by Lisa Ireland
Libby’s voice was cold. ‘But you’re not me, and you’re not Harry’s mother. This is none of your business, but as always you think you know best. You think you know everything, but you have no idea what it’s like to be a mother.’
The words hit Kit like a physical blow. She felt like she might vomit. ‘You’re right,’ she said, ‘I don’t.’
Chapter 16
It was a step too far, the crack about not being a parent. But she couldn’t take the words back now, they were out there and Kit had left, slamming the front door behind her.
Why the hell had she gone there? Even as the question formed in her mind she knew what the answer was. Because she’d wanted to hurt her, that was why. Kit’s words about Harry had stung and she’d retaliated with a barb designed to inflict as much pain as possible. That was the problem with knowing each other so well. It was a low blow, and one she shouldn’t have resorted to, but sometimes Kit could be so bloody infuriating. Everything was so simple as far as she was concerned. Black or white, right or wrong. Once Kit believed something there was no changing her mind, and she was always so damned confident of her own opinion. Libby admired and despised this aspect of Kit’s personality in equal parts. Kit’s behaviour was frustrating at times, but in some ways Libby wished she could be more like her instead of always second-guessing her own decisions.
Kit’s take on the situation with Harry had riled her, not because she thought Kit was wrong, but because she was worried Kit might have a point. Lately Harry had become increasingly withdrawn and sullen, and there’d been some temper tantrums too. Both she and Cam had put it down to adolescence, brushed it off as normal teenage behaviour. But that didn’t make it okay. Hadn’t she spent Harry’s whole life telling him just because ‘everyone’ behaved a certain way that didn’t make it right?
She’d never admit this to anyone, not even Kit, but she’d always felt a tiny bit superior to other parents. She’d read all the books, educated herself, and done everything the experts suggested. She’d breastfed until he was twelve months old. They went to baby gym, story time at the local library and a weekly swimming class. Harry’s screen time was strictly limited as a toddler. She’d kept him away from social media in primary school, and even now she made sure she knew the password to all his devices so she could check up on his online activity. She’d enrolled him in sports teams – soccer and cricket, nothing too aggressive – and made sure he was read to every night until he was old enough to start reading more complex stories on his own. She and Cam modelled respectful behaviour towards each other, and they made sure they both took on some non-traditional gender roles in the household. They’d never smacked him and they’d never condoned violence. Well, she hadn’t. Cam sometimes got a bit overexcited watching ridiculous violent sports like boxing, but she’d tried to keep Harry’s exposure to that sort of thing to a minimum.
And Harry had always been the perfect child. He’d been a contented baby, sleeping through the night long before any of the other babies in her mothers’ group. Oh, she’d sympathised with those women and told them it wasn’t their fault, but deep down she’d secretly believed Harry was contented because she was such an attentive mother. He’d met all of his milestones early and was a quick learner once he’d started school. He was a quiet boy but had no trouble forming friendships. He’d never given them a moment’s worry.
Until now.
Libby’s stomach churned. What if she was wrong about her darling boy? What if she didn’t really know him at all? What if, despite following all the rules, she hadn’t raised the perfect child after all?
She shook her head to free herself of the thought. Of course Harry wasn’t perfect, no human was, but he wasn’t a thug. She knew her son. This whole incident had been blown way out of proportion. And Kit, wearing her anti-violence counsellor’s hat, probably hadn’t helped the situation. She’d been wrong to blame Kit, though. It wasn’t as if Kit had any experience with teenage boys. This was her own fault. She should never have gone overseas and left Harry in Kit’s care. She wouldn’t be making the same mistake again.
*
Libby sat outside the principal’s office feeling like a rebellious teen. It was ridiculous to be kept waiting this way. Clearly this John Quinlan fellow was trying to show her who was in charge. Well, that wasn’t going to work. They paid a fortune to have Harry educated here – at least, the company did – therefore John Quinlan was answerable to her, not the other way around.
The office door opened and Mr Quinlan appeared, smiling at her. He really was quite good looking. She’d been so nervous on Harry’s first day that she hadn’t noticed, but now she took in his taut body and handsome face and realised why Kit had so easily sided with this man.
But not her. She was an old, married woman, impervious to the charms of good-looking men. She stood so as not to be at a height disadvantage when he addressed her.
‘Mrs Reynolds,’ he said, offering her his hand. ‘I’m very sorry to have kept you waiting. One of our students has had an unexpected bereavement and I needed to sort a few things out for her.’ He gestured for her to enter the office. ‘Please take a seat. Can I offer you a beverage? Tea, coffee, or a water perhaps?’
Libby shook her head and sat in one of three plush armchairs opposite his desk. She was determined not to be disarmed by his congeniality. ‘I’m fine, thank you.’
‘Right, let’s get down to it then. I’d like to discuss Harry’s suspension and any further consequences.’
‘Further consequences?’
‘Yes. Did Ms Munroe not explain to you that this type of offence is one that would often result in the student’s expulsion?’
‘Expulsion!’ God, she sounded like a demented parrot, repeating everything he said, but this wasn’t what she’d expected. Her pulse thudded in her temples as she tried to digest this news. If Harry was expelled it would be humiliating. What would Felicity and the other wives think? Would this be detrimental to Cam’s position in the company? Surely not. It would be discriminatory. Still, it wouldn’t look good.
‘It was one option we considered briefly, but seeing as Harry is new to the school and his behaviour has otherwise been good, we decided not to pursue it on this occasion.’
‘I can assure you, Mr Quinlan, there will be no other “occasion” to warrant suspension.’
‘That’s a positive attitude to take, Mrs Reynolds, and believe me the school appreciates your support in this matter, but unfortunately the only person who has total control over whether this sort of thing happens again is Harry.’
‘Harry’s a good kid. He’s never been in trouble before. I want to know what’s being done about the other students involved in this incident. The ones who were bullying him. Have they been suspended too?’
‘I can’t talk to you specifically about other students. However, I can tell you that all the students involved have been spoken to and sanctioned appropriately where necessary. In addition to this the school is investigating a new program to educate the student body further about bullying and non-violent strategies to cope with stressful events. A newsletter will be sent home with details of the program once we’ve finalised our participation in the project. In the meantime, though, I’d like to talk to you about how we can help Harry to take responsibility for his actions.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I realise you have just arrived home from overseas, and let me say how impressed I am at your commitment to Harry. Obviously you place great value on your son receiving a top rate education and I applaud you for that. I realise you won’t have had a chance to talk to Harry yet, but I have spoken to him several times since the incident, including upon his arrival back at school this morning, and –’
‘And I’m sure he told you that he was provoked into defending himself.’
‘No, actually, that isn’t what Harry is saying at all. He says he doesn’t know why he snappe
d –’
‘Well, obviously he doesn’t want to be a dobber.’
‘Mrs Reynolds, if you could just hear me out I think you might be surprised, and perhaps interested, in what Harry actually said.’
Heat seeped up her neck and into her cheeks. She didn’t trust herself to speak so instead gave a curt nod.
‘As I was saying, Harry seems to be at a loss as to why he reacted so violently to the verbal taunts he experienced. It seems it had been going on for a couple of weeks, so obviously there had been a build-up of emotion. Nevertheless, his response was one of extreme violence and, it seems, it was his first response.’
‘My son is not a violent child, Mr Quinlan. He’s never been in a fight before – in fact he’s never even been in trouble before. I find it hard to believe that he threw the first punch. How do you know one of the others didn’t start it? Or maybe they’d hurt him before and he was lashing out in fear.’ Her hands were shaking now. She clasped them together tightly and placed them in her lap.
The principal nodded. ‘Don’t worry, I’ve considered this situation from all angles. I heard accounts from witnesses to the event, as well as talking to Harry’s teachers and classmates about the events leading up to it. You are quite right to say that Harry was provoked. What I’m putting to you, Mrs Reynolds, is that his response was inappropriate and, as such, has alerted me to a deeper problem – one that Harry eventually articulated himself.’
‘I’m not following you.’
‘Harry knows right from wrong. He’s a smart young man. Theoretically he knows what he did was wrong, and yet he has shown no remorse.’
‘Well that’s not surprising seeing as he was being bullied by this kid. Obviously he’s not going to have a lot of sympathy for him.’
The principal raised his eyebrows.
‘Not that I’m condoning violence, of course,’ she added hastily.
‘Of course not,’ he said, but she detected a note of disbelief in his tone. ‘My point is, Harry has confessed to me today that he felt exhilarated after hitting the other student.’
Libby flinched as if she’d been hit herself. ‘He said that?’
The principal nodded. ‘On the day of the incident, the teacher who broke up the fight commented to me that even when the other student appeared to be badly injured, Harry didn’t seem concerned about that. At the time I put it down to adrenalin, and of course back then I didn’t really know exactly what had happened. If you’ll bear with me for a moment, I’d like to share with you my assessment of what actually occurred.’
Libby nodded her agreement.
‘As you may be aware, Harry has made friends with a young woman in his class, and that’s where the trouble began.’
‘Yes, Kit – his godmother – explained that to me. Apparently the other boy was jealous of their friendship.’
‘Well, yes, that’s Harry’s version of events. However, after speaking to some of Harry’s classmates, and indeed the young woman herself, I’m sorry to say that’s not exactly true. As far as I can tell, what actually happened is that Harry was the one who became possessive of the young woman’s time. Prior to his friendship with her there had been a few jibes from the other boy about Harry being gay. Now while I’m not excusing that behaviour at all, this is a term quite frequently bandied about by kids as a general insult, much to the dismay of staff. What I’m trying to convey is that, to the best of my knowledge, the boy uses this taunt on many of the students, so he wasn’t specifically targeting Harry.
‘In any case, once he was befriended by the young woman he was very keen to escalate the relationship. According to her, Harry was looking for a romantic relationship, whereas she was not. Apparently he would not take no for an answer.’
Libby gasped. ‘You’re not saying he . . .’ She trailed off, unable to finish her hideous thought out loud.
John Quinlan shook his head vigorously. ‘No, no, nothing like that. I didn’t mean to imply he forced himself on her physically. But he did persist in asking her if she wanted to be his girlfriend even after she’d told him no several times, and had told him his behaviour was making her uncomfortable. In the end she decided that the relationship was too intense for her and she wanted to end the friendship.’
Libby’s heart squeezed at the thought of her baby’s heart being broken in this way, but at the same time she felt dismayed for the girl, who he’d obviously pestered.
‘The girl didn’t want to hurt his feelings by telling him she no longer wanted to spend time with him and unfortunately her solution was to ask one of the boys to get him to back off. When that happened Harry reacted violently.’
‘But that’s not what he told Kit.’
‘I’m aware of Harry’s version of events. As I said, Mrs Reynolds, I’ve talked to many witnesses. I particularly took note of what the kids who were not involved had to say. Pretty much the whole class told me the same story.’
She slumped back in the chair. ‘I see.’
‘What I’m saying to you is that I believe it would be in Harry’s best interests to learn some resilience strategies, coping mechanisms if you like, to help him deal with disappointment and adversity.’
‘Yes, of course. My husband and I will speak to him.’
‘I’m afraid that won’t suffice. If Harry is going to remain a student in this school I’m going to have to insist on him seeking counselling.’
Oh God, all those jokes she and Cam had made about Harry ending up needing therapy because of their parenting were coming true. They’d screwed up so badly that their kid needed counselling. ‘What sort of counselling?’
‘I believe Harry would benefit from seeing a psychologist.’
A psychologist? This was getting ridiculous. Harry was a kid who’d overreacted. He wasn’t a psychopath.
‘I’m happy to tell you we can provide this service here at school. We have a highly qualified and experienced educational psychologist who visits the school twice a week. I can organise an appointment for Harry for Thursday.’
She shook her head slowly as she tried to make sense of the jumble of thoughts whirring through her brain. Did Harry really need counselling? Was his behaviour really that out of hand? ‘No, I don’t think so. I mean, I don’t really think that’s necessary. I realise his actions were unacceptable and my husband and I will make sure he understands that. After all, this is a first offence.’
‘Yes, it is, which is why the school has shown leniency towards Harry. The school’s aim here, Mrs Reynolds, is to help Harry, not to punish him. We want him to be in control of his emotions and his behaviour.’
For heaven’s sake, it seemed as if the principal thought Harry was entirely to blame for this whole thing. He was ignoring the fact that Harry had been provoked. Her palms started to sweat. ‘Look, I understand that you are trying to help, Mr Quinlan, but I don’t think the school psychologist is a good idea. Surely once the other students find out that Harry is receiving counselling that will increase the chances of him being bullied? It’s going to be hard enough for him to live down the stigma of this incident without the added burden of being called out of class to go to the psychologist’s office. It would only give the bullies more fodder to harass him with.’
The principal frowned. ‘Many students see the psychologist, for a variety of reasons. It hasn’t proved to be problematic or a source of bullying before. I really think this is the best course of action for Harry.’
A lump formed in her throat. How had things managed to spiral out of control so quickly? She’d only left Harry for a couple of days and now he’d not only been suspended from school but the principal was indicating that her child was suffering from some sort of mental illness. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t agree. If my child is to receive any sort of counselling, I think it’s only fair that it be with a practitioner of my choosing.’
The principal nodded. ‘Of cours
e you have the right to choose your son’s counsellor, but I think you are underestimating the importance, and indeed the benefit to Harry, of the school being kept in the loop on these matters.’
Libby didn’t know what to say. Surely if there was a real problem with Harry it would be best to see a top-level professional – one with rooms in Collins Street, or maybe a specialist at the Royal Children’s? ‘I’m sorry, Mr Quinlan, I’m not trying to be difficult but this whole situation has taken me by surprise. I’m really not sure the school counsellor will be the best option for Harry.’
His expression went from conciliatory to resolute. ‘Very well, Mrs Reynolds, I understand. It is indeed your right to choose the professional you wish to work with your child. However, please let me remind you of the contract that you signed when you enrolled Harry earlier this year. It states that the school has the right to enforce specific consequences for breaches of the behaviour code. Failure to accept these consequences may lead to expulsion. It is my right, indeed my responsibility, as the head of this school to ensure that the welfare of the entire student body is taken into account when dealing with incidents like these, so please be aware that if you choose not to involve our school psychologist, it might result in us having a conversation about whether Claybourne is the right school for Harry.’
Adrenalin coursed through her body. For fuck’s sake, this man was clearly on some sort of power trip. Yes, Harry had done the wrong thing, she knew that, but it was hardly a hanging offence. And now the principal was digging his heels in, trying to assert his authority, and in the process was unfairly victimising her child. Well, one thing was for sure – he’d picked the wrong mother to try that on. She wasn’t having it. ‘You can’t be serious!’
‘I’m afraid I am. When we have students with behavioural issues we need to make sure the family is willing to work with us to resolve the situation. If there’s a difference of opinion on the best way to deal with the issues then we have no choice other than to review the student’s enrolment. I’d be grateful if you could let me know your decision as soon as possible.’
