Page 59 of Poles Apart
It was just unfortunate that Noah had latched onto him on the coach and wouldn’t sit with anyone else. He decided to move away from Noah to go speak with the other parents in the hall. Some of them were looking at him, and he recognised them as the ones that had been in a huddle with Wilkins in the classroom the other day. No doubt they’d formed their own conclusions as to the conversation going on.
He could see Colin coming towards him from the other side of the room, and he stepped into a corner of the hall so their conversation would be more private.
“What’s going on, Jacob? Why is he talking to Jodie?” Colin kept glancing over to where they were talking.
“He told me to take my dirty hands off Noah, that he didn’t want me to contaminate him with my filth.” Now that he thought about it and had stepped out of the situation, the enormity of what Wilkins was saying started to hit him. What if Jodie didn’t back him up? What if he lost his job? He’d never find another one if this got out. He must have shown some of his concern on his face as Colin touched his arm.
“Hey, don’t worry about this. Jodie will tell him you weren’t anywhere near him all weekend, that I was dealing with him.”
Jacob knew that was true, but it wasn’t the point, was it? Again he was having to justify that as a gay man, he was more than qualified to look after children, and that pissed him off.
He was in two minds to go over there and explain to Wilkins in no uncertain terms what he thought of his homophobic comments and what he could do with them, which involved his arse and Jacob’s boot. He turned to his friend, this time trying to keep his temper under control, and spoke through gritted teeth.
“Why should I have to clarify who looked after who? It shouldn’t fucking matter, should it? Do you have this problem? Do you have parents looking at you as if you’re the anti-Christ who’s going to turn their kids gay by being in their vicinity?
“No, you don’t because you’re married to a woman and have children.” He glared at his friend as he spoke. He knew this wasn’t Colin’s fault, but if he didn’t get out of here soon, his temper would spill over and then hewouldbe in trouble. He watched as Jodie nodded again and steered Mr Wilkins over to his wife and son. She motioned for Jacob to follow her, and he stepped out of the hall into her office.
“Take a seat, Jacob.” He sincerely hoped she’d backed him up with this because he didn’t think he could work at this school any longer if they wouldn’t support him. He sat as she did, waiting. His heart pounded, nerves getting the better of him.
“So, what did he have to say?” He didn’t wait for her to start.
“Well, I obviously heard what he said to you, which is not on, by the way, just so you know. I went on to explain to him that his son hadn’t been with you at all this weekend and that you were only sitting with him in the hall until they turned up to collect him.”
Jacob was still fuming but waited for her to continue.
“Jacob, please know that we have to take all complaints from parents seriously, and I am going to have to go to the Governors with this. He wanted to raise a formal complaint, and I can’t deny him that. However, you’ve come to me with concerns about him before now. That, at least, is something that goes in your favour.”
Jacob was waiting for the other shoe to drop, and…there it was!
“I think for the rest of the term—until we break for the summer—it might be best if we move you to another class.” Jacob went to speak, but she held her hand up and stopped him.
“This is in no way a reflection on you or how you’ve taught your class this year, but look at it from my perspective. Every time you see Mr Wilkins, he has something to say to you, either publicly or privately. What happens next time? What if he says you’ve said or done something, and there’s no witness? I know you would never jeopardise your job, but I think it’s unfair to put you in that position. I’m doing this for you more than him. If you’re not around him, then what can he do or say?”
Jacob was outraged. He’d spent the whole school year with these kids, spent hours teaching them about the history of the city, helping them with numeracy and literacy and built a relationship with all of them. When he thought of Noah and little Ellie, who he’d finally helped come out of her shell, he was incensed.
“I see,” he said, his voice tight. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised at Mr Wilkins’s attitude, but I am surprised at how this is being dealt with. You assured me I had your support, but right now? It doesn’t feel like that at all.” He could feel a tightness forming in his chest. “I feel like I’m being punished for my sexuality, and I’m so…angry and disappointed right now. I’m going to go now before I say anything I might regret in the morning, but know that if the school or the Governors refuse to support me on this, I will take this further, Jodie.”
Jacob stood and moved towards the door. He’d been here before when Jodie had assured him it would all be OK.
He stepped back into the hall where Colin was waiting, his holdall the only one left in the middle of the room. It looked how he felt—isolated and alone.
Colin went to speak to him, but he shook his head. He was afraid if he spoke to anyone right now, all his anger and frustration would come pouring out.
“I’ll call you later when I’m not so fucked off with the whole situation.” Colin nodded, and Jacob picked up his bag. He strode out of the room and past Jodie’s office, just as she was coming out.
“Jacob, wait, please.” Against his better judgement, he stopped in his tracks but didn’t look at her. “I really am sorry. Please believe me that if I thought we could resolve this any other way, I would. I do think it’s for the best at the moment. I think under the circumstances, and to allow the board to fully investigate the complaint, it might be best if you take this week off. We can cover the classes so that won’t be an issue. I fully support you, Jacob, I need you to know that, but please don’t do anything rash. I’m confident that we can resolve this in a way that won’t reflect badly on you.” Jacob snorted, and he finally turned to look at her.
“Yeah? So why do I feel like you’re getting rid of the problem, so the school doesn’t have to deal with the real issue at hand? Don’t worry, I won’t be in this week, but note what I said before. If you don’t support me on this when I’ve done nothing wrong other than love someone of the same sex... Well, I’m not entirely sure I want to work here anymore.”
Without staying to hear what else she might have to say, he carried on walking out of the school to his car. Abby had stayed the weekend with Lindsay, so he needed to swing by to pick her up. As soon as he knocked on the door, Lindsay was there, a sympathetic look on her face. Bad news clearly travelled fast.
“I’m sorry, Jacob. If there’s anything we can do, let us know.”
“Thanks, but I just want to collect Abby and go home. If you could tell her, I’ll be waiting in the car.”
Ten minutes later, he was driving home with a subdued Abby in the passenger seat. She knew that if he was like this, he wanted his own space. When they got home, she gave him a quick kiss and went straight to her room.
He brought his bags in from the car, took a shower and decided to have an early night. He figured he’d call Dom tomorrow and maybe start looking for another job. There was no way he’d continue to work there if that was the shit they were going to pull. He lay awake for a while, his mind refusing to quit until sleep finally claimed him.
