. He always employs casual labour at this time of the year anyway. It is part of his responsibility and I have already talked to him. Dillon also offered me a position on his farm but I won't really need it."

Karla nodded but couldn't bring herself to smile. "So you've got everything sorted, haven't you?"

"I have."

"And what if I don't want to move in with you on a permanent basis?"

For the first time Ryan's face dropped and he looked hesitant. "My whole argument collapses," he whispered. "I just thought…" He flushed. "Hell, we're together in the holidays and every weekend. I didn't think you were worried about what narrow-minded people like Val thought. If you want to think about it …"

"I'm not," Karla whispered.

"So why this discussion now?"

Karla did smile and wrapped her arms around him. "It's an equal partnership, okay?"

"At Top Plateau Station and School?"

"Why not?" Karla whispered. She found her heart pounding and adrenalin surging through her body.

"You will?"

"Of course, you silly man. Another sly innuendo from Val and I'll be scratching her eyes out. How would that help?" She stood up. "Want a coffee and early breakfast?"

"Yeah. Fried potatoes, two eggs sunny side up with a rash of bacon and cream in my percolated coffee."

"More like two pieces of toast, if you're lucky and instant coffee. Oh yes, I'm out of milk so it'll have to be the powdered stuff."

Ryan grinned. "Then back to bed?"

"No. I told you…"

"Just kidding," Ryan laughed and smacked her, none too gently on the bottom.

*

Karla was by herself in the Mazda as she drove east towards the coast from Masterton where Ryan and her had spent the night in a motel. She didn't really feel alone for ahead of her vehicle was Ryan's pickup loaded up with their final bits and pieces. She shrugged as the FM station faded, turned her radio off and thought back to the busy days that had slipped by far quicker than had she would have imagined.

There were the usual delays before the two boards of trustees finally reached a date for her to begin at Top Plateau. This was the first Monday in November with seven weeks of the school term remaining. Ryan also finished his job at Tui Park from the last week in October and spent a week organising their big shift. Yesterday that was Friday; the movers packed up Ryan's furniture in Wellington and also visited her home to load her items such as the computer, boxes of personal gear and some of the furniture she wanted to take to Top Plateau. As discussed earlier, she had kept her little house as a reverse holiday home, as Ryan called it.

"City workers have a weekend home out at Riversdale so why can't we have the opposite?" he had said with a laugh when she queried him about the words he used.

"Fair enough," she replied. "Anyway, once the first term of next year is over, we'll be coming back and have to have somewhere to go."