Page 64 of Don't Tell Teacher

Mrs Dudley jerks like she’s been prodded with something sharp. ‘He’ll want to know what we discussed. He wants to know everything.’

‘So I’ll tell him we discussed Tom and you told me his marks couldn’t have happened at school.’

‘I really can’t … It was something that happened in the playground.’

‘When?’

Mrs Dudley hesitates. ‘Last week.’

Pauly Neilson was admitted to hospital last week. Could the two things be connected?

‘Which day?’

‘Well, it would have been … last Wednesday.’

The same day Pauly was in hospital.

‘Would this have something to do with the Neilson brothers?’ I ask.

‘The headmaster likes us to support one another, so … I’ll leave him to fill in the details. Alan isveryconcerned about privacy. What happens in school stays in school.’

I look up. ‘Surely a school’s reputation is built on honesty.’

Mrs Dudley gives a nervous laugh.

‘Let’s get back to the marks on Tom’s arm,’ I say. ‘Is there anything in school that could have caused pin-prick type marks? Anything you can think of at all? A sewing club or … loose nails anywhere? Or … I don’t know. School injections?’

‘No. As I said before. We made it very clear to Tom’s mother. The marks didn’t happen here.’

‘Any indications that Tom is being bullied?’

Mrs Dudley’s face goes white. ‘There is nobullyinghere.’

I want to laugh.Do you realise the three Neilson brothers are on my caseload? Lloyd Neilson put his brother in hospital last week. At your school …But instead, I opt for: ‘But surelyeveryschool has bullying?’

‘No. Not here. We take the RCF approach. Rules, Consistency, Follow-through. The headmaster spends a lot of time studying different discipline models. And his methods are very effective. Our good results speak for themselves.’

The way she says it, I feel like she’s a politician singing from the party song sheet. It’s all a bitStepford Wives.

‘How about friends?’ I ask. ‘Has Tom made good friends since he started here? Who does he spend time with?’

Mrs Dudley pulls at her blouse lapel. ‘One of the Neilson brothers. Pauly. I expect you know about him.’

Well, imagine that. Tom and Pauly are friends. Funny how troubled kids seem to find each other.

‘How does Tom usually behave with the other children?’ I ask. ‘Have there been any other incidents of aggression?’

‘No. We’re an excellent school, Mrs Noble. No problems like that whatsoever.’

I drop the social politeness. ‘Pauly Neilson was in hospital last Wednesday, Mrs Dudley. His brother beat him up in the school playground. I’d call that an incident of aggression, wouldn’t you?’

Mrs Dudley flinches. ‘The Neilson boys … they’re not the usual type of pupil here. And the fight … it was a family matter.’

‘Even though it happened at school?’

‘Yes but … they’re a law unto themselves. The Neilson boys … we look at them differently. They wouldn’t have got a place here ordinarily.’

‘The same is true of Tom, isn’t it?’ I say. ‘Social services got Tom his place.’

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