It was a wet lunchtime. Loud metallic noise filled the roof space of the school dining room, right up to the peeling grey painted scaffolding in the roof space overhead. Jamie wondered if some of the noise might be inside his head, he wasn’t sure. The dinner ladies looked as fed up as he was and the windows were steaming up with the frustration of over a hundred children who made up the first sitting. He was at the back with the other packed lunches. That’s what he was called in the dining room. A packed lunch. Not a kid even. He hadn’t opened his box yet. He didn’t like it. His mother had promised him a new one when he was six. He had tried to scrape off the Hello Kitty sticker from when it had belonged to his sister but the others could still see it and sometimes they would miaow at him or purr. They did that on purpose to make him feel bad. He looked inside the box to see what was in it. A peanut butter sandwich, a tiny can of coke, a packet of prawn cocktail crisps and a mini roll. He never ate the mini roll, not ever, but she still kept putting them in. He picked up the can of coke, looked round carefully to make sure that nobody was looking, and shook it violently under the table. Then he pulled back the little ring and watched the dark fountain he had made shoot up in waves. It had white edges like the sea and it sounded like the sea too. Shhhooosssh!
“James Fletcher what do you think you’re doing?”
It was Mrs Porter. Badger Woman. She had a white streak in her hair over her forehead. He had once drawn a picture of her in a special Badger Woman costume and it had been taken away from him. They hadn’t given him it back, even when he cried.
“I said what do you think you are doing?”
The coke had spurted into the bottom of his lunch box and the bread in his peanut butter sandwich was dark and soggy.
“It’s ruined now.”
Badger Woman shook her head.
“I should think it is. You should be more careful. I’ll fetch a cloth.”
Jamie’s eyes filled up and he folded his arms.
“My dinner’s all soggy now. I can’t eat that.”
“Just wait a minute. We’ll see.”
Jamie didn’t like “We’ll see”. His mother was always saying that. He liked yes or no. And he wasn’t going to eat his dinner.
“You can’t make me eat it.”
He picked up his box and set off towards the bin, leaving a trail of dripping coke behind him.
There was a change in Badger Woman’s voice. He could hear it without looking.
“Jamie Fletcher come back here.”
Jamie stood with his head down, quite still, staring at the repeating pattern that the strips of wood on the floor made. He started to count them. One…two…… three…….. The box was taken out of his hands and Badger Woman held out the mini roll towards him. Other kids were looking at him now and he didn’t like it.
“You can still eat this, look. It’s wrapped up.”
She wasn’t his mum and she wasn’t his teacher. She couldn’t make him eat it.
“Don’t like it, and it’s still got stuff all over it.”
“I’ve seen you eat a mini roll before. I’ll wipe the wrapper down”
Badger Woman wiped the mini roll with her cloth and put it into Jamie’s hand.
“There you are. All sorted.”
Suddenly a shriek rose up inside Jamie and he pulled back his arm and sent the mini roll flying out across the dining room. It wasn’t sorted. Nothing was sorted. Nothing was ever sorted. The dining room went very quiet. They were all looking now, not just a few of them. Badger Woman was not happy.
“What on Earth is the matter with you? You’d better come with me.”
Jamie knew that if she touched him he was going to be very angry and he might kick. So he ran. He ran out of the dining hall, past the rows of grey doors with glass windows and names on them. He ran straight past his coat and out into the rain. He had no idea where he was going but within thirty seconds he had pushed his way across the playground and scuttled into the gap underneath the temporary classroom at the far side. He squirmed through the dirt until he was right in the middle where nobody could get at him ever again. Then he waited. He could hear them shouting his name almost straight away. Badger Woman first. Then his teacher. He ground his fists in the dirt and froze.
“Jamie?”
“Jamie Fletcher.”
He stayed very still. He could see Miss Hunter’s feet. Those were her brown sandals, right next to Badger Woman’s smelly trainers. If he moved now they would hear him. They would have to ring the bell soon and everybody would have to go into their classrooms. Then he would be safe.
“He went behind here Miss. I know he did.”
Suddenly there were faces looking at him. He hid his own face quickly and shut his eyes so that he couldn’t see them.
“Jamie?”
“Is he under there Miss?”
“Yes he is. Off you go Kylie- go and fetch the bell. Yes it’s all right now Mrs Porter. We’ve found him. I’ll sort it out.”
That was his teacher. Miss Rennison. There was no way she would manage to slide her way right under here and make him come out. So long as he stayed right in the middle he was safe.
He opened his eyes and looked at her. She didn’t look as if she was cross.
“Jamie- what’s the matter. Come on love- out you come. Nobody is angry with you. I’m getting wet here.”
Wet? Well that was her fault wasn’t it. If he just stayed very still she would have to go and look after the others in a minute. He shut his eyes as tight as he could.
“Jamie?”
“Has something happened to you? You can’t stay under there all day.”
Oh but he could. Even when it got dark. There wasn’t enough space under here for tigers to come and get him and he wasn’t scared of rats. His friend Luke had a rat. It was black and white but it was still a rat. Rats were all right.
Then he heard the bell ringing. There was a lot of noise, laughing and running feet followed by a silence and finally he could hear the rows of red sweatshirts being marched off to their classrooms one by one. He opened one eye carefully to see if Miss Rennison was still there.
She was.
“If you don’t come out soon I shall have to fetch your mum.”
Fat lot of good that would do. His mum was way too fat to get under here and she was at work. She had to stay at her till in Safeways until three o’clock.
“My mum won’t come. Nobody will come.”
“I’m here. Come out Jamie and we can see what’s the matter. I’m not going to go away. I want to help.”
After almost three quarters of an hour Jamie believed her. His leg hurt and he wanted a drink. He began to crawl slowly towards the edge, wriggling like a snake. Hisssssss. Hissssssss.
When he got out the rain hit his face and he started to cry. His teacher had dark spots all over her dress where the rain had hit her too. She took his hand without saying anything and led him into the school building. When they passed his classroom door he saw Mrs Lawler the headteacher in there. They were all sitting very still at their tables and they had their arms folded. He wondered where he was going and what might happen when he got there.
Miss Rennison took him into the office, right past where the welcome lady sat and into the secret bit where only Mrs Lawler went.
“We’ll get you cleaned up first.”
He let his teacher wipe his face and hands and give him a clean sweatshirt. It smelt funny.
“That’s better. Now are you going to tell me what all that was about?”
Jamie didn’t know what it was all about.
“I spoilt my dinner.”
“On purpose?”
“No!”
He frowned and tried not to cry. He didn’t want her wiping his face again.
“Spoiling your dinner wasn’t such a bad thing was it? Mrs Porter was looking after you nicely wasn’t she?”
Jamie nodded.
“Were you frightened of what your mum might say?”
He shook his head.
“My mum’s not bothered.”
“I’m sure she is.”
What did Miss Rennison know about his mum? Nothing. She didn’t know that his mum had come home in the middle of the night and fallen over and there had been so much noise and shouting that he had been forced to drag his duvet into the back garden and hide under it to get away from it. She didn’t know that this morning his mum wasn’t there and his sister had given him his coco pops with the wrong milk on them.
“My mum’s gone.”
“Gone? Is she on holiday?”
“Don’t know.”
“When will she be coming back?”
Jamie gripped his teeth together, hard. He had heard his dad scream at his mum and tell her never to come back. He had heard bad words. It was bad to throw things as well.
“Don’t know.”
“Never mind. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. Everything will be all right. She will be back soon. You ask daddy tonight and he’ll tell you.”
After Jamie heard Miss Rennison say that he felt a bit better. Miss Rennison knew about everything. She would be right. She always was.