Wednesday's Child Read Free Page B

see what I.T. says before you panic over the laptop, and possibly contacting this Mr. Page.”
    “All right.” She tapped the case. “Thanks for bringing this over.”
    Eve got up, taking the dead laptop with her. “You’re welcome. I’ve got to get back to the office.” She shook a finger at Jacqui and winked. “No more flowers. Especially ones thrown at you by Irish hunks.”
    Jacqui managed a small laugh. She’d rather go to the dentist and that was saying something. “I promise.”
     
    ****
     
    The bell rang signifying the end of the school day. Liam glanced up at the scraping of chairs and slamming of books. “Did I say dismissed?” He shook his head at the collective sigh from his class. He taught the whole school, and it didn’t matter if they were eleven or eighteen, the lesson was over and forgotten as soon as the bell rang.
    He tapped his fingers on the desk and waited until they all sat down again. Their uniforms were slightly awry by the end of the day, blue shirts untucked, navy blazers tossed carelessly over the backs of the chairs and their blue and white striped ties at varying lengths.
    He cast a stern look over them. “Remember the assignment on Romeo and Juliet is due in first period Monday. There will be detentions if you don’t hand it in on time.” He ignored the groans. “And before you ask or try it on Monday, I will not be accepting excuses such as ‘my homework fell in the bath, sir’ or ‘the cat threw up over it, sir’. You’ve had a week do it.” Liam uttered the words the students were longing for. “All right, now you’re dismissed.”
    The students scrambled for the door as Liam ran his hand over his chin. The beard was an experiment, but one he’d probably end up keeping. He wasn’t used to the scratchy facial hair, but it was better than seeing the scar his clothes didn’t hide in the mirror each day. Besides, he hated shaving with a passion.
    Pushing to his feet, he turned to the board and picked up the blackboard duster. These things hadn’t changed since he and his twin sister, Niamh, were at school over two decades ago. Erasing the lesson plan, his thoughts returned to the fool he’d made of himself over lunch. He couldn’t have done it better if he’d tried. Niamh would find it hysterically funny, which was one reason he wasn’t going to tell her about it.
    He tapped the duster and then set it on the shelf by the board. Gathering the pile of essays from his desk, he walked to the door, turned off the lights, and headed to the staff room.
    He dumped the essays on a chair, and loosened his tie, wishing he could take it off. He checked his phone. No messages or calls. Was that a good thing or not? He’d had the image of the woman in his mind ever since lunch. His mother had told him flowers were a good way to impress a woman. But he didn’t think it was the kind of impression his mother had in mind.
    Liam walked over to the urn, poured his coffee and added milk. He sipped it and made his way over to the window, staring out over the bland playground filled with pupils making their way home, laughing and chatting. After today’s fiasco, that’s all he wanted to do. He debated playing hooky from the department head meeting with headmaster, Justin Forbes. As much as the school grounds needed something doing to them, he really didn’t want to attend tonight. He sipped his coffee, his eye catching the chunky chain-link bracelet on his wrist. Sally had given it to him as a wedding present.
    Liam closed his eyes and the images which haunted his nightmares filled his mind. Gunfire, blood, Sally screaming and falling...
    “Liam? Are you all right? It’s time for the meeting.”
    “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m coming.”
    Sliding into the single available seat, which happened to be in the front row, Liam hoped the person from the Foundation would be a quick speaker. He honestly didn’t see the point in this. Surely the decision to re-landscape the grounds was up